Who's Number One?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
American culture seems to thrive on an individualistic, can-do spirit -- exemplified by our deeply held belief that when life gives us lemons, we should just buck up, pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, get on with it, and make a pitcher of lemonade. As team member Mary Austin points out in this installment of The Immediate Word, there's a reason that the self-help section is one of the biggest in any bookstore. Even though times are tough for many of us right now, we are used to relative affluence and feeling special. That's a key element not only in our personal lives, but also in American national mythology as well. (Witness the enduring image of America as a "shining city on a hill.") This week's lectionary Old Testament and gospel texts, however, suggest that we ought to think about ourselves differently. Naaman views himself as a VIP who is due all of the respect of his high governmental and military station, and his self-important demeanor is initially a big stumbling block when he seeks healing from the prophet Elisha. (It seems he's more concerned about saving face -- both for himself and the kingdom he represents -- than following Elisha's simple instructions.) In addition, he views Elisha's prescription as an inconvenience, and like us, he's on the lookout for the quick fix rather than the healing that is part and parcel of humility. Likewise, Jesus' instructions to the 70 to travel in simple pairs and share the good news of God's kingdom -- without any concern for shelter and food, relying on the generosity of those they encounter -- seems to run counter to our assumptions about how people bearing such an important message ought to be treated. (Even the young volunteers who work as "advance men" for political campaigns at least don't have to worry about their lodging and meals.) Mary notes that we can always use a reminder to approach the world with more humility -- particularly this weekend as we are surrounded with our secular celebrations of American exceptionalism -- and this week's scripture passages bring home to us that it's not us, but God who is really "Number One." Team member Kate Murphy offers some additional thoughts on the call to simplicity embedded in these lessons. Elisha tells Naaman to just wash in the river Jordan seven times; Jesus tells the 70 to just go out and not concern themselves with their personal comforts. Just as with the theme of humility, the idea of simplicity is counterintuitive for our culture. Kate suggests that the proliferation of product brands in our supermarkets might be a powerful metaphor for the clutter in our lives that distracts us from focusing on the truly important message that Jesus has charged us with taking out to the world.
Who's Number One?
by Mary Austin
2 Kings 5:1-14; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
A sampling of books available at Amazon would have us believe that we can find our dream job in 40 days or perhaps heal our lives, relationships, and long-held struggles or for a change of pace, become a stock market genius -- because we all have extraordinary capabilities within us. If You're Not First, You're Last another book title advises (or threatens). Educators fear that today's high school and college students will have a hard time in the world of work, as each young person has been raised to believe in their own special status in the world.
American culture rewards a certain amount of enthusiastic confidence, and we value the unique individual over the community as a whole. That basketball players make more than teachers makes sense to us because sports stars, along with popular actors and musicians, are special. The wealth of "reality" television shows has brought us a whole group of people who are famous just for being on television. That kind of fame leads to more magazine photos and TV appearances in an interlocking web of reality and pseudo-reality.
And yet being special holds perils and paradoxes. To succeed in politics requires a certain amount of hubris in believing that you have something to offer that no one else has. Yet that same belief contributes to the downfall of politicians who believe their financial or sexual choices won't be discovered -- because, after all, they're different.
The scriptures this week invite us to have a different perspective on how special we are. The healing of Naaman holds promise for all of us, and Jesus sending out 70 followers teaches us again about our shared work in the realm of God.
THE WORLD
In the recent economic downturn, former executives have become part-time teachers, and former real estate brokers now manage delis. Downward mobility is a fact of life for many who were once in the middle class and are now teetering on the edge of panic. Unwanted lessons in humility have come for many who were once economically secure.
Our country, too, has had its own humbling moments as the world economy reshapes itself, and as we trudge through two wars where "winning" is elusive. In a recent article in The Atlantic Monthly, James Fallows proposes that "America is at its best when feeling confident -- and when feeling challenged. From confidence comes the bearing that has most won friends for America through its century of global strength: calm-tempered, thick-skinned, slow to be riled on small matters, quick to offer others a hand. From an awareness of challenge comes a determination to continually reinvent the American model and re-earn America's prominence." Being both number one and also having to earn it is a useful combination for our nation, Fallows suggests.
Public figures receive their own lessons in humility after making poor choices. General Stanley McChrystal and his staff apparently thought he was special enough to disrespect the Commander-in-Chief in front of a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine without repercussions, and subsequently found himself relieved of his command in Afghanistan. Yet we continue to believe that, even when lost once, the spot at the top of the heap can be regained. Humility is temporary. Eliot Spitzer's new television show on CNN offers a dizzying mix of politics and commentary, with his own fall from political grace as the inevitable, if unmentioned, back story. Mark Sanford, the disgraced governor of South Carolina, is winding up his term with increased approval ratings, and now divorced, had a recent Florida vacation with his Argentine "soul mate."
THE WORD
Both the Naaman story and the story of Jesus and the 70 offer challenging and promising images of humility.
In Second Kings, we find that Naaman, "a great man and in high favor" with the king, is afflicted not just with leprosy, but with a damaging sense of his own importance. And he wants not just to be healed, but also to have his status acknowledged in the process. Elisha's cure isn't fancy or complicated enough to be satisfying, and he doesn't personally come out to greet Naaman. Naaman flies into a rage at the instructions that come from a mere messenger. Naaman's slave girl is the one to suggest seeking help from Elisha in the first place, and his other servants have to urge him to follow the instructions he's been given. (Seeing this display of anger, one can only imagine the difficult lives of his servants, and the courage it may have taken to approach Naaman with a suggestion.) When Naaman is humble enough to follow their advice, and to find God's grace in an unexpected way, is he cured of his disease -- and, we might hope, his sense of self-importance.
