Who Watches The Watchers?
Children's sermon
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One of the main themes in the lectionary scripture texts for Proper 7 is the importance of truth-telling and proclaiming all that God has done for us, even when doing so puts us in very uncomfortable situations. The prophet Elijah has done yeoman work, standing up to the Israelites who "have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword" (1 Kings 19:10), but when his life is threatened by Jezebel he retreats into the wilderness and asks the Lord to let him die. God will have none of it, however, and sends Elijah back into the fray. In the gospel passage, Jesus sends the healed demoniac back home with instructions to "declare how much God has done for you" (Luke 8:39), even though the Gerasenes are clearly distressed by the turn of events and likely hostile to the message.
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer suggests that the plight of Elijah and the man Jesus heals echo those of whistleblowers in our society, who risk serious, life-altering consequences by speaking truth to power. Whether or not one views NSA leaker Edward Snowden as a true whistleblower -- and there is intense disagreement over whether the term is appropriate in his case -- once Snowden and others like him such as Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, or former tobacco executive Jeffrey Wigand make the decision to leak sensitive documents and speak out publicly, their lives are turned completely upside down. These people speak out to expose what they view as malfeasance conducted in secret by large government and corporate entities. But, as Dean notes, how we view them seems to turn largely on the degree to which one trusts these institutions -- we want to know that those watching over us are also being kept honest. President Obama and other officials have defended the NSA's secret activities by reminding us of the need to be proactive in a dangerous world, and by assuring us that there are safeguards in place to protect Americans' constitutional rights. But one of Snowden's chief allegations is that the NSA and its contractors routinely ignore these safeguards. Many Americans, reflexively distrustful of the government, are outraged by the notion of the government "spying" into our lives and communications. Dean observes, however, that it ought to give us pause that more of our personal information is routinely compiled by private companies such as Google than by the government. While we may have good reason to be suspicious of human motives, though, each of this week's texts clearly outline why we have every reason to give God our full faith and trust -- and to proclaim it proudly, no matter how difficult a situation into which that may lead us.
Team member Chris Keating offers some additional thoughts on the gospel text and the reaction of the Gerasene townspeople to Jesus' healing of the demoniac. Stoked by fear of the unknown, they are unable to deal with the new paradigm Jesus offers -- so they ask Jesus to move along and stop disturbing the peace. Their response to Jesus seems quite similar to many people in our society, who react to new realities by attempting to contain them and withdrawing into the familiarity of the status quo. Rather than invest their faith and trust in God by embracing Jesus, the town folk try to remove the problem -- and Chris notes how it parallels the reaction of many people in our culture who try to avoid the unpleasant realities of a changing society. Though we are a more diverse society than ever, we are also in many ways becoming increasingly balkanized and tribalized as we seek out connections with those who look like us, think like us, and act like us. For Christians, the questions may be: Are we ready to give our complete faith to God? Or when we confront him in new and uncomfortable ways, will we ask him (like the Gerasene populace) to go find another church?
Who Watches the Watchers?
by Dean Feldmeyer
1 Kings 19:1-15a
First thing when I wake up
and right before I close my eyes at night,
I think,
sense,
feel, man, like
I'm under some kind of microscope.
Satellites over my head,
transmitters in my dollars,
hawking, watching, scoping, jocking,
scrutinizing me,
checking to see what I'm doing.
Where I be,
who I see,
how and where and with whom I make my money.
What is this?
-- from "Watching Me" by Jill Scott
Everyone is watching everyone, it seems.
The NSA's computers are watching our phone calls for "keywords".
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Facebook are keeping track of our emails and searches so they can target us for advertising.
But who's gonna watch the watchers? Which ones are we going to trust?
In the News
Last week I got a mailer from my local supermarket offering me coupons on the things I buy. They know I buy these things because every time I buy them I use my special member card to get a discount.
Week after week we watch Tim McGee on NCIS tap a few keys on a computer keyboard... and behold, he has before him every jot and tittle of a person's personal life -- bank records, phone conversations, credit card purchases, internet searches -- neatly arranged on his computer screen.
Yet last week we were shocked -- shocked! -- to read in the headlines that the computers at the National Security Administration (NSA) have been monitoring millions of hours of American phone calls, listening for key words or phrases that may or may not be linked to terrorist activity and upon which they might or might not follow up.
CBS News analyst and former FBI deputy director John Miller explained on the CBS Morning News that the broad scope of listening being done by the NSA goes back further than 9/11/01. We have come to realize that our world is unsafe. The Oklahoma City bombing, the shocking assault of 9/11, and more recently the Boston Marathon bombing have unsettled us.
It's not that we don't want "Big Brother," says Miller. We want Big Brother but we want him to watch out for us, not watch us. The key question is: Can we have one without the other?
According to a Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll, "62% of Americans now say it's more important for the government to investigate terrorist threats, even if those investigations intrude on personal privacy." Specifically, "56% of Americans consider the NSA's accessing of telephone call records of millions of Americans through secret court orders 'acceptable,' while 41% call the practice 'unacceptable.' "
Of course, these figures shift and change depending on who's doing the watching (or listening). Republicans tend to trust other Republicans, and Democrats trust Democrats. Generally, we Americans are okay with the fact that someone is watching, as long as someone else is watching the watchers.
Glenn Greenwald, the reporter who broke the story of Edward Snowden's NSA leak, put it this way in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper:
Nobody doubts that the government has the right to keep some secrets. And we [Greenwald and Snowden] are keeping some secrets. We're not disclosing the technical means by which the NSA spies on people, to enable other countries to replicate or evade it. We're not disclosing the names of people at whom this spying has been directed. But what the government doesn't have the right to do is to implement incredibly consequential policies that affect the world in which we live and the kind of country that we are without any accountability or transparency.
And if all that isn't worrisome enough, there's this: The NSA's watching and listening is kid's stuff, says author Scott Cleland in his book Search and Destroy: Why You Can't Trust Google. When comparing Google's massive data collecting power to that of the NSA, says Cleland, there's no comparison. "Which agency has more personal information about Americans, the NSA or Google? Google, without a question."
In the Scriptures
If you go to YouTube and do a search for "God's Radar," you'll find versions of the song performed by the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Dixie Hummingbirds. "God's radar is fixed on you," they say, "everywhere you go."
In this week's lesson from the Hebrew scriptures, Elijah experiences firsthand how it feels to be locked onto by God's radar.
This story continues from the passage three weeks ago (1 Kings 18:20-39), when Elijah triumphed in the contest between himself and the prophets of Baal. You will recall that YHWH won that contest in a walk, consuming the sacrifice, the wood, the altar, the water around the altar, and pretty much everything in the vicinity of the altar.
Elijah, overwhelmed by the Lord's demonstration of power, fell upon the prophets of Baal and killed them with the sword -- forgetting that their sponsor was none other than the very powerful queen, Jezebel. When King Ahab tells his wife what Elijah has done, she is furious and puts out a contract on his life.
A despondent Elijah flees to the wilderness, where he attempts to commit suicide by simply lying down under a tree to die. But the Lord is having none of that. God sends an angel to prepare food and drink for the prophet, who then flees 40 days further into the wilderness -- all the way to Mount Horeb where he takes up residence in a cave.
