Women And Children First
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For October 6, 2024:
Women And Children First
by Dean Feldmeyer
Mark 10:2-16
I…Am…A...Rock…Star!
Did you know that? It’s true.
Everything I do, every thought I think, every word I utter is golden. My every notion should be framed in platinum. My every act should be written down in a book. My every achievement should be etched in posterity. Yes, I am a person of extreme value and worth.
Oh, not in the theological sense. That goes without saying. Jesus took care of that.
No, I’m talking about my political value. And that is off the charts.
How do I know that I’m so valuable? Why, the politicians tell me so.
Every time I turn on the television there’s some politician running for office and telling me that I’m the most important person in the world. I half expect to wake up in the morning and find Kamala Harris washing my car and Donald Trump painting my garage. That’s how important I am.
And do you know why I’m so important?
Because I’m MIDDLE CLASS. (Cue angel chorus!) (Alleluia!)
I’m sure glad I’m not poor. You could wait for months before you hear a politician speak up for those who are poor or disabled or underserved. You could grow old waiting to hear someone running for office promise to speak up for those who are homeless or hungry or unemployed or uninsured.
Jesus spoke up for them all the time. But then, he wasn’t a politician.
In the Scripture
In the gospel lesson for this week, Mark brings together two stories to address the issue of the church’s response to those who are powerless in the culture. His specific concern is for women and children, the most dependent and vulnerable people in the culture.
In the first story, the Pharisees come to him with a question to test his legal acumen. Their concern is not for the weak, the dependent, the insecure, or the powerless. Their concern is for the law. What does the law require and, conversely, what does it allow?
In this case, the question is about men, the most powerful people in that culture. How are powerful, independent men allowed to treat the women to whom they are married? What is the least that’s required of them? Under what circumstances are they allowed to walk away and not concern themselves with the welfare of the women they no longer want in their lives?
Not wanting to seem crass and uncaring, the Pharisees phrase their question carefully: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
They knew the answer before they asked the question. Yes, it is lawful. Moses allowed for this in the Levitical code. A man was not allowed to simply walk away from a woman, however. He had to state the reasons for the divorce in a formal and legal document and present it to her. (See Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1). In reality, however, the man’s reasons for divorce were rarely questioned and the divorced wife was usually considered damaged goods and would have no one to take care of her in her old age.
Jesus’ concern here, however, is not about legality as is the concern of the Pharisees. His concern is the hardness of heart of one whose only concern about the weak and vulnerable is “what’s the least we are required to do for them?” “What’s the least we can get away with?”
He makes that clear. Our concern should not be with what the law requires or allows. Our concern should not always be with asking what the minimum requirement is or what the least we can get away with is. Our concern, as the people of God, should be something more like, “What’s the very best I can do?”
The second account, one of the children brings to light the hardness of heart of Jesus’ own followers. People are bringing their children to Jesus so that he might touch them and bless them, but the disciples are turning them away. The disciples know that children are unpredictable and liable to disrupt the service. They cry, they run around, they stand on the new pew cushions, they kick the back of the seat in front of them and their parents can’t always be counted on to corral and control them — none of which makes for a smooth and orderly Bible study or worship experience.
So, the disciples tell the people with little kids that they’ll need to take the tots to the nursery where they have employed several skilled and well-vetted childcare professionals, who have all passed their background checks, and where they have instituted a thorough safe-sanctuaries policy.
Then Jesus interrupts everything and tells the disciples that not only are the children welcome but that they are to be seen as role models for adults. Their vulnerability, their trust, their absolute dependence upon others makes them prime candidates for the Kingdom and there’s a lesson in that for adults.
For the evangelist, Mark, the abandoned wives and the annoying children in these two accounts are metaphors, symbols for all people who are outside the power structure — the weak, vulnerable, and dependent. The response of Jesus makes it clear that those of us who identify as his disciples are to be caring, gentle, kind, and generous toward them.
In the News
How does all this translate into the twenty-first century United States? Who are these people, the weak, dependent, and vulnerable, today? What’s the takeaway?
Well, I hope you’ll excuse me, but I don’t know any way of talking about this topic without quoting some numbers. These are all figures that come from the 2020 census, the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Pew Research Center, and the Council on Foreign Relations.
About 38 million Americans live below the poverty level of $27,750 (annual income) for a family of four. We can certainly argue about how they got there and whose fault it is, but let’s save the arguing for later. First, let’s break that number down and examine some of the implications.
Thirty-eight million is about 12% of the population of the United States.
Broken down by age, that number represents 15.3% of all American children under 18 years of age and 10.3% of all seniors over 65.55% of those living under poverty (20.9 million) are women.
In the past year 23.6 million people have received assistance from SNAP (Special Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Plan), what we used to call food stamps. 35%, about 14 million, were children under eighteen years old. 34%, another 14 million, are female heads of households. 46% have some form of physical or mental disability. 51% work outside the home at least 35 hours per week.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or what we used to call welfare, provided assistance to a total of about 2 million people last year, an average of about 826,000 individual families per month — roughly 21% of those who would be eligible if they all applied.
About half of the families served by TANF are one-parent families. A third are no-parent families.
In 2023 we spent a total of about $1.3 trillion on assistance for the poor, down $3 billion from the previous year. $147 billion was spent on nutrition, 20% for children. $81 billion was spent on housing. $70 billion was spent on unemployment insurance and $756 billion — 60% of all money spent — was spent on Medicaid.
54% of Medicaid recipients were women; 39% were children.
4.1% of all full-time employed people in the United States live under the poverty level.
The poor, especially poor women and children, are among the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society. Recently, we have added another group to that tally — immigrants.
According to the Pew Research Center, today there are about 45 million foreign born immigrants living in the United States — 50% of who are naturalized citizens. 9% or 4 million are under 21 years of age. 33% or 15 million are over 54 years of age.
Half of them have a high school diploma or less. 32% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. 67% of immigrants over 16 years of age work full-time for a median annual income of $32,000. 15% live under the poverty level. 20% have no insurance.
It is estimated that about 11million, or 23% of our immigrant population, are undocumented. 3.3%, or about 850,000, are children. About 8.3 million or 75% are working full-time.
Half of all immigrants living in the United States are from six Latin American countries. When surveyed as to the reasons they are seeking to live here, 72% listed poverty and food insecurity as their number one reason. Other reasons include high crime by gangs and cartels, extortion, kidnapping, and other forms of violence. A vast drought has devastated family subsistence farms in Guatemala and Venezuela, creating their own version of the dust bowl.
What it all amounts to is fear. Fear of poverty and hunger, fear of crime, fear of the government, fear of the future, and the desperate hope that there must be something better somewhere. Whether the poor people we are talking about live in this country or the next one over, the one thing they have in common is fear. They are looking to us to offer them hope.
So, how do we respond?
In the Sermon
Jesus rarely offers solutions for solving the problem of poverty.
He lived in a time when the solution was not in the hands of the people he dealt with. Judea was an occupied country, controlled by the Roman Empire. If it was ever within their power to eliminate poverty in their country, it wasn’t then, at least not altogether.
Jesus was more likely to talk about relationships and, in this case, he speaks about the relationship that exists between the wealthy and the poor, the powerful and the weak, the protected and the vulnerable.
John the Baptizer spoke in practical terms.
When he was asked, “What should we do?” about poverty, he answered concretely and specifically: “If you have two coats and your neighbor has none, give one of your coats to your neighbor. And do the same with food. Keep for yourselves only what you really need.” In other words, give liberally from your excess.
Jesus’ advice is more general.
Jesus would have us soften our hearts toward the weak, the vulnerable, the hungry, the sick, the oppressed. Jesus would have us remember that our response to those people is not, finally, about who they are, but who we are.
If we are to take the word of Jesus seriously, we, his disciples, are to make not ourselves but those fearful, desperate people, the new rock stars of our culture.
Are we Christians? Are we people of soft hearts — kind, gentle, and generous? Do we put women and children first?