In the story from Luke's gospel, we find Jesus sending out 70 followers to go ahead of him to the places where he plans to go. (These days, consultants call this "getting buy-in" ahead of the project.) Earlier, Jesus has sent the twelve out with similar instructions, and now the mission widens to a larger circle. Jesus' instructions are daunting. They are warned from the beginning that the work will be difficult and salted with failure. All the normal security blankets are denied, and they are to travel on trust, living on whatever is provided. If a town and its people refuse to hear the good news they offer, they are to move on.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
These lectionary texts fall on the Fourth of July, which calls for a delicate balancing act to deftly separate the realm of God and American patriotism. The message of humility is a call for each of us as people of faith, and may also hold a message for us as a nation, although one that is hard to hear as a nation at war. With soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the message of pride in America is easier than one that invites national humility. And yet the truest kind of patriotism is a fearless look at who we are as a nation, where our strengths and lapses are, and how we can spend our gifts. The founders of the nation, with their emphasis on free speech and individual liberty, surely meant for us to be a nation of vocal and self-critical people, seeking both to love and improve our country.
It's interesting that the Naaman story also has an emphasis on people who are foreigners. Naaman is not an Israelite, and yet he comes to trust in Israel's prophet -- and Israel's God. He himself listens to his slave girl, a foreigner to him who was captured in battle. The people of God are never meant to live in isolation.
In the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell the story of Jesus instructing the original twelve and sending them out in his name. Only Luke's gospel records this additional sending out -- the adding of the 70 to the original twelve. By extension, we too are invited to continue the work, traveling without all of our familiar props and comforts. We are invited to be humble enough to travel without all the things we think we need, letting faith carry us where we think we can't go. Jesus tells the 70, and us, that the harvest is abundant, and reminds them that God is responsible for the growth. This kind of dependence on God and the people around us is alien to most of us, and requires a striking depth of humility.
This is also good news for us: the kingdom of God is already among us, and our success comes not from our accomplishments, or our status, or our job titles and degrees. Our humility, and our attentiveness to God's call, opens doors that our own strength will not. Our humility, hard-won and undesired as it may be, also allows us the grace of seeing God at work and calls us to share in it.
ANOTHER VIEW
Jesus in the Cereal Aisle
by Kate Murphy
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
A recent trip to the grocery store with my toddlers resulted, predictably, in a meltdown. We were down to the last item on our list: cereal. We had agreed before entering the store that the girls could have Cheerios this week. Should have been simple enough. But these days, it's no longer a matter of deciding whether you need the small, medium, or large bright yellow box. Now you have to pick between regular Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Multigrain Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios, Banana-Nut Cheerios, Chocolate Cheerios, Cheerios Crunch, Berry Burst Cheerios, Apple-Cinnamon Cheerios, or Strawberry Yogurt Burst Cheerios. If you lost count, that's 11 different kinds of Cheerios -- way too many options for a family errand that had already included battles over the choice between 9 brands of children's toothpaste, 34 flavors of yogurt, and 16 differently shaped boxes of instant macaroni and cheese. We live in a culture that encourages individual preferences -- a hyper-capitalist economy depends on convincing us that we deserve to have exactly what we want exactly how we want it... for a price. Even my Cheerios should be custom-tailored to my preferences.
So perhaps the most unexpected portion of the gospel lesson is not Jesus' warnings to the 70 about the vulnerability of ministry or the necessity of forgiveness. Perhaps it is his absolute indifference to their personal preferences. "Go," he tells them, "and take nothing with you." No special tunic, no personalized bedding. "Enter the first house you come to, and before you even say hello -- give them your peace. Eat whatever they give you -- and don't move about from house to house." In other words, don't get distracted. It doesn't matter if you like the view or the food, it doesn't matter if you "click" with the homeowners, and it doesn't matter if you have your preferred brand of breakfast cereal. Don't you understand the urgency? It's harvest time and the fields are ripe -- but there are only a few of you to bring in the harvest. Don't let what is temporary and trivial distract you from the eternal significance of your life's work.
As I knelt trying to patiently reason with my sobbing 3-year-old in front of a vast wall of Cheerios, I was thinking, "what a waste." All this drama, all this energy -- over breakfast cereal. Perhaps in the sermon we could encourage our parishioners to become mindful of the time and energy they spend (metaphorically) choosing between Cheerios. We can remind our folks that our spiritual enemy would like nothing better than for our time to be consumed by a never-ending quest to satisfy our personal preferences. Satan rejoices in every moment the church spends arguing over the color of the carpet in the sanctuary or how large the spots should be in the new parking lot.
On this Independence Day we can honor the fact that the earliest settlers of this land left everything they knew and preferred in order to start again in a strange place -- because their beliefs were more important than their lifestyles. As followers of Christ, we should be impervious to Madison Avenue -- we should have no brand loyalties. Because what does it matter where we live or what we eat? We have been entrusted with the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can devote our lives to that which has eternal significance. The Harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. We have no time to waste in the cereal aisle.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Dog Theology vs. Cat Theology
The Dog considers his relationship with humans and says: "They feed me. They provide for me. They care for me. They love me. They must be gods."
The Cat considers his relationship with humans and says: "They feed me. They provide for me. They care for me. They love me. I must be a god."
We consider our relationship with Jesus and we say...
* * *
In Luke's passage Jesus warns his disciples about upgrading their accommodations or their meal plan after they have entered a town. Here's another story about upgrading:
Shortly after the end of apartheid in South Africa an Afrikaner woman took a flight on South Africa Airways and found herself seated next to a black African man. She fidgeted in her seat for a while, and then finally called the steward who came to her seat and asked if there was a problem.
"There is, indeed," she said. "You have seated me next to a kaffir. I refuse to be degraded and disrespected by sitting through an entire flight next to a black person. I want a different seat immediately."
The steward disappeared into the cabin, and after a long time returned to the woman. "Madame," he said, "this was extremely difficult. As you can see, the plane is full. There are no other seats in coach or business class. However, I did find one vacancy in first class. The captain has asked me to offer an apology and make an immediate change. Of course, no one should be forced to sit next to someone who is profoundly offensive."
Whereupon the steward looked at the black man and said, "Sir, if you would like to gather your things and follow me, the captain has upgraded your ticket to first class."