It is from the mouth of this cave where Elijah is treated to a show of power and might by YHWH, but even in all of that power and might -- tornado, earthquake, wildfire -- he does not hear the voice of God. Finally, all is dead silent, and it is in the silence that he hears God's voice:
"What are you doing here, Elijah?" Emphasis on "doing" or on "here"? The print does not say.
Elijah answers as he has before, with a list of complaints that any pastor with even a few years of experience would find familiar: The people are awful, they worship false gods, they have killed other ministers, and now they're trying to kill me.
God's response: It's time to get back to work.
The Lord God is that one watcher who truly is watching out for us. God is that one watcher who can be trusted to watch with our best welfare in mind.
In the Pulpit
"You are being watched. The government has a secret system -- a machine -- that spies on you every hour of every day. I know, because I built it. I designed the machine to detect acts of terror, but it sees everything -- violent crimes involving ordinary people, people like you; crimes the government considered irrelevant. They wouldn't act, so I decided I would. But I needed a partner, someone with the skills to intervene. Hunted by the authorities, we work in secret. You'll never find us. But victim or perpetrator, if your number's up, we'll find you."
That's the opening narration from the hit television show Person of Interest, and it pretty much sums up what the show is about. A tech genius named Harold Finch develops a giant computer that collects billions of bits of data from all over the United States and analyzes it for meaning. Intended to sniff out terrorist plots, the computer is also able to predict with uncanny accuracy when certain people are about to be involved in a violent crime -- only it can't discern whether the person it identifies is going to be the victim or the perpetrator.
Interestingly, the government isn't really all that concerned with the problems of individual people and violent crimes -- it is focused solely on terror threats. Responding to other crimes would give away the fact that the government is watching... and that can never happen. So Finch, the inventor of "the machine," creates a backdoor into the computer's program, siphons off data, and recruits a burned-out CIA operative to help him use its predicting ability to fight crime.
Of course, there are complications having to do with corrupt government officials who want to use "the machine" for their own nefarious purposes, but the really fascinating thing about this series is the audience reaction.
Audiences love it! As a people, we tend to love a story where someone with more power and more ability than we have is looking out for us. It goes all the way back to the Robin Hood stories that emerged from the folk ballads of the Middle Ages.
No matter how capable and skilled we are, it is a comfort to know that a benevolent someone even more capable and more skilled than we is watching out for us. Scripture tells us that someone is God. Maybe that's why we call God "Father."
SECOND THOUGHTS
Diving Pigs and Following Jesus
by Chris Keating
Luke 8:26-39
Any day now -- any minute, really -- change is coming.
Supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage are both waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling this week in two key cases dealing with marriage equality. The court's rulings are set to be released any day and could carry widespread implications. One case deals with the constitutionality of California's 2008 amendment (known as "Proposition 8") barring same-gendered couples from marrying. The other case seeks to challenge the federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996.
Even if the court does not recognize the right of gay couples to be married, change is still on its way. Recent surveys indicate 58% of Americans support marriage equality. There are now 12 states where same-sex marriage is legal and about half of all Americans now live in a place where some sort of relationship recognition law is in place for gay couples.
The question now becomes, "How do we respond to change?"
This is what makes the story of the healing of the Gerasene man so compelling. Luke 8:26-39 is more than a story of healing -- it is a story of being released from fear, and a story that invites us to tell what God has done for us. Jesus has come to proclaim release to the captives, and here acts decisively to bring God's healing grace to a man filled with a legion of demons. His wandering into Gentile territory is a reminder of God's expansive welcome. Yet the surrounding villagers are not ready to accept this new reality. Fearful of change, they shoo Jesus out of town. They'll deal with change -- when pigs fly.
It's a familiar response to the threat of change.
In the News
Not long after the Boston marathon bombings, Senator Charles Grassley linked debates with immigration reform to homeland security. A congressman from Texas warned about Islamic radicals trying to slip across the borders posing as Hispanics. Fear of unknown assailants and homegrown terrorists promotes suspicion of others, igniting anxious responses from voters. Yet, as an editorial in the New York Times suggested,
...the Boston events have nothing to do with immigration reform. Even if we stop accepting refugees and asylum seekers, stop giving out green cards, and devise a terror-profiling system that can bore into the hearts of 9-year-olds, which seems to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's age when he entered the United States, we will still face risks. And we will not have fixed immigration.
Anxiety created by a quickly changing world develops patterns of resistance. We hold on to the status quo, creating strategies of containment where our fears can be held until another time. And while it is easy enough to characterize such resistance as a conservative vs. liberal debate, the truth is that xenophobia is as old as scripture. It is a struggle that has been present in every society and every culture. Fear of the outsider encourages us to hold on to the chains of resistance.
Interestingly, one of America's founding fathers experienced the same tension. A recent ABC news piece recounted Benjamin Franklin's fears about German immigrants in 1753. His words sound as though they could be lifted from a contemporary cable TV commentary: "Few of their children in the country learn English.... The signs in our streets have inscriptions in both languages.... Unless the stream of their importation could be turned they will soon so outnumber us that all the advantages we have will not be able to preserve our language, and even our government will become precarious."
Immigration, changing definitions of marriage, and gun control are just some of the hotly contested issues that divide us today. Too often, fear seeps into the roots of these arguments, keeping us from embracing the vision of Jesus. Fear keeps us tethered to a chaotic world. It floods our lives with anxiety. It prevents us from opening ourselves fully to the good news of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. In contrast, Christ offers a creative response to the fragmented, isolating ways of fear and violence. He comes in the fulfillment of time, gathering God's people in from isolation.
In the Scriptures
Just prior to arriving in the land of the Gerasenes, Jesus ordered the chaotic sea, calming the disciples' fears (Luke 8:22-25). In the midst of the drenching storm, Jesus stills the winds and calms the waves. He asks the disciples, "Where is your faith?" Apparently the disciples are also learning what it means to place their full trust in God, a theme which Luke will explore more fully in the healing story.
The story explores Jesus' encounter with a man filled with demons. Matthew (8:28-34) and Mark (5:1-20) each tell the story a bit differently, but all three describe a man in great distress. The man is naked, homeless, and consigned to living in the places of death. He is an outcast, deeply feared by his community.
The story is vivid in its details. No sooner is Jesus out of the boat when he is greeted by the man's fearful cries: "What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me." The man is fearful -- despite recognizing Jesus' divinity, he is afraid Jesus has come only to continue the torture he has long experienced. The demons are also fearful -- they know what Jesus can do.
The man is nameless, known only by his condition. The demons have plagued him in body and soul, causing him to wound himself and wreak havoc in the neighborhood. He is the man parents tell their children to avoid at all costs. Afraid of his outrageous strength, the community had tried to contain him with chains and guards.
Yet containment will not work. Even when subdued by lock and key, the demons would manage to break the bonds and drive him into the wild. The community's strategy of containment has not worked.