Or are we something else?
The answer will be found in our actions. The tree of our character and the vine of our religious faith will be known by their fruits.
SECOND THOUGHTS
God’s Image
by Katy Stenta
Genesis 2:18-24
This week we have the reminder that we are made from the earth itself. God formed humanity out of the earth. We are earthlings, creatures, created from the very earth itself. When we are created, we start to participate in our creation — defining who we are, what our likes and dislikes are, how we like to express ourselves. Being a parent, or a child of a parent, you know the child is never an exact replica of a parent. You probably should not have a child to create a replica of yourself. The child is made in your image, but is its own in personality, likes, dislikes, and expressions.
God made us in God’s image — and created humanity, first without any gender, Adamah, earthling. This implies that God is pangender, both gender, multi-gender. It was only after God decided that it was not good to be alone, did God do a kind of holy surgery and create genders. Dr. Wil Gafney does a really good job of explaining the difference.
Gender expression has evolved and changed over time. Much of what is assumed about a hunting and gathering society is due to the 1950s roles. More and more evidence has come to light that this was not true.
Meanwhile, what was once assumed safe with Roe v. Wade is on the line once again with the upcoming election, with Trump saying ominous things like “women will never have to worry about abortion again” — as pregnant women face more and more criminal charges regarding their health choices.
If things for women are bad, things for folks in the queer, and particularly the trans community, have been much worse. Those surveyed recently have found that the election has been taking a significant toll on their mental health.
As God says, it is not good to be alone or separate at this time. The right to express and create yourself is fundamental. It is important to dig deep into our support systems and community during this time, and to create more so that we can take our sabbath and rest time as needed. It is also important to take time to create and make things for pleasure. When in the muck, sometimes it’s good to make clay pots or play with play-do.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Psalm 8
The Work of God’s Hands
The psalmist calls us back to awe in the face of God’s creation, the work of God’s hands. Phyllis Cole Dai recalls an experience of awe at creation, which came to her unexpectedly.
She writes that as she was hurrying home one night, she spotted a row of people in a backyard, facing a fence. “What are they up to? you wonder, slowing your steps. A masked man crossing the yard notices you on the sidewalk. “Come, join us!” he calls with a wave…You keep your distance as you follow him, adjusting your mask over your nose.” The people are watching some plants growing along the wood fence.
“An old lady stretches the tip of her cane toward another bud. “I’m betting on this one,” she says. “How about you?” Yes, she means you. Surprised by her question, you lean in to study the bud, perched on a swaying stem as tall as your thigh. Its green sheath is quivering. “Watch now,” the old lady says. In slow motion, the sheath starts to peel back, revealing a bit of the yellow flower hidden inside. Fascinated, you survey the long bed of spindly plants. The dimness of dusk makes it difficult to judge, but you guess there must be dozens of such buds, if not hundreds. “Evening primroses,” the old lady says. “I like to call them ‘sun cups.’ Keep your eyes peeled now —” Right on cue, the primrose in front of you pops free of its sheath. Its petals are still tightly wrapped, but the brilliant yellow head of the flower curls up as if to say hello, spilling a chill down your spine.
“Oh my,” you whisper. “It’s so . . . so . . .”
“Alive?” the old lady says, finishing your sentence.”
“The old lady waves her cane in the air like a conductor’s baton. “Look at them!” she says, a proud lilt in her voice. You don’t know if she’s talking about the flowers or the people, but you straighten to witness fireworks, primroses bursting into glory. So many are exploding at once from their buds, nobody can keep count.”
The older neighbor shares, “Oh, every night there’s a fresh crop. You’ll have to come again. The plants will bloom and bloom all summer, if we do the secret thing.”
“Water them?” you say.
She shakes her head.
“Pick off the dead blooms?”
“Nothing so hard,” she says.
“What then?” you say.
“Show up,” she says, “and pay attention. That’s why they bloom for us — to remind us how to love.” (from Staying Power: Writings from a Pandemic Year)
As the psalmist writes, “O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth.”
* * *
Psalm 8, Genesis 2:18-24
The Earth is Hiring
The Genesis passage and Psalm 8 highlight the connections between God, humankind, and the created world. In Genesis, the human creature gets close enough to the animals to name them. In Psalm 8, the whole glory of creation spreads out, so humankind can be awed and full of praise.
Paul Hawken told a class of college graduates about this connection, saying that the earth needs our care now. He shared, “This planet came with a set of instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them. Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil, or air, don’t let the earth get overcrowded, and don’t touch the thermostat, have been broken. Buckminster Fuller said that spaceship earth was so ingeniously designed that no one has a clue that we are on one, flying through the universe at a million miles per hour, with no need for seatbelts, lots of room in coach, and really good food — but all that is changing.”
He added, “The earth couldn’t afford to send recruiters or limos to your school. It sent you rain, sunsets, ripe cherries, night blooming jasmine, and that unbelievably cute person you are dating. Take the hint. And here’s the deal: Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done.”
As creatures devised by God to live on the earth, we all have this calling.
* * *
Genesis 2:18-24
God as an Artist
Sharon Salzburg writes that the Dalai Lama understands creativity as a demanding process, perhaps like God creating the earth creatures from the mud in Genesis. She writes, “In his view, beautiful art was beautiful because of the inner transformation artists went through during the act of creation. Had they become more enlightened, kinder, more deeply aware? To him, that’s what made a poem or a sculpture or painting more valuable, worthy of being held in higher esteem. Because I think of making art as social action, I began to wonder whether the same principle could be applied to caregivers or those seeking societal transformation. What if we could regard our lives — our bodies and minds and work — as our fundamental creative medium?" (from Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World)
Does God change as God creates the human creatures and their relationship develops?
* * *
Genesis 2:18-24, Psalm 8
The Original Artist
The Genesis creation story shows God as the artist at work, crafting humankind. Psalm 8 points out our divinity and our humanity. We share some aspects of the glory of God, and yet reflect it imperfectly.
Patrick Bringley, who worked as a security guard at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, recalls watching someone copy a painting one day. The museum has a rule that artists are required to work on a canvas that is at least 25% smaller than the original work, so there's no danger of theft.
Bringley says, “Sizing up her work, I decide it is lovely — a pleasant depiction of a mother in a marigold dress caring for a nude little boy. Clearly, she’s taken her time with it, and it’s come together more or less convincingly; it looks like fine art. After a few moments, I raise my eyes to take in Cassatt’s version and, well, put it this way: there’s no danger of anyone pulling the switcheroo that the 25 percent rule is designed to guard against. Cassatt’s picture isn’t lovely, it is bathed-in-sunlight beautiful — bold and easy and colorful and right, more robust somehow than “fine art.” It isn’t fair to the poor copyist, who works carefully and doggedly, while Cassatt soared on the wings of her hard-won mastery. This was her style; this was her subject; and she made a thousand choices with quick, inspired intelligence that can’t be replicated, only woodenly mimicked. To sum up, I can neither believe nor stand how good her picture is, and for the first time in a long time, I simply adore.” (from All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me)
Some things can only be a copy of the original, when the original artist is a master creator.
* * *
Mark 10:2-16
Being Like a Little Child
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus tells us to see the world like children, so we understand the realm of God. “Truly I tell you,” he says, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
This invitation to think like a child worked for the children’s autho,r Dr. Seuss. Austin Kleon says, “Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat with only 236 different words, so his editor bet him he couldn’t write a book with only 50 different words. Dr. Seuss came back and won the bet with Green Eggs and Ham, one of the bestselling children’s books of all time." (from Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative)
There’s a whole world waiting, when we see the world like children.
* * * * * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Women and Children First — The Birkenhead Drill
On the afternoon of February 25, 1852, the HMS Birkenhead, a steel hulled paddlewheel steamship, one of the first of its kind, set out from Cape Town, South Africa, laden with war supplies for British troops fighting in what became known as the Eighth Cape Frontier War. Onboard were 634 souls, including the ship’s crew, soldiers on their way to the front, and 26 women and children.