-- from www.frtommylane.com/stories.htm
* * *
Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) was the First Minister and Secretary of State under King Louis XVIII of France. He was considered by many to be the most powerful man in France, and it was widely known that he was the one who actually ran the country.
In his role as a leader he centralized the power of the government by restraining the nobility. He led France through the Thirty Years' War and founded the Academie Francaise, which formalized and standardized the French language.
Richelieu was instrumental in retaining Quebec under French control and founded the Compagnie de Cent-Associes to control and regulate the Canadian fur trade. He was called "The Red Eminence" because he wore beautiful red vestments and robes for all affairs of church and/or state.
As with all cardinals, however, when he died his funeral mass was to be said by a humble parish priest.
The story goes that Richelieu was never more the Red Eminence than he was in his casket. His gowns were the brightest red, made by the best tailors in France. Notre Dame Cathedral had never seen so many flowers, banners, and mourners than it did that day.
A kindly old priest from the country had been chosen to speak the eulogy. It would be, everyone agreed, a long one. So great was the man and so vast his accomplishments, it would take hours to list them all. Finally the time in the mass came for the eulogy to be spoken. All waited impatiently as the old priest climbed into the pulpit and looked down for a long time at the deceased cardinal, then looked up at the gathered congregation and said, "Only God is great." He then turned and continued with the mass.
* * *
As Jesus sends his 70 disciples out into the world to spread the good news he reminds them to be aware of their place in the scheme of things; this isn't about them. So, who is it about?
The Broadway musical Gypsy is loosely based on the life of burlesque entertainer, striptease artist, and actress Gypsy Rose Lee -- and the tumultuous relationship she had with her mother Rose, whose name has become synonymous with the overbearing stage mother.
In one scene Gypsy is pushed by her mother to the brink of tolerance, and she insists that Rose find something else to do with her life than live vicariously through her daughters.
Hurt, Rose tries to lay a guilt trip on her daughter, accusing her of throwing her away like yesterday's trash. Before she leaves the dressing room she says: "All right, Miss. Just one thing I want to know -- all the working and pushing and finagling, the scheming and scrimping, all the lying in bed nights figuring how we'll get to the next town, how we'll all eat on a buck, how I'll make an act out of nothing... Why did I do it? You say I fought my whole life. I fought your whole life. So tell me now, what did I do it for?"
There is a long pause as Gypsy looks at her mother with something like realization and heartbreak in her eyes, and then says: "I thought you did it for me, Mama."
* * *
I now come to that part of Christian morals where they differ most sharply from all other morals. There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone who was not a Christian who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.
The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility. You may remember, when I was talking about sexual morality, I warned you that the center of Christian morals did not lie there. Well, now we have come to the center. According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness and all that are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind...
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.
-- from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
* * *
There is an old ditty that goes: "It needs more skill than I can tell/To play the second fiddle well."
In a similar vein, Leonard Bernstein was once asked which instrument was the most difficult to play. He thought for a moment and then replied: "The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm -- that's a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony."
* * *
While no one wants to "play second fiddle," many bluegrass and old-time music fiddlers, who almost always play by ear, say that second fiddle is the preferred position to play in a toe-tapping band.
See, when you play first fiddle you play the melody, and there is only one note that is correct if you are playing melody. But if you play second fiddle you are playing the harmony, and any number of notes have the possibility of sounding good with the one correct note of the melody.
So if you play second fiddle you don't have to be so exact. You can improvise; you can reach; you can have fun and not worry so much about "getting it right."
* * *
Rona Barrett was one of the first entertainment reporters in the media industry. She was able to establish her own multimedia empire: newspaper and magazine columns, her own magazine, TV specials. Now, at the age of 73, she is sharing her experiences as an entertainment news reporter in a one-woman stage show titled Nothing But the Truth. She describes what motivated her inquisitive reporting with these words: "There was a real difference between that which we saw on the screen and that which existed inside a person. I used to say, 'I have to know who the r-e-a-l is, because I know who the r-e-e-l is.' "
When Naaman approached Elisha, the prophet knew the difference between the "reel" and the "real." Elisha knew there was a difference between the opulent king, the "reel" one portrayed to the public, and the "real" king who was arrogant. This may explain the actions of Elisha, as he refused to greet the deified king and instructed the haughty one to engage in an act of simplicity. Those who associate with us on a daily basis could possess the same instinctive insight as Elisha. So let us be sure that the "reel" and the "real" are one and the same. Let us be humble and genuine in all that we say and do.
* * *
James Gregory is a comedian who began his stage career at the age of 36. After performing his first feature act at the Punch Line in Atlanta on February 17, 1982, he was so successful that critic B.J. Cooley of the Huntsville Times soon dubbed him "America's Funniest Man," a nickname that has followed him through his entire career. Since then he has been performing in large arenas in major cities across the United States. Recently, he realized that many people are unable to attend his show since they could not travel to a major metropolitan area. In fact, such a trip can be so foreboding that Gregory noted, "Seriously, I have relatives who've gone to their grave and never seen me perform."
This is when he realized he needed to take his comedy routine to the people, saying, "I just got tired of waiting for people to come to my show in the big city; so I decided to take my show to them." His audiences are not as big and the revenue generated is not as great, but there was something refreshingly new -- intimacy. Gregory expressed his feelings with these words: "If there's only 300 seats, there's not a bad seat in the house. I can touch the front row. I can see the smiles on the faces in the back row. It becomes like a giant living room, the energy is wonderful; we feel closer to each other. We feel like we know each other."
In our gospel lesson we are told that Jesus sent the 70 into the living rooms across the countryside. Jesus did not wait for the people to come to him; he made provisions to go to them. Today, that 70 has exploded to millions of Christians across the globe, but the mission remains the same. Each of us is instructed by Jesus to take his message into the living rooms of unbelievers.