Jesus is intent in bringing healing to the man. The demons will not surrender to Jesus, but instead beg to be cast into a herd of pigs grazing nearby. Luke's audience of Jewish Christians would have grinned at the humorous image of demons being sent into a bunch of unclean pigs! The pigs do not fly, of course. But they do rush down the hillside, into the very water where Jesus has just demonstrated God's authority.
Jesus' actions create economic uncertainty. Swine futures take a dive, literally, creating even more fear among the community. The villagers arrive, discovering Jesus having a conversation with the man who is now "clothed and in his right mind." They are seized with great fear and begin urging Jesus to leave their country at once. They are not ready for the sort of transformative presence that God can bring and are unwilling to let go of their fear.
The man, however, understands. He has witnessed the power of God that brings calm to chaos and sends our deepest fears sailing into the sea. For that reason, I think, Jesus sees that he will be a most effective witness among his own people. Jesus will not let him go with the disciples, but instead sends him back to his home so that he might declare all that God has done for him.
In the Sermon
Pigs do fly, or so it seems. They at least dive off cliffs, signaling the potent authority of God in a changing world. When changes come to this community, the people of the Gerasenes are invited to place their trust in the One who brings order out of chaos. They are called to let go of the fear that harbors suspicions about those who are different. With the disciples, they are called to a trusting faith.
Yet fear keeps them from responding. As Keith Nickle observes, "When fear intrudes and counsels caution and reserve, even rejection, there is just not much Jesus can do except to grieve and wonder what has happened to trusting faith" (Preaching the Gospel of Luke, p. 87).
Change is coming. Actually, it has already arrived. It seems that our response to the chaos around us may either be to let go of our fear and declare what God has done for us, or to retreat back to our strategies of containment, severing connections with those who are different and settling for something much less satisfying than the gospel of Jesus Christ.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Luke 8:26-39
The Supreme Court recently ruled unanimously that the isolation of DNA within the body cannot be patented. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing the court's opinion, noted that "A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent-eligible merely because it has been isolated." As a result of the decision, Myriad Genetics, the company which isolated two genes associated with breast cancer (BRCA 1 and BRCA 2), can no longer hold patents for use of the genes -- the DNA they discovered is public property. However, the court did rule that synthetic DNA created to prevent a disease can be patented "because it is not naturally occurring."
Application: Legion was possessed by demons. The demons of the seven deadly sins -- lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride -- are naturally occurring within all of us. And the cure is also available to all of us -- accepting the forgiveness of Christ.
* * *
1 Kings 19:1-15a
What began in 2011 as a peaceful demonstration protesting the autocratic rule of President Bashar Assad, has now evolved into a bloody civil war in Syria. To date more than 93,000 people have died, most of them civilians, and several million people have been displaced to countries beyond the borders of Syria. And it's become more than merely an uprising against an unpopular dictator -- it's now also a sectarian war between Shiite and Sunni Muslims as well as a proxy war for foreign powers, with Russia and Iran supporting Assad's regime while Israel and the United States support the rebels. The civil war is creating an unstable Middle East, as all bordering countries, including Turkey and the Palestinians, are involved.
Application: When the prophet of Jezebel confronted the God of Elijah, it was a sectarian war between two religious groups in Israel. And the people of Israel suffered as much as those in Syria are today.
* * *
1 Kings 19:1-15a
Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and Republican vice-presidential candidate, has criticized the current Democratic president and his party regarding their policy toward the civil war in Syria. She stated that until the president knows what he is doing regarding the Islamic country of Syria, "I say let Allah sort it out".
Application: It is often difficult to judge the foreign policy of the sitting president, but simplistic statements, judgments, and solutions must be avoided. Elijah, who was confronting a sectarian conflict between the Jews and opposing followers of Baal, was not going to let a god by any name sort it out. Elijah was going to follow the teachings of his God -- Yahweh -- and intervene on behalf of his people.
* * *
Galatians 3:23-29
A recent census report announced that in one generation, by the year 2043, whites will comprise a minority of the population. Currently those comprising the under-5 age group account for almost half of the population, and next year they will exceed 50% of that demographic. Further, non-Hispanic whites recorded more deaths than births last year. It is reported that 40% of newborns are to single mothers. With the decline of marriage, the growth in single-mother households is increasing for all ethnic groups, with the highest rate being among whites. Economically, not since 1970 has the gap between the rich and poor been so wide, making the ability to become a member of the middle-class extremely difficult.
Application: When Paul speaks that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, the forthcoming shift in national demographics will continue to challenge our concept of racial equality.
* * *
Galatians 3:23-29
As a result of the 2010 census, South Carolina has experienced enough population growth that it was able to secure an additional seat in Congress. The fastest growth is along the Atlantic coast. This region, which stretches from Hilton Head to Myrtle Beach, is the land of golf courses and beaches, known across the nation as a paradise for retirees. This is reflected by much of the state's population growth coming not come from births, but from people relocating along the Eastern shore. Beyond that strip of land, the interior of the state is declining in population and experiencing continued poverty.
Application: When Paul speaks that we are all one in Christ -- that there is neither slave nor free -- it is important that we do not have a myopic view of society. Though we can rejoice in the wealth and pleasures of the Atlantic coast of South Carolina, the state will not be void of free and slave until the problems of the interior part of the state are resolved.
* * *
From team member Mary Austin:
A Surprise for the Watcher
You never know what you might see when you watch closely. A few years ago, a mother watching a strange child at a birthday party suddenly had the feeling that she was watching her own daughter, who had supposedly burned to death in a fire as a baby. As The Guardian reported, "It was a dimple on a child's cheek that made the mother draw breath. Luzaida Cuevas was watching the face of a girl playing at a birthday party when something clicked. What she saw before her was her own face, her own dimples -- the girl could be none other than her daughter, the baby she was told had died six years ago."
The woman called the little girl over, told her she had gum in her hair, and pulled out some hair to use in a DNA test. The testing revealed that the little girl was indeed her daughter, presumed dead after a house fire destroyed her home. Instead, the girl had been kidnapped by an acquaintance and raised as her own daughter. Careful watching started the process that brought her daughter back to her true mother.
* * *
Watching Makes a Connection
Sometimes, watching attentively can begin an unusual connection.
At helpothers.org, a college student tells about stopping to watch a woman playing the piano in the ferry terminal. "I got off the college shuttle bus and started walking. That's when I heard piano music and singing rising above the noise of the people and the traffic. I walked a little slower so I could find out to where it was coming from. Through the crowd I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a carriage next to her. She was singing songs about love, keep on trying, and not underestimating the power within yourself. The way she was singing comforted me a bit. I stood there watching her play for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take courage to perform on your own in the middle of a crowded New York ferry terminal." The student listened attentively, and the piano player seemed to feel that watchfulness.
When the music stopped they began to talk, and the piano player said she was also a student in psychology. She played the piano in public to give people a lift and offered some advice to the college student. "You see, here's the problem," she explained. "The way you were walking, your head was down. Don't look defeated, because opportunity comes in different ways and if your head is down you might never see it. You should smile more... lift your head up."
