Who Speaks For Those Who Can't?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
By providing cures for a deaf-mute and the daughter of a foreign woman, Jesus does much more in this week’s lectionary gospel passage than mere healing -- he makes a powerful point about people who were routinely ignored in his culture. Jesus even gives us glimpses of his society’s attitude with his initial response to the Gentile woman’s begging (“it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs”). Her rejoinder (“even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs”), however, reminds Jesus (and us) that despite prevailing prejudices we are all God’s children... and he is moved to immediately heal the woman’s daughter. Of course, the most prominent group of people who are voiceless are the poor -- and the importance of caring for them as much as for the rich is expressly addressed in this week’s Proverbs and James texts. But in this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer explores the plight of another group who have been in the news recently are who are largely voiceless in our society: the children of non-citizens born in the U.S., who as a result of their birth in this country automatically receive American citizenship. Donald Trump has decried this phenomenon, even suggesting that these “anchor babies” should not be granted U.S. citizenship. Dean notes that these young people are much more than pawns in the raging debate over immigration policy -- their individual stories are often far more complicated (and in many cases heartbreaking) than the broad stereotypes bandied about by politicians. So how should we respond to them? Dean points out that Jesus offers an instructive example in his treatment of the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter -- especially given his first instinct to push her away. Our task as Christians, Dean suggests, is to give voice to the voiceless.
Team member Chris Keating shares some additional thoughts on the gospel text and the healing of the deaf/mute man. Like that man, all of us often need to have our ears opened so that we can hear God’s voice more plainly -- and it’s noteworthy that as part of the healing process Jesus “took him aside in private, away from the crowd.” Perhaps that’s important for us as well -- to periodically get away from the ambient noise of our everyday lives (both literal and figurative) to clear our heads... thus allowing us to “be opened” and to perceive God’s leading more clearly. Chris ponders last week’s murder of television journalists in Roanoke, Virginia, and wonders whether we have become increasingly deaf to the sounds of violence. Chris notes that Jesus’ act of healing in private leads to the man’s restoration to community, and he suggests that in addition to becoming deaf we are increasingly isolated... and thus it is time for our ears (and our lives) to be opened.
Who Speaks for Those Who Can't?
by Dean Feldmeyer
Mark 7:24-37
It has long been argued that the thing which separates human beings from all the other animals is language. Language gives us the ability to communicate information and, more importantly, ideas to each other.
Language allows us to learn from history -- not just our own history, but other people’s histories as well. I can learn from your past and you can learn from mine because we can communicate with each other through language.
And the tool that we most often use to communicate through language is our voice. Whether we are speaking aloud or in writing or using sign language, when we speak we refer to the speaker as having a voice.
When we refuse to allow people a voice -- when we take their voice away and make them incommunicative -- we reduce them to the level of subhuman, just another member of the animal kingdom.
In the News
“Anchor babies.” That label, used by Donald Trump and subsequently picked up by Jeb Bush, is a way of referring to children born in the United States to parents who are not U.S. citizens. Some of these babies are born to poor people who have crossed the border surreptitiously to find work and who gave birth while in the United States.
The Los Angeles Times rightly says that it is a “loaded term” that has “become a lightning rod of the 2016 presidential campaign.” A few politicians would have us believe that poor people are flooding across the border for the express purpose of giving birth so their babies -- the so-called “anchor babies” -- will be birthright U.S. citizens, slowing or even halting the deportation of their undocumented immigrant parents.
Several senators, including John McCain, Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham, have called for hearings to consider repealing or rewriting the 14th Amendment, which was adopted in 1868 and states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The website Politifact.com did some fact-checking on just how big a “problem” this phenomenon is. Here’s what they discovered:
* 3.8 million undocumented immigrants have at least one child who is a U.S. citizen.
* 73 percent of the children of undocumented immigrants are American citizens.
The benefits which accrue to the parents of these children, however, are few. They may be eligible for some immediate but short-term help such as the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program, and the child could register for Medicaid -- but the parents could not. Politifact also notes: “Having a child can also help an undocumented parent qualify for relief from deportation, but only 4,000 unauthorized immigrants can receive such status per year, and the alien has to have been in the U.S. for at least 10 years.” And a child has to be 21 years old to sponsor their parent for immigration.
Mr. Trump’s claim that “birthright citizenship” is the biggest magnet for illegal immigration and Senator Graham’s assertion that “thousands of people are coming across the Arizona-Texas border for the express purpose of having a child in an American hospital so that the child will become an American citizen” are both also problematic.
The data shows that immigration into the U.S. follows the economies of the countries from which the immigrants come. The vast majority of undocumented immigrants are here to work and improve their lives, and some of them happen to have babies while they’re here.
The “drop and leave” phenomenon of coming to the U.S. to have a baby and then returning to their home country is a phenomenon more likely among wealthy people -- who come into the country legally for a short stay, have their babies, do a little shopping or visit a spa, and then go home. Most of these patients come from Asia and the Middle East, and it’s impossible to tell whether they are coming for superior medical care or so their children can be American citizens.
According to the Los Angeles Times: “While some have children in the U.S. to gain economic advantages, Southern California has seen a boom in so-called maternity tourism, often involving well-to-do pregnant women from Asia who are in the United States legally.... In the San Gabriel Valley and some other parts of Southern California, birthing hotels are an open secret. Because it is not in and of itself illegal for a foreign national to give birth in the United States, birth tourism businesses for years have openly announced their services.”
Children have no voice of their own. They rely on adults to speak for them.
By using the phrase “anchor babies” to describe children born to immigrant parents in the United States, we take away what little voice they might have or someday achieve -- and allow ourselves to think of them simply as numbers or as things.
As the Los Angeles Times points out, the “loaded term ‘anchor babies’ conceals complex issues.”
Whatever the answers are to the questions of legal citizenship, and they are complex to be sure, almost all of the talk has been about these babies. They are being treated like political footballs.
But these are just babies -- children whose true birthright is the very best that the world has to offer regardless of where or to whom they were born, and who are incapable of speaking or acting on their own behalf. The question which the gospel writer Mark raises for the Christian church today is this: “Who will speak not just about them, but for them? Who will be their voice?”
In the Scriptures
In this week’s gospel lection, Mark introduces us to two people who could not speak for themselves.
The Syrophoenician lady is rendered mute by her gender and her ethnicity; she is a woman and a Gentile, both of which make her unapproachable by Jewish men. Her daughter is even more voiceless -- not only is she a child, but she is also female, Gentile, and demonically infected.
Jesus himself is aware of the voiceless status of the woman and her daughter and voices it for the crowd to hear, even referring to people such as she as less than human, like a dog.
But the woman refuses to be muted. She speaks up and defies the prejudices and traditions that would take away her voice: “Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
In most healing stories it is the person’s faith that makes them whole -- but this woman shows no inclination to accept Jesus as the Jewish messiah. She only knows him to be a healer, and it is for that gift that she has come to him.
It is not her faith that heals her daughter, it is her voice: “For saying that, you may go,” says Jesus, “the demon has left your daughter.” Her voice has given her power and has made her daughter well.
The man from Decapolis is physically disabled -- both deaf and mute -- and probably also a Gentile... unclean on both counts. He is brought to Jesus by the people of the community (probably his friends and family) not for spiritual reasons, but for physical healing.
Jesus takes the man aside, away from the crowd, and speaks quietly to him. Then he performs a healing ritual, says “be opened,” and the man can hear and speak.
Jesus tells the man and those who brought him to tell no one of this healing -- but that is an absurd request. What shall they say when the man returns home and can obviously hear and speak, when just an hour earlier he couldn’t?
No, a person who is given a voice is like a bell that cannot be unrung, a genie that can’t be put back in the bottle. The more Jesus ordered them not to proclaim it (whatever the reason), the more and the louder they did just that.
Mark tells us the story of Jesus giving voice to those who had none, and in doing so provides an example for his church, the first-century Christian church of Rome, and for our church as well.
Giving voice to the voiceless is part of what it means to be Christians.