* * *
Edith Shain recently died. Her name may mean nothing to you, but her image has probably been embedded in your soul. She is the nurse being kissed by the sailor in Times Square on V-J Day, August 1945 -- a kiss immortalized by a photograph taken by the renowned photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.
She was 27 at the time, but it was not until she was 60 that she decided to confess that she was the lady in the picture. Until that time, she did not feel it was dignified to receive such notoriety. But upon her disclosure, she reflected on that famous photograph with these words: "It says so many things. Hope, love, peace, and tomorrow."
From our gospel lesson we learn that Jesus instructed the 70 he sent forth that the first thing they should say upon arriving in a new town is "Peace to this house." Like the 70 who preceded us, we continue to go into the homes of our friends and neighbors and share the message of Jesus by word and deed. The gospel message is one of victory over sin and death, so our message does convey "hope, love, peace, and tomorrow."
* * *
Mother Teresa is one of the best-known examples of humility. She lived her life in service to God and God's neediest children, and yet she had a dignity about her that spoke of her being a child of God. She truly seemed to live in the truth of who she was.
* * *
Mahatma Gandhi was a man of power. He was a major influence in Indian independence, as he used the fast and nonviolence as his tools to change the world. Yet when he died, he had only a few simple items that he called his own: his two dinner bowls, a wooden fork and spoon, the famous porcelain monkeys, his diary, prayer book, watch, spittoon, letter openers, and two pair of sandals.
* * *
Abraham Lincoln is a great icon in American history, and yet he was a very humble person. He used self-deprecating humor to bring down tension and make his point. When accused of being two-faced, he asked his accuser if he really thought that he (Lincoln) would wear the face he had in public if he had another one.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Sing praise to God, you faithful ones,
People: We give thanks to God's holy Name.
Leader: God's anger is but for a moment;
People: God's favor is for a lifetime.
Leader: God has turned our mourning into dancing;
People: So we will give thanks to God forever.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the Creator of all.
People: We are not worthy to come before God.
Leader: God created you and called you good.
People: You are right. We are pretty special.
Leader: We are special to God, but we are also sinful.
People: We come before God in humility, confessing who we are.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"It's Me, It's Me, O Lord"
found in:
UMH: 352
NNBH: 496
CH: 579
"Pues Si Vivimos" ("When We Are Living")
found in:
UMH: 356
PH: 400
NCH: 499
CH: 536
"All People That on Earth Do Dwell"
found in:
UMH: 75
H82: 377, 378
AAHH: 36
NNBH: 7
NCH: 18
CH: 245
"How Great Thou Art"
found in:
UMH: 77
PH: 467
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
CH: 33
LBW: 532
Renew: 250
"Maker, in Whom We Live"
found in:
UMH: 88
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
Renew: 46
"God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale"
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
"Make Me a Captive, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 421
PH: 378
"Great Is the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 65
Renew: 22
"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
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who created us and knows that our frame is but dust: Grant us the wisdom to remember who we are and to live in the knowledge that we are creatures of the earth who are filled with divine life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to offer our praise and worship to you, the God who created us. You made us out of the dust of the earth and yet formed us into your own image. Give us the wisdom of your Spirit that in true humility we may live in the truth of both our gifts and our flaws. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our inability to live in humility before you and with one another.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. Finding ourselves in your image, we begin to think that we are gods. We want to make the rules and call the shots in our lives and the lives of those around us. We forget that we are your creatures and not our own creators. At other times we are painfully aware of our mortality and sinfulness and think of ourselves as nothing. We despair at the lack of power we have over our own lives. In both of these we have lost humility, the ability to live in the truth of who we are. Grant that by the power of your Spirit we may joyfully accept our place as your creatures who are also your children. Help us to treat others with the same dignity that you offer us. Amen.
Leader: God knows who we are -- that we are both gifted and flawed. God knows our weakness and our strength. God loves us as we are and invites us to do the same.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and glorify your name, O God, for you are the One who created us out of the dust of the earth and filled us with your own Spirit, breath, and life. You know us better than we know ourselves.
(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. Finding ourselves in your image, we begin to think that we are gods. We want to make the rules and call the shots in our lives and the lives of those around us. We forget that we are your creatures and not our own creators. At other times we are painfully aware of our mortality and sinfulness and think of ourselves as nothing. We despair at the lack of power we have over our own lives. In both of these we have lost humility, the ability to live in the truth of who we are. Grant that by the power of your Spirit we may joyfully accept our place as your creatures who are also your children. Help us to treat others with the same dignity that you offer us.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have blessed us. As creatures you have given us the ability to sense the world around us. You have made us able to enjoy the smell of roses, spring rain, and burnt toast. You made us able to feel the rough texture of wool, the softness of silk, and the warmth of another's body. You gave us the sense of taste so that we can experience sweet, sour, and salty. You have opened us to sounds of laughter, crying, and music. We are created to see the sunrise and sunset, the starry heavens, and a newborn baby. You have made us so like yourself that we can experience your presence beyond these senses.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
Aware of all the care with which you have made us, we are confident in your care not only for us but for all creation. We offer up to you those who have lost their sense of wonder at all that is about them because they have experienced so much pain and violence in their lives. We offer to your care those who have not discovered your presence with and within them. We offer to you ourselves that we may be part of their healing.
(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.
Visuals
Pictures of folks in all their glory: kings in robes and crowns, rich people in furs and fancy clothes; pictures of Jesus at Gethsemane, on the cross, tempted in the wilderness, holding the lost lamb, washing the disciples' feet.
Children's Sermon Starter
Tell the children you have a picture of a very important person with some other people. Ask if they can tell who the most important person is. Show them a picture of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. If the children are older and may know the scene, you might be better off with a picture where the characters are shown in a different ethnic setting. (Isn't the internet great?) Talk about how Jesus knew how to be humble. He knew he was God, but he also knew he was human. We need to be humble as well. We are God's children, but we are also God's creatures.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
What Does It Mean to Be Independent?
Object: A tray containing a variety of small candy bars so that each child present can have one.