The student says, "So after that we parted, my heart touched and lightened by a musical soul!" It all started by stopping to watch, instead of hurrying past.
* * *
From the SermonSuite archives:
Luke 8:26-39
It's a strange story, this healing of the demon-possessed man in the country of the Gerasenes. There is the man's wild behavior; the voice of not one but a legion of demons speaking through him; the herd of possessed pigs rushing over the cliff. But of all the unusual elements in the story, the strangest yet is something very simple and very human: the reaction of the townspeople.
They had heard tell of a healer so powerful that he could send 2,000 demons into a herd of pigs and run them off a cliff. And so they went to see this wonder-worker. Yet when they saw their local madman who was now healed, they were afraid.
They were afraid of a sane man. He'd given them plenty of reason to fear before -- to fear his uncontrollable behavior, to fear for the safety of their children, to fear that they too might one day go mad. But now, clothed and in his right mind, he was a more fearful figure yet. He had gone sane.
Such is often the way with those who suddenly decide to leave their old, sinful life behind and live the life of faith.
* * *
Luke 8:26-39
One of the struggles small rural communities face is keeping their young people. As the farm economy staggers, as communities lose businesses and families, many young people look to the city as a place to live, work, and raise their families. A drive into the country today reveals many towns are dying or in some cases gone.
But who will look after the few who stay to farm the land? How far will children have to be bused to school? How far will one need to drive to see a doctor or dentist or to get the groceries? Surely someone must stay back to look after the farm and the farm families.
In one sense, this was the issue for Jesus and the demoniac. The cured man wanted to leave the country and wanted to bask continually in the presence of Jesus his healer. But if he did, who would tell the local people of Jesus? Who would care for their needs? Surely he must stay.
* * *
Luke 8:26-39
"Living among the tombs" is an epithet not simply for the antisocial and demon-oppressed, but equally for those who have reached the pinnacle of success yet have lost their higher purpose. Their search for personal meaning is sequestered by the daily round of "getting and spending, of having and holding." Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman tells a classic story of life among the tombs. Willy Loman, the play's central character, is a traveling salesman who never discovers those deeper recesses of his soul. He never comes to know and learn himself. His idea of success, love, and respect are embodied by those who are well-liked. Greetings given gladly, doors opened eagerly, sales made readily represent the good life for Willy. But that world of social niceties belies the painful struggle for self-identity; a struggle forged through the daily tests of human courage and daring -- in having the temerity to scorn the hounds of hell and risk all, that one might have all. Willy Loman's existence among the tombs is played out in the safety and comfort zones of a life of risk-free guarantees, where tranquility and peace are won at great cost to the soul. In the end, he is among the living dead, without the desire to live on and without the wherewithal to live fully the life of his dreams.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so our soul longs for you, O God.
People: Our soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Leader: Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts, O God;
People: all your waves and your billows have gone over me.
Leader: By day God commands steadfast love,
People: At night God's song is with us, a prayer to the God of life.
OR
Leader: The God who created us has not left us alone.
People: Our God watches over us and cares for us.
Leader: In all the changes and troubles of life, God is with us.
People: Whatever happens to us, we are held in God's love.
Leader: Let us praise the God who cares so deeply for us.
People: We worship and adore our loving God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones"
found in:
UMH: 90
H82: 618
PH: 451
LBW: 175
ELA: 424
"Trust and Obey"
found in:
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
"Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above"
found in:
UMH: 126
H82: 408
PH: 483
NCH: 6
CH: 6
W&P: 56
Renew: 52
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
found in:
UMH: 526
PH: 403
AAHH: 430/431
NNBH: 61
NCH: 506
CH: 585
LBW: 439
ELA: 742
W&P: 473
AMEC: 323/325
"Be Still, My Soul"
found in:
UMH: 534
AAHH: 135
NNBH: 263
NCH: 488
CH: 566
W&P: 451
AMEC: 421
"Here, O My Lord, I See Thee"
found in:
UMH: 623
H82: 318
PH: 520
NCH: 336
CH: 416
LBW: 211
AMEC: 531
"God Be with You 'Til We Meet Again"
found in:
UMH: 672/673
PH: 540
AAHH: 634
NNBH: 560
NCH: 81
CH: 434
ELA: 536
W&P: 716
AMEC: 45
"Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life"
found in:
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELA: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561
"Kum Ba Yah"
found in:
CCB: 69
"Something Beautiful"
found in:
CCB: 84
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
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who watches over all creation: Grant us the faith to trust that you are always with us and that your love encircles us forever; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We have come to worship you, our faithful God. In love you created us, and in love you watch over us. Your love is like a hovering mother bird that is always caring for her children. Help us to learn to trust in that presence. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our fear of the unknown.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look at the changes around us and we are perplexed and afraid. We tremble before the thought of something unknown coming our way. We forget that you are with us, watching over us. We forget that your love and grace are sufficient for everything we face. Forgive us and restore us to that sense of peace that comes from trust in you. Amen.
Leader: God is with us and in love God restores us and gives us peace.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and worship your name, O God, as you watch over your creation in love.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look at the changes around us and we are perplexed and afraid. We tremble before the thought of something unknown coming our way. We forget that you are with us, watching over us. We forget that your love and grace are sufficient for everything we face. Forgive us and restore us to that sense of peace that comes from trust in you.
We give you thanks for your constant love and care for us and for all your children. We thank you for the presence of your Spirit that hovers over us and holds us in your love. We thank you for your presence with us even in the midst of change.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We offer to your watchful, caring eye, O God, those who are in need. As you care for them, loving them in the midst of all that is happening in their lives, help us to reach out and care for one another.
(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
Talk to the children about what it means to "watch" something. Sometimes we watch just to see what is going on, as when we watch a bird feeder to see what kind of birds come. Sometimes we or someone else is asked to watch something and it means we are to take care of it. God watches over us not just out of curiosity but to take care of us.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Share the News!
Luke 8:26-39
Object: a beautifully wrapped present
Good morning, boys and girls! Look at this beautiful gift! Have you ever gotten a wonderful gift? What are some of the special gifts you've received? (let the children share their responses) What's the first thing you do when you receive something you really like? (let them respond) If it's a toy, you want to play with it. If it's something neat to wear, you probably go put it on, right? If it's really, really great, you probably want to go to school and tell all your friends the first chance you get.
In our story today we hear about a man who was very sick. The Bible tells us that he was possessed by demons and that he had not been well for many years. People didn't want to be with him, and they all thought he was crazy. I am sure that no one thought he would ever be well again. In our lesson we learn that Jesus was able to heal this man and make him perfectly well. Everyone was amazed. They had given up all hope that the man would ever get better.
After he was healed, the man begged to stay with Jesus. Jesus was so special that he never wanted to leave him. Jesus told him not to stay with him, though. Listen to what Jesus said: "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." Being healed was a gift, and Jesus wanted the man to go and tell everyone about it. He wanted the man to share the news that God was powerful and could do amazing things.