In the Pulpit
As an aspiring writer of fiction, one of the first things I learned was the necessity of giving the narrators of my stories a distinctive voice. All good writers know the importance of this.
Author Evan Hunter was a master of the storyteller’s voice. His real name was Salvatore Albert Lombino, but he wrote under six pseudonyms. His first and most literary voice was Evan Hunter, a name which he adopted legally as his own and under which he wrote 22 novels -- the most famous being The Blackboard Jungle -- as well as several screenplays, notably the one for Alfred Hitchock’s classic film The Birds. Evan Hunter’s voice was educated, articulate, refined, and well-read.
He also wrote more than 50 police procedural novels about the detectives of the fictional 87th precinct. These were written under the name of Ed McBain, whose voice was gruff, masculine, hard, and often cynical.
He also wrote western, crime, and science fiction short stories as well as several plays under the names of Curt Cannon, Ezra Hannon, Hunt Collins, and Richard Marsten, each with his own distinctive voice.
Hunter knew what all fiction writers sooner or later learn -- and that is that every writer has to have a distinctive voice when telling a story... and every character must have one too. A writer can describe a character from head to toe, but the character doesn’t become a real person until we hear him or her speak. It is their voice that makes them real.
It is often thus with flesh-and-blood human beings. It is their voices that make them real to us, and sometimes even to themselves. Our voices are one of the things that make us uniquely and authentically human, and it is in giving voice to the voiceless that we lift them up and help them become the human beings God made them to be.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Getting Into Our Ears
by Chris Keating
Mark 7:31-37
Another week, another indescribable act of violence.
Yet somehow this one feels different. Despite a summer filled with gun violence, the murder in Roanoke, Virginia, of WDBJ journalist Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward seems a bit different. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly.
Maybe it’s because the entire event unfolded on live television. We’re not used to watching stories about our hometown chamber of commerce transformed into live-action vicious murder.
Maybe it was the video of Parker’s horrifying screams, or the shooter’s point-of-view video of the event... or perhaps knowing that Parker and Ward’s producer and editor were catching a glimpse of the shooting back at the studio’s control room. One of them could see what viewers could not -- Ward’s camera bouncing on the ground, his wristwatch ticking but his arm not moving. “I said, Adam’s dead,” the editor told reporters. “I saw a figure. I saw sparks. And I saw this coward shoot him point blank.”
Maybe what is different this time is the collision of two enshrined American freedoms -- the freedom of the press and the right to bear arms. In Charleston we watched as the freedom to worship became entangled with the right to carry a gun, but that wasn’t broadcast live. Perhaps it is different because the accused shooter, Vester Flanagan, took pains to document the shooting across social media.
Or maybe it is different because this time we can’t stop hearing the sounds of gunfire.
Tens of thousands of Americans die by acts of gun violence annually, yet somehow the Virginia shootings feel different. We’ve become so accustomed to television news reporting on gun violence; yet this time the reporters are the story. This time someone has opened our ears.
But will anyone listen?
In the News
On Wednesday, 24-year-old reporter Alison Parker and her videographer Adam Ward, 27, were killed while conducting a live interview in Smith Mountain, Virginia. Also injured was Vicki Gardner, the chamber of commerce executive who was being interviewed. Gardner has survived and continues to recover, but her husband said the bullet came “centimeters” from ending her life.
As the gunman fired, viewers caught glimpses of the tragedy before the station cut away to a shocked anchor. Employees in the control room of the Roanoke ABC news affiliate were able to see an image of the man with a gun, and instantly identified him as former station employee Vester Lee Flanagan -- known on air as Bryce Williams.
“I knew Adam was gone because I saw it,” WDBJ editor Michael Episcopo said. “And I had to look at it over and over again because it was my job to give a copy to police and give a copy to us and give a copy to our legal team. And I watched my friend die eight or nine times in a row.”
As news of the shooting bounced across the nation, the familiar refrains of an old debate were resurrected. Voices on both sides of the gun control issue began using the incident to promote their cause. What causes these senseless acts -- dangerous people or dangerous weapons?
For Alison Parker’s father, the answer to that question is tougher gun laws. Hours after her death, Andy Parker called for strong control measures during an interview with Fox News: “Everybody that she touched loved her, and she loved everybody back. I’m not going to let this issue drop. We’ve got to do something about crazy people getting guns.” Parker said.
Alison’s mother indicated that she will not be shouted down by the gun lobby: “We cannot be intimidated, we cannot be pushed aside, we cannot be told that this fight has been fought before and that we’re just one more grieving family trying to do something.”
The NRA doesn’t see the issue as so cut-and-dried. Internet commentator and pro-gun lobbyist Colion Noir warned Parker’s parents about becoming so “emotional” in response to their daughter’s death. While expressing his condolences, Noir said it is never appropriate to allow grief to dictate policy. In a video posted on YouTube, Noir said: “[S]ometimes in a fight we can become so emotional everyone and thing starts looking like the enemy, even if they’re there to help us. I’m deeply sorry for your loss.”
The NRA has suggested establishing a national database in order to track “lunatics” who should not be allowed to purchase weapons. President Obama, on the other hand, has urged the United States to follow Australia’s example in banning automatic and semi-automatic weapons. According to NPR, Australia has not had a mass shooting since it enacted legislation in 1996, while the United States has had a mass shooting approximately every two weeks. And 2015 has been the deadliest yet.
There is fear among mental health professionals that stigmatizing persons with serious mental health issues could hamper progress in mental health treatment. NRA folks point out that there are already many controls in effect.
And on and on it goes. While we do not yet have national consensus on what should be done, there is convincing evidence that in the case of the Virginia shooting the perpetrator was a deeply troubled person. “I’ve been a human powder keg for a while... just waiting to go BOOM!” Flanagan said in a statement he faxed to ABC news. Flanagan had been fired from an on-air position at WDBJ, and he wrote that he was troubled by the racially motivated shootings in Charleston this summer and that he had been bullied for being gay.
For their part, Flanagan’s family has expressed their sorrow and a desire for privacy:
It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we express our deepest condolences to the families of Alison Parker and Adam Ward. We are also praying for the recovery of Vicki Gardner. Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with the victims’ families and the WDBJ7 news family. Words cannot express the hurt that we feel for the victims. Our family is asking that the media respect our privacy.
In the Scriptures
In the second half of this week’s gospel lesson, Jesus brings healing to a deaf man. Mark 7:31-37 elaborates Jesus’ mission to declare the good news of God, even to the extent of Jesus’ circuitous route through Gentile territory along the Sea of Galilee. It’s hard to imagine exactly why Mark narrates such a strange route, though some suggest it is Mark’s way of signifying the inclusiveness Jesus’ ministry represents.
Jesus takes the man out of the public thoroughfare and into a private space (v. 33). This could be another example of Mark’s “messianic” secret in play, or it could suggest something else. Jesus’ act of healing the man in private leads to the man being able to re-enter society. When Jesus “opens” (“Ephphatha”) his ears, it seems as though Jesus is not so worried about hiding the man’s disability, but rather about gaining his attention. The result is that what the man hears first is the voice of Christ speaking to him, and not the other distractions that would have surrounded him -- no chatter, no street noises, no dogs barking. Jesus opens his ears so that he might hear the Son of God speaking to him.
Boundaries are broken: Jesus’ unclean hands are mixed with spittle, and the man hears. It is nearly a commentary on 7:15 -- there is nothing outside of a person that defiles (see Bernard Brandon Scott, “Exegetical Perspective, Mark 7:31-37,” in Feasting on the Gospels: Mark [Westminster/John Knox Press, 2015], p. 213). It’s an extraordinary moment.
Moving forward in Mark, the healing stories will have recurring themes of blindness or deafness. Jesus will powerfully integrate those on the margins of society back into community, demonstrating God’s gift of new life. While adjured to remain silent, the deaf man and his companions immediately begin to proclaim what they have witnessed. They can no longer remain silent: in Jesus Christ there is the new work that God is doing. Even the ears of those who could not hear are opened.
What remains to be noticed is whether or not anyone is listening.
