Hungry For Peace
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
This week’s lectionary text from Isaiah offers his vision of the “peaceable kingdom” -- a world where “the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together... the cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together.” It’s an enticing vision -- but as team member Mary Austin points out in this installment of The Immediate Word, it also seems like an impossible dream. How exactly is that supposed to come about? How can genetic predisposition be overcome? Those questions seem particularly apropos for us today as well since we live in a world rife with divisions and enmity, especially in the wake of a particularly vicious campaign and election that has left all sides with raw emotions and worries about the future. How can we listen to those with differing viewpoints, put aside lingering resentments, and sit down together in fellowship and unity? Moreover, how can we reconcile the various parts of our own personalities that represent the lion and the lamb? And how can we avoid being lions that unnecessarily prey on vulnerable lambs and the powerless? In the current environment, achieving all of that seems almost unimaginably difficult. Yet the prophet provides the simple prescription for finding peace when he observes: “...and a little child shall lead them.”
Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts on the Matthew passage and the imagery John the Baptist uses of separating wheat from chaff. Dean points out that an important aspect of separating wheat from chaff in our lives involves the proliferation of “fake news,” and the necessity of utilizing discernment in order to separate truthful information from disinformation and propaganda that feeds into our prejudices and pre-existing information. Dean also reminds us that discernment is also an essential tool from separating the wheat from the chaff in our spiritual lives, and in directing our behavior and beliefs toward that which is truly authentic... something vitally important as we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Christ.
Hungry for Peace
by Mary Austin
Isaiah 11:1-10
At the zoo recently I saw an employee moving around the polar bear enclosure, and I wondered what has to happen to make her safe there. Are the polar bears already full when she enters the habitat? Or are they contained somewhere else before she comes in? How do the animals and the keepers learn to inhabit the same space, without harm to either one?
Isaiah resolves all of those questions when he speaks of God’s reign of peace. He doesn’t bother with the small questions of “how” -- he paints God’s compelling vision of fullness, and leaves us to wonder how it might come to life. The learning curve for what he foretells seems impossibly big. How would a snake learn to transcend the reptile brain and not be a threat to a baby? What basis would the wolf and the lamb find for their friendship? How full would the leopard have to be to pass up a plump young goat?
Isaiah promises that the natural order will change once the world knows the fullness of God’s peace. Even dead tree stumps will crack so new life can grow. We can’t help but wonder how this will come to pass, and if it’s even possible anywhere other than the mind of God.
In the News
Isaiah’s vision of the peaceable kingdom seems far off, as partisans squabble over whether a recount of the presidential election is needed in three key swing states. The president-elect is saying that he won the popular vote (in addition to the electoral college) if you take out the people who voted illegally. There’s no apparent evidence for his claim, but it’s stirring up anxiety and more dissension.
For Native American tribes, the Thanksgiving holiday this year brought another reminder of the lack of harmony between their members and the descendants of white settlers -- and of the lion devouring the lamb to serve its own interests: “The traditional story of the first Thanksgiving feast between peaceful Pilgrims and generous Natives has been challenged by indigenous groups for decades. The United American Indians of New England began observing a ‘National Day of Mourning’ on Thanksgiving in 1970, calling attention to the history of genocide against indigenous people that included massacres, broken treaties, and the forced assimilation of children through boarding schools that persisted into the 1970s.” On the Thanksgiving holiday, ironically, Americans could watch the team based in the nation’s capital and called “the Redskins” play football as part of the day’s celebration. Meanwhile, protestors gathered at the Standing Rock encampment were “still reeling from [the previous] Sunday night, when North Dakota law enforcement officials deployed water cannons amid sub-freezing temperatures.”
This week, the governor of North Dakota “issued an evacuation of the area used to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline, citing ‘anticipated harsh weather conditions’ and the unauthorized camps erected by the thousands of demonstrators. The order, issued Monday, is effective immediately and will stay in place indefinitely.” However, in a sign that even the seemingly powerless have their own kind of power, the governor’s spokesperson said the order will not be enforced by state law enforcement or the National Guard. “The biggest reason,” she said, “in my estimation, is that we don’t have the force to do so. That said, we have real concerns about the safety of those remaining in the camp because of severe weather.” It’s hard for the wolf and the lamb to live together, but the wolf should never underestimate the lamb.
In the Scriptures
Isaiah speaks God’s word to a nation on the brink of war with a much larger power. Death and destruction hover on the horizon, and Isaiah speaks this improbable word of peace into that storm of fear and destruction. The Davidic line is dying out, and the nation’s future is in jeopardy. Into that season of dark imaginings God speaks this impossible word, announcing not just peace but a future dramatically different from the present. It sounds good, but who would believe such a word?
Listening to God’s message requires a long vison of the future. None of this is going to happen tomorrow. It didn’t happen in the lifetimes of the people who heard Isaiah, and it may not happen in ours. But God keeps moving toward that vision, and in listening to Isaiah we hear where God is going. We may be slow to get on board, but God keeps working on it.
God’s promises also require a kind of spiritual audacity. Speaking unlikely visions of peace when people are in a state of panic about the present moment demands spiritual courage... and maybe a certain ability not to be consumed by the needs of the present. Like middle-aged people who can’t see things that are close, we have to set aside the demands of the current moment to take in this bold vision.
In the future God that plans, the wolf will learn not to eat the lamb, and the leopard will be full enough not to lick its lips over the young goat. God’s creatures will rise above our usual ways of doing things and live into a vision of peace.
The dead stump of David’s line will crack, and bring forth a new shoot of life. That growth from a dead place reveals the presence of God. This Advent, our own dead places may yet come to life as God’s power comes into the rot and the cracks, and brings out something new.
In the Sermon
The church community is one of the few places where we may see signs of the peaceable kingdom come to life, as bankers and almost-homeless people roll up their sleeves and serve a community lunch together. Millionaires and teachers’ aides stop to drink a cup of coffee together, and indie musicians and attorneys share the job of pruning the bushes on work weekends. If God’s vision of peace is far off in the outside world, how can we bring it to life more fully in the church? How do we live together so our differences enlighten each other? How do we make sure the wolf and the lamb both have their voices heard?
Or the sermon might think about the lion and the lamb that both live inside each one of us. Images for Jesus include both the lion and the lamb, and our path in following him incorporates both. How do we know when it’s time to use the lion’s strength, and when it’s time to lead with the lamb’s gentleness? When we’re using our lion skills, how do we not scare the lambs? When we’re in lamb mode, how do we not get gobbled up by the lion?
The sermon might also consider how our lifestyles make us modern-day wolves, gobbling up lambs on a daily basis as our lives are sustained by modern-day slave labor. Unpaid or underpaid labor fuels our lives: “A report from the International Labor Organization estimated that slavery nets traffickers a jaw-dropping $32 billion per year. If the products being produced by slaves were only sold to those knowingly and willingly involved in the industry, this number could not be possible. $32 billion is made because slavery is directly connected to each of our lives. The minerals used in the production of many of our everyday items, such as cars, phones, computers, clothes, coffee, and chocolate, come from the hands of slaves.” How can we change our wolf-like nature to impact the lives of people who are more like the lamb than we are? An article in Relevant suggests that we don’t need to change everything at once, but begin with one change we can make in our consumption. Do that, and then “the next right thing,” and then another step. The peaceable kingdom comes one step at a time.