Sometimes we don't think about it, but the greatest gift we've ever gotten is God's love for us. God is doing amazing things for us all the time, but we often forget to notice. Not only should we notice and thank him, we should tell others! We should spread the news that God is marvelous and wonderful and does great things. Some people may never hear about the good news of God's love unless we tell them about it. So remember to share the news the next time you notice one of the wonderful things God does in your life.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the amazing things you do for us. Help us recognize the gifts you give and help us remember to share the wonderful news with others. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, June 23, 2013, issue.
Copyright 2013 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.
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer suggests that the plight of Elijah and the man Jesus heals echo those of whistleblowers in our society, who risk serious, life-altering consequences by speaking truth to power. Whether or not one views NSA leaker Edward Snowden as a true whistleblower -- and there is intense disagreement over whether the term is appropriate in his case -- once Snowden and others like him such as Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, or former tobacco executive Jeffrey Wigand make the decision to leak sensitive documents and speak out publicly, their lives are turned completely upside down. These people speak out to expose what they view as malfeasance conducted in secret by large government and corporate entities. But, as Dean notes, how we view them seems to turn largely on the degree to which one trusts these institutions -- we want to know that those watching over us are also being kept honest. President Obama and other officials have defended the NSA's secret activities by reminding us of the need to be proactive in a dangerous world, and by assuring us that there are safeguards in place to protect Americans' constitutional rights. But one of Snowden's chief allegations is that the NSA and its contractors routinely ignore these safeguards. Many Americans, reflexively distrustful of the government, are outraged by the notion of the government "spying" into our lives and communications. Dean observes, however, that it ought to give us pause that more of our personal information is routinely compiled by private companies such as Google than by the government. While we may have good reason to be suspicious of human motives, though, each of this week's texts clearly outline why we have every reason to give God our full faith and trust -- and to proclaim it proudly, no matter how difficult a situation into which that may lead us.
Team member Chris Keating offers some additional thoughts on the gospel text and the reaction of the Gerasene townspeople to Jesus' healing of the demoniac. Stoked by fear of the unknown, they are unable to deal with the new paradigm Jesus offers -- so they ask Jesus to move along and stop disturbing the peace. Their response to Jesus seems quite similar to many people in our society, who react to new realities by attempting to contain them and withdrawing into the familiarity of the status quo. Rather than invest their faith and trust in God by embracing Jesus, the town folk try to remove the problem -- and Chris notes how it parallels the reaction of many people in our culture who try to avoid the unpleasant realities of a changing society. Though we are a more diverse society than ever, we are also in many ways becoming increasingly balkanized and tribalized as we seek out connections with those who look like us, think like us, and act like us. For Christians, the questions may be: Are we ready to give our complete faith to God? Or when we confront him in new and uncomfortable ways, will we ask him (like the Gerasene populace) to go find another church?
Who Watches the Watchers?
by Dean Feldmeyer
1 Kings 19:1-15a
First thing when I wake up
and right before I close my eyes at night,
I think,
sense,
feel, man, like
I'm under some kind of microscope.
Satellites over my head,
transmitters in my dollars,
hawking, watching, scoping, jocking,
scrutinizing me,
checking to see what I'm doing.
Where I be,
who I see,
how and where and with whom I make my money.
What is this?
-- from "Watching Me" by Jill Scott
Everyone is watching everyone, it seems.
The NSA's computers are watching our phone calls for "keywords".
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Facebook are keeping track of our emails and searches so they can target us for advertising.
But who's gonna watch the watchers? Which ones are we going to trust?
In the News
Last week I got a mailer from my local supermarket offering me coupons on the things I buy. They know I buy these things because every time I buy them I use my special member card to get a discount.
Week after week we watch Tim McGee on NCIS tap a few keys on a computer keyboard... and behold, he has before him every jot and tittle of a person's personal life -- bank records, phone conversations, credit card purchases, internet searches -- neatly arranged on his computer screen.
Yet last week we were shocked -- shocked! -- to read in the headlines that the computers at the National Security Administration (NSA) have been monitoring millions of hours of American phone calls, listening for key words or phrases that may or may not be linked to terrorist activity and upon which they might or might not follow up.
CBS News analyst and former FBI deputy director John Miller explained on the CBS Morning News that the broad scope of listening being done by the NSA goes back further than 9/11/01. We have come to realize that our world is unsafe. The Oklahoma City bombing, the shocking assault of 9/11, and more recently the Boston Marathon bombing have unsettled us.
It's not that we don't want "Big Brother," says Miller. We want Big Brother but we want him to watch out for us, not watch us. The key question is: Can we have one without the other?
According to a Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll, "62% of Americans now say it's more important for the government to investigate terrorist threats, even if those investigations intrude on personal privacy." Specifically, "56% of Americans consider the NSA's accessing of telephone call records of millions of Americans through secret court orders 'acceptable,' while 41% call the practice 'unacceptable.' "
Of course, these figures shift and change depending on who's doing the watching (or listening). Republicans tend to trust other Republicans, and Democrats trust Democrats. Generally, we Americans are okay with the fact that someone is watching, as long as someone else is watching the watchers.
Glenn Greenwald, the reporter who broke the story of Edward Snowden's NSA leak, put it this way in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper:
Nobody doubts that the government has the right to keep some secrets. And we [Greenwald and Snowden] are keeping some secrets. We're not disclosing the technical means by which the NSA spies on people, to enable other countries to replicate or evade it. We're not disclosing the names of people at whom this spying has been directed. But what the government doesn't have the right to do is to implement incredibly consequential policies that affect the world in which we live and the kind of country that we are without any accountability or transparency.
And if all that isn't worrisome enough, there's this: The NSA's watching and listening is kid's stuff, says author Scott Cleland in his book Search and Destroy: Why You Can't Trust Google. When comparing Google's massive data collecting power to that of the NSA, says Cleland, there's no comparison. "Which agency has more personal information about Americans, the NSA or Google? Google, without a question."
In the Scriptures
If you go to YouTube and do a search for "God's Radar," you'll find versions of the song performed by the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Dixie Hummingbirds. "God's radar is fixed on you," they say, "everywhere you go."
In this week's lesson from the Hebrew scriptures, Elijah experiences firsthand how it feels to be locked onto by God's radar.
This story continues from the passage three weeks ago (1 Kings 18:20-39), when Elijah triumphed in the contest between himself and the prophets of Baal. You will recall that YHWH won that contest in a walk, consuming the sacrifice, the wood, the altar, the water around the altar, and pretty much everything in the vicinity of the altar.
Elijah, overwhelmed by the Lord's demonstration of power, fell upon the prophets of Baal and killed them with the sword -- forgetting that their sponsor was none other than the very powerful queen, Jezebel. When King Ahab tells his wife what Elijah has done, she is furious and puts out a contract on his life.
A despondent Elijah flees to the wilderness, where he attempts to commit suicide by simply lying down under a tree to die. But the Lord is having none of that. God sends an angel to prepare food and drink for the prophet, who then flees 40 days further into the wilderness -- all the way to Mount Horeb where he takes up residence in a cave.
It is from the mouth of this cave where Elijah is treated to a show of power and might by YHWH, but even in all of that power and might -- tornado, earthquake, wildfire -- he does not hear the voice of God. Finally, all is dead silent, and it is in the silence that he hears God's voice:
"What are you doing here, Elijah?" Emphasis on "doing" or on "here"? The print does not say.