In the Pulpit
It’s time that the church begins to declare what it has seen and heard and witnessed in Jesus Christ. This story in Mark is designed to open our ears so that we might hear the sounds of Jesus speaking to us. Throughout Mark, we have seen Jesus bring life to a little girl at death’s door, and have watched as a woman with an unstoppable hemorrhage received healing. We have witnessed Jesus being challenged to respond to a woman not from his own people, and have heard him tell of sowers going out to spread seed. The question from this text is “Has he touched our ears as well?”
And if so, to what are we listening?
The sound of this summer’s cascading accounts of gun violence are screeching in our ears -- from the shooting in Charleston; to the death of a little girl doing her homework in Ferguson, Missouri; to the on-camera deaths of two young journalists. Yet we do not speak as though Jesus has taken us away in private and touched our ears. Instead we hash over old, tired debates that keep our culture frozen in fear. Perhaps we need to learn the practice of following Jesus into private places so that our ears may be opened.
Every community has its stories about gun violence that can be shared. This is not a debate about the freedom to carry a weapon. Instead, it is a chance for the church of Jesus Christ to open its ears to the words Jesus speaks to us now -- for it is only when our ears are touched by God’s gracious initiative that we will be able to proclaim the Good News.
It’s time to let Jesus start messing with our ears.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Mark 7:24-37
Being More Like Deaf People
When Jesus heals someone, the physical healing is only one dimension of the experience. There is also always a level of greater understanding and wisdom. We can experience that even without the physical transformation. For example, Bruno Kahne travels around the world teaching hearing people to communicate more like deaf people. He notes that thousands of articles have been written about the “handicap” of being deaf and what deaf people can learn from people who can hear, but almost none about the reverse -- what hearing people can learn from our deaf neighbors. As Kahne says, “Hearing people can see deaf people in two different ways: either as people who have lost something -- their hearing -- or as people who have gained something -- the ability to communicate without sound.” He observes that deaf people have skills that hearing people could learn. Among them: “Deaf people talk one at a time, in a very sequential manner. Hearing people talk all at the same time, and often interrupt one another”; and “Deaf people stay focused on the interaction. Hearing people disconnect regularly.”
Kahne adds that he “received an e-mail from a deaf person who told me that after reading my article, for the first time of his life, he understood who he was.” The deaf man saw himself in a new way, with a new sense of his own abilities.
*****
Mark 7:24-37
Determined Mothers
The woman who meets Jesus and begs for healing for her daughter evokes the determination of many mothers to make life better for their children. With all of the political firestorm recently over the term “anchor babies,” the Los Angeles Times reports on “maternity tourism,” women of means who travel to the U.S. to have children here. These are not poor women struggling across the border from Mexico, but “well-to-do pregnant women from Asia who are in the United States legally. Last year, federal agents targeted three Southern California businesses that helped pregnant Chinese women travel to the U.S., usually on tourist visas, so their children could be born U.S. citizens.”
The article continues: “Because it is not in and of itself illegal for a foreign national to give birth in the United States, birth tourism businesses for years have openly announced their services. A website called ChineseInLA.com has more than 100 listings for maternity hotels in Arcadia, Irvine, Rowland Heights, Monterey Park, and other local cities, with names such as USLoveBaby and Star Baby Care Center.” Immigration officials have been working to crack down on the practice.
The stories of real people are always more complex than the headlines: “Nancy Flores... whose parents are Mexican immigrants, said she had never heard of the term ‘anchor baby’ until her brother texted her this week after hearing that Trump had used the term. Although Flores’ parents gave birth to her soon after they were able to legalize their status when President Reagan signed an amnesty bill in the 1980s, she said she took offense to the term because her parents came to the country without legal status. Flores, who said her parents didn’t come with the intention of having children in the U.S., said she’s not a political person but does have an opinion. All the talk, she said, will bring people like herself to the polls.”
*****
Mark 7:24-37
Foreign Customs
When Jesus encounters the Syrophoenician woman, she is foreign to him on several levels -- gender for one, plus her status as a Gentile. The area where she lives was conquered by the Greeks, who left people behind as landowners, and then later by the Romans, who brought their own customs to the area.
When meeting people from other places, knowing their customs can be instructive. A business magazine highlights unusual customs from other countries. In Russia, being on time is very important: “Being on time to a business meeting in Russia is of the utmost importance. At least for one party, that is. While Americans are expected to arrive not a second after the meeting’s scheduled time, Russians feel free to show up as late as they desire and are unapologetic about it. The move is designed to test the patience of their U.S. counterparts.”
In Brazil, prepare to have someone stand very close: “Expect a complete invasion of personal space if doing business in Brazil. While it could be considered impolite in the U.S., in Brazil it is customary to stand extremely close and use lots of physical contact while talking. While the normal reaction might be to back away, those who do risk losing out on a potential business relationship, since it is considered disrespectful.”
And in Spain, time is considered more elastic: “While deadlines are usually considered firm dates in the U.S., the same can’t be said in Spain. When doing business with Spaniards, U.S. business owners shouldn’t expect deadlines to be made on a regular basis. While they won’t set out to purposefully miss deadlines, those in Spain view them more as a guideline and not as something that is frowned upon if missed. Americans shouldn’t be insulted by this, but instead should schedule these potential delays into any timelines.”
Our neighbors around the world have interesting things to teach us, just as the woman teaches something to Jesus.
*****
Mark 7:24-37
Spare Change?
The Syrophoenician woman who meets Jesus insists that even the scraps from the table will be enough for her daughter’s healing. In a similar way, British Airways has a use for the foreign coins people bring back from a trip. For 15 years, the airline has collected leftover money from passengers who don’t want the bother of holding onto it at home. All those coins have added up to 27 million British pounds, and have been channeled by UNICEF to places that need aid. As the airline says, “The partnership raises approximately £1.3 million each year.... Change for Good encourages British Airways customers to donate spare change and foreign currency on every flight via envelopes which are in the seatback pockets or headset packs. Change for Good has funded projects in 58 countries and has supported all areas of UNICEF’s work.... The first country to benefit from monies raised through the program was Tanzania, where Change for Good money was invested in health, education, and HIV prevention programs. Change for Good money is also vital in helping UNICEF’s work in emergencies.”
Leftovers can go a long way.
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From team member Ron Love:
Mark 7:24-37
The church I presently attend, Highland Park United Methodist Church in Florence, South Carolina, recently celebrated its 58th birthday, having held its first worship service on August 25, 1957. The original sanctuary, which is now used as a fellowship hall, was built to resemble Noah’s Ark. The founders did this because they considered the ark to be symbolic of the church. As the birthday letter to the congregation from the current pastor read: “God saves his people through the water, and offers new life. All are safe inside and all are included.” (Note: This story can be personalized by saying “A friend shared with me...”)
Application: Our lesson today reports of Jesus and his healing ministry. Jesus “spat” and placed it on the man’s tongue, and water has always been a biblical symbol of healing. As Jesus healed both individuals who were brought to him, all are safe in his presence.
*****
Mark 7:24-37
Juan Romero was the busboy at the Ambassador Hotel who cradled Robert Kennedy’s head after he was shot on the night of June 5, 1968 -- he didn’t want the senator’s head resting on the cold concrete floor. For the next several days, Romero went to school with Kennedy’s blood still under his fingernails. Now, at the age of 65, Romero has finally been able to forgive himself -- having always wondered whether, if Kennedy hadn’t taken the time to shake a young busboy’s hand, he might never have been shot.
Application: An exorcism may come in many forms. One could be exorcising our guilt.
*****
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir Fun Home is again at the center of a college controversy. Bechdel is a lesbian, and her book discusses her sexual confusion while growing up as well as other difficult family issues she encountered. Last year controversy erupted in South Carolina when the book was assigned as required reading for incoming freshmen at the College of Charleston, with the state legislature protesting the selection by cutting the school’s funding by $50,000, the cost of the college’s reading program. This year the book is required reading for incoming freshmen at Duke University, but some Christian students are boycotting the program to register their objections to the selection. Laura Turner, a columnist for the Religion News Service, wrote in support of the book, saying: “Reading things we disagree with is part of becoming an adult, and certainly part of becoming a college student.”