Parker Palmer says that a long-ago mentor in the Catholic Worker movement taught him “What you need to understand is this. Just because something’s impossible doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.” When God’s vision of peace feels impossible, that doesn’t mean we can stop working for it. Palmer adds that we don’t need to obsess about the results, but be sure we’re faithful to God’s vision. “While it's important to be as *effective* as we possibly can in doing vital tasks, it’s even more important to be *faithful* to our gifts and the way they can help meet the world’s needs. When effectiveness is our only norm, we will take on smaller and smaller tasks, because they’re the only ones with which we can be effective. No one who has stood for high values -- love, truth, justice -- has died being able to declare victory, once and for all. If we want to embrace high values, we must find some way to hang in for the long haul.”
Whether we’re wolves or lambs, snakes or babies, living together peacefully requires us to step out of what we know into an unfamiliar, uncomfortable world. Our usual instincts don’t work here -- we need a different kind of wisdom only God can give. Being together harmoniously isn’t possible in an instant -- we have to learn new ways of thinking, and then new patterns of living. But God is on our side in this work, just as God has always been on the side of peace. Our world holds the same darkness and fear that Isaiah saw, and God’s word of promise belongs to us too. But we have to learn enough to take our place in the world God dreams for all of us.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Wheat and Chaff
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 3:1-12
Matthew’s gospel gives us a John the Baptist who is not messing around.
He appears in the wilderness looking for all the world like Elijah, with camel’s hair clothing and a leather belt and a belly full of locust and wild honey, and he’s loaded for bear. His message is plain and simple, the shortest sermon in the world: “Repent!”
Change! Turn around! Stop doing what you are doing and do the opposite!
And then, when the Pharisees and Sadducees arrive he gets downright personal. He calls them a brood of vipers! He starts channeling Jonathan Edwards and that “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” thing.
The axe is already hacking away at the roots of the trees that don’t produce good fruit.
Another baptizer is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and FIRE!
And then he closes with a vivid metaphor: this new baptizer is going to go through Israel like a winnowing fork, and he’s going to separate the wheat from the chaff -- and the chaff is going to be thrown into a furnace of unquenchable fire.
Kinda harsh, huh?
In the Scriptures
Let’s unpack that wheat metaphor, shall we?
Chaff is the husks that grow around the kernels of wheat at the end of the stalk. It has to be removed so the seeds can be crushed and ground into flour. The process for removing the chaff from the grain is called threshing and winnowing. In ancient times this was all done by hand.
The grain would be piled and spread upon a hard surface and dried. Then it would be threshed -- that is, pounded with a threshing stick or broom so as to knock the chaff off the grain. Then the farmer would use a winnowing fork or shovel to toss the grain and chaff into the air. On calm days or indoors, someone would wave a fan up and down to create a breeze. The chaff was lighter than the grain, so the wind would blow it away and the grain would fall back to the ground. This process was called “wind winnowing.” The chaff would be allowed to blow away, or it would be swept up, gathered, and burned.
It was a popular metaphor for any process that was used to separate the good from the bad, the worthwhile from the worthless, the true from the false.
The lection brings us to this story on the second Sunday of Advent to remind us that the coming of the Messiah, whose birth we celebrate on December 25, is both good news and bad news depending whether God considers you wheat or chaff.
Wheat is pounded, ground, and added to other ingredients to make bread -- the coarse, nutritious food that bread was in those days, the staple of every meal, the life-giving manna at every table. It was not just important to the well-lived life. It was essential.
Chaff, on the other hand, is, well... chaff. It is trash of no value to be thrown away and burned.
In our Lives
So the question for us is “How do we become the wholesome, life-giving grain and not the chaff?”
And the answer to that question lies within the metaphor itself. We become the grain by removing the chaff from our own lives.
In this passage John the Baptist urges us to become our own winnowing forks. He calls us to remove the inessential, the unnecessary, the useless, the hurtful, prideful, hateful things from our lives so we can be the people God has planted and raised us up to be.
First, we must winnow the chaff from our minds.
It is easy, as we have seen in this recent election season, to let our minds be filled with chaff simply because it sounds good. But we have discovered that much of what we heard, especially if we rely on Facebook and truthy-sounding websites as our news sources, is “fake news.” Many of those stories that sounded just a little cock-eyed but still kind of truthy were in fact totally fabricated falsehoods created by what Snopes.com calls “the internet’s clickbaiting, news-faking, social media exploiting dark side.” If we get our news from sources like Alternet.org, BeforeItsNews.com, Christwire.org, or DailyCurrant.com, we were duped. (Click here for an exhaustive list of fake news websites.)
Some of those bogus news stories are obvious fakes that scream at us like the headlines of the National Enquirer. But others are so well written that, no matter how unlikely they may seem, they still sound like real news.
And sometimes even the real news sources fall into truthiness patterns that obscure the truth. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman reminds us that “Over the course of the 2016 campaign, the three network news shows devoted a total of 35 minutes combined to policy issues -- all policy issues. Meanwhile, they devoted 125 minutes to Mrs. Clinton’s e-mails.” So what we need here is that skill known as discernment -- the ability to grasp and comprehend what is obscure; the ability to judge well. Only when we have cultivated this ability, this judgment based in healthy skepticism with a thirst for real knowledge and true wisdom, will we be able to prepare ourselves for the coming Christ by winnowing the chaff from our minds.
Secondly, we need to winnow the chaff from our spiritual lives.
This winnowing process calls for a different type of discernment, a spiritual discernment -- perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual direction and understanding. In the New Testament it is generally referred to as the ability to distinguish, judge, or appraise a person, statement, situation, or environment for the purpose of determining its authenticity, value, or worth.
It is an ability that is a gift in some and a skill in others. Some seem to be born with it while others must learn to cultivate it in their own lives, but all can have and use it.
It helps us to see which religious beliefs, practices, and ideas have value and which can be tossed aside as useless or even deceptively harmful.
The wheat of our spiritual lives is heavy stuff. It calls us into service to others through Jesus Christ. It calls us to love and peace and kindness and generosity.
Spiritual chaff tends to divide and separate us, to identify some as insiders and some as outsiders, some as saved and others as sinners, some as accepted and others as unacceptable.
Only when we have cultivated this spiritual discernment based on love and grace will we be able to prepare ourselves for the coming Christ by winnowing the chaff from our spiritual lives.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Isaiah 11:1-10
A religious commune for nuns is located 13,000 feet above sea level in Yarchen Gar, in the Sichuan province of China. The settlement has over 10,000 residents, and is the largest commune of nuns in the world. “Gar” means a monastic encampment. They live in squarely conditions, without proper sewage disposal, running water, and electricity. Yet they remain, for it is a place for solitude and meditation, and provides the opportunity to learn from the great Buddhist teacher Asang Tulku. Tulku resides on top of a high mountain that looks down upon the Yarchen valley. The devotees gather before him to hear his words of wisdom. The commune of the nuns can only be reached by crossing several wooden bridges, as it is surrounded by a river. On the hillside the monks reside in conditions that are very modern. (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display photographs of Yarchen Gar in the New York Times article.)