Purpose: To help children understand the nature of freedom as we live with other people.
Good morning, boys and girls! Independence is a big word. What do you think it means? (self-governing, free from the influence of others, self-reliant. If no one can give the appropriate answer, tell them.) It means you are free to do what you want to do. But we are never really completely independent. We all are dependent upon others to supply most of the things we use in life.
One of the most important places to use your independence is in the choices you make in life. You do not have to choose what everyone is choosing unless it is what you want. But here again, we do not have complete freedom. Our choices are always limited.
Let me show you what I mean. I want you to line up with the littlest ones at the head of the line. Since the rule here states little ones first, you do not have a choice because your size is already set.
Now, on this tray there are a variety of little candy bars. You have the freedom to choose what you want, but we will start with the little ones first and so as the people before you choose, your choices will be limited by whatever is left.
We live in a land where we have freedom but that does not mean we can always do just whatever we want to do. We live with other people and their freedom may affect what we can choose.
Now, as you go back to your seats, feel free to take a candy bar with you, starting with the smallest child.
Scriptural Background: "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, July 4, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Who's Number One?
by Mary Austin
2 Kings 5:1-14; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
A sampling of books available at Amazon would have us believe that we can find our dream job in 40 days or perhaps heal our lives, relationships, and long-held struggles or for a change of pace, become a stock market genius -- because we all have extraordinary capabilities within us. If You're Not First, You're Last another book title advises (or threatens). Educators fear that today's high school and college students will have a hard time in the world of work, as each young person has been raised to believe in their own special status in the world.
American culture rewards a certain amount of enthusiastic confidence, and we value the unique individual over the community as a whole. That basketball players make more than teachers makes sense to us because sports stars, along with popular actors and musicians, are special. The wealth of "reality" television shows has brought us a whole group of people who are famous just for being on television. That kind of fame leads to more magazine photos and TV appearances in an interlocking web of reality and pseudo-reality.
And yet being special holds perils and paradoxes. To succeed in politics requires a certain amount of hubris in believing that you have something to offer that no one else has. Yet that same belief contributes to the downfall of politicians who believe their financial or sexual choices won't be discovered -- because, after all, they're different.
The scriptures this week invite us to have a different perspective on how special we are. The healing of Naaman holds promise for all of us, and Jesus sending out 70 followers teaches us again about our shared work in the realm of God.
THE WORLD
In the recent economic downturn, former executives have become part-time teachers, and former real estate brokers now manage delis. Downward mobility is a fact of life for many who were once in the middle class and are now teetering on the edge of panic. Unwanted lessons in humility have come for many who were once economically secure.
Our country, too, has had its own humbling moments as the world economy reshapes itself, and as we trudge through two wars where "winning" is elusive. In a recent article in The Atlantic Monthly, James Fallows proposes that "America is at its best when feeling confident -- and when feeling challenged. From confidence comes the bearing that has most won friends for America through its century of global strength: calm-tempered, thick-skinned, slow to be riled on small matters, quick to offer others a hand. From an awareness of challenge comes a determination to continually reinvent the American model and re-earn America's prominence." Being both number one and also having to earn it is a useful combination for our nation, Fallows suggests.
Public figures receive their own lessons in humility after making poor choices. General Stanley McChrystal and his staff apparently thought he was special enough to disrespect the Commander-in-Chief in front of a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine without repercussions, and subsequently found himself relieved of his command in Afghanistan. Yet we continue to believe that, even when lost once, the spot at the top of the heap can be regained. Humility is temporary. Eliot Spitzer's new television show on CNN offers a dizzying mix of politics and commentary, with his own fall from political grace as the inevitable, if unmentioned, back story. Mark Sanford, the disgraced governor of South Carolina, is winding up his term with increased approval ratings, and now divorced, had a recent Florida vacation with his Argentine "soul mate."
THE WORD
Both the Naaman story and the story of Jesus and the 70 offer challenging and promising images of humility.
In Second Kings, we find that Naaman, "a great man and in high favor" with the king, is afflicted not just with leprosy, but with a damaging sense of his own importance. And he wants not just to be healed, but also to have his status acknowledged in the process. Elisha's cure isn't fancy or complicated enough to be satisfying, and he doesn't personally come out to greet Naaman. Naaman flies into a rage at the instructions that come from a mere messenger. Naaman's slave girl is the one to suggest seeking help from Elisha in the first place, and his other servants have to urge him to follow the instructions he's been given. (Seeing this display of anger, one can only imagine the difficult lives of his servants, and the courage it may have taken to approach Naaman with a suggestion.) When Naaman is humble enough to follow their advice, and to find God's grace in an unexpected way, is he cured of his disease -- and, we might hope, his sense of self-importance.
In the story from Luke's gospel, we find Jesus sending out 70 followers to go ahead of him to the places where he plans to go. (These days, consultants call this "getting buy-in" ahead of the project.) Earlier, Jesus has sent the twelve out with similar instructions, and now the mission widens to a larger circle. Jesus' instructions are daunting. They are warned from the beginning that the work will be difficult and salted with failure. All the normal security blankets are denied, and they are to travel on trust, living on whatever is provided. If a town and its people refuse to hear the good news they offer, they are to move on.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
These lectionary texts fall on the Fourth of July, which calls for a delicate balancing act to deftly separate the realm of God and American patriotism. The message of humility is a call for each of us as people of faith, and may also hold a message for us as a nation, although one that is hard to hear as a nation at war. With soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the message of pride in America is easier than one that invites national humility. And yet the truest kind of patriotism is a fearless look at who we are as a nation, where our strengths and lapses are, and how we can spend our gifts. The founders of the nation, with their emphasis on free speech and individual liberty, surely meant for us to be a nation of vocal and self-critical people, seeking both to love and improve our country.
It's interesting that the Naaman story also has an emphasis on people who are foreigners. Naaman is not an Israelite, and yet he comes to trust in Israel's prophet -- and Israel's God. He himself listens to his slave girl, a foreigner to him who was captured in battle. The people of God are never meant to live in isolation.