Having been ordered to make all possible haste, the captain hugged the shore and late into night, while all but the night watch were sleeping, the Birkenhead entered an area known as Danger Point and rammed an uncharted rock.
So fast was the ship going that the hull was ripped in half. Dozens were killed in their hammocks below deck while the rest made their way topside only to discover that the mechanical means for lowering lifeboats had been damaged.
The captain gave the order that the women and children should be allowed into the lifeboats and lowered by hand into the water and, once that was accomplished, he told the surviving men to abandon ship as best they could.
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Seton, the army commanding officer, realized, however, that the men would swim to the lifeboats, and, in the melee, the boats would be swamped and those aboard would be thrown into the sea. So he ordered his men to stand fast until the lifeboats were well away and only then was the order given to abandon ship.
In all, some 440 men perished from drowning and shark attacks. 193 survived, swimming the two miles to shore, clinging to floating debris until help arrived the next day, or in four small lifeboats, among which were all 26 of the women and children.
So famous did the story become that the order of “women and children first” became known as the Birkenhead Drill. Rudyard Kipling immortalized the bravery of the soldiers in a poem, “Soldiers an’ Sailors, Too” and, for years, was read to every British graduating military class.
Sixty years later, in 1912, the Birkenhead Drill was practiced again on the HMS Titanic and was so steadfastly followed that more than 200 lifeboat seats went unfilled as men refused to take them in case other women and children would show up needing them.
The Birkenhead Drill never became maritime law but was thought to be standard practice in nautical disasters until a study was done in 2012. After examining the accounts of 18 shipwrecks over the course of 300 years, it was discovered that the “women and children first” rule was rarely observed.
It’s just not how evacuations and rescues tend to play out in real life, according to one of the authors of the study. The Titanic and the Birkenhead were outliers, according to Mikael Erlinder, because leadership influenced the behavior of the crew.
“We don’t see this in most shipwrecks, just chaos,” Erlinder said. “When there is a threat to loss of life, one tries to save oneself.” In most shipwrecks, the study found, women have a survival disadvantage compared to men. Captains and crew survive at a significantly higher rate than passengers.
And there were other distinctions made, according to Lucy Delap of Cambridge University, a historian of feminism in the United States and Britain.
“It turned out that not all women were equally deserving of protection at sea,” she wrote in 2012. “Lower-class women — wives of sailors or soldiers, or poor emigrant women — were frequently excluded from the rule, and women of color were equally marginalized.”
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:
Job 1:1, 2:1-10
Undeserved suffering
The opening lines of the book of Job introduce us to Job and place him at the center of the stage, preparing us for the pain that we know is coming. Job, however, remains unaware of what is to come, not unlike the lives of many victims of Hurricane Helene last week. Like the hundreds of North Carolinians impacted by Helene, Job was caught off guard by the suffering he experienced. In the case of Hurricane Helene, hundreds have been killed and more people remain unaccounted. The storm caused widespread damage in western North Carolina, a region more than 500 miles from where Helene first made landfall in Florida. The booming city of Asheville was caught off guard by the storm, which caused widespread flooding and damage. Residents were left stranded without access to fresh water or power, and extremely limited cell phone service.
* * *
Job 1:1, 2:1-10
Caught Off-Guard
One resident from Asheville managed to make it to the grocery store on Monday, only to find supplies of shelf-stable items, like granola bars, severely depleted. Like many Asheville residents, 60-year-old Caryolyn Ryden indicated she was caught “off guard” by the storm. On Monday, she spent hours waiting in line at a grocery store to purchase a case of drinking water and one of the last cases of granola bars. She said she had moved to Asheville because of its flourishing art community and relatively nice weather. “My other friends moved from Brooklyn and we called it a climate refuge here because it doesn’t get too hot, it doesn’t get too cold,” she said. While many in Asheville are grateful for the strong sense of community support that has risen following the flooding, some are concerned how long such cooperation and integrity will last. “If this goes on another week,” one resident said, in words that evoke the spirit of Job’s wife, “it (community spirit) might start to crumble.”
* * *
Job 1:1, 2:1-10
Acts of God
Legally, natural disasters such as Hurricane Helene are defined as “acts of God” for insurance purposes. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, however, The New York Times reviewed our cultural associations with natural disasters and God. The writers pointed out that sometimes our culture “is so inured to disaster,” that in certain cultures and regions, the term has lots some of its original meaning. They quote a Filipino writer as recalling the vulnerability of her homeland to such disasters. The phrase “’Bahala na” (leave it to God) is so common that it is embedded into Filipino culture. One legal scholar suggests that it is well past time to rethink blaming God for massive storms. Such statements, wrote professor Ted Steinberg, “divert attention from what city, state, and federal authorities can control,” and mitigate the role human beings have in addressing the effects climate change has and will continue to have on large-scale disasters.
“To interpret natural disasters as acts of God or nature may be comforting or make for a good sound bite,” Steinberg wrote. “But the inconvenient truth is that such statements distract from the failure of policy that makes natural calamities an inevitable feature of life in the 21st century.”
* * *
Mark 10:2-16
Go ahead, I dare you…
This week’s readings from Job and Mark 10 are perhaps not a preacher’s favorite scriptures. Job is, well, so Job-ish. Mark 10, on the other hand, begins with a question from the Pharisees that creates another slew of homiletical dilemmas. We can almost hear the congregation saying back to us, “Yeah, teacher, tell us what God thinks of divorce. Go ahead, we dare you!” For one thing, many of our church members are divorced, and each will bring their own perspective of divorce to this conversation. Secondly, while simultaneously promoting the benefits of marriage, the church has worked hard to overcome the residue of moments when it spoke less gracefully, and certainly less compassionately, about divorce. So, as Karoline Lewis observes, “this is not one of those texts that you can dance around, explain away, or use to justify behavior.”
What to do? Perhaps we begin by noticing that Jesus responds to the Pharisees by seeing through their thinly veiled test. Instead of handing down a legalistic injunction, Jesus promotes marriage while also evoking God’s concern for the vulnerable and marginalized. (A divorced woman would have had little economic or social standing in Jesus’ day, where men could fairly easily initiate divorce.) God desires that a marriage covenant reflect mutuality and partnership, reinforced by his actions toward children in verses 13-16.
In Jana Marguerite Bennett’s book Singleness and the Church: A New Theology of the Single Life (2017), she makes this observation:
When Christians do think about divorce, their responses come in two main guises. One is to join in a cultural frenzy about preventing divorce, along with various attempts to keep divorce out of their congregations. The other response is a move toward accepting divorce, and especially accepting divorcing people. Scripture scholar Richard Hays writes that the feeling among Christians is, “we must avoid being judgemental.… To require people to stay in difficult marriages against their inclination would be to impose a harsh law contrary to the spirit of love.” She does not argue overturning Christian theologies about divorce, but instead says she is asking for the church to consider how divorce can witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and therefore be viewed as a way of life that witnesses to discipleship. Bennett argues that the question she explores is similar one asked by author Lauren Winner: “What is the witness of divorcing and divorced people in the church and to the church?”
* * *
Mark 10:2-16
By the numbers
The canard that half of all American marriages end in divorce is not completely supported by current research. The currently reported marriage rate in the United States is 6.2 per 1,000 people, or slightly more than two million marriages. In the same time period, there were 673,989 divorces and annulments in the 45 states that report such numbers. Statistically, second and third marriages are more fragile, with 60% of second marriages and 73% of third marriages splitting up. For first marriages, the percentage of divorce is about 43%. Overall, the marriage and divorce rate have been declining since 2000.