Application: We are not expected to go to the extreme of the residents of Yarchen Gar, but perhaps Isaiah is expecting us to take upon ourselves the same serious attitude.
*****
Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
In a Bizarro comic, two cavemen are sitting by a fire warming themselves. As time goes by one says to the other, “I can’t help but think that if there were a god, it would have shown us fire, like, right off the bat.” (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)
Application: Our readings try to show us right off the bat that there is a God.
*****
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
In the late 1860s George F. Gates built a home in Independence, Missouri. The well-constructed house faithfully served generations of Gates. In 1919 his granddaughter Bess and her husband Harry moved into the 210 North Delaware St. residence, sharing the home with Bess’ widowed mother Mary Gates Wallace. Her grandfather had adorned the house with gingerbread, shaded the yard, and planted a special garden of lilac bushes encircling a sundial. Harry S. Truman would often rest among the garden’s blossoms, seeking respite from the problems of the presidency. Tranquility would often come when the president read the words the elder Gates inscribed on the sundial: “My Face Marks the Sunny Hours. What Can You Say of Yours?”
Application: The message of the psalm is for us to be joyful Christians who recognize the blessings of God.
*****
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
In a Peanuts comic strip, Peppermint Patty is home, sitting at her desk, intent upon completing a homework assignment. Placing pencil to paper, she scrawls, “What I did on my Christmas vacation. I went outside and looked at the clouds. They formed beautiful patterns with beautiful colors. I looked at the clouds every morning and every evening. Which is all I did on my Christmas vacation.” Finished, she picks up the manuscript to study her composition. Suddenly suspicious that the class will question her ambition, Peppermint Patty places the report upon the desk and defensively concludes, “And what’s wrong with that?” Free yourself to enjoy such innocence, for there is nothing wrong with realization and contemplation. This is the message offered by this psalm reading.
*****
Romans 15:4-13
In a New York Times op-ed piece, political analyst Frank Luntz discusses the vicious tone of the presidential campaign between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Now that the election is over, Luntz believes it is time for our nation to begin a healing process -- and the first, and possibly the most important, step is the concession and/or acceptance speech on the part of both candidates. This, Luntz notes, has been the tradition of our country for 240 years. The concession speech can speak of the hurt of having lost the election, but it must also be a call to unity in support of the newly elected president. The acceptance speech can express the joy of winning, but more importantly it must recognize the anguish of those who lost the election. The acceptance speech, according to Luntz, should include this line addressed to his opponents: “Tonight, I hear you. I feel your frustration. Your hopes and dreams are just as important as those of the people in this room. Your concerns are just as real. I get it, and I will act on it.”
Application: Paul instructs us to speak as a community in one voice.
*****
Romans 15:4-13
Pope Francis recently appointed Joseph Tobin to oversee the Archdiocese of Newark. Tobin was held in such high esteem by the pope that he was also promoted to be a cardinal, one of the few who are permitted to elect a pope. Tobin is an outspoken advocate of social justice, reflecting the pope’s own views. Tobin’s selection is an indication of how Pope Francis wants to set a new direction for Catholics in the United States. The Newark archdiocese borders that of New York, which is overseen by Cardinal Timothy Dolan -- considered the spokesperson for the Catholic Church in America. In a phone conversation Dolan wanted to know if the two cardinals were going to be in competition with one another, to which Tobin replied, “If there’s any competition, I hope it’s who can serve the people of God best.”
Application: Paul wants us, as a Christian community, to speak with one voice.
*****
Romans 15:4-13
Joseph Tobin, the newly appointed archbishop of Newark, was surprised by the unexpected assignment. Upon learning the news, Tobin said: “Sometimes I think that Pope Francis sees a lot more in me that I see in myself.”
Application: Paul is trying to encourage Christian to see more in themselves, to affirm the spiritual gifts given to them.
*****
Matthew 3:1-12
A recent archeological discovery in Maryland confirms how the African-Americans who first came to the colonies were able to combine their native traditions with Christianity, and eventually become Christian. In Africa there was the tradition in the BaKongo religion of the wheel. Natives would dance counter-clockwise around the wheel as a symbol of redemption. Black Christian preachers would compare the wheel in the BaKongo religion to the wheel in the story of Ezekiel. A hymn was actually written combining the two faiths and the symbolic meaning of the wheel. This archeological discovery, found on the grounds of a slave plantation, demonstrates the merging of the two religions. (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display pictures from the New York Times article as well as the Bible passage from Ezekiel and the song that accompanied it.)
Application: Jesus taught that the Kingdom is near, and “near” does not have to be restricted to his final coming.
*****
Matthew 3:1-12
Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, has a very foul mouth and is known for the atrocities visited upon his citizens. Duterte has even been known to swear at President Obama, which resulted in Obama cancelling their meeting. On a flight from Japan back to the Philippines, Duterte heard the voice of God. God spoke of Duterte’s foul language, “If you don’t stop, I will bring this plane down now.” Duterte responded, “Who is this?” Then he realized it was God. At the time the plane was over the Philippine Sea. Duterte has not used a swear word since, but still contends there might be a proper occasion to express himself with such language.
Application: John the Baptist warns us that the axe is lying at the root of the trees.
*****
Matthew 3:1-12
We would be wise to heed the message of John the Baptist and seek God within our own hearts and souls. We must cast out false idols and foolish gods that only lead to our ruin. We must affirm the Creator of life -- substituting compassion for hate, temperance for gluttony, and humility for pride.
Perhaps H. G. Wells expressed it best when he wrote: “Religion is the first thing and the last thing, and until man has found God, and been found by God, he begins at no beginning and works to no end.”
***************
From team member Robin Lostetter:
Isaiah 11:1-10
This is a true story about the tension between the hope for the New Creation and the reality of this fallen world. Some of you may have seen it on television, on Animal Planet or Wild Kingdom. An excerpt is available here. See a photo of the lioness and calf here.
In December of 2001, a lioness that has been named Kamunyak adopted an infant oryx antelope calf. Even the scientist who documented this strange pairing, and who could not explain it, was reminded of Isaiah’s words that the lion will lie down with the calf.
There are theories, but no one knows why Kamunyak adopted this calf -- and went on to adopt others later -- and, as I recall from the documentary, one or two thrived under her maternal care. But all of them were oryx calves... and this association didn’t stop her from seeing all other antelope as prey.
These two were devoted to each other for their 16 days together. The devotion of the lioness brought out her protective instincts, so that watching the calf occupied her time to the exclusion of her being able to hunt. Hence, she went hungry. The calf, although apparently having occasional access to its mother for meager sustenance, couldn’t digest grass yet, so it too went hungry. The lion and the calf kissed. Righteousness and peace kiss on occasion. But in this world, it cannot be sustained.
Despite the inevitable ending for Kamunyak and her calf, in which one would have to die, Kamunyak became a symbol of peace to the local Kenyans. Some of their observations are reminiscent of our Advent scripture readings... “She was barren and God gave her a cub,” and “God has arrived.” Their “politicians stood up in parliament and said, ‘If traditional enemies like the lion and the oryx can be friends, so we too can work together.’ ”
Kamunyak remains a symbol of God’s kingdom already here, but not yet fulfilled; of possibilities; of hope in a future, promised by the prophets; of a place and time that can be righteous and therefore peaceful.