Application: Proverbs is a book of wisdom, and wisdom does come from understanding other points of view. Wisdom will be shorted if one only reads the Bible and Christian literature.
*****
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
The United States problem with Muslim extremists is not new -- as president, Thomas Jefferson had to send the U.S. Navy to protect merchant ships from the Barbary pirates off the coast of North Africa. But before Jefferson made his decision on how to deal with the national crisis, he read the entire Quran so he could better understand how Muslims think.
Application: Wisdom comes not only from the Bible, but also by being well-informed.
*****
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Reba Riley just published a book titled Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome. It is a memoir on how she went from a “former evangelical poster child” to an adult at the age of 33 who views the church as simplistic, shallow, anti-science, and judgmental. She identifies “post-traumatic church syndrome” (PTCS) as what she and most millennials who are disillusioned must deal with. In her recovery program she sampled 30 religions before she was 30, and did not find one that she could adhere to. Riley’s doctrine now is simply “Love God; love people. Love, period.”
Application: It was good for Riley to search for a religion she could adhere to, but absent of a meaningful doctrine she is like those described in Proverbs who could not hear the call of wisdom.
*****
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
All presidential candidates say things that are best left unsaid. Hillary Clinton made such a mistake at a recent campaign event in Cleveland, Ohio. The Democratic front-runner considers Republicans to be hostile to women. While referring to their positons on social issues, she said: “We expect that from some of the terrorist groups.” (Note: Comments by other candidates may be shared in a way that does not show partiality from the pulpit.)
Application: Our lesson from Proverbs speaks to the importance of having integrity, and for Clinton to engage in hyperbole by comparing her opponents to Muslim terrorists calls that into question.
*****
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Nearly 500 years ago Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic church for his opposition to many of its doctrines. This is most famously recounted with his posting of his 95 Theses. Recognizing his contributions to the faith, the Vatican is now supporting a plan to rename a square in Rome in Luther’s honor. The location, on Oppian Hill overlooking the Colosseum, will be officially named Piazza Martin Lutero.
Application: Our lesson from Proverbs calls us to be people of integrity, and part of that process can be correcting a five-century-old wrong.
*****
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17
At the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the panda Mei Xiang has given birth to two cubs. Whenever there is a multiple birth, the mother panda will only nurse and care for one cub -- allowing the other to die. This is because the adult panda lacks the dexterity to handle more than one cub. The veterinarians at the zoo have solved this problem by alternating which cub is taken to Mei Xiang, allowing each to be nursed and nurtured. (Unfortunately, one of the cubs did not survive.)
Application: James gives very clear instructions about people being treated equally.
*****
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17; Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Christians in India are being forced to convert to Hinduism. There is a social boycott against Christians, with Christians constantly being threatened with physical harm. Sometimes up to 600 Hindus stand outside a church to prevent worship, and groups of one to 50 Christians are often taken by Hindus and forced to participate in a “homecoming” service to Hinduism called the Ghar Vapsi service. Part of the service requires participants to drink water from the sacred Ganges River. Prior to the service Christians are forced to sign a paper that reads, “I am willing to be a Hindu.”
Application: James speaks of treating people equally, something the Ghar Vapsi service does not demonstrate. Proverbs speaks of not acting unjustly.
*****
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17; Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Aleem and Nadia Masih of Pakistan were married a year ago. Nadia was a Muslim who converted to her husband’s religion of Christianity. The Quran instructs that those who leave the Islamic religion are infidels and that the punishment is death. Aleem and Nadia, fearful of threats from Nadia’s family, set out to live in a neighboring city. En route Nadia’s father and brothers captured them and took them to a barn. After both were brutally beaten, they were murdered. Aleem was shot three times, once in the ankle, the ribs, and the face. Nadia was shot in the abdomen. Before she died, she told the police who found her what occurred. But since honor killings are permitted by the Quran, no arrests were made.
Application: James speaks of treating people equally, something the Quran does not demonstrate. Proverbs speaks of not acting unjustly.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Those who trust in God are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved.
People: Those who trust in God are like Mount Zion, which abides forever.
Leader: As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so God surrounds us.
People: God’s presence surrounds us from this time on and forevermore.
Leader: Do good, O God, to those who are good.
People: Do good, O God, to those who are upright in their hearts.
OR
Leader: Let us worship the God who desires to commune with us.
People: Praise to you, O God, who lives in and among us.
Leader: God treasures the time we spend in prayer and meditation.
People: Those times are precious in our sight as well.
Leader: God gives us voices to speak for those who cannot.
People: We will their voices and seek justice and mercy for all.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“All Creatures of Our God and King”
found in:
UMH: 62
H82: 400
PH: 455
AAHH: 147
NNBH: 33
NCH: 17
CH: 22
LBW: 527
ELA: 835
W&P: 23
AMEC: 50
STLT: 203
Renew: 47
“God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale”
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
W&P: 29
“Every Time I Feel the Spirit”
found in:
UMH: 404
PH: 315
AAHH: 325
NNBH: 485
NCH: 282
CH: 592
W&P: 481
STLT: 208
“Take Time to Be Holy”
found in:
UMH: 395
NNBH: 306
CH: 572
W&P: 483
AMEC: 286
“O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee”
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659, 660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
“Be Thou My Vision”
found in:
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELA: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
“Lord, Speak to Me”
found in:
UMH: 463
PH: 426
NCH: 531
ELA: 676
W&P: 593
“Near to the Heart of God”
found in:
UMH: 472
PH: 527
NNBH: 316
CH: 581
AMEC: 322
“We Are His Hands”
found in:
CCB: 85
“Make Me a Servant”
found in:
CCB: 90
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 speaks for and listens to your children: Grant us the grace to spend time in conversation with you and the courage to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to worship you, O God, for you desire to be with us. Help us to spend more time listening to you so that our hearts might be attuned to your heart of love. Give us compassion and courage to speak for those whose voices are not heard. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to listen to God and to speak up for others.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have spent too much time listening to unimportant chatter on the television and not near enough time sharing our lives with you. When we do pray, it is more often to ask for things rather than to listen for your voice. We know you want us to share our cares with you, but we forget that you also want to speak to us. Help us to become more attentive to your voice and to spend more time listening for it. Amen.
Leader: God does love us and desires to be in communion with us. Receive God’s love and forgiveness, and listen for God’s words of care and instruction.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
Praise and glory are yours, O God, for you come to be in communion with your children.
(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 have spent too much time listening to unimportant chatter on the television and not near enough time sharing our lives with you. When we do pray, it is more often to ask for things rather than to listen for your voice. We know you want us to share our cares with you, but we forget that you also want to speak to us. Help us to become more attentive to your voice and to spend more time listening for it.
We give you thanks for all the blessings of this life. We thank you for your love and grace and for your desire to share our lives.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We lift up to you those whose voices are not heard and who are denied the justice and mercy you desire for them. Help us to have the courage to speak up 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
What if you went to play with your best friend and he/she acted like you were not even there? What if when you tried to talk to him/her, and she/he acted like he/she just didn’t hear you? What if your parents just stopped talking to you? That would be terrible. God is also our loving parent and wants to be our friend. God wants us to talk together. That is what prayer is all about. God wants us to share and talk about our hopes and fears.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Showing Love, Living Faith
by Leah Lonsbury
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17
Ask the children to think about someone who loves them very much. What memories come to mind when they think about that person? How do they know that person loves them? Hopefully they’ll share about tangible acts of love, kindness, and generosity. If not, ask them how you would be able to tell that that person loves them. What would you see if you observed them together?
Share a story from your own life, your congregation (with permission), your community, or the news that demonstrates the love of one person for another or a group of people for another group of people in ways that are tangible or can be observed. These are the ways we can see, understand, and experience love.
Share that this is what the writer of James is getting at in this week’s epistle text. He says we would each do well to “love your neighbor as yourself.” This kind of love or faith, according to James, has to be seen and experienced by the people we are loving and serving. It’s how we communicate that love and faith to the world and God’s children.