* * *
Mark 10:2-16
Inequality in marriage
Jesus is focused on protecting the vulnerable and upholding an understanding of marriage as an equal partnership. In an essay for the Washington Post, Lyz Lenz adapted material from her recent book This American Ex-Wife, to explore inequities between spouses. Lenz does not believe that marriages erode simply because a woman begins earning more money or because she pursues a career. (It’s important to note she is only speaking about heterosexual marriages.) She notes a study of marriage in Sweden, where salaries between men and women are more equal, that found divorce was not caused by a lack of social support, but rather from a failing sense of relationship. Lenz observes:
Whenever I point out the inequality in marriage, a man inevitably will bemoan the loss of marriage in our culture. The “whatever happened to the good old days when people stayed married?” flavor of cultural critique is baseless and boring. But it persists because, as Susan Faludi wrote in her seminal work of cultural analysis, Backlash, the one constant of marriage is that men have benefited from the institution.
* * *
Mark 10:2-16
Domestic violence
This week’s focus on women and children in Mark 10 offers an opportunity to mention the start of domestic violence awareness month as proclaimed by President Joe Biden. In his proclamation, the President noted:
Between 30 and 40 percent of Americans are impacted by sexual abuse, physical violence, or stalking — including online — by an intimate partner throughout their lifetimes. Over the years, I have spoken with countless brave survivors of domestic violence, who have shared the devastating toll this abuse takes on all aspects of their lives. Their stories are also marked by a deep courage and resilience. Above all, they have made clear that even one case of domestic violence is too many and goes against who we are as a nation.
Churches interested in finding resources about domestic violence might explore the National Network to End Domestic Violence website, which includes statistics, policy recommendations, a resource library, and suggestions for how to get involved. The theme for this year’s campaign is “#Every1KnowsSome1.”
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Come and save us, O God.
All: We trust in you with all our hearts and souls.
One: The steadfast love of God is always before us.
All: We sing songs of thanksgiving to our God.
One: We love your house, O God, where we worship together.
All: Keep us steady as we bless your holy Name.
OR
One: Come from the east and the west, from the north and south.
All: Let all God’s people come to the table of blessing.
One: Come, you poor and rejected. Come, you who have much.
All: We are all God’s children, God’s beloved ones.
One: Let us embrace one another in holy love.
All: Let us welcome all into God’s presence and grace.
Hymns and Songs
The Church’s One Foundation
UMH: 545/546
H82: 525
PH: 442
GTG: 321
AAHH: 337
NNBH: 297
NCH: 386
CH: 272
LBW: 369
ELW: 654
W&P: 544
AMEC: 519
In Christ There Is No East or West
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439/440
GTG: 317/318
AAHH: 398/399
NNBH: 299
NCH: 394/395
CH: 687
LBW: 259
ELW: 650
W&P: 600/603
AMEC: 557
Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation
UMH: 559
H82: 518
PH: 416/417
GTG: 394
NCH: 400
CH: 275
LBW: 367
ELW: 645
AMEC: 518
Jesu, Jesu
UMH: 432
H82: 602
PH: 367
GTG: 203
NCH: 498
CH: 600
ELW: 708
W&P: 273
CCB: 66
Renew: 289
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
UMH: 75
H82: 377/378
PH: 220/221
GTG: 385
NNBH: 36
NCH: 7
CH: 18
LBW: 245
ELW: 883
W&P: 661
AMEC: 73
STLT 370
Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
UMH: 126
H82: 408
PH: 483
GTG: 645
NCH: 6
CH: 6
W&P: 56
Renew: 52
Let All the World in Every Corner Sing
UMH: 93
H82: 402/403
PH: 468
GTG: 636
W&P: 49
You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
UMH: 629
PH: 521
GTG: 523
CH: 429
ELW: 484
W&P: 705
Let Us Break Bread Together
UMH: 618
H82: 325
PH: 513
GTG: 525
AAHH: 686
NNBH: 358
NCH: 330
CH: 425
LBW: 212
ELW: 471
W&P: 699
AMEC: 530
STLT: 406
CCB: 46
One Bread, One Body
UMH: 620
GTG: 530
CH: 393
ELW: 496
W&P: 689
Unity
CCB: 59
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
CCB: 78
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who created us all from the dust of the earth:
Help us to accept one another as your children
that we might reflect your loving-kindness;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you created all people from the dust of the earth. You breathed your Spirit into all flesh. Open our hearts to one another that we may live as your children, reflecting your loving-kindness. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we reject others.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We speak of you as creator of all and yet we then reject some as not being part of your family. We discriminate among your children deciding who we will claim and who we will not. Even within your Church we label and separate those we accept and those we cast aside. Forgive us our foolishness which fails to see you as creator of all. Renew your Spirit within us that we may truly honor you as our loving parent. Amen.
One: God created us all and God loves us all. Receive God’s gracious love and embrace all God’s family.
Prayers of the People
We worship and adore you, O God of all creation. In your love and wisdom you made us all from the same dust of the earth and breathed into us your own breath.
(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 speak of you as creator of all and yet we then reject some as not being part of your family. We discriminate among your children deciding who we will claim and who we will not. Even within your Church we label and separate those we accept and those we cast aside. Forgive us our foolishness which fails to see you as creator of all. Renew your Spirit within us that we may truly honor you as our loving parent.
We give you thanks for all the love that shines through your creation. We thank you for your Spirit that reaches out to us from many faces and hearts. We thank you for your people far and near who share your love with us and with all the world. Most of all we thank you for Jesus, our elder brother, who teaches us how to live as your children.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another this day. We pray for those who have felt rejected and unwanted even in your Church. We pray for those who find it difficult to believe in your love because people have withheld their love from them. We pray for those who are faithfully proclaiming your love not only in their words but in their loving acceptance of others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
World Communion Sunday
by Tom Willadsen
It’s World Communion Sunday. While some congregations do not observe this, I grew up in a community that took it very seriously, something to truly celebrate. It started in Pittsburgh, PA in a Presbyterian church. In good, thorough, Presbyterian fashion, it has always been of central importance that the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper be celebrated in every time zone around the globe. “Jesus shall reign wher’er the Sun, does its successive journeys run….”
For the Children’s Time, assemble as many different kinds of bread as you can. Try to get breads from different countries, cultures, time zones. Some suggestions: tortilla, Wonder Bread, matzah, saltine, wafer, rice cake, multigrain crackers. Be sure to have some of the bread that will be used later in the service for communion. Some churches offer multiple breads. For example, the church I serve offers whole wheat and gluten-free wafers.
A little context: I am in a search for my next transitional pastorate. Each time I meet with a hiring committee, I have a playful, non-church-related question that I ask everyone. This search the question is “What food from your childhood evokes strong memories?” It is easily the most engaging question I’ve ever used. As you begin, ask the little ones gathered up front what their favorite foods are. Ask everyone in the congregation to think of a food from their childhood which evokes strong memories. (It’s a little silly to ask a six year old about a food from her childhood, so phrase the question seeking them to name their favorite food.) My hope is that people will think back to their childhoods.
Ask the little ones to name their foods, maybe just one food they like if it’s hard to pick a favorite. Ask about what they remember about the food, not just what it tastes like, but who made it for them. Is it a special treat that a grandparent always has for them? A birthday meal that they get to pick all by themselves? Whatever food it is, they have really, really strong memories of it.
Show the various kinds of bread. Let them touch it, even eat it if there’s enough to share. Ask if they know why we share bread on special occasions at church. Jesus said, “Do this to remember me,” when he broke bread and shared it with his disciples at the Last Supper.
In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus takes a child into his arms and says, “Let the little children come to me….” Jesus’ love is for everyone! Just as everywhere on earth Christians are gathering together and sharing bread, because the bread helps them remember.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, who told us to remember you. And you gave us this sacrament to remind us to follow you, to share our bread, to be nourished around your table. We thank you that you invite everyone to eat together, and remember. We pray in your name. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, October 6, 2024 issue.
Copyright 2024 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.
- Women And Children First by Dean Feldmeyer based on Mark 10:2-16.