In this world, straw cannot sustain the lion. In this world, righteousness and peace don’t seem to be achievable. In this world, we live in the tension between hope and fear, between peace and longing. And we wait -- impatiently -- for the birth of Hope, the birth of Joy... for the little child that shall lead them.
If you’re curious, you can read more here, and in this online discussion.
A game warden did intervene by trying to feed the lioness at night. However, she did not eat the food. The only other thing would’ve been to save the oryx calf, but they decided not to do this. When Kamunyak adopted the second calf, rangers came in and took it away from her, and it was raised in captivity. But she went and adopted a third calf. This is an unprecedented incident that was difficult to interpret. It was very difficult to know what to do. People who saw it with their own eyes were deeply moved.
*****
Isaiah 11:1-10
This gallery shows images of animals that find it easier to peacefully meet across “racial” or species lines than humans do. Especially in pictures #9 and 15 where predators nurture infants of a prey species, there are signs of Isaiah’s words being harbingers of things to come.
*****
Isaiah 11:1-10
From Parker Palmer:
In the mid-1970s, I learned about Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement during the Great Depression. Moved by her story, I began volunteering occasionally at the Catholic Worker house she founded on New York City’s Lower East Side. At Mary House, the workers lived with the poorest of the poor, providing food, shelter, medical attention, and other forms of direct aid, as well as advocating and agitating for economic justice.
One of the workers was named Kassie Temple. A brilliant writer with a Ph.D., she could have been a professor. Instead, she chose to share life with the poor, helping to keep hungry and homeless people from starving, dying of exposure to the elements, or being further brutalized -- as well as engaging in political advocacy on their behalf.
I volunteered for a couple of days several times a year. Of course, every time I came back, a new wave of human misery had washed over the place. So one day I asked Kassie the question that had been vexing me: “How do you keep doing this demanding work, day in and day out, when you know you’ll wake up tomorrow to problems that are as bad or worse than the ones you’re dealing with today?”
The answer Kassie gave me is “What you need to understand is this. Just because something’s impossible doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.” Please take a moment to reflect on it, and ask yourself where we would be if people throughout history hadn’t taken on “the impossible” time and time again...
Kassie -- who was with the Catholic Workers full-time for 27 years until she died -- set me on the path to a critical insight: While it’s important to be as *effective* as we possibly can in doing vital tasks, it’s even more important to be *faithful* to our gifts and the way they can help meet the world’s needs. When effectiveness is our only norm, we will take on smaller and smaller tasks, because they’re the only ones with which we can be effective.
No one who has stood for high values -- love, truth, justice -- has died being able to declare victory, once and for all. If we want to embrace high values, we must find some way to hang in for the long haul. Faithfulness to our gifts is the only way I know. We will die with our big goals unachieved -- just as Dorothy Day and Kassie Temple did -- but with the satisfaction of knowing we gave ourselves to them as fully as we could.
[There are now some 200 Catholic Worker Houses around the country. One of those houses is named in memory of Kassie Temple.]
*****
Matthew 3:1-12
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” -- Jane Goodall
*****
Matthew 3:1-12
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil -- he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” The old man continued, “The other is good -- he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you -- and inside every other person too.”
The grandson thought about this for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
At least two versions of this exist and there are several theories as to its source, though generally it’s considered to be a Cherokee story.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Call to Worship (from Isaiah 11)
Leader: A branch shall come from the root of Jesse.
People: The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.
Leader: He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;
People: He shall judge with a spirit of wisdom and understanding.
Leader: He shall stand as a signal to God’s people.
People: The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
Leader: The calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
People: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
OR
(from Matthew 3)
Leader: “Prepare the way of the Lord,” cries the one in the wilderness.
People: We prepare for the coming of God.
Leader: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven draws near.”
People: We prepare for the coming of God.
Leader: Bear fruit worthy of repentance.
People: God discerns the worthy from the unworthy.
Leader: God will separate the wheat from the chaff.
People: The One to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Leader: Prepare for the coming of God!
Prayer of the Day/Collect
O God of wisdom and understanding, of knowledge, counsel, and might; we join as one voice to give you praise and glory. Your shalom inhabits the earth, bringing together wolf and lamb, cow and bear, Jew and Gentile. Fear, pain, and division are overcome by your gift of peace. Fill our hearts withhope and peace as we worship you this day. Prepare us to receive your Son, whose coming we await and celebrate. In his name, we pray. Amen.
Call to Confession
Before Jesus began his ministry, John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” People came from miles around to be baptized by John. As we await Jesus’ coming, John’s words speak to us: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” Come. Repent. Make yourselves ready to receive Jesus with your prayers and confessions.
Prayer of Confession
God of wisdom and knowledge, you separate the wheat from the chaff. You prune dead wood from the vine so that new shoots can grow. You chastise those who judge and dominate while you embrace the repentant and the vulnerable. Where do we stand in your peaceable kingdom? Are we the Pharisees? The oppressors? The wolves? Where do we need to repent and turn toward your peace? Forgive us, God, for actions and perceptions which serve to separate us one from another. Forgive us for not living in harmony with your people and your creation. Open our eyes and direct our paths, that we may follow the way of John the Baptist and prepare for the coming of Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
The truth of God’s amazing love is this: God sent Christ Jesus into the world, not to condemn the world, but so the world might be saved through him. Hear God’s good news and know: in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
O Holy and Faithful God, Your image of peace turns the world upside down. How many of us would not welcome the peaceful image of cows, sheep, and lions lying in fields together? How many sigh relief at the promise of children living without fear or threat? We long for such a peace, O God. Yet what must change within the lion to share a feast of greens with the oxen? What changes will Pharisees face as they step away from their place of prominence to sit with the vulnerable? What must happen for enemies such as Jew and Gentile to live together in peace? Only you can hold up such peace as reality. Only in following you, in walking with you, can we know such peace... can we embrace and share in such peace.
You give us your Son to show us the way of peace -- a peace that exceeds harmony, a peace that sows justice, a peace that delivers hope. Prepare our hearts, O God, for the Prince of Peace.
Shower your peace and comfort upon those who are hurting this day. We offer our prayers for friends and loved ones who need your healing and peace. (Include prayer concerns from your faith community and from the world.)
Thank you, O God, for making a way when there seems to be no way to emerge from the pain and challenges which plague your world.
Receive our joy and thanksgiving for the good news we know this day. (Include prayers of joy and thanksgiving from your faith community and from the world.)
Thank you, O God, for blessings and miracles and joy.
Unite us in prayer as we together offer the prayer Jesus taught, Our Father...
Children’s Sermon Starter
Focus the children’s message on the Advent theme of peace. Invite the children to tell about their images of peace: (such as) keeping quiet, not fighting, getting along with one another. Expand their understanding of peace to include images of the peaceable kingdom from Isaiah 11. Imagine a peace where a cat and mouse live together, where a lion and a lamb lay side by side, where the bully stops being mean and shows kindness to those who have been hurt. This is the peace that God gives to us. This is the peace that Jesus shows to us. How do we get ready for the peace that Jesus brings?