In the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell the story of Jesus instructing the original twelve and sending them out in his name. Only Luke's gospel records this additional sending out -- the adding of the 70 to the original twelve. By extension, we too are invited to continue the work, traveling without all of our familiar props and comforts. We are invited to be humble enough to travel without all the things we think we need, letting faith carry us where we think we can't go. Jesus tells the 70, and us, that the harvest is abundant, and reminds them that God is responsible for the growth. This kind of dependence on God and the people around us is alien to most of us, and requires a striking depth of humility.
This is also good news for us: the kingdom of God is already among us, and our success comes not from our accomplishments, or our status, or our job titles and degrees. Our humility, and our attentiveness to God's call, opens doors that our own strength will not. Our humility, hard-won and undesired as it may be, also allows us the grace of seeing God at work and calls us to share in it.
ANOTHER VIEW
Jesus in the Cereal Aisle
by Kate Murphy
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
A recent trip to the grocery store with my toddlers resulted, predictably, in a meltdown. We were down to the last item on our list: cereal. We had agreed before entering the store that the girls could have Cheerios this week. Should have been simple enough. But these days, it's no longer a matter of deciding whether you need the small, medium, or large bright yellow box. Now you have to pick between regular Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Multigrain Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios, Banana-Nut Cheerios, Chocolate Cheerios, Cheerios Crunch, Berry Burst Cheerios, Apple-Cinnamon Cheerios, or Strawberry Yogurt Burst Cheerios. If you lost count, that's 11 different kinds of Cheerios -- way too many options for a family errand that had already included battles over the choice between 9 brands of children's toothpaste, 34 flavors of yogurt, and 16 differently shaped boxes of instant macaroni and cheese. We live in a culture that encourages individual preferences -- a hyper-capitalist economy depends on convincing us that we deserve to have exactly what we want exactly how we want it... for a price. Even my Cheerios should be custom-tailored to my preferences.
So perhaps the most unexpected portion of the gospel lesson is not Jesus' warnings to the 70 about the vulnerability of ministry or the necessity of forgiveness. Perhaps it is his absolute indifference to their personal preferences. "Go," he tells them, "and take nothing with you." No special tunic, no personalized bedding. "Enter the first house you come to, and before you even say hello -- give them your peace. Eat whatever they give you -- and don't move about from house to house." In other words, don't get distracted. It doesn't matter if you like the view or the food, it doesn't matter if you "click" with the homeowners, and it doesn't matter if you have your preferred brand of breakfast cereal. Don't you understand the urgency? It's harvest time and the fields are ripe -- but there are only a few of you to bring in the harvest. Don't let what is temporary and trivial distract you from the eternal significance of your life's work.
As I knelt trying to patiently reason with my sobbing 3-year-old in front of a vast wall of Cheerios, I was thinking, "what a waste." All this drama, all this energy -- over breakfast cereal. Perhaps in the sermon we could encourage our parishioners to become mindful of the time and energy they spend (metaphorically) choosing between Cheerios. We can remind our folks that our spiritual enemy would like nothing better than for our time to be consumed by a never-ending quest to satisfy our personal preferences. Satan rejoices in every moment the church spends arguing over the color of the carpet in the sanctuary or how large the spots should be in the new parking lot.
On this Independence Day we can honor the fact that the earliest settlers of this land left everything they knew and preferred in order to start again in a strange place -- because their beliefs were more important than their lifestyles. As followers of Christ, we should be impervious to Madison Avenue -- we should have no brand loyalties. Because what does it matter where we live or what we eat? We have been entrusted with the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can devote our lives to that which has eternal significance. The Harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. We have no time to waste in the cereal aisle.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Dog Theology vs. Cat Theology
The Dog considers his relationship with humans and says: "They feed me. They provide for me. They care for me. They love me. They must be gods."
The Cat considers his relationship with humans and says: "They feed me. They provide for me. They care for me. They love me. I must be a god."
We consider our relationship with Jesus and we say...
* * *
In Luke's passage Jesus warns his disciples about upgrading their accommodations or their meal plan after they have entered a town. Here's another story about upgrading:
Shortly after the end of apartheid in South Africa an Afrikaner woman took a flight on South Africa Airways and found herself seated next to a black African man. She fidgeted in her seat for a while, and then finally called the steward who came to her seat and asked if there was a problem.
"There is, indeed," she said. "You have seated me next to a kaffir. I refuse to be degraded and disrespected by sitting through an entire flight next to a black person. I want a different seat immediately."
The steward disappeared into the cabin, and after a long time returned to the woman. "Madame," he said, "this was extremely difficult. As you can see, the plane is full. There are no other seats in coach or business class. However, I did find one vacancy in first class. The captain has asked me to offer an apology and make an immediate change. Of course, no one should be forced to sit next to someone who is profoundly offensive."
Whereupon the steward looked at the black man and said, "Sir, if you would like to gather your things and follow me, the captain has upgraded your ticket to first class."
-- from www.frtommylane.com/stories.htm
* * *
Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) was the First Minister and Secretary of State under King Louis XVIII of France. He was considered by many to be the most powerful man in France, and it was widely known that he was the one who actually ran the country.
In his role as a leader he centralized the power of the government by restraining the nobility. He led France through the Thirty Years' War and founded the Academie Francaise, which formalized and standardized the French language.
Richelieu was instrumental in retaining Quebec under French control and founded the Compagnie de Cent-Associes to control and regulate the Canadian fur trade. He was called "The Red Eminence" because he wore beautiful red vestments and robes for all affairs of church and/or state.
As with all cardinals, however, when he died his funeral mass was to be said by a humble parish priest.
The story goes that Richelieu was never more the Red Eminence than he was in his casket. His gowns were the brightest red, made by the best tailors in France. Notre Dame Cathedral had never seen so many flowers, banners, and mourners than it did that day.