Elijah answers as he has before, with a list of complaints that any pastor with even a few years of experience would find familiar: The people are awful, they worship false gods, they have killed other ministers, and now they're trying to kill me.
God's response: It's time to get back to work.
The Lord God is that one watcher who truly is watching out for us. God is that one watcher who can be trusted to watch with our best welfare in mind.
In the Pulpit
"You are being watched. The government has a secret system -- a machine -- that spies on you every hour of every day. I know, because I built it. I designed the machine to detect acts of terror, but it sees everything -- violent crimes involving ordinary people, people like you; crimes the government considered irrelevant. They wouldn't act, so I decided I would. But I needed a partner, someone with the skills to intervene. Hunted by the authorities, we work in secret. You'll never find us. But victim or perpetrator, if your number's up, we'll find you."
That's the opening narration from the hit television show Person of Interest, and it pretty much sums up what the show is about. A tech genius named Harold Finch develops a giant computer that collects billions of bits of data from all over the United States and analyzes it for meaning. Intended to sniff out terrorist plots, the computer is also able to predict with uncanny accuracy when certain people are about to be involved in a violent crime -- only it can't discern whether the person it identifies is going to be the victim or the perpetrator.
Interestingly, the government isn't really all that concerned with the problems of individual people and violent crimes -- it is focused solely on terror threats. Responding to other crimes would give away the fact that the government is watching... and that can never happen. So Finch, the inventor of "the machine," creates a backdoor into the computer's program, siphons off data, and recruits a burned-out CIA operative to help him use its predicting ability to fight crime.
Of course, there are complications having to do with corrupt government officials who want to use "the machine" for their own nefarious purposes, but the really fascinating thing about this series is the audience reaction.
Audiences love it! As a people, we tend to love a story where someone with more power and more ability than we have is looking out for us. It goes all the way back to the Robin Hood stories that emerged from the folk ballads of the Middle Ages.
No matter how capable and skilled we are, it is a comfort to know that a benevolent someone even more capable and more skilled than we is watching out for us. Scripture tells us that someone is God. Maybe that's why we call God "Father."
SECOND THOUGHTS
Diving Pigs and Following Jesus
by Chris Keating
Luke 8:26-39
Any day now -- any minute, really -- change is coming.
Supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage are both waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling this week in two key cases dealing with marriage equality. The court's rulings are set to be released any day and could carry widespread implications. One case deals with the constitutionality of California's 2008 amendment (known as "Proposition 8") barring same-gendered couples from marrying. The other case seeks to challenge the federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996.
Even if the court does not recognize the right of gay couples to be married, change is still on its way. Recent surveys indicate 58% of Americans support marriage equality. There are now 12 states where same-sex marriage is legal and about half of all Americans now live in a place where some sort of relationship recognition law is in place for gay couples.
The question now becomes, "How do we respond to change?"
This is what makes the story of the healing of the Gerasene man so compelling. Luke 8:26-39 is more than a story of healing -- it is a story of being released from fear, and a story that invites us to tell what God has done for us. Jesus has come to proclaim release to the captives, and here acts decisively to bring God's healing grace to a man filled with a legion of demons. His wandering into Gentile territory is a reminder of God's expansive welcome. Yet the surrounding villagers are not ready to accept this new reality. Fearful of change, they shoo Jesus out of town. They'll deal with change -- when pigs fly.
It's a familiar response to the threat of change.
In the News
Not long after the Boston marathon bombings, Senator Charles Grassley linked debates with immigration reform to homeland security. A congressman from Texas warned about Islamic radicals trying to slip across the borders posing as Hispanics. Fear of unknown assailants and homegrown terrorists promotes suspicion of others, igniting anxious responses from voters. Yet, as an editorial in the New York Times suggested,
...the Boston events have nothing to do with immigration reform. Even if we stop accepting refugees and asylum seekers, stop giving out green cards, and devise a terror-profiling system that can bore into the hearts of 9-year-olds, which seems to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's age when he entered the United States, we will still face risks. And we will not have fixed immigration.
Anxiety created by a quickly changing world develops patterns of resistance. We hold on to the status quo, creating strategies of containment where our fears can be held until another time. And while it is easy enough to characterize such resistance as a conservative vs. liberal debate, the truth is that xenophobia is as old as scripture. It is a struggle that has been present in every society and every culture. Fear of the outsider encourages us to hold on to the chains of resistance.
Interestingly, one of America's founding fathers experienced the same tension. A recent ABC news piece recounted Benjamin Franklin's fears about German immigrants in 1753. His words sound as though they could be lifted from a contemporary cable TV commentary: "Few of their children in the country learn English.... The signs in our streets have inscriptions in both languages.... Unless the stream of their importation could be turned they will soon so outnumber us that all the advantages we have will not be able to preserve our language, and even our government will become precarious."
Immigration, changing definitions of marriage, and gun control are just some of the hotly contested issues that divide us today. Too often, fear seeps into the roots of these arguments, keeping us from embracing the vision of Jesus. Fear keeps us tethered to a chaotic world. It floods our lives with anxiety. It prevents us from opening ourselves fully to the good news of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. In contrast, Christ offers a creative response to the fragmented, isolating ways of fear and violence. He comes in the fulfillment of time, gathering God's people in from isolation.
In the Scriptures
Just prior to arriving in the land of the Gerasenes, Jesus ordered the chaotic sea, calming the disciples' fears (Luke 8:22-25). In the midst of the drenching storm, Jesus stills the winds and calms the waves. He asks the disciples, "Where is your faith?" Apparently the disciples are also learning what it means to place their full trust in God, a theme which Luke will explore more fully in the healing story.
The story explores Jesus' encounter with a man filled with demons. Matthew (8:28-34) and Mark (5:1-20) each tell the story a bit differently, but all three describe a man in great distress. The man is naked, homeless, and consigned to living in the places of death. He is an outcast, deeply feared by his community.
The story is vivid in its details. No sooner is Jesus out of the boat when he is greeted by the man's fearful cries: "What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me." The man is fearful -- despite recognizing Jesus' divinity, he is afraid Jesus has come only to continue the torture he has long experienced. The demons are also fearful -- they know what Jesus can do.
The man is nameless, known only by his condition. The demons have plagued him in body and soul, causing him to wound himself and wreak havoc in the neighborhood. He is the man parents tell their children to avoid at all costs. Afraid of his outrageous strength, the community had tried to contain him with chains and guards.
Yet containment will not work. Even when subdued by lock and key, the demons would manage to break the bonds and drive him into the wild. The community's strategy of containment has not worked.
Jesus is intent in bringing healing to the man. The demons will not surrender to Jesus, but instead beg to be cast into a herd of pigs grazing nearby. Luke's audience of Jewish Christians would have grinned at the humorous image of demons being sent into a bunch of unclean pigs! The pigs do not fly, of course. But they do rush down the hillside, into the very water where Jesus has just demonstrated God's authority.