- Second Thoughts: God’s Image by Katy Stenta based on Genesis 2:18-24.
- Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Dean Feldmeyer, Chris Keating.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: World Communion Sunday by Tom Willadsen.
Women And Children Firstby Dean Feldmeyer
Mark 10:2-16
I…Am…A...Rock…Star!
Did you know that? It’s true.
Everything I do, every thought I think, every word I utter is golden. My every notion should be framed in platinum. My every act should be written down in a book. My every achievement should be etched in posterity. Yes, I am a person of extreme value and worth.
Oh, not in the theological sense. That goes without saying. Jesus took care of that.
No, I’m talking about my political value. And that is off the charts.
How do I know that I’m so valuable? Why, the politicians tell me so.
Every time I turn on the television there’s some politician running for office and telling me that I’m the most important person in the world. I half expect to wake up in the morning and find Kamala Harris washing my car and Donald Trump painting my garage. That’s how important I am.
And do you know why I’m so important?
Because I’m MIDDLE CLASS. (Cue angel chorus!) (Alleluia!)
I’m sure glad I’m not poor. You could wait for months before you hear a politician speak up for those who are poor or disabled or underserved. You could grow old waiting to hear someone running for office promise to speak up for those who are homeless or hungry or unemployed or uninsured.
Jesus spoke up for them all the time. But then, he wasn’t a politician.
In the Scripture
In the gospel lesson for this week, Mark brings together two stories to address the issue of the church’s response to those who are powerless in the culture. His specific concern is for women and children, the most dependent and vulnerable people in the culture.
In the first story, the Pharisees come to him with a question to test his legal acumen. Their concern is not for the weak, the dependent, the insecure, or the powerless. Their concern is for the law. What does the law require and, conversely, what does it allow?
In this case, the question is about men, the most powerful people in that culture. How are powerful, independent men allowed to treat the women to whom they are married? What is the least that’s required of them? Under what circumstances are they allowed to walk away and not concern themselves with the welfare of the women they no longer want in their lives?
Not wanting to seem crass and uncaring, the Pharisees phrase their question carefully: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
They knew the answer before they asked the question. Yes, it is lawful. Moses allowed for this in the Levitical code. A man was not allowed to simply walk away from a woman, however. He had to state the reasons for the divorce in a formal and legal document and present it to her. (See Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1). In reality, however, the man’s reasons for divorce were rarely questioned and the divorced wife was usually considered damaged goods and would have no one to take care of her in her old age.
Jesus’ concern here, however, is not about legality as is the concern of the Pharisees. His concern is the hardness of heart of one whose only concern about the weak and vulnerable is “what’s the least we are required to do for them?” “What’s the least we can get away with?”
He makes that clear. Our concern should not be with what the law requires or allows. Our concern should not always be with asking what the minimum requirement is or what the least we can get away with is. Our concern, as the people of God, should be something more like, “What’s the very best I can do?”
The second account, one of the children brings to light the hardness of heart of Jesus’ own followers. People are bringing their children to Jesus so that he might touch them and bless them, but the disciples are turning them away. The disciples know that children are unpredictable and liable to disrupt the service. They cry, they run around, they stand on the new pew cushions, they kick the back of the seat in front of them and their parents can’t always be counted on to corral and control them — none of which makes for a smooth and orderly Bible study or worship experience.
So, the disciples tell the people with little kids that they’ll need to take the tots to the nursery where they have employed several skilled and well-vetted childcare professionals, who have all passed their background checks, and where they have instituted a thorough safe-sanctuaries policy.
Then Jesus interrupts everything and tells the disciples that not only are the children welcome but that they are to be seen as role models for adults. Their vulnerability, their trust, their absolute dependence upon others makes them prime candidates for the Kingdom and there’s a lesson in that for adults.
For the evangelist, Mark, the abandoned wives and the annoying children in these two accounts are metaphors, symbols for all people who are outside the power structure — the weak, vulnerable, and dependent. The response of Jesus makes it clear that those of us who identify as his disciples are to be caring, gentle, kind, and generous toward them.
In the News
How does all this translate into the twenty-first century United States? Who are these people, the weak, dependent, and vulnerable, today? What’s the takeaway?
Well, I hope you’ll excuse me, but I don’t know any way of talking about this topic without quoting some numbers. These are all figures that come from the 2020 census, the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Pew Research Center, and the Council on Foreign Relations.
About 38 million Americans live below the poverty level of $27,750 (annual income) for a family of four. We can certainly argue about how they got there and whose fault it is, but let’s save the arguing for later. First, let’s break that number down and examine some of the implications.
Thirty-eight million is about 12% of the population of the United States.
Broken down by age, that number represents 15.3% of all American children under 18 years of age and 10.3% of all seniors over 65.55% of those living under poverty (20.9 million) are women.
In the past year 23.6 million people have received assistance from SNAP (Special Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Plan), what we used to call food stamps. 35%, about 14 million, were children under eighteen years old. 34%, another 14 million, are female heads of households. 46% have some form of physical or mental disability. 51% work outside the home at least 35 hours per week.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or what we used to call welfare, provided assistance to a total of about 2 million people last year, an average of about 826,000 individual families per month — roughly 21% of those who would be eligible if they all applied.
About half of the families served by TANF are one-parent families. A third are no-parent families.
In 2023 we spent a total of about $1.3 trillion on assistance for the poor, down $3 billion from the previous year. $147 billion was spent on nutrition, 20% for children. $81 billion was spent on housing. $70 billion was spent on unemployment insurance and $756 billion — 60% of all money spent — was spent on Medicaid.
54% of Medicaid recipients were women; 39% were children.
4.1% of all full-time employed people in the United States live under the poverty level.
The poor, especially poor women and children, are among the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society. Recently, we have added another group to that tally — immigrants.
According to the Pew Research Center, today there are about 45 million foreign born immigrants living in the United States — 50% of who are naturalized citizens. 9% or 4 million are under 21 years of age. 33% or 15 million are over 54 years of age.
Half of them have a high school diploma or less. 32% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. 67% of immigrants over 16 years of age work full-time for a median annual income of $32,000. 15% live under the poverty level. 20% have no insurance.
It is estimated that about 11million, or 23% of our immigrant population, are undocumented. 3.3%, or about 850,000, are children. About 8.3 million or 75% are working full-time.
Half of all immigrants living in the United States are from six Latin American countries. When surveyed as to the reasons they are seeking to live here, 72% listed poverty and food insecurity as their number one reason. Other reasons include high crime by gangs and cartels, extortion, kidnapping, and other forms of violence. A vast drought has devastated family subsistence farms in Guatemala and Venezuela, creating their own version of the dust bowl.
What it all amounts to is fear. Fear of poverty and hunger, fear of crime, fear of the government, fear of the future, and the desperate hope that there must be something better somewhere. Whether the poor people we are talking about live in this country or the next one over, the one thing they have in common is fear. They are looking to us to offer them hope.
So, how do we respond?
In the Sermon
Jesus rarely offers solutions for solving the problem of poverty.
He lived in a time when the solution was not in the hands of the people he dealt with. Judea was an occupied country, controlled by the Roman Empire. If it was ever within their power to eliminate poverty in their country, it wasn’t then, at least not altogether.
Jesus was more likely to talk about relationships and, in this case, he speaks about the relationship that exists between the wealthy and the poor, the powerful and the weak, the protected and the vulnerable.
John the Baptizer spoke in practical terms.
When he was asked, “What should we do?” about poverty, he answered concretely and specifically: “If you have two coats and your neighbor has none, give one of your coats to your neighbor. And do the same with food. Keep for yourselves only what you really need.” In other words, give liberally from your excess.
Jesus’ advice is more general.
Jesus would have us soften our hearts toward the weak, the vulnerable, the hungry, the sick, the oppressed. Jesus would have us remember that our response to those people is not, finally, about who they are, but who we are.
If we are to take the word of Jesus seriously, we, his disciples, are to make not ourselves but those fearful, desperate people, the new rock stars of our culture.