A kindly old priest from the country had been chosen to speak the eulogy. It would be, everyone agreed, a long one. So great was the man and so vast his accomplishments, it would take hours to list them all. Finally the time in the mass came for the eulogy to be spoken. All waited impatiently as the old priest climbed into the pulpit and looked down for a long time at the deceased cardinal, then looked up at the gathered congregation and said, "Only God is great." He then turned and continued with the mass.
* * *
As Jesus sends his 70 disciples out into the world to spread the good news he reminds them to be aware of their place in the scheme of things; this isn't about them. So, who is it about?
The Broadway musical Gypsy is loosely based on the life of burlesque entertainer, striptease artist, and actress Gypsy Rose Lee -- and the tumultuous relationship she had with her mother Rose, whose name has become synonymous with the overbearing stage mother.
In one scene Gypsy is pushed by her mother to the brink of tolerance, and she insists that Rose find something else to do with her life than live vicariously through her daughters.
Hurt, Rose tries to lay a guilt trip on her daughter, accusing her of throwing her away like yesterday's trash. Before she leaves the dressing room she says: "All right, Miss. Just one thing I want to know -- all the working and pushing and finagling, the scheming and scrimping, all the lying in bed nights figuring how we'll get to the next town, how we'll all eat on a buck, how I'll make an act out of nothing... Why did I do it? You say I fought my whole life. I fought your whole life. So tell me now, what did I do it for?"
There is a long pause as Gypsy looks at her mother with something like realization and heartbreak in her eyes, and then says: "I thought you did it for me, Mama."
* * *
I now come to that part of Christian morals where they differ most sharply from all other morals. There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone who was not a Christian who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.
The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility. You may remember, when I was talking about sexual morality, I warned you that the center of Christian morals did not lie there. Well, now we have come to the center. According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness and all that are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind...
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.
-- from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
* * *
There is an old ditty that goes: "It needs more skill than I can tell/To play the second fiddle well."
In a similar vein, Leonard Bernstein was once asked which instrument was the most difficult to play. He thought for a moment and then replied: "The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm -- that's a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony."
* * *
While no one wants to "play second fiddle," many bluegrass and old-time music fiddlers, who almost always play by ear, say that second fiddle is the preferred position to play in a toe-tapping band.
See, when you play first fiddle you play the melody, and there is only one note that is correct if you are playing melody. But if you play second fiddle you are playing the harmony, and any number of notes have the possibility of sounding good with the one correct note of the melody.
So if you play second fiddle you don't have to be so exact. You can improvise; you can reach; you can have fun and not worry so much about "getting it right."
* * *
Rona Barrett was one of the first entertainment reporters in the media industry. She was able to establish her own multimedia empire: newspaper and magazine columns, her own magazine, TV specials. Now, at the age of 73, she is sharing her experiences as an entertainment news reporter in a one-woman stage show titled Nothing But the Truth. She describes what motivated her inquisitive reporting with these words: "There was a real difference between that which we saw on the screen and that which existed inside a person. I used to say, 'I have to know who the r-e-a-l is, because I know who the r-e-e-l is.' "
When Naaman approached Elisha, the prophet knew the difference between the "reel" and the "real." Elisha knew there was a difference between the opulent king, the "reel" one portrayed to the public, and the "real" king who was arrogant. This may explain the actions of Elisha, as he refused to greet the deified king and instructed the haughty one to engage in an act of simplicity. Those who associate with us on a daily basis could possess the same instinctive insight as Elisha. So let us be sure that the "reel" and the "real" are one and the same. Let us be humble and genuine in all that we say and do.
* * *
James Gregory is a comedian who began his stage career at the age of 36. After performing his first feature act at the Punch Line in Atlanta on February 17, 1982, he was so successful that critic B.J. Cooley of the Huntsville Times soon dubbed him "America's Funniest Man," a nickname that has followed him through his entire career. Since then he has been performing in large arenas in major cities across the United States. Recently, he realized that many people are unable to attend his show since they could not travel to a major metropolitan area. In fact, such a trip can be so foreboding that Gregory noted, "Seriously, I have relatives who've gone to their grave and never seen me perform."
This is when he realized he needed to take his comedy routine to the people, saying, "I just got tired of waiting for people to come to my show in the big city; so I decided to take my show to them." His audiences are not as big and the revenue generated is not as great, but there was something refreshingly new -- intimacy. Gregory expressed his feelings with these words: "If there's only 300 seats, there's not a bad seat in the house. I can touch the front row. I can see the smiles on the faces in the back row. It becomes like a giant living room, the energy is wonderful; we feel closer to each other. We feel like we know each other."
In our gospel lesson we are told that Jesus sent the 70 into the living rooms across the countryside. Jesus did not wait for the people to come to him; he made provisions to go to them. Today, that 70 has exploded to millions of Christians across the globe, but the mission remains the same. Each of us is instructed by Jesus to take his message into the living rooms of unbelievers.
* * *
Edith Shain recently died. Her name may mean nothing to you, but her image has probably been embedded in your soul. She is the nurse being kissed by the sailor in Times Square on V-J Day, August 1945 -- a kiss immortalized by a photograph taken by the renowned photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.
She was 27 at the time, but it was not until she was 60 that she decided to confess that she was the lady in the picture. Until that time, she did not feel it was dignified to receive such notoriety. But upon her disclosure, she reflected on that famous photograph with these words: "It says so many things. Hope, love, peace, and tomorrow."
From our gospel lesson we learn that Jesus instructed the 70 he sent forth that the first thing they should say upon arriving in a new town is "Peace to this house." Like the 70 who preceded us, we continue to go into the homes of our friends and neighbors and share the message of Jesus by word and deed. The gospel message is one of victory over sin and death, so our message does convey "hope, love, peace, and tomorrow."
* * *
Mother Teresa is one of the best-known examples of humility. She lived her life in service to God and God's neediest children, and yet she had a dignity about her that spoke of her being a child of God. She truly seemed to live in the truth of who she was.