Jesus' actions create economic uncertainty. Swine futures take a dive, literally, creating even more fear among the community. The villagers arrive, discovering Jesus having a conversation with the man who is now "clothed and in his right mind." They are seized with great fear and begin urging Jesus to leave their country at once. They are not ready for the sort of transformative presence that God can bring and are unwilling to let go of their fear.
The man, however, understands. He has witnessed the power of God that brings calm to chaos and sends our deepest fears sailing into the sea. For that reason, I think, Jesus sees that he will be a most effective witness among his own people. Jesus will not let him go with the disciples, but instead sends him back to his home so that he might declare all that God has done for him.
In the Sermon
Pigs do fly, or so it seems. They at least dive off cliffs, signaling the potent authority of God in a changing world. When changes come to this community, the people of the Gerasenes are invited to place their trust in the One who brings order out of chaos. They are called to let go of the fear that harbors suspicions about those who are different. With the disciples, they are called to a trusting faith.
Yet fear keeps them from responding. As Keith Nickle observes, "When fear intrudes and counsels caution and reserve, even rejection, there is just not much Jesus can do except to grieve and wonder what has happened to trusting faith" (Preaching the Gospel of Luke, p. 87).
Change is coming. Actually, it has already arrived. It seems that our response to the chaos around us may either be to let go of our fear and declare what God has done for us, or to retreat back to our strategies of containment, severing connections with those who are different and settling for something much less satisfying than the gospel of Jesus Christ.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Luke 8:26-39
The Supreme Court recently ruled unanimously that the isolation of DNA within the body cannot be patented. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing the court's opinion, noted that "A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent-eligible merely because it has been isolated." As a result of the decision, Myriad Genetics, the company which isolated two genes associated with breast cancer (BRCA 1 and BRCA 2), can no longer hold patents for use of the genes -- the DNA they discovered is public property. However, the court did rule that synthetic DNA created to prevent a disease can be patented "because it is not naturally occurring."
Application: Legion was possessed by demons. The demons of the seven deadly sins -- lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride -- are naturally occurring within all of us. And the cure is also available to all of us -- accepting the forgiveness of Christ.
* * *
1 Kings 19:1-15a
What began in 2011 as a peaceful demonstration protesting the autocratic rule of President Bashar Assad, has now evolved into a bloody civil war in Syria. To date more than 93,000 people have died, most of them civilians, and several million people have been displaced to countries beyond the borders of Syria. And it's become more than merely an uprising against an unpopular dictator -- it's now also a sectarian war between Shiite and Sunni Muslims as well as a proxy war for foreign powers, with Russia and Iran supporting Assad's regime while Israel and the United States support the rebels. The civil war is creating an unstable Middle East, as all bordering countries, including Turkey and the Palestinians, are involved.
Application: When the prophet of Jezebel confronted the God of Elijah, it was a sectarian war between two religious groups in Israel. And the people of Israel suffered as much as those in Syria are today.
* * *
1 Kings 19:1-15a
Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and Republican vice-presidential candidate, has criticized the current Democratic president and his party regarding their policy toward the civil war in Syria. She stated that until the president knows what he is doing regarding the Islamic country of Syria, "I say let Allah sort it out".
Application: It is often difficult to judge the foreign policy of the sitting president, but simplistic statements, judgments, and solutions must be avoided. Elijah, who was confronting a sectarian conflict between the Jews and opposing followers of Baal, was not going to let a god by any name sort it out. Elijah was going to follow the teachings of his God -- Yahweh -- and intervene on behalf of his people.
* * *
Galatians 3:23-29
A recent census report announced that in one generation, by the year 2043, whites will comprise a minority of the population. Currently those comprising the under-5 age group account for almost half of the population, and next year they will exceed 50% of that demographic. Further, non-Hispanic whites recorded more deaths than births last year. It is reported that 40% of newborns are to single mothers. With the decline of marriage, the growth in single-mother households is increasing for all ethnic groups, with the highest rate being among whites. Economically, not since 1970 has the gap between the rich and poor been so wide, making the ability to become a member of the middle-class extremely difficult.
Application: When Paul speaks that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, the forthcoming shift in national demographics will continue to challenge our concept of racial equality.
* * *
Galatians 3:23-29
As a result of the 2010 census, South Carolina has experienced enough population growth that it was able to secure an additional seat in Congress. The fastest growth is along the Atlantic coast. This region, which stretches from Hilton Head to Myrtle Beach, is the land of golf courses and beaches, known across the nation as a paradise for retirees. This is reflected by much of the state's population growth coming not come from births, but from people relocating along the Eastern shore. Beyond that strip of land, the interior of the state is declining in population and experiencing continued poverty.
Application: When Paul speaks that we are all one in Christ -- that there is neither slave nor free -- it is important that we do not have a myopic view of society. Though we can rejoice in the wealth and pleasures of the Atlantic coast of South Carolina, the state will not be void of free and slave until the problems of the interior part of the state are resolved.
* * *
From team member Mary Austin:
A Surprise for the Watcher
You never know what you might see when you watch closely. A few years ago, a mother watching a strange child at a birthday party suddenly had the feeling that she was watching her own daughter, who had supposedly burned to death in a fire as a baby. As The Guardian reported, "It was a dimple on a child's cheek that made the mother draw breath. Luzaida Cuevas was watching the face of a girl playing at a birthday party when something clicked. What she saw before her was her own face, her own dimples -- the girl could be none other than her daughter, the baby she was told had died six years ago."
The woman called the little girl over, told her she had gum in her hair, and pulled out some hair to use in a DNA test. The testing revealed that the little girl was indeed her daughter, presumed dead after a house fire destroyed her home. Instead, the girl had been kidnapped by an acquaintance and raised as her own daughter. Careful watching started the process that brought her daughter back to her true mother.
* * *
Watching Makes a Connection
Sometimes, watching attentively can begin an unusual connection.
At helpothers.org, a college student tells about stopping to watch a woman playing the piano in the ferry terminal. "I got off the college shuttle bus and started walking. That's when I heard piano music and singing rising above the noise of the people and the traffic. I walked a little slower so I could find out to where it was coming from. Through the crowd I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a carriage next to her. She was singing songs about love, keep on trying, and not underestimating the power within yourself. The way she was singing comforted me a bit. I stood there watching her play for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take courage to perform on your own in the middle of a crowded New York ferry terminal." The student listened attentively, and the piano player seemed to feel that watchfulness.
When the music stopped they began to talk, and the piano player said she was also a student in psychology. She played the piano in public to give people a lift and offered some advice to the college student. "You see, here's the problem," she explained. "The way you were walking, your head was down. Don't look defeated, because opportunity comes in different ways and if your head is down you might never see it. You should smile more... lift your head up."
The student says, "So after that we parted, my heart touched and lightened by a musical soul!" It all started by stopping to watch, instead of hurrying past.
* * *
From the SermonSuite archives:
Luke 8:26-39
It's a strange story, this healing of the demon-possessed man in the country of the Gerasenes. There is the man's wild behavior; the voice of not one but a legion of demons speaking through him; the herd of possessed pigs rushing over the cliff. But of all the unusual elements in the story, the strangest yet is something very simple and very human: the reaction of the townspeople.