Are we Christians? Are we people of soft hearts — kind, gentle, and generous? Do we put women and children first?
Or are we something else?
The answer will be found in our actions. The tree of our character and the vine of our religious faith will be known by their fruits.
SECOND THOUGHTSGod’s Image
by Katy Stenta
Genesis 2:18-24
This week we have the reminder that we are made from the earth itself. God formed humanity out of the earth. We are earthlings, creatures, created from the very earth itself. When we are created, we start to participate in our creation — defining who we are, what our likes and dislikes are, how we like to express ourselves. Being a parent, or a child of a parent, you know the child is never an exact replica of a parent. You probably should not have a child to create a replica of yourself. The child is made in your image, but is its own in personality, likes, dislikes, and expressions.
God made us in God’s image — and created humanity, first without any gender, Adamah, earthling. This implies that God is pangender, both gender, multi-gender. It was only after God decided that it was not good to be alone, did God do a kind of holy surgery and create genders. Dr. Wil Gafney does a really good job of explaining the difference.
Gender expression has evolved and changed over time. Much of what is assumed about a hunting and gathering society is due to the 1950s roles. More and more evidence has come to light that this was not true.
Meanwhile, what was once assumed safe with Roe v. Wade is on the line once again with the upcoming election, with Trump saying ominous things like “women will never have to worry about abortion again” — as pregnant women face more and more criminal charges regarding their health choices.
If things for women are bad, things for folks in the queer, and particularly the trans community, have been much worse. Those surveyed recently have found that the election has been taking a significant toll on their mental health.
As God says, it is not good to be alone or separate at this time. The right to express and create yourself is fundamental. It is important to dig deep into our support systems and community during this time, and to create more so that we can take our sabbath and rest time as needed. It is also important to take time to create and make things for pleasure. When in the muck, sometimes it’s good to make clay pots or play with play-do.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:Psalm 8
The Work of God’s Hands
The psalmist calls us back to awe in the face of God’s creation, the work of God’s hands. Phyllis Cole Dai recalls an experience of awe at creation, which came to her unexpectedly.
She writes that as she was hurrying home one night, she spotted a row of people in a backyard, facing a fence. “What are they up to? you wonder, slowing your steps. A masked man crossing the yard notices you on the sidewalk. “Come, join us!” he calls with a wave…You keep your distance as you follow him, adjusting your mask over your nose.” The people are watching some plants growing along the wood fence.
“An old lady stretches the tip of her cane toward another bud. “I’m betting on this one,” she says. “How about you?” Yes, she means you. Surprised by her question, you lean in to study the bud, perched on a swaying stem as tall as your thigh. Its green sheath is quivering. “Watch now,” the old lady says. In slow motion, the sheath starts to peel back, revealing a bit of the yellow flower hidden inside. Fascinated, you survey the long bed of spindly plants. The dimness of dusk makes it difficult to judge, but you guess there must be dozens of such buds, if not hundreds. “Evening primroses,” the old lady says. “I like to call them ‘sun cups.’ Keep your eyes peeled now —” Right on cue, the primrose in front of you pops free of its sheath. Its petals are still tightly wrapped, but the brilliant yellow head of the flower curls up as if to say hello, spilling a chill down your spine.
“Oh my,” you whisper. “It’s so . . . so . . .”
“Alive?” the old lady says, finishing your sentence.”
“The old lady waves her cane in the air like a conductor’s baton. “Look at them!” she says, a proud lilt in her voice. You don’t know if she’s talking about the flowers or the people, but you straighten to witness fireworks, primroses bursting into glory. So many are exploding at once from their buds, nobody can keep count.”
The older neighbor shares, “Oh, every night there’s a fresh crop. You’ll have to come again. The plants will bloom and bloom all summer, if we do the secret thing.”
“Water them?” you say.
She shakes her head.
“Pick off the dead blooms?”
“Nothing so hard,” she says.
“What then?” you say.
“Show up,” she says, “and pay attention. That’s why they bloom for us — to remind us how to love.” (from Staying Power: Writings from a Pandemic Year)
As the psalmist writes, “O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth.”
* * *
Psalm 8, Genesis 2:18-24
The Earth is Hiring
The Genesis passage and Psalm 8 highlight the connections between God, humankind, and the created world. In Genesis, the human creature gets close enough to the animals to name them. In Psalm 8, the whole glory of creation spreads out, so humankind can be awed and full of praise.
Paul Hawken told a class of college graduates about this connection, saying that the earth needs our care now. He shared, “This planet came with a set of instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them. Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil, or air, don’t let the earth get overcrowded, and don’t touch the thermostat, have been broken. Buckminster Fuller said that spaceship earth was so ingeniously designed that no one has a clue that we are on one, flying through the universe at a million miles per hour, with no need for seatbelts, lots of room in coach, and really good food — but all that is changing.”
He added, “The earth couldn’t afford to send recruiters or limos to your school. It sent you rain, sunsets, ripe cherries, night blooming jasmine, and that unbelievably cute person you are dating. Take the hint. And here’s the deal: Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done.”
As creatures devised by God to live on the earth, we all have this calling.
* * *
Genesis 2:18-24
God as an Artist
Sharon Salzburg writes that the Dalai Lama understands creativity as a demanding process, perhaps like God creating the earth creatures from the mud in Genesis. She writes, “In his view, beautiful art was beautiful because of the inner transformation artists went through during the act of creation. Had they become more enlightened, kinder, more deeply aware? To him, that’s what made a poem or a sculpture or painting more valuable, worthy of being held in higher esteem. Because I think of making art as social action, I began to wonder whether the same principle could be applied to caregivers or those seeking societal transformation. What if we could regard our lives — our bodies and minds and work — as our fundamental creative medium?" (from Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World)
Does God change as God creates the human creatures and their relationship develops?
* * *
Genesis 2:18-24, Psalm 8
The Original Artist
The Genesis creation story shows God as the artist at work, crafting humankind. Psalm 8 points out our divinity and our humanity. We share some aspects of the glory of God, and yet reflect it imperfectly.
Patrick Bringley, who worked as a security guard at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, recalls watching someone copy a painting one day. The museum has a rule that artists are required to work on a canvas that is at least 25% smaller than the original work, so there's no danger of theft.
Bringley says, “Sizing up her work, I decide it is lovely — a pleasant depiction of a mother in a marigold dress caring for a nude little boy. Clearly, she’s taken her time with it, and it’s come together more or less convincingly; it looks like fine art. After a few moments, I raise my eyes to take in Cassatt’s version and, well, put it this way: there’s no danger of anyone pulling the switcheroo that the 25 percent rule is designed to guard against. Cassatt’s picture isn’t lovely, it is bathed-in-sunlight beautiful — bold and easy and colorful and right, more robust somehow than “fine art.” It isn’t fair to the poor copyist, who works carefully and doggedly, while Cassatt soared on the wings of her hard-won mastery. This was her style; this was her subject; and she made a thousand choices with quick, inspired intelligence that can’t be replicated, only woodenly mimicked. To sum up, I can neither believe nor stand how good her picture is, and for the first time in a long time, I simply adore.” (from All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me)
Some things can only be a copy of the original, when the original artist is a master creator.
* * *
Mark 10:2-16
Being Like a Little Child
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus tells us to see the world like children, so we understand the realm of God. “Truly I tell you,” he says, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
This invitation to think like a child worked for the children’s autho,r Dr. Seuss. Austin Kleon says, “Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat with only 236 different words, so his editor bet him he couldn’t write a book with only 50 different words. Dr. Seuss came back and won the bet with Green Eggs and Ham, one of the bestselling children’s books of all time." (from Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative)
There’s a whole world waiting, when we see the world like children.
* * * * * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:Women and Children First — The Birkenhead Drill
On the afternoon of February 25, 1852, the HMS Birkenhead, a steel hulled paddlewheel steamship, one of the first of its kind, set out from Cape Town, South Africa, laden with war supplies for British troops fighting in what became known as the Eighth Cape Frontier War. Onboard were 634 souls, including the ship’s crew, soldiers on their way to the front, and 26 women and children.
Having been ordered to make all possible haste, the captain hugged the shore and late into night, while all but the night watch were sleeping, the Birkenhead entered an area known as Danger Point and rammed an uncharted rock.
So fast was the ship going that the hull was ripped in half. Dozens were killed in their hammocks below deck while the rest made their way topside only to discover that the mechanical means for lowering lifeboats had been damaged.
The captain gave the order that the women and children should be allowed into the lifeboats and lowered by hand into the water and, once that was accomplished, he told the surviving men to abandon ship as best they could.
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Seton, the army commanding officer, realized, however, that the men would swim to the lifeboats, and, in the melee, the boats would be swamped and those aboard would be thrown into the sea. So he ordered his men to stand fast until the lifeboats were well away and only then was the order given to abandon ship.
In all, some 440 men perished from drowning and shark attacks. 193 survived, swimming the two miles to shore, clinging to floating debris until help arrived the next day, or in four small lifeboats, among which were all 26 of the women and children.
So famous did the story become that the order of “women and children first” became known as the Birkenhead Drill. Rudyard Kipling immortalized the bravery of the soldiers in a poem, “Soldiers an’ Sailors, Too” and, for years, was read to every British graduating military class.
Sixty years later, in 1912, the Birkenhead Drill was practiced again on the HMS Titanic and was so steadfastly followed that more than 200 lifeboat seats went unfilled as men refused to take them in case other women and children would show up needing them.
The Birkenhead Drill never became maritime law but was thought to be standard practice in nautical disasters until a study was done in 2012. After examining the accounts of 18 shipwrecks over the course of 300 years, it was discovered that the “women and children first” rule was rarely observed.
It’s just not how evacuations and rescues tend to play out in real life, according to one of the authors of the study. The Titanic and the Birkenhead were outliers, according to Mikael Erlinder, because leadership influenced the behavior of the crew.
“We don’t see this in most shipwrecks, just chaos,” Erlinder said. “When there is a threat to loss of life, one tries to save oneself.” In most shipwrecks, the study found, women have a survival disadvantage compared to men. Captains and crew survive at a significantly higher rate than passengers.
And there were other distinctions made, according to Lucy Delap of Cambridge University, a historian of feminism in the United States and Britain.
“It turned out that not all women were equally deserving of protection at sea,” she wrote in 2012. “Lower-class women — wives of sailors or soldiers, or poor emigrant women — were frequently excluded from the rule, and women of color were equally marginalized.”
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:Job 1:1, 2:1-10
Undeserved suffering
The opening lines of the book of Job introduce us to Job and place him at the center of the stage, preparing us for the pain that we know is coming. Job, however, remains unaware of what is to come, not unlike the lives of many victims of Hurricane Helene last week. Like the hundreds of North Carolinians impacted by Helene, Job was caught off guard by the suffering he experienced. In the case of Hurricane Helene, hundreds have been killed and more people remain unaccounted. The storm caused widespread damage in western North Carolina, a region more than 500 miles from where Helene first made landfall in Florida. The booming city of Asheville was caught off guard by the storm, which caused widespread flooding and damage. Residents were left stranded without access to fresh water or power, and extremely limited cell phone service.
* * *
Job 1:1, 2:1-10
Caught Off-Guard
One resident from Asheville managed to make it to the grocery store on Monday, only to find supplies of shelf-stable items, like granola bars, severely depleted. Like many Asheville residents, 60-year-old Caryolyn Ryden indicated she was caught “off guard” by the storm. On Monday, she spent hours waiting in line at a grocery store to purchase a case of drinking water and one of the last cases of granola bars. She said she had moved to Asheville because of its flourishing art community and relatively nice weather. “My other friends moved from Brooklyn and we called it a climate refuge here because it doesn’t get too hot, it doesn’t get too cold,” she said. While many in Asheville are grateful for the strong sense of community support that has risen following the flooding, some are concerned how long such cooperation and integrity will last. “If this goes on another week,” one resident said, in words that evoke the spirit of Job’s wife, “it (community spirit) might start to crumble.”
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Job 1:1, 2:1-10
Acts of God
Legally, natural disasters such as Hurricane Helene are defined as “acts of God” for insurance purposes. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, however, The New York Times reviewed our cultural associations with natural disasters and God. The writers pointed out that sometimes our culture “is so inured to disaster,” that in certain cultures and regions, the term has lots some of its original meaning. They quote a Filipino writer as recalling the vulnerability of her homeland to such disasters. The phrase “’Bahala na” (leave it to God) is so common that it is embedded into Filipino culture. One legal scholar suggests that it is well past time to rethink blaming God for massive storms. Such statements, wrote professor Ted Steinberg, “divert attention from what city, state, and federal authorities can control,” and mitigate the role human beings have in addressing the effects climate change has and will continue to have on large-scale disasters.
“To interpret natural disasters as acts of God or nature may be comforting or make for a good sound bite,” Steinberg wrote. “But the inconvenient truth is that such statements distract from the failure of policy that makes natural calamities an inevitable feature of life in the 21st century.”
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Mark 10:2-16
Go ahead, I dare you…
This week’s readings from Job and Mark 10 are perhaps not a preacher’s favorite scriptures. Job is, well, so Job-ish. Mark 10, on the other hand, begins with a question from the Pharisees that creates another slew of homiletical dilemmas. We can almost hear the congregation saying back to us, “Yeah, teacher, tell us what God thinks of divorce. Go ahead, we dare you!” For one thing, many of our church members are divorced, and each will bring their own perspective of divorce to this conversation. Secondly, while simultaneously promoting the benefits of marriage, the church has worked hard to overcome the residue of moments when it spoke less gracefully, and certainly less compassionately, about divorce. So, as Karoline Lewis observes, “this is not one of those texts that you can dance around, explain away, or use to justify behavior.”
What to do? Perhaps we begin by noticing that Jesus responds to the Pharisees by seeing through their thinly veiled test. Instead of handing down a legalistic injunction, Jesus promotes marriage while also evoking God’s concern for the vulnerable and marginalized. (A divorced woman would have had little economic or social standing in Jesus’ day, where men could fairly easily initiate divorce.) God desires that a marriage covenant reflect mutuality and partnership, reinforced by his actions toward children in verses 13-16.
In Jana Marguerite Bennett’s book Singleness and the Church: A New Theology of the Single Life (2017), she makes this observation:
When Christians do think about divorce, their responses come in two main guises. One is to join in a cultural frenzy about preventing divorce, along with various attempts to keep divorce out of their congregations. The other response is a move toward accepting divorce, and especially accepting divorcing people. Scripture scholar Richard Hays writes that the feeling among Christians is, “we must avoid being judgemental.… To require people to stay in difficult marriages against their inclination would be to impose a harsh law contrary to the spirit of love.” She does not argue overturning Christian theologies about divorce, but instead says she is asking for the church to consider how divorce can witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and therefore be viewed as a way of life that witnesses to discipleship. Bennett argues that the question she explores is similar one asked by author Lauren Winner: “What is the witness of divorcing and divorced people in the church and to the church?”
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Mark 10:2-16
By the numbers
The canard that half of all American marriages end in divorce is not completely supported by current research. The currently reported marriage rate in the United States is 6.2 per 1,000 people, or slightly more than two million marriages. In the same time period, there were 673,989 divorces and annulments in the 45 states that report such numbers. Statistically, second and third marriages are more fragile, with 60% of second marriages and 73% of third marriages splitting up. For first marriages, the percentage of divorce is about 43%. Overall, the marriage and divorce rate have been declining since 2000.