Hymn Suggestions
These suggestions can be found in The Presbyterian Hymnal. Search the index of your hymnbook to find these or similar hymns on the theme of peace.
(PH = The Presbyterian Hymnal)
“Isaiah the Prophet Has Written of Old” (PH 337)
“O Day of Peace” (PH 450)
“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” (PH 48)
“On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” (PH 10)
“The Desert Shall Rejoice” (PH 18)
“Wild and Lone the Prophet’s Voice” (PH 409)
“Help Us Accept Each Other” (PH 358)
“All Hail to God’s Anointed” (PH 205)
“O for a World” (PH 386)
“O God of Love, O God of Peace” (PH 295)
“When Will People Cease Their Fighting?” (PH 401)
“Christ, You Are the Fullness” (PH 346)
“Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive” (PH 347)
“Lord, Make Us Servants of Your Peace” (PH 374)
CHILDREN’S SERMON
The Strangest Sleepover Ever!
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 11:1-10
Gather/create ahead of time:
* Create a wolf’s face and a sheep’s face using two paper plates (here’s one idea of how a lion and a lamb face were created on two paper plates). An alternative could be to gather lion and lamb stuffed toys.
* Print a copy of Edward Hicks’ “The Peaceable Kingdom.”
* Optional: Download and cut out a “Conflict Resolution Wheel,” and make copies for each child to take home to practice peacemaking skills.
Greet the children as they gather, welcoming them to worship for the second Sunday in Advent. Take a moment to point out anything that may be new in the worship space this weekend, including any changes in Advent banners or seasonal decorations. If your church uses an Advent wreath, point out that there are two candles burning. For many congregations, the second candle is often referred to as the “peace” candle, which is also the theme of this week’s scriptures.
Children will find some of Isaiah’s imagery too abstract. But they will understand the basic idea of what it means to live in peace. Being a peacemaker means solving problems with a “win-win” attitude so that everyone is respected. Talking about peace and conflict resolution will help them apply the message of Advent to their daily lives.
As you begin, show the children the paper plate with the lion. Ask them “Would a wolf make a good pet?” Be a bit playful with the children as you encourage them to think of some reasons why wolves do not normally make good pets. Wolves are beautiful animals and are an important part of God’s creation -- but it’s probably not a good idea to keep one as a pet. Next, show them the plate with the sheep’s face. We can probably agree that lambs are a bit more peaceful than wolves.
Now ask: “If you were a family of sheep, would it be a good idea to invite a wolf to a sleepover?” Things might get a bit out of hand! That happens to us sometimes too. We play with our friends, but then sometimes we may act more like a wolf than a sheep. We can be friendly, but then act like our opinion is the only one that matters. We might even insist that people only play the way we want them to play! People can have problems getting along, just like wolves and sheep.
In the scripture from Isaiah, the prophet tells us that there will be a time when all people will get along. People won’t be mistreated, and there will be no more fights and bad things. As you show them Hicks’ “Peaceable Kingdom,” read Isaiah 11:6-9. Isaiah knew that someday God would send someone who would help all people get along. Isaiah tells us that something as strange as a leopard having a sleepover with a baby goat is possible!
Advent is a time to remember that God sent us the gift of peace in Christ. As we wait for Christmas, we can remember that Jesus taught us to love each other. He showed us that peace is possible! Close with a prayer encouraging the children to be peacemakers. If you have provided the “Conflict Resolution Wheel,” pass them around and tell the kids that they can take them home as a way of practicing peacemaking skills. It is hard at first. Someday, however, wolves and lambs may really get to go to a sleepover!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 4, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts on the Matthew passage and the imagery John the Baptist uses of separating wheat from chaff. Dean points out that an important aspect of separating wheat from chaff in our lives involves the proliferation of “fake news,” and the necessity of utilizing discernment in order to separate truthful information from disinformation and propaganda that feeds into our prejudices and pre-existing information. Dean also reminds us that discernment is also an essential tool from separating the wheat from the chaff in our spiritual lives, and in directing our behavior and beliefs toward that which is truly authentic... something vitally important as we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Christ.
Hungry for Peace
by Mary Austin
Isaiah 11:1-10
At the zoo recently I saw an employee moving around the polar bear enclosure, and I wondered what has to happen to make her safe there. Are the polar bears already full when she enters the habitat? Or are they contained somewhere else before she comes in? How do the animals and the keepers learn to inhabit the same space, without harm to either one?
Isaiah resolves all of those questions when he speaks of God’s reign of peace. He doesn’t bother with the small questions of “how” -- he paints God’s compelling vision of fullness, and leaves us to wonder how it might come to life. The learning curve for what he foretells seems impossibly big. How would a snake learn to transcend the reptile brain and not be a threat to a baby? What basis would the wolf and the lamb find for their friendship? How full would the leopard have to be to pass up a plump young goat?
Isaiah promises that the natural order will change once the world knows the fullness of God’s peace. Even dead tree stumps will crack so new life can grow. We can’t help but wonder how this will come to pass, and if it’s even possible anywhere other than the mind of God.
In the News
Isaiah’s vision of the peaceable kingdom seems far off, as partisans squabble over whether a recount of the presidential election is needed in three key swing states. The president-elect is saying that he won the popular vote (in addition to the electoral college) if you take out the people who voted illegally. There’s no apparent evidence for his claim, but it’s stirring up anxiety and more dissension.
For Native American tribes, the Thanksgiving holiday this year brought another reminder of the lack of harmony between their members and the descendants of white settlers -- and of the lion devouring the lamb to serve its own interests: “The traditional story of the first Thanksgiving feast between peaceful Pilgrims and generous Natives has been challenged by indigenous groups for decades. The United American Indians of New England began observing a ‘National Day of Mourning’ on Thanksgiving in 1970, calling attention to the history of genocide against indigenous people that included massacres, broken treaties, and the forced assimilation of children through boarding schools that persisted into the 1970s.” On the Thanksgiving holiday, ironically, Americans could watch the team based in the nation’s capital and called “the Redskins” play football as part of the day’s celebration. Meanwhile, protestors gathered at the Standing Rock encampment were “still reeling from [the previous] Sunday night, when North Dakota law enforcement officials deployed water cannons amid sub-freezing temperatures.”
This week, the governor of North Dakota “issued an evacuation of the area used to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline, citing ‘anticipated harsh weather conditions’ and the unauthorized camps erected by the thousands of demonstrators. The order, issued Monday, is effective immediately and will stay in place indefinitely.” However, in a sign that even the seemingly powerless have their own kind of power, the governor’s spokesperson said the order will not be enforced by state law enforcement or the National Guard. “The biggest reason,” she said, “in my estimation, is that we don’t have the force to do so. That said, we have real concerns about the safety of those remaining in the camp because of severe weather.” It’s hard for the wolf and the lamb to live together, but the wolf should never underestimate the lamb.