* * *
Mahatma Gandhi was a man of power. He was a major influence in Indian independence, as he used the fast and nonviolence as his tools to change the world. Yet when he died, he had only a few simple items that he called his own: his two dinner bowls, a wooden fork and spoon, the famous porcelain monkeys, his diary, prayer book, watch, spittoon, letter openers, and two pair of sandals.
* * *
Abraham Lincoln is a great icon in American history, and yet he was a very humble person. He used self-deprecating humor to bring down tension and make his point. When accused of being two-faced, he asked his accuser if he really thought that he (Lincoln) would wear the face he had in public if he had another one.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Sing praise to God, you faithful ones,
People: We give thanks to God's holy Name.
Leader: God's anger is but for a moment;
People: God's favor is for a lifetime.
Leader: God has turned our mourning into dancing;
People: So we will give thanks to God forever.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the Creator of all.
People: We are not worthy to come before God.
Leader: God created you and called you good.
People: You are right. We are pretty special.
Leader: We are special to God, but we are also sinful.
People: We come before God in humility, confessing who we are.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"It's Me, It's Me, O Lord"
found in:
UMH: 352
NNBH: 496
CH: 579
"Pues Si Vivimos" ("When We Are Living")
found in:
UMH: 356
PH: 400
NCH: 499
CH: 536
"All People That on Earth Do Dwell"
found in:
UMH: 75
H82: 377, 378
AAHH: 36
NNBH: 7
NCH: 18
CH: 245
"How Great Thou Art"
found in:
UMH: 77
PH: 467
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
CH: 33
LBW: 532
Renew: 250
"Maker, in Whom We Live"
found in:
UMH: 88
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
Renew: 46
"God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale"
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
"Make Me a Captive, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 421
PH: 378
"Great Is the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 65
Renew: 22
"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
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who created us and knows that our frame is but dust: Grant us the wisdom to remember who we are and to live in the knowledge that we are creatures of the earth who are filled with divine life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to offer our praise and worship to you, the God who created us. You made us out of the dust of the earth and yet formed us into your own image. Give us the wisdom of your Spirit that in true humility we may live in the truth of both our gifts and our flaws. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our inability to live in humility before you and with one another.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. Finding ourselves in your image, we begin to think that we are gods. We want to make the rules and call the shots in our lives and the lives of those around us. We forget that we are your creatures and not our own creators. At other times we are painfully aware of our mortality and sinfulness and think of ourselves as nothing. We despair at the lack of power we have over our own lives. In both of these we have lost humility, the ability to live in the truth of who we are. Grant that by the power of your Spirit we may joyfully accept our place as your creatures who are also your children. Help us to treat others with the same dignity that you offer us. Amen.
Leader: God knows who we are -- that we are both gifted and flawed. God knows our weakness and our strength. God loves us as we are and invites us to do the same.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and glorify your name, O God, for you are the One who created us out of the dust of the earth and filled us with your own Spirit, breath, and life. You know us better than we know ourselves.
(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. Finding ourselves in your image, we begin to think that we are gods. We want to make the rules and call the shots in our lives and the lives of those around us. We forget that we are your creatures and not our own creators. At other times we are painfully aware of our mortality and sinfulness and think of ourselves as nothing. We despair at the lack of power we have over our own lives. In both of these we have lost humility, the ability to live in the truth of who we are. Grant that by the power of your Spirit we may joyfully accept our place as your creatures who are also your children. Help us to treat others with the same dignity that you offer us.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have blessed us. As creatures you have given us the ability to sense the world around us. You have made us able to enjoy the smell of roses, spring rain, and burnt toast. You made us able to feel the rough texture of wool, the softness of silk, and the warmth of another's body. You gave us the sense of taste so that we can experience sweet, sour, and salty. You have opened us to sounds of laughter, crying, and music. We are created to see the sunrise and sunset, the starry heavens, and a newborn baby. You have made us so like yourself that we can experience your presence beyond these senses.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
Aware of all the care with which you have made us, we are confident in your care not only for us but for all creation. We offer up to you those who have lost their sense of wonder at all that is about them because they have experienced so much pain and violence in their lives. We offer to your care those who have not discovered your presence with and within them. We offer to you ourselves that we may be part of their healing.
(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.
Visuals
Pictures of folks in all their glory: kings in robes and crowns, rich people in furs and fancy clothes; pictures of Jesus at Gethsemane, on the cross, tempted in the wilderness, holding the lost lamb, washing the disciples' feet.
Children's Sermon Starter
Tell the children you have a picture of a very important person with some other people. Ask if they can tell who the most important person is. Show them a picture of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. If the children are older and may know the scene, you might be better off with a picture where the characters are shown in a different ethnic setting. (Isn't the internet great?) Talk about how Jesus knew how to be humble. He knew he was God, but he also knew he was human. We need to be humble as well. We are God's children, but we are also God's creatures.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
What Does It Mean to Be Independent?
Object: A tray containing a variety of small candy bars so that each child present can have one.
Purpose: To help children understand the nature of freedom as we live with other people.
Good morning, boys and girls! Independence is a big word. What do you think it means? (self-governing, free from the influence of others, self-reliant. If no one can give the appropriate answer, tell them.) It means you are free to do what you want to do. But we are never really completely independent. We all are dependent upon others to supply most of the things we use in life.
One of the most important places to use your independence is in the choices you make in life. You do not have to choose what everyone is choosing unless it is what you want. But here again, we do not have complete freedom. Our choices are always limited.
Let me show you what I mean. I want you to line up with the littlest ones at the head of the line. Since the rule here states little ones first, you do not have a choice because your size is already set.
Now, on this tray there are a variety of little candy bars. You have the freedom to choose what you want, but we will start with the little ones first and so as the people before you choose, your choices will be limited by whatever is left.
We live in a land where we have freedom but that does not mean we can always do just whatever we want to do. We live with other people and their freedom may affect what we can choose.
Now, as you go back to your seats, feel free to take a candy bar with you, starting with the smallest child.
Scriptural Background: "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, July 4, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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.