Ask the children whether, if they had never seen you dribble a ball or make a basket, they would believe you if you told them you were really a star basketball player. Ask them if they would believe that you’re a talented chef if they had never seen you cook or tasted your food. Ask them if they would believe that you love God and want to follow Jesus if you don’t show that love in ways they can see and experience. Ask them to think about ways they can make their faith “live” (because, as James says, faith without is dead) in their everyday lives. Ask for examples.
Prayer: Loving God, help us to make our faith in and our love for you come alive in the ways we act and speak and move through your world. Show us ways to help your love be seen through us and in our visible acts of loving kindness toward one another. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 6, 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.
Team member Chris Keating shares some additional thoughts on the gospel text and the healing of the deaf/mute man. Like that man, all of us often need to have our ears opened so that we can hear God’s voice more plainly -- and it’s noteworthy that as part of the healing process Jesus “took him aside in private, away from the crowd.” Perhaps that’s important for us as well -- to periodically get away from the ambient noise of our everyday lives (both literal and figurative) to clear our heads... thus allowing us to “be opened” and to perceive God’s leading more clearly. Chris ponders last week’s murder of television journalists in Roanoke, Virginia, and wonders whether we have become increasingly deaf to the sounds of violence. Chris notes that Jesus’ act of healing in private leads to the man’s restoration to community, and he suggests that in addition to becoming deaf we are increasingly isolated... and thus it is time for our ears (and our lives) to be opened.
Who Speaks for Those Who Can't?
by Dean Feldmeyer
Mark 7:24-37
It has long been argued that the thing which separates human beings from all the other animals is language. Language gives us the ability to communicate information and, more importantly, ideas to each other.
Language allows us to learn from history -- not just our own history, but other people’s histories as well. I can learn from your past and you can learn from mine because we can communicate with each other through language.
And the tool that we most often use to communicate through language is our voice. Whether we are speaking aloud or in writing or using sign language, when we speak we refer to the speaker as having a voice.
When we refuse to allow people a voice -- when we take their voice away and make them incommunicative -- we reduce them to the level of subhuman, just another member of the animal kingdom.
In the News
“Anchor babies.” That label, used by Donald Trump and subsequently picked up by Jeb Bush, is a way of referring to children born in the United States to parents who are not U.S. citizens. Some of these babies are born to poor people who have crossed the border surreptitiously to find work and who gave birth while in the United States.
The Los Angeles Times rightly says that it is a “loaded term” that has “become a lightning rod of the 2016 presidential campaign.” A few politicians would have us believe that poor people are flooding across the border for the express purpose of giving birth so their babies -- the so-called “anchor babies” -- will be birthright U.S. citizens, slowing or even halting the deportation of their undocumented immigrant parents.
Several senators, including John McCain, Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham, have called for hearings to consider repealing or rewriting the 14th Amendment, which was adopted in 1868 and states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The website Politifact.com did some fact-checking on just how big a “problem” this phenomenon is. Here’s what they discovered:
* 3.8 million undocumented immigrants have at least one child who is a U.S. citizen.
* 73 percent of the children of undocumented immigrants are American citizens.
The benefits which accrue to the parents of these children, however, are few. They may be eligible for some immediate but short-term help such as the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program, and the child could register for Medicaid -- but the parents could not. Politifact also notes: “Having a child can also help an undocumented parent qualify for relief from deportation, but only 4,000 unauthorized immigrants can receive such status per year, and the alien has to have been in the U.S. for at least 10 years.” And a child has to be 21 years old to sponsor their parent for immigration.
Mr. Trump’s claim that “birthright citizenship” is the biggest magnet for illegal immigration and Senator Graham’s assertion that “thousands of people are coming across the Arizona-Texas border for the express purpose of having a child in an American hospital so that the child will become an American citizen” are both also problematic.
The data shows that immigration into the U.S. follows the economies of the countries from which the immigrants come. The vast majority of undocumented immigrants are here to work and improve their lives, and some of them happen to have babies while they’re here.
The “drop and leave” phenomenon of coming to the U.S. to have a baby and then returning to their home country is a phenomenon more likely among wealthy people -- who come into the country legally for a short stay, have their babies, do a little shopping or visit a spa, and then go home. Most of these patients come from Asia and the Middle East, and it’s impossible to tell whether they are coming for superior medical care or so their children can be American citizens.
According to the Los Angeles Times: “While some have children in the U.S. to gain economic advantages, Southern California has seen a boom in so-called maternity tourism, often involving well-to-do pregnant women from Asia who are in the United States legally.... In the San Gabriel Valley and some other parts of Southern California, birthing hotels are an open secret. Because it is not in and of itself illegal for a foreign national to give birth in the United States, birth tourism businesses for years have openly announced their services.”
Children have no voice of their own. They rely on adults to speak for them.
By using the phrase “anchor babies” to describe children born to immigrant parents in the United States, we take away what little voice they might have or someday achieve -- and allow ourselves to think of them simply as numbers or as things.
As the Los Angeles Times points out, the “loaded term ‘anchor babies’ conceals complex issues.”
Whatever the answers are to the questions of legal citizenship, and they are complex to be sure, almost all of the talk has been about these babies. They are being treated like political footballs.
But these are just babies -- children whose true birthright is the very best that the world has to offer regardless of where or to whom they were born, and who are incapable of speaking or acting on their own behalf. The question which the gospel writer Mark raises for the Christian church today is this: “Who will speak not just about them, but for them? Who will be their voice?”
In the Scriptures
In this week’s gospel lection, Mark introduces us to two people who could not speak for themselves.
The Syrophoenician lady is rendered mute by her gender and her ethnicity; she is a woman and a Gentile, both of which make her unapproachable by Jewish men. Her daughter is even more voiceless -- not only is she a child, but she is also female, Gentile, and demonically infected.
Jesus himself is aware of the voiceless status of the woman and her daughter and voices it for the crowd to hear, even referring to people such as she as less than human, like a dog.
But the woman refuses to be muted. She speaks up and defies the prejudices and traditions that would take away her voice: “Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
In most healing stories it is the person’s faith that makes them whole -- but this woman shows no inclination to accept Jesus as the Jewish messiah. She only knows him to be a healer, and it is for that gift that she has come to him.
It is not her faith that heals her daughter, it is her voice: “For saying that, you may go,” says Jesus, “the demon has left your daughter.” Her voice has given her power and has made her daughter well.
The man from Decapolis is physically disabled -- both deaf and mute -- and probably also a Gentile... unclean on both counts. He is brought to Jesus by the people of the community (probably his friends and family) not for spiritual reasons, but for physical healing.
Jesus takes the man aside, away from the crowd, and speaks quietly to him. Then he performs a healing ritual, says “be opened,” and the man can hear and speak.
Jesus tells the man and those who brought him to tell no one of this healing -- but that is an absurd request. What shall they say when the man returns home and can obviously hear and speak, when just an hour earlier he couldn’t?
No, a person who is given a voice is like a bell that cannot be unrung, a genie that can’t be put back in the bottle. The more Jesus ordered them not to proclaim it (whatever the reason), the more and the louder they did just that.
Mark tells us the story of Jesus giving voice to those who had none, and in doing so provides an example for his church, the first-century Christian church of Rome, and for our church as well.
Giving voice to the voiceless is part of what it means to be Christians.
In the Pulpit
As an aspiring writer of fiction, one of the first things I learned was the necessity of giving the narrators of my stories a distinctive voice. All good writers know the importance of this.
Author Evan Hunter was a master of the storyteller’s voice. His real name was Salvatore Albert Lombino, but he wrote under six pseudonyms. His first and most literary voice was Evan Hunter, a name which he adopted legally as his own and under which he wrote 22 novels -- the most famous being The Blackboard Jungle -- as well as several screenplays, notably the one for Alfred Hitchock’s classic film The Birds. Evan Hunter’s voice was educated, articulate, refined, and well-read.
He also wrote more than 50 police procedural novels about the detectives of the fictional 87th precinct. These were written under the name of Ed McBain, whose voice was gruff, masculine, hard, and often cynical.