In the Scriptures
Isaiah speaks God’s word to a nation on the brink of war with a much larger power. Death and destruction hover on the horizon, and Isaiah speaks this improbable word of peace into that storm of fear and destruction. The Davidic line is dying out, and the nation’s future is in jeopardy. Into that season of dark imaginings God speaks this impossible word, announcing not just peace but a future dramatically different from the present. It sounds good, but who would believe such a word?
Listening to God’s message requires a long vison of the future. None of this is going to happen tomorrow. It didn’t happen in the lifetimes of the people who heard Isaiah, and it may not happen in ours. But God keeps moving toward that vision, and in listening to Isaiah we hear where God is going. We may be slow to get on board, but God keeps working on it.
God’s promises also require a kind of spiritual audacity. Speaking unlikely visions of peace when people are in a state of panic about the present moment demands spiritual courage... and maybe a certain ability not to be consumed by the needs of the present. Like middle-aged people who can’t see things that are close, we have to set aside the demands of the current moment to take in this bold vision.
In the future God that plans, the wolf will learn not to eat the lamb, and the leopard will be full enough not to lick its lips over the young goat. God’s creatures will rise above our usual ways of doing things and live into a vision of peace.
The dead stump of David’s line will crack, and bring forth a new shoot of life. That growth from a dead place reveals the presence of God. This Advent, our own dead places may yet come to life as God’s power comes into the rot and the cracks, and brings out something new.
In the Sermon
The church community is one of the few places where we may see signs of the peaceable kingdom come to life, as bankers and almost-homeless people roll up their sleeves and serve a community lunch together. Millionaires and teachers’ aides stop to drink a cup of coffee together, and indie musicians and attorneys share the job of pruning the bushes on work weekends. If God’s vision of peace is far off in the outside world, how can we bring it to life more fully in the church? How do we live together so our differences enlighten each other? How do we make sure the wolf and the lamb both have their voices heard?
Or the sermon might think about the lion and the lamb that both live inside each one of us. Images for Jesus include both the lion and the lamb, and our path in following him incorporates both. How do we know when it’s time to use the lion’s strength, and when it’s time to lead with the lamb’s gentleness? When we’re using our lion skills, how do we not scare the lambs? When we’re in lamb mode, how do we not get gobbled up by the lion?
The sermon might also consider how our lifestyles make us modern-day wolves, gobbling up lambs on a daily basis as our lives are sustained by modern-day slave labor. Unpaid or underpaid labor fuels our lives: “A report from the International Labor Organization estimated that slavery nets traffickers a jaw-dropping $32 billion per year. If the products being produced by slaves were only sold to those knowingly and willingly involved in the industry, this number could not be possible. $32 billion is made because slavery is directly connected to each of our lives. The minerals used in the production of many of our everyday items, such as cars, phones, computers, clothes, coffee, and chocolate, come from the hands of slaves.” How can we change our wolf-like nature to impact the lives of people who are more like the lamb than we are? An article in Relevant suggests that we don’t need to change everything at once, but begin with one change we can make in our consumption. Do that, and then “the next right thing,” and then another step. The peaceable kingdom comes one step at a time.
Parker Palmer says that a long-ago mentor in the Catholic Worker movement taught him “What you need to understand is this. Just because something’s impossible doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.” When God’s vision of peace feels impossible, that doesn’t mean we can stop working for it. Palmer adds that we don’t need to obsess about the results, but be sure we’re faithful to God’s vision. “While it's important to be as *effective* as we possibly can in doing vital tasks, it’s even more important to be *faithful* to our gifts and the way they can help meet the world’s needs. When effectiveness is our only norm, we will take on smaller and smaller tasks, because they’re the only ones with which we can be effective. No one who has stood for high values -- love, truth, justice -- has died being able to declare victory, once and for all. If we want to embrace high values, we must find some way to hang in for the long haul.”
Whether we’re wolves or lambs, snakes or babies, living together peacefully requires us to step out of what we know into an unfamiliar, uncomfortable world. Our usual instincts don’t work here -- we need a different kind of wisdom only God can give. Being together harmoniously isn’t possible in an instant -- we have to learn new ways of thinking, and then new patterns of living. But God is on our side in this work, just as God has always been on the side of peace. Our world holds the same darkness and fear that Isaiah saw, and God’s word of promise belongs to us too. But we have to learn enough to take our place in the world God dreams for all of us.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Wheat and Chaff
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 3:1-12
Matthew’s gospel gives us a John the Baptist who is not messing around.
He appears in the wilderness looking for all the world like Elijah, with camel’s hair clothing and a leather belt and a belly full of locust and wild honey, and he’s loaded for bear. His message is plain and simple, the shortest sermon in the world: “Repent!”
Change! Turn around! Stop doing what you are doing and do the opposite!
And then, when the Pharisees and Sadducees arrive he gets downright personal. He calls them a brood of vipers! He starts channeling Jonathan Edwards and that “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” thing.
The axe is already hacking away at the roots of the trees that don’t produce good fruit.
Another baptizer is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and FIRE!
And then he closes with a vivid metaphor: this new baptizer is going to go through Israel like a winnowing fork, and he’s going to separate the wheat from the chaff -- and the chaff is going to be thrown into a furnace of unquenchable fire.
Kinda harsh, huh?
In the Scriptures
Let’s unpack that wheat metaphor, shall we?
Chaff is the husks that grow around the kernels of wheat at the end of the stalk. It has to be removed so the seeds can be crushed and ground into flour. The process for removing the chaff from the grain is called threshing and winnowing. In ancient times this was all done by hand.
The grain would be piled and spread upon a hard surface and dried. Then it would be threshed -- that is, pounded with a threshing stick or broom so as to knock the chaff off the grain. Then the farmer would use a winnowing fork or shovel to toss the grain and chaff into the air. On calm days or indoors, someone would wave a fan up and down to create a breeze. The chaff was lighter than the grain, so the wind would blow it away and the grain would fall back to the ground. This process was called “wind winnowing.” The chaff would be allowed to blow away, or it would be swept up, gathered, and burned.
It was a popular metaphor for any process that was used to separate the good from the bad, the worthwhile from the worthless, the true from the false.
The lection brings us to this story on the second Sunday of Advent to remind us that the coming of the Messiah, whose birth we celebrate on December 25, is both good news and bad news depending whether God considers you wheat or chaff.
Wheat is pounded, ground, and added to other ingredients to make bread -- the coarse, nutritious food that bread was in those days, the staple of every meal, the life-giving manna at every table. It was not just important to the well-lived life. It was essential.
Chaff, on the other hand, is, well... chaff. It is trash of no value to be thrown away and burned.
In our Lives
So the question for us is “How do we become the wholesome, life-giving grain and not the chaff?”
And the answer to that question lies within the metaphor itself. We become the grain by removing the chaff from our own lives.
In this passage John the Baptist urges us to become our own winnowing forks. He calls us to remove the inessential, the unnecessary, the useless, the hurtful, prideful, hateful things from our lives so we can be the people God has planted and raised us up to be.
First, we must winnow the chaff from our minds.