They had heard tell of a healer so powerful that he could send 2,000 demons into a herd of pigs and run them off a cliff. And so they went to see this wonder-worker. Yet when they saw their local madman who was now healed, they were afraid.
They were afraid of a sane man. He'd given them plenty of reason to fear before -- to fear his uncontrollable behavior, to fear for the safety of their children, to fear that they too might one day go mad. But now, clothed and in his right mind, he was a more fearful figure yet. He had gone sane.
Such is often the way with those who suddenly decide to leave their old, sinful life behind and live the life of faith.
* * *
Luke 8:26-39
One of the struggles small rural communities face is keeping their young people. As the farm economy staggers, as communities lose businesses and families, many young people look to the city as a place to live, work, and raise their families. A drive into the country today reveals many towns are dying or in some cases gone.
But who will look after the few who stay to farm the land? How far will children have to be bused to school? How far will one need to drive to see a doctor or dentist or to get the groceries? Surely someone must stay back to look after the farm and the farm families.
In one sense, this was the issue for Jesus and the demoniac. The cured man wanted to leave the country and wanted to bask continually in the presence of Jesus his healer. But if he did, who would tell the local people of Jesus? Who would care for their needs? Surely he must stay.
* * *
Luke 8:26-39
"Living among the tombs" is an epithet not simply for the antisocial and demon-oppressed, but equally for those who have reached the pinnacle of success yet have lost their higher purpose. Their search for personal meaning is sequestered by the daily round of "getting and spending, of having and holding." Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman tells a classic story of life among the tombs. Willy Loman, the play's central character, is a traveling salesman who never discovers those deeper recesses of his soul. He never comes to know and learn himself. His idea of success, love, and respect are embodied by those who are well-liked. Greetings given gladly, doors opened eagerly, sales made readily represent the good life for Willy. But that world of social niceties belies the painful struggle for self-identity; a struggle forged through the daily tests of human courage and daring -- in having the temerity to scorn the hounds of hell and risk all, that one might have all. Willy Loman's existence among the tombs is played out in the safety and comfort zones of a life of risk-free guarantees, where tranquility and peace are won at great cost to the soul. In the end, he is among the living dead, without the desire to live on and without the wherewithal to live fully the life of his dreams.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so our soul longs for you, O God.
People: Our soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Leader: Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts, O God;
People: all your waves and your billows have gone over me.
Leader: By day God commands steadfast love,
People: At night God's song is with us, a prayer to the God of life.
OR
Leader: The God who created us has not left us alone.
People: Our God watches over us and cares for us.
Leader: In all the changes and troubles of life, God is with us.
People: Whatever happens to us, we are held in God's love.
Leader: Let us praise the God who cares so deeply for us.
People: We worship and adore our loving God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones"
found in:
UMH: 90
H82: 618
PH: 451
LBW: 175
ELA: 424
"Trust and Obey"
found in:
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
"Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above"
found in:
UMH: 126
H82: 408
PH: 483
NCH: 6
CH: 6
W&P: 56
Renew: 52
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
found in:
UMH: 526
PH: 403
AAHH: 430/431
NNBH: 61
NCH: 506
CH: 585
LBW: 439
ELA: 742
W&P: 473
AMEC: 323/325
"Be Still, My Soul"
found in:
UMH: 534
AAHH: 135
NNBH: 263
NCH: 488
CH: 566
W&P: 451
AMEC: 421
"Here, O My Lord, I See Thee"
found in:
UMH: 623
H82: 318
PH: 520
NCH: 336
CH: 416
LBW: 211
AMEC: 531
"God Be with You 'Til We Meet Again"
found in:
UMH: 672/673
PH: 540
AAHH: 634
NNBH: 560
NCH: 81
CH: 434
ELA: 536
W&P: 716
AMEC: 45
"Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life"
found in:
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELA: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561
"Kum Ba Yah"
found in:
CCB: 69
"Something Beautiful"
found in:
CCB: 84
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
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who watches over all creation: Grant us the faith to trust that you are always with us and that your love encircles us forever; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We have come to worship you, our faithful God. In love you created us, and in love you watch over us. Your love is like a hovering mother bird that is always caring for her children. Help us to learn to trust in that presence. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our fear of the unknown.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look at the changes around us and we are perplexed and afraid. We tremble before the thought of something unknown coming our way. We forget that you are with us, watching over us. We forget that your love and grace are sufficient for everything we face. Forgive us and restore us to that sense of peace that comes from trust in you. Amen.
Leader: God is with us and in love God restores us and gives us peace.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and worship your name, O God, as you watch over your creation in love.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look at the changes around us and we are perplexed and afraid. We tremble before the thought of something unknown coming our way. We forget that you are with us, watching over us. We forget that your love and grace are sufficient for everything we face. Forgive us and restore us to that sense of peace that comes from trust in you.
We give you thanks for your constant love and care for us and for all your children. We thank you for the presence of your Spirit that hovers over us and holds us in your love. We thank you for your presence with us even in the midst of change.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We offer to your watchful, caring eye, O God, those who are in need. As you care for them, loving them in the midst of all that is happening in their lives, help us to reach out and care for one another.
(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
Talk to the children about what it means to "watch" something. Sometimes we watch just to see what is going on, as when we watch a bird feeder to see what kind of birds come. Sometimes we or someone else is asked to watch something and it means we are to take care of it. God watches over us not just out of curiosity but to take care of us.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Share the News!
Luke 8:26-39
Object: a beautifully wrapped present
Good morning, boys and girls! Look at this beautiful gift! Have you ever gotten a wonderful gift? What are some of the special gifts you've received? (let the children share their responses) What's the first thing you do when you receive something you really like? (let them respond) If it's a toy, you want to play with it. If it's something neat to wear, you probably go put it on, right? If it's really, really great, you probably want to go to school and tell all your friends the first chance you get.
In our story today we hear about a man who was very sick. The Bible tells us that he was possessed by demons and that he had not been well for many years. People didn't want to be with him, and they all thought he was crazy. I am sure that no one thought he would ever be well again. In our lesson we learn that Jesus was able to heal this man and make him perfectly well. Everyone was amazed. They had given up all hope that the man would ever get better.
After he was healed, the man begged to stay with Jesus. Jesus was so special that he never wanted to leave him. Jesus told him not to stay with him, though. Listen to what Jesus said: "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." Being healed was a gift, and Jesus wanted the man to go and tell everyone about it. He wanted the man to share the news that God was powerful and could do amazing things.
Sometimes we don't think about it, but the greatest gift we've ever gotten is God's love for us. God is doing amazing things for us all the time, but we often forget to notice. Not only should we notice and thank him, we should tell others! We should spread the news that God is marvelous and wonderful and does great things. Some people may never hear about the good news of God's love unless we tell them about it. So remember to share the news the next time you notice one of the wonderful things God does in your life.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the amazing things you do for us. Help us recognize the gifts you give and help us remember to share the wonderful news with others. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, June 23, 2013, issue.
Copyright 2013 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.