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Mark 10:2-16
Inequality in marriage
Jesus is focused on protecting the vulnerable and upholding an understanding of marriage as an equal partnership. In an essay for the Washington Post, Lyz Lenz adapted material from her recent book This American Ex-Wife, to explore inequities between spouses. Lenz does not believe that marriages erode simply because a woman begins earning more money or because she pursues a career. (It’s important to note she is only speaking about heterosexual marriages.) She notes a study of marriage in Sweden, where salaries between men and women are more equal, that found divorce was not caused by a lack of social support, but rather from a failing sense of relationship. Lenz observes:
Whenever I point out the inequality in marriage, a man inevitably will bemoan the loss of marriage in our culture. The “whatever happened to the good old days when people stayed married?” flavor of cultural critique is baseless and boring. But it persists because, as Susan Faludi wrote in her seminal work of cultural analysis, Backlash, the one constant of marriage is that men have benefited from the institution.
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Mark 10:2-16
Domestic violence
This week’s focus on women and children in Mark 10 offers an opportunity to mention the start of domestic violence awareness month as proclaimed by President Joe Biden. In his proclamation, the President noted:
Between 30 and 40 percent of Americans are impacted by sexual abuse, physical violence, or stalking — including online — by an intimate partner throughout their lifetimes. Over the years, I have spoken with countless brave survivors of domestic violence, who have shared the devastating toll this abuse takes on all aspects of their lives. Their stories are also marked by a deep courage and resilience. Above all, they have made clear that even one case of domestic violence is too many and goes against who we are as a nation.
Churches interested in finding resources about domestic violence might explore the National Network to End Domestic Violence website, which includes statistics, policy recommendations, a resource library, and suggestions for how to get involved. The theme for this year’s campaign is “#Every1KnowsSome1.”
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WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Come and save us, O God.
All: We trust in you with all our hearts and souls.
One: The steadfast love of God is always before us.
All: We sing songs of thanksgiving to our God.
One: We love your house, O God, where we worship together.
All: Keep us steady as we bless your holy Name.
OR
One: Come from the east and the west, from the north and south.
All: Let all God’s people come to the table of blessing.
One: Come, you poor and rejected. Come, you who have much.
All: We are all God’s children, God’s beloved ones.
One: Let us embrace one another in holy love.
All: Let us welcome all into God’s presence and grace.
Hymns and Songs
The Church’s One Foundation
UMH: 545/546
H82: 525
PH: 442
GTG: 321
AAHH: 337
NNBH: 297
NCH: 386
CH: 272
LBW: 369
ELW: 654
W&P: 544
AMEC: 519
In Christ There Is No East or West
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439/440
GTG: 317/318
AAHH: 398/399
NNBH: 299
NCH: 394/395
CH: 687
LBW: 259
ELW: 650
W&P: 600/603
AMEC: 557
Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation
UMH: 559
H82: 518
PH: 416/417
GTG: 394
NCH: 400
CH: 275
LBW: 367
ELW: 645
AMEC: 518
Jesu, Jesu
UMH: 432
H82: 602
PH: 367
GTG: 203
NCH: 498
CH: 600
ELW: 708
W&P: 273
CCB: 66
Renew: 289
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
UMH: 75
H82: 377/378
PH: 220/221
GTG: 385
NNBH: 36
NCH: 7
CH: 18
LBW: 245
ELW: 883
W&P: 661
AMEC: 73
STLT 370
Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
UMH: 126
H82: 408
PH: 483
GTG: 645
NCH: 6
CH: 6
W&P: 56
Renew: 52
Let All the World in Every Corner Sing
UMH: 93
H82: 402/403
PH: 468
GTG: 636
W&P: 49
You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
UMH: 629
PH: 521
GTG: 523
CH: 429
ELW: 484
W&P: 705
Let Us Break Bread Together
UMH: 618
H82: 325
PH: 513
GTG: 525
AAHH: 686
NNBH: 358
NCH: 330
CH: 425
LBW: 212
ELW: 471
W&P: 699
AMEC: 530
STLT: 406
CCB: 46
One Bread, One Body
UMH: 620
GTG: 530
CH: 393
ELW: 496
W&P: 689
Unity
CCB: 59
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
CCB: 78
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who created us all from the dust of the earth:
Help us to accept one another as your children
that we might reflect your loving-kindness;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you created all people from the dust of the earth. You breathed your Spirit into all flesh. Open our hearts to one another that we may live as your children, reflecting your loving-kindness. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we reject others.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We speak of you as creator of all and yet we then reject some as not being part of your family. We discriminate among your children deciding who we will claim and who we will not. Even within your Church we label and separate those we accept and those we cast aside. Forgive us our foolishness which fails to see you as creator of all. Renew your Spirit within us that we may truly honor you as our loving parent. Amen.
One: God created us all and God loves us all. Receive God’s gracious love and embrace all God’s family.
Prayers of the People
We worship and adore you, O God of all creation. In your love and wisdom you made us all from the same dust of the earth and breathed into us your own breath.
(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 speak of you as creator of all and yet we then reject some as not being part of your family. We discriminate among your children deciding who we will claim and who we will not. Even within your Church we label and separate those we accept and those we cast aside. Forgive us our foolishness which fails to see you as creator of all. Renew your Spirit within us that we may truly honor you as our loving parent.
We give you thanks for all the love that shines through your creation. We thank you for your Spirit that reaches out to us from many faces and hearts. We thank you for your people far and near who share your love with us and with all the world. Most of all we thank you for Jesus, our elder brother, who teaches us how to live as your children.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another this day. We pray for those who have felt rejected and unwanted even in your Church. We pray for those who find it difficult to believe in your love because people have withheld their love from them. We pray for those who are faithfully proclaiming your love not only in their words but in their loving acceptance of others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
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CHILDREN'S SERMONWorld Communion Sunday
by Tom Willadsen
It’s World Communion Sunday. While some congregations do not observe this, I grew up in a community that took it very seriously, something to truly celebrate. It started in Pittsburgh, PA in a Presbyterian church. In good, thorough, Presbyterian fashion, it has always been of central importance that the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper be celebrated in every time zone around the globe. “Jesus shall reign wher’er the Sun, does its successive journeys run….”
For the Children’s Time, assemble as many different kinds of bread as you can. Try to get breads from different countries, cultures, time zones. Some suggestions: tortilla, Wonder Bread, matzah, saltine, wafer, rice cake, multigrain crackers. Be sure to have some of the bread that will be used later in the service for communion. Some churches offer multiple breads. For example, the church I serve offers whole wheat and gluten-free wafers.
A little context: I am in a search for my next transitional pastorate. Each time I meet with a hiring committee, I have a playful, non-church-related question that I ask everyone. This search the question is “What food from your childhood evokes strong memories?” It is easily the most engaging question I’ve ever used. As you begin, ask the little ones gathered up front what their favorite foods are. Ask everyone in the congregation to think of a food from their childhood which evokes strong memories. (It’s a little silly to ask a six year old about a food from her childhood, so phrase the question seeking them to name their favorite food.) My hope is that people will think back to their childhoods.
Ask the little ones to name their foods, maybe just one food they like if it’s hard to pick a favorite. Ask about what they remember about the food, not just what it tastes like, but who made it for them. Is it a special treat that a grandparent always has for them? A birthday meal that they get to pick all by themselves? Whatever food it is, they have really, really strong memories of it.
Show the various kinds of bread. Let them touch it, even eat it if there’s enough to share. Ask if they know why we share bread on special occasions at church. Jesus said, “Do this to remember me,” when he broke bread and shared it with his disciples at the Last Supper.
In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus takes a child into his arms and says, “Let the little children come to me….” Jesus’ love is for everyone! Just as everywhere on earth Christians are gathering together and sharing bread, because the bread helps them remember.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, who told us to remember you. And you gave us this sacrament to remind us to follow you, to share our bread, to be nourished around your table. We thank you that you invite everyone to eat together, and remember. We pray in your name. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, October 6, 2024 issue.
Copyright 2024 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.