It is easy, as we have seen in this recent election season, to let our minds be filled with chaff simply because it sounds good. But we have discovered that much of what we heard, especially if we rely on Facebook and truthy-sounding websites as our news sources, is “fake news.” Many of those stories that sounded just a little cock-eyed but still kind of truthy were in fact totally fabricated falsehoods created by what Snopes.com calls “the internet’s clickbaiting, news-faking, social media exploiting dark side.” If we get our news from sources like Alternet.org, BeforeItsNews.com, Christwire.org, or DailyCurrant.com, we were duped. (Click here for an exhaustive list of fake news websites.)
Some of those bogus news stories are obvious fakes that scream at us like the headlines of the National Enquirer. But others are so well written that, no matter how unlikely they may seem, they still sound like real news.
And sometimes even the real news sources fall into truthiness patterns that obscure the truth. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman reminds us that “Over the course of the 2016 campaign, the three network news shows devoted a total of 35 minutes combined to policy issues -- all policy issues. Meanwhile, they devoted 125 minutes to Mrs. Clinton’s e-mails.” So what we need here is that skill known as discernment -- the ability to grasp and comprehend what is obscure; the ability to judge well. Only when we have cultivated this ability, this judgment based in healthy skepticism with a thirst for real knowledge and true wisdom, will we be able to prepare ourselves for the coming Christ by winnowing the chaff from our minds.
Secondly, we need to winnow the chaff from our spiritual lives.
This winnowing process calls for a different type of discernment, a spiritual discernment -- perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual direction and understanding. In the New Testament it is generally referred to as the ability to distinguish, judge, or appraise a person, statement, situation, or environment for the purpose of determining its authenticity, value, or worth.
It is an ability that is a gift in some and a skill in others. Some seem to be born with it while others must learn to cultivate it in their own lives, but all can have and use it.
It helps us to see which religious beliefs, practices, and ideas have value and which can be tossed aside as useless or even deceptively harmful.
The wheat of our spiritual lives is heavy stuff. It calls us into service to others through Jesus Christ. It calls us to love and peace and kindness and generosity.
Spiritual chaff tends to divide and separate us, to identify some as insiders and some as outsiders, some as saved and others as sinners, some as accepted and others as unacceptable.
Only when we have cultivated this spiritual discernment based on love and grace will we be able to prepare ourselves for the coming Christ by winnowing the chaff from our spiritual lives.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Isaiah 11:1-10
A religious commune for nuns is located 13,000 feet above sea level in Yarchen Gar, in the Sichuan province of China. The settlement has over 10,000 residents, and is the largest commune of nuns in the world. “Gar” means a monastic encampment. They live in squarely conditions, without proper sewage disposal, running water, and electricity. Yet they remain, for it is a place for solitude and meditation, and provides the opportunity to learn from the great Buddhist teacher Asang Tulku. Tulku resides on top of a high mountain that looks down upon the Yarchen valley. The devotees gather before him to hear his words of wisdom. The commune of the nuns can only be reached by crossing several wooden bridges, as it is surrounded by a river. On the hillside the monks reside in conditions that are very modern. (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display photographs of Yarchen Gar in the New York Times article.)
Application: We are not expected to go to the extreme of the residents of Yarchen Gar, but perhaps Isaiah is expecting us to take upon ourselves the same serious attitude.
*****
Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
In a Bizarro comic, two cavemen are sitting by a fire warming themselves. As time goes by one says to the other, “I can’t help but think that if there were a god, it would have shown us fire, like, right off the bat.” (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)
Application: Our readings try to show us right off the bat that there is a God.
*****
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
In the late 1860s George F. Gates built a home in Independence, Missouri. The well-constructed house faithfully served generations of Gates. In 1919 his granddaughter Bess and her husband Harry moved into the 210 North Delaware St. residence, sharing the home with Bess’ widowed mother Mary Gates Wallace. Her grandfather had adorned the house with gingerbread, shaded the yard, and planted a special garden of lilac bushes encircling a sundial. Harry S. Truman would often rest among the garden’s blossoms, seeking respite from the problems of the presidency. Tranquility would often come when the president read the words the elder Gates inscribed on the sundial: “My Face Marks the Sunny Hours. What Can You Say of Yours?”
Application: The message of the psalm is for us to be joyful Christians who recognize the blessings of God.
*****
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
In a Peanuts comic strip, Peppermint Patty is home, sitting at her desk, intent upon completing a homework assignment. Placing pencil to paper, she scrawls, “What I did on my Christmas vacation. I went outside and looked at the clouds. They formed beautiful patterns with beautiful colors. I looked at the clouds every morning and every evening. Which is all I did on my Christmas vacation.” Finished, she picks up the manuscript to study her composition. Suddenly suspicious that the class will question her ambition, Peppermint Patty places the report upon the desk and defensively concludes, “And what’s wrong with that?” Free yourself to enjoy such innocence, for there is nothing wrong with realization and contemplation. This is the message offered by this psalm reading.
*****
Romans 15:4-13
In a New York Times op-ed piece, political analyst Frank Luntz discusses the vicious tone of the presidential campaign between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Now that the election is over, Luntz believes it is time for our nation to begin a healing process -- and the first, and possibly the most important, step is the concession and/or acceptance speech on the part of both candidates. This, Luntz notes, has been the tradition of our country for 240 years. The concession speech can speak of the hurt of having lost the election, but it must also be a call to unity in support of the newly elected president. The acceptance speech can express the joy of winning, but more importantly it must recognize the anguish of those who lost the election. The acceptance speech, according to Luntz, should include this line addressed to his opponents: “Tonight, I hear you. I feel your frustration. Your hopes and dreams are just as important as those of the people in this room. Your concerns are just as real. I get it, and I will act on it.”
Application: Paul instructs us to speak as a community in one voice.
*****
Romans 15:4-13
Pope Francis recently appointed Joseph Tobin to oversee the Archdiocese of Newark. Tobin was held in such high esteem by the pope that he was also promoted to be a cardinal, one of the few who are permitted to elect a pope. Tobin is an outspoken advocate of social justice, reflecting the pope’s own views. Tobin’s selection is an indication of how Pope Francis wants to set a new direction for Catholics in the United States. The Newark archdiocese borders that of New York, which is overseen by Cardinal Timothy Dolan -- considered the spokesperson for the Catholic Church in America. In a phone conversation Dolan wanted to know if the two cardinals were going to be in competition with one another, to which Tobin replied, “If there’s any competition, I hope it’s who can serve the people of God best.”
Application: Paul wants us, as a Christian community, to speak with one voice.
*****
Romans 15:4-13
Joseph Tobin, the newly appointed archbishop of Newark, was surprised by the unexpected assignment. Upon learning the news, Tobin said: “Sometimes I think that Pope Francis sees a lot more in me that I see in myself.”
Application: Paul is trying to encourage Christian to see more in themselves, to affirm the spiritual gifts given to them.
*****
Matthew 3:1-12
A recent archeological discovery in Maryland confirms how the African-Americans who first came to the colonies were able to combine their native traditions with Christianity, and eventually become Christian. In Africa there was the tradition in the BaKongo religion of the wheel. Natives would dance counter-clockwise around the wheel as a symbol of redemption. Black Christian preachers would compare the wheel in the BaKongo religion to the wheel in the story of Ezekiel. A hymn was actually written combining the two faiths and the symbolic meaning of the wheel. This archeological discovery, found on the grounds of a slave plantation, demonstrates the merging of the two religions. (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display pictures from the New York Times article as well as the Bible passage from Ezekiel and the song that accompanied it.)