He also wrote western, crime, and science fiction short stories as well as several plays under the names of Curt Cannon, Ezra Hannon, Hunt Collins, and Richard Marsten, each with his own distinctive voice.
Hunter knew what all fiction writers sooner or later learn -- and that is that every writer has to have a distinctive voice when telling a story... and every character must have one too. A writer can describe a character from head to toe, but the character doesn’t become a real person until we hear him or her speak. It is their voice that makes them real.
It is often thus with flesh-and-blood human beings. It is their voices that make them real to us, and sometimes even to themselves. Our voices are one of the things that make us uniquely and authentically human, and it is in giving voice to the voiceless that we lift them up and help them become the human beings God made them to be.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Getting Into Our Ears
by Chris Keating
Mark 7:31-37
Another week, another indescribable act of violence.
Yet somehow this one feels different. Despite a summer filled with gun violence, the murder in Roanoke, Virginia, of WDBJ journalist Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward seems a bit different. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly.
Maybe it’s because the entire event unfolded on live television. We’re not used to watching stories about our hometown chamber of commerce transformed into live-action vicious murder.
Maybe it was the video of Parker’s horrifying screams, or the shooter’s point-of-view video of the event... or perhaps knowing that Parker and Ward’s producer and editor were catching a glimpse of the shooting back at the studio’s control room. One of them could see what viewers could not -- Ward’s camera bouncing on the ground, his wristwatch ticking but his arm not moving. “I said, Adam’s dead,” the editor told reporters. “I saw a figure. I saw sparks. And I saw this coward shoot him point blank.”
Maybe what is different this time is the collision of two enshrined American freedoms -- the freedom of the press and the right to bear arms. In Charleston we watched as the freedom to worship became entangled with the right to carry a gun, but that wasn’t broadcast live. Perhaps it is different because the accused shooter, Vester Flanagan, took pains to document the shooting across social media.
Or maybe it is different because this time we can’t stop hearing the sounds of gunfire.
Tens of thousands of Americans die by acts of gun violence annually, yet somehow the Virginia shootings feel different. We’ve become so accustomed to television news reporting on gun violence; yet this time the reporters are the story. This time someone has opened our ears.
But will anyone listen?
In the News
On Wednesday, 24-year-old reporter Alison Parker and her videographer Adam Ward, 27, were killed while conducting a live interview in Smith Mountain, Virginia. Also injured was Vicki Gardner, the chamber of commerce executive who was being interviewed. Gardner has survived and continues to recover, but her husband said the bullet came “centimeters” from ending her life.
As the gunman fired, viewers caught glimpses of the tragedy before the station cut away to a shocked anchor. Employees in the control room of the Roanoke ABC news affiliate were able to see an image of the man with a gun, and instantly identified him as former station employee Vester Lee Flanagan -- known on air as Bryce Williams.
“I knew Adam was gone because I saw it,” WDBJ editor Michael Episcopo said. “And I had to look at it over and over again because it was my job to give a copy to police and give a copy to us and give a copy to our legal team. And I watched my friend die eight or nine times in a row.”
As news of the shooting bounced across the nation, the familiar refrains of an old debate were resurrected. Voices on both sides of the gun control issue began using the incident to promote their cause. What causes these senseless acts -- dangerous people or dangerous weapons?
For Alison Parker’s father, the answer to that question is tougher gun laws. Hours after her death, Andy Parker called for strong control measures during an interview with Fox News: “Everybody that she touched loved her, and she loved everybody back. I’m not going to let this issue drop. We’ve got to do something about crazy people getting guns.” Parker said.
Alison’s mother indicated that she will not be shouted down by the gun lobby: “We cannot be intimidated, we cannot be pushed aside, we cannot be told that this fight has been fought before and that we’re just one more grieving family trying to do something.”
The NRA doesn’t see the issue as so cut-and-dried. Internet commentator and pro-gun lobbyist Colion Noir warned Parker’s parents about becoming so “emotional” in response to their daughter’s death. While expressing his condolences, Noir said it is never appropriate to allow grief to dictate policy. In a video posted on YouTube, Noir said: “[S]ometimes in a fight we can become so emotional everyone and thing starts looking like the enemy, even if they’re there to help us. I’m deeply sorry for your loss.”
The NRA has suggested establishing a national database in order to track “lunatics” who should not be allowed to purchase weapons. President Obama, on the other hand, has urged the United States to follow Australia’s example in banning automatic and semi-automatic weapons. According to NPR, Australia has not had a mass shooting since it enacted legislation in 1996, while the United States has had a mass shooting approximately every two weeks. And 2015 has been the deadliest yet.
There is fear among mental health professionals that stigmatizing persons with serious mental health issues could hamper progress in mental health treatment. NRA folks point out that there are already many controls in effect.
And on and on it goes. While we do not yet have national consensus on what should be done, there is convincing evidence that in the case of the Virginia shooting the perpetrator was a deeply troubled person. “I’ve been a human powder keg for a while... just waiting to go BOOM!” Flanagan said in a statement he faxed to ABC news. Flanagan had been fired from an on-air position at WDBJ, and he wrote that he was troubled by the racially motivated shootings in Charleston this summer and that he had been bullied for being gay.
For their part, Flanagan’s family has expressed their sorrow and a desire for privacy:
It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we express our deepest condolences to the families of Alison Parker and Adam Ward. We are also praying for the recovery of Vicki Gardner. Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with the victims’ families and the WDBJ7 news family. Words cannot express the hurt that we feel for the victims. Our family is asking that the media respect our privacy.
In the Scriptures
In the second half of this week’s gospel lesson, Jesus brings healing to a deaf man. Mark 7:31-37 elaborates Jesus’ mission to declare the good news of God, even to the extent of Jesus’ circuitous route through Gentile territory along the Sea of Galilee. It’s hard to imagine exactly why Mark narrates such a strange route, though some suggest it is Mark’s way of signifying the inclusiveness Jesus’ ministry represents.
Jesus takes the man out of the public thoroughfare and into a private space (v. 33). This could be another example of Mark’s “messianic” secret in play, or it could suggest something else. Jesus’ act of healing the man in private leads to the man being able to re-enter society. When Jesus “opens” (“Ephphatha”) his ears, it seems as though Jesus is not so worried about hiding the man’s disability, but rather about gaining his attention. The result is that what the man hears first is the voice of Christ speaking to him, and not the other distractions that would have surrounded him -- no chatter, no street noises, no dogs barking. Jesus opens his ears so that he might hear the Son of God speaking to him.
Boundaries are broken: Jesus’ unclean hands are mixed with spittle, and the man hears. It is nearly a commentary on 7:15 -- there is nothing outside of a person that defiles (see Bernard Brandon Scott, “Exegetical Perspective, Mark 7:31-37,” in Feasting on the Gospels: Mark [Westminster/John Knox Press, 2015], p. 213). It’s an extraordinary moment.
Moving forward in Mark, the healing stories will have recurring themes of blindness or deafness. Jesus will powerfully integrate those on the margins of society back into community, demonstrating God’s gift of new life. While adjured to remain silent, the deaf man and his companions immediately begin to proclaim what they have witnessed. They can no longer remain silent: in Jesus Christ there is the new work that God is doing. Even the ears of those who could not hear are opened.
What remains to be noticed is whether or not anyone is listening.
In the Pulpit
It’s time that the church begins to declare what it has seen and heard and witnessed in Jesus Christ. This story in Mark is designed to open our ears so that we might hear the sounds of Jesus speaking to us. Throughout Mark, we have seen Jesus bring life to a little girl at death’s door, and have watched as a woman with an unstoppable hemorrhage received healing. We have witnessed Jesus being challenged to respond to a woman not from his own people, and have heard him tell of sowers going out to spread seed. The question from this text is “Has he touched our ears as well?”
And if so, to what are we listening?
The sound of this summer’s cascading accounts of gun violence are screeching in our ears -- from the shooting in Charleston; to the death of a little girl doing her homework in Ferguson, Missouri; to the on-camera deaths of two young journalists. Yet we do not speak as though Jesus has taken us away in private and touched our ears. Instead we hash over old, tired debates that keep our culture frozen in fear. Perhaps we need to learn the practice of following Jesus into private places so that our ears may be opened.
Every community has its stories about gun violence that can be shared. This is not a debate about the freedom to carry a weapon. Instead, it is a chance for the church of Jesus Christ to open its ears to the words Jesus speaks to us now -- for it is only when our ears are touched by God’s gracious initiative that we will be able to proclaim the Good News.
It’s time to let Jesus start messing with our ears.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Mark 7:24-37
Being More Like Deaf People
When Jesus heals someone, the physical healing is only one dimension of the experience. There is also always a level of greater understanding and wisdom. We can experience that even without the physical transformation. For example, Bruno Kahne travels around the world teaching hearing people to communicate more like deaf people. He notes that thousands of articles have been written about the “handicap” of being deaf and what deaf people can learn from people who can hear, but almost none about the reverse -- what hearing people can learn from our deaf neighbors. As Kahne says, “Hearing people can see deaf people in two different ways: either as people who have lost something -- their hearing -- or as people who have gained something -- the ability to communicate without sound.” He observes that deaf people have skills that hearing people could learn. Among them: “Deaf people talk one at a time, in a very sequential manner. Hearing people talk all at the same time, and often interrupt one another”; and “Deaf people stay focused on the interaction. Hearing people disconnect regularly.”
Kahne adds that he “received an e-mail from a deaf person who told me that after reading my article, for the first time of his life, he understood who he was.” The deaf man saw himself in a new way, with a new sense of his own abilities.
*****
Mark 7:24-37
Determined Mothers
The woman who meets Jesus and begs for healing for her daughter evokes the determination of many mothers to make life better for their children. With all of the political firestorm recently over the term “anchor babies,” the Los Angeles Times reports on “maternity tourism,” women of means who travel to the U.S. to have children here. These are not poor women struggling across the border from Mexico, but “well-to-do pregnant women from Asia who are in the United States legally. Last year, federal agents targeted three Southern California businesses that helped pregnant Chinese women travel to the U.S., usually on tourist visas, so their children could be born U.S. citizens.”
The article continues: “Because it is not in and of itself illegal for a foreign national to give birth in the United States, birth tourism businesses for years have openly announced their services. A website called ChineseInLA.com has more than 100 listings for maternity hotels in Arcadia, Irvine, Rowland Heights, Monterey Park, and other local cities, with names such as USLoveBaby and Star Baby Care Center.” Immigration officials have been working to crack down on the practice.
The stories of real people are always more complex than the headlines: “Nancy Flores... whose parents are Mexican immigrants, said she had never heard of the term ‘anchor baby’ until her brother texted her this week after hearing that Trump had used the term. Although Flores’ parents gave birth to her soon after they were able to legalize their status when President Reagan signed an amnesty bill in the 1980s, she said she took offense to the term because her parents came to the country without legal status. Flores, who said her parents didn’t come with the intention of having children in the U.S., said she’s not a political person but does have an opinion. All the talk, she said, will bring people like herself to the polls.”
*****
Mark 7:24-37
Foreign Customs
When Jesus encounters the Syrophoenician woman, she is foreign to him on several levels -- gender for one, plus her status as a Gentile. The area where she lives was conquered by the Greeks, who left people behind as landowners, and then later by the Romans, who brought their own customs to the area.
When meeting people from other places, knowing their customs can be instructive. A business magazine highlights unusual customs from other countries. In Russia, being on time is very important: “Being on time to a business meeting in Russia is of the utmost importance. At least for one party, that is. While Americans are expected to arrive not a second after the meeting’s scheduled time, Russians feel free to show up as late as they desire and are unapologetic about it. The move is designed to test the patience of their U.S. counterparts.”
In Brazil, prepare to have someone stand very close: “Expect a complete invasion of personal space if doing business in Brazil. While it could be considered impolite in the U.S., in Brazil it is customary to stand extremely close and use lots of physical contact while talking. While the normal reaction might be to back away, those who do risk losing out on a potential business relationship, since it is considered disrespectful.”
And in Spain, time is considered more elastic: “While deadlines are usually considered firm dates in the U.S., the same can’t be said in Spain. When doing business with Spaniards, U.S. business owners shouldn’t expect deadlines to be made on a regular basis. While they won’t set out to purposefully miss deadlines, those in Spain view them more as a guideline and not as something that is frowned upon if missed. Americans shouldn’t be insulted by this, but instead should schedule these potential delays into any timelines.”
Our neighbors around the world have interesting things to teach us, just as the woman teaches something to Jesus.
*****
Mark 7:24-37
Spare Change?
The Syrophoenician woman who meets Jesus insists that even the scraps from the table will be enough for her daughter’s healing. In a similar way, British Airways has a use for the foreign coins people bring back from a trip. For 15 years, the airline has collected leftover money from passengers who don’t want the bother of holding onto it at home. All those coins have added up to 27 million British pounds, and have been channeled by UNICEF to places that need aid. As the airline says, “The partnership raises approximately £1.3 million each year.... Change for Good encourages British Airways customers to donate spare change and foreign currency on every flight via envelopes which are in the seatback pockets or headset packs. Change for Good has funded projects in 58 countries and has supported all areas of UNICEF’s work.... The first country to benefit from monies raised through the program was Tanzania, where Change for Good money was invested in health, education, and HIV prevention programs. Change for Good money is also vital in helping UNICEF’s work in emergencies.”
Leftovers can go a long way.
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From team member Ron Love:
Mark 7:24-37
The church I presently attend, Highland Park United Methodist Church in Florence, South Carolina, recently celebrated its 58th birthday, having held its first worship service on August 25, 1957. The original sanctuary, which is now used as a fellowship hall, was built to resemble Noah’s Ark. The founders did this because they considered the ark to be symbolic of the church. As the birthday letter to the congregation from the current pastor read: “God saves his people through the water, and offers new life. All are safe inside and all are included.” (Note: This story can be personalized by saying “A friend shared with me...”)
Application: Our lesson today reports of Jesus and his healing ministry. Jesus “spat” and placed it on the man’s tongue, and water has always been a biblical symbol of healing. As Jesus healed both individuals who were brought to him, all are safe in his presence.
*****
Mark 7:24-37
Juan Romero was the busboy at the Ambassador Hotel who cradled Robert Kennedy’s head after he was shot on the night of June 5, 1968 -- he didn’t want the senator’s head resting on the cold concrete floor. For the next several days, Romero went to school with Kennedy’s blood still under his fingernails. Now, at the age of 65, Romero has finally been able to forgive himself -- having always wondered whether, if Kennedy hadn’t taken the time to shake a young busboy’s hand, he might never have been shot.
Application: An exorcism may come in many forms. One could be exorcising our guilt.
*****
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir Fun Home is again at the center of a college controversy. Bechdel is a lesbian, and her book discusses her sexual confusion while growing up as well as other difficult family issues she encountered. Last year controversy erupted in South Carolina when the book was assigned as required reading for incoming freshmen at the College of Charleston, with the state legislature protesting the selection by cutting the school’s funding by $50,000, the cost of the college’s reading program. This year the book is required reading for incoming freshmen at Duke University, but some Christian students are boycotting the program to register their objections to the selection. Laura Turner, a columnist for the Religion News Service, wrote in support of the book, saying: “Reading things we disagree with is part of becoming an adult, and certainly part of becoming a college student.”
Application: Proverbs is a book of wisdom, and wisdom does come from understanding other points of view. Wisdom will be shorted if one only reads the Bible and Christian literature.
*****
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
The United States problem with Muslim extremists is not new -- as president, Thomas Jefferson had to send the U.S. Navy to protect merchant ships from the Barbary pirates off the coast of North Africa. But before Jefferson made his decision on how to deal with the national crisis, he read the entire Quran so he could better understand how Muslims think.
Application: Wisdom comes not only from the Bible, but also by being well-informed.
*****
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Reba Riley just published a book titled Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome. It is a memoir on how she went from a “former evangelical poster child” to an adult at the age of 33 who views the church as simplistic, shallow, anti-science, and judgmental. She identifies “post-traumatic church syndrome” (PTCS) as what she and most millennials who are disillusioned must deal with. In her recovery program she sampled 30 religions before she was 30, and did not find one that she could adhere to. Riley’s doctrine now is simply “Love God; love people. Love, period.”
Application: It was good for Riley to search for a religion she could adhere to, but absent of a meaningful doctrine she is like those described in Proverbs who could not hear the call of wisdom.
*****
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
All presidential candidates say things that are best left unsaid. Hillary Clinton made such a mistake at a recent campaign event in Cleveland, Ohio. The Democratic front-runner considers Republicans to be hostile to women. While referring to their positons on social issues, she said: “We expect that from some of the terrorist groups.” (Note: Comments by other candidates may be shared in a way that does not show partiality from the pulpit.)
Application: Our lesson from Proverbs speaks to the importance of having integrity, and for Clinton to engage in hyperbole by comparing her opponents to Muslim terrorists calls that into question.
*****
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Nearly 500 years ago Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic church for his opposition to many of its doctrines. This is most famously recounted with his posting of his 95 Theses. Recognizing his contributions to the faith, the Vatican is now supporting a plan to rename a square in Rome in Luther’s honor. The location, on Oppian Hill overlooking the Colosseum, will be officially named Piazza Martin Lutero.
Application: Our lesson from Proverbs calls us to be people of integrity, and part of that process can be correcting a five-century-old wrong.
*****
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17
At the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the panda Mei Xiang has given birth to two cubs. Whenever there is a multiple birth, the mother panda will only nurse and care for one cub -- allowing the other to die. This is because the adult panda lacks the dexterity to handle more than one cub. The veterinarians at the zoo have solved this problem by alternating which cub is taken to Mei Xiang, allowing each to be nursed and nurtured. (Unfortunately, one of the cubs did not survive.)
Application: James gives very clear instructions about people being treated equally.
*****
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17; Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Christians in India are being forced to convert to Hinduism. There is a social boycott against Christians, with Christians constantly being threatened with physical harm. Sometimes up to 600 Hindus stand outside a church to prevent worship, and groups of one to 50 Christians are often taken by Hindus and forced to participate in a “homecoming” service to Hinduism called the Ghar Vapsi service. Part of the service requires participants to drink water from the sacred Ganges River. Prior to the service Christians are forced to sign a paper that reads, “I am willing to be a Hindu.”
Application: James speaks of treating people equally, something the Ghar Vapsi service does not demonstrate. Proverbs speaks of not acting unjustly.
*****
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17; Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Aleem and Nadia Masih of Pakistan were married a year ago. Nadia was a Muslim who converted to her husband’s religion of Christianity. The Quran instructs that those who leave the Islamic religion are infidels and that the punishment is death. Aleem and Nadia, fearful of threats from Nadia’s family, set out to live in a neighboring city. En route Nadia’s father and brothers captured them and took them to a barn. After both were brutally beaten, they were murdered. Aleem was shot three times, once in the ankle, the ribs, and the face. Nadia was shot in the abdomen. Before she died, she told the police who found her what occurred. But since honor killings are permitted by the Quran, no arrests were made.
Application: James speaks of treating people equally, something the Quran does not demonstrate. Proverbs speaks of not acting unjustly.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Those who trust in God are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved.
People: Those who trust in God are like Mount Zion, which abides forever.
Leader: As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so God surrounds us.
People: God’s presence surrounds us from this time on and forevermore.
Leader: Do good, O God, to those who are good.
People: Do good, O God, to those who are upright in their hearts.
OR
Leader: Let us worship the God who desires to commune with us.
People: Praise to you, O God, who lives in and among us.
Leader: God treasures the time we spend in prayer and meditation.
People: Those times are precious in our sight as well.
Leader: God gives us voices to speak for those who cannot.
People: We will their voices and seek justice and mercy for all.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“All Creatures of Our God and King”
found in:
UMH: 62
H82: 400
PH: 455
AAHH: 147
NNBH: 33
NCH: 17
CH: 22
LBW: 527
ELA: 835
W&P: 23
AMEC: 50
STLT: 203
Renew: 47
“God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale”
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
W&P: 29
“Every Time I Feel the Spirit”
found in:
UMH: 404
PH: 315
AAHH: 325
NNBH: 485
NCH: 282
CH: 592
W&P: 481
STLT: 208
“Take Time to Be Holy”
found in:
UMH: 395
NNBH: 306
CH: 572
W&P: 483
AMEC: 286
“O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee”
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659, 660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
“Be Thou My Vision”
found in:
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELA: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
“Lord, Speak to Me”
found in:
UMH: 463
PH: 426
NCH: 531
ELA: 676
W&P: 593
“Near to the Heart of God”
found in:
UMH: 472
PH: 527
NNBH: 316
CH: 581
AMEC: 322
“We Are His Hands”
found in:
CCB: 85
“Make Me a Servant”
found in:
CCB: 90
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 speaks for and listens to your children: Grant us the grace to spend time in conversation with you and the courage to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to worship you, O God, for you desire to be with us. Help us to spend more time listening to you so that our hearts might be attuned to your heart of love. Give us compassion and courage to speak for those whose voices are not heard. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to listen to God and to speak up for others.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have spent too much time listening to unimportant chatter on the television and not near enough time sharing our lives with you. When we do pray, it is more often to ask for things rather than to listen for your voice. We know you want us to share our cares with you, but we forget that you also want to speak to us. Help us to become more attentive to your voice and to spend more time listening for it. Amen.
Leader: God does love us and desires to be in communion with us. Receive God’s love and forgiveness, and listen for God’s words of care and instruction.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
Praise and glory are yours, O God, for you come to be in communion with your children.
(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 have spent too much time listening to unimportant chatter on the television and not near enough time sharing our lives with you. When we do pray, it is more often to ask for things rather than to listen for your voice. We know you want us to share our cares with you, but we forget that you also want to speak to us. Help us to become more attentive to your voice and to spend more time listening for it.
We give you thanks for all the blessings of this life. We thank you for your love and grace and for your desire to share our lives.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We lift up to you those whose voices are not heard and who are denied the justice and mercy you desire for them. Help us to have the courage to speak up 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
What if you went to play with your best friend and he/she acted like you were not even there? What if when you tried to talk to him/her, and she/he acted like he/she just didn’t hear you? What if your parents just stopped talking to you? That would be terrible. God is also our loving parent and wants to be our friend. God wants us to talk together. That is what prayer is all about. God wants us to share and talk about our hopes and fears.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Showing Love, Living Faith
by Leah Lonsbury
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17
Ask the children to think about someone who loves them very much. What memories come to mind when they think about that person? How do they know that person loves them? Hopefully they’ll share about tangible acts of love, kindness, and generosity. If not, ask them how you would be able to tell that that person loves them. What would you see if you observed them together?
Share a story from your own life, your congregation (with permission), your community, or the news that demonstrates the love of one person for another or a group of people for another group of people in ways that are tangible or can be observed. These are the ways we can see, understand, and experience love.
Share that this is what the writer of James is getting at in this week’s epistle text. He says we would each do well to “love your neighbor as yourself.” This kind of love or faith, according to James, has to be seen and experienced by the people we are loving and serving. It’s how we communicate that love and faith to the world and God’s children.
Ask the children whether, if they had never seen you dribble a ball or make a basket, they would believe you if you told them you were really a star basketball player. Ask them if they would believe that you’re a talented chef if they had never seen you cook or tasted your food. Ask them if they would believe that you love God and want to follow Jesus if you don’t show that love in ways they can see and experience. Ask them to think about ways they can make their faith “live” (because, as James says, faith without is dead) in their everyday lives. Ask for examples.
Prayer: Loving God, help us to make our faith in and our love for you come alive in the ways we act and speak and move through your world. Show us ways to help your love be seen through us and in our visible acts of loving kindness toward one another. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, September 6, 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.