Application: Jesus taught that the Kingdom is near, and “near” does not have to be restricted to his final coming.
*****
Matthew 3:1-12
Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, has a very foul mouth and is known for the atrocities visited upon his citizens. Duterte has even been known to swear at President Obama, which resulted in Obama cancelling their meeting. On a flight from Japan back to the Philippines, Duterte heard the voice of God. God spoke of Duterte’s foul language, “If you don’t stop, I will bring this plane down now.” Duterte responded, “Who is this?” Then he realized it was God. At the time the plane was over the Philippine Sea. Duterte has not used a swear word since, but still contends there might be a proper occasion to express himself with such language.
Application: John the Baptist warns us that the axe is lying at the root of the trees.
*****
Matthew 3:1-12
We would be wise to heed the message of John the Baptist and seek God within our own hearts and souls. We must cast out false idols and foolish gods that only lead to our ruin. We must affirm the Creator of life -- substituting compassion for hate, temperance for gluttony, and humility for pride.
Perhaps H. G. Wells expressed it best when he wrote: “Religion is the first thing and the last thing, and until man has found God, and been found by God, he begins at no beginning and works to no end.”
***************
From team member Robin Lostetter:
Isaiah 11:1-10
This is a true story about the tension between the hope for the New Creation and the reality of this fallen world. Some of you may have seen it on television, on Animal Planet or Wild Kingdom. An excerpt is available here. See a photo of the lioness and calf here.
In December of 2001, a lioness that has been named Kamunyak adopted an infant oryx antelope calf. Even the scientist who documented this strange pairing, and who could not explain it, was reminded of Isaiah’s words that the lion will lie down with the calf.
There are theories, but no one knows why Kamunyak adopted this calf -- and went on to adopt others later -- and, as I recall from the documentary, one or two thrived under her maternal care. But all of them were oryx calves... and this association didn’t stop her from seeing all other antelope as prey.
These two were devoted to each other for their 16 days together. The devotion of the lioness brought out her protective instincts, so that watching the calf occupied her time to the exclusion of her being able to hunt. Hence, she went hungry. The calf, although apparently having occasional access to its mother for meager sustenance, couldn’t digest grass yet, so it too went hungry. The lion and the calf kissed. Righteousness and peace kiss on occasion. But in this world, it cannot be sustained.
Despite the inevitable ending for Kamunyak and her calf, in which one would have to die, Kamunyak became a symbol of peace to the local Kenyans. Some of their observations are reminiscent of our Advent scripture readings... “She was barren and God gave her a cub,” and “God has arrived.” Their “politicians stood up in parliament and said, ‘If traditional enemies like the lion and the oryx can be friends, so we too can work together.’ ”
Kamunyak remains a symbol of God’s kingdom already here, but not yet fulfilled; of possibilities; of hope in a future, promised by the prophets; of a place and time that can be righteous and therefore peaceful.
In this world, straw cannot sustain the lion. In this world, righteousness and peace don’t seem to be achievable. In this world, we live in the tension between hope and fear, between peace and longing. And we wait -- impatiently -- for the birth of Hope, the birth of Joy... for the little child that shall lead them.
If you’re curious, you can read more here, and in this online discussion.
A game warden did intervene by trying to feed the lioness at night. However, she did not eat the food. The only other thing would’ve been to save the oryx calf, but they decided not to do this. When Kamunyak adopted the second calf, rangers came in and took it away from her, and it was raised in captivity. But she went and adopted a third calf. This is an unprecedented incident that was difficult to interpret. It was very difficult to know what to do. People who saw it with their own eyes were deeply moved.
*****
Isaiah 11:1-10
This gallery shows images of animals that find it easier to peacefully meet across “racial” or species lines than humans do. Especially in pictures #9 and 15 where predators nurture infants of a prey species, there are signs of Isaiah’s words being harbingers of things to come.
*****
Isaiah 11:1-10
From Parker Palmer:
In the mid-1970s, I learned about Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement during the Great Depression. Moved by her story, I began volunteering occasionally at the Catholic Worker house she founded on New York City’s Lower East Side. At Mary House, the workers lived with the poorest of the poor, providing food, shelter, medical attention, and other forms of direct aid, as well as advocating and agitating for economic justice.
One of the workers was named Kassie Temple. A brilliant writer with a Ph.D., she could have been a professor. Instead, she chose to share life with the poor, helping to keep hungry and homeless people from starving, dying of exposure to the elements, or being further brutalized -- as well as engaging in political advocacy on their behalf.
I volunteered for a couple of days several times a year. Of course, every time I came back, a new wave of human misery had washed over the place. So one day I asked Kassie the question that had been vexing me: “How do you keep doing this demanding work, day in and day out, when you know you’ll wake up tomorrow to problems that are as bad or worse than the ones you’re dealing with today?”
The answer Kassie gave me is “What you need to understand is this. Just because something’s impossible doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.” Please take a moment to reflect on it, and ask yourself where we would be if people throughout history hadn’t taken on “the impossible” time and time again...
Kassie -- who was with the Catholic Workers full-time for 27 years until she died -- set me on the path to a critical insight: While it’s important to be as *effective* as we possibly can in doing vital tasks, it’s even more important to be *faithful* to our gifts and the way they can help meet the world’s needs. When effectiveness is our only norm, we will take on smaller and smaller tasks, because they’re the only ones with which we can be effective.
No one who has stood for high values -- love, truth, justice -- has died being able to declare victory, once and for all. If we want to embrace high values, we must find some way to hang in for the long haul. Faithfulness to our gifts is the only way I know. We will die with our big goals unachieved -- just as Dorothy Day and Kassie Temple did -- but with the satisfaction of knowing we gave ourselves to them as fully as we could.
[There are now some 200 Catholic Worker Houses around the country. One of those houses is named in memory of Kassie Temple.]
*****
Matthew 3:1-12
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” -- Jane Goodall
*****
Matthew 3:1-12
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil -- he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” The old man continued, “The other is good -- he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you -- and inside every other person too.”
The grandson thought about this for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
At least two versions of this exist and there are several theories as to its source, though generally it’s considered to be a Cherokee story.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Call to Worship (from Isaiah 11)
Leader: A branch shall come from the root of Jesse.
People: The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.
Leader: He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;
People: He shall judge with a spirit of wisdom and understanding.
Leader: He shall stand as a signal to God’s people.
People: The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
Leader: The calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
People: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
OR
(from Matthew 3)
Leader: “Prepare the way of the Lord,” cries the one in the wilderness.
People: We prepare for the coming of God.
Leader: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven draws near.”
People: We prepare for the coming of God.
Leader: Bear fruit worthy of repentance.
People: God discerns the worthy from the unworthy.
Leader: God will separate the wheat from the chaff.
People: The One to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Leader: Prepare for the coming of God!
Prayer of the Day/Collect
O God of wisdom and understanding, of knowledge, counsel, and might; we join as one voice to give you praise and glory. Your shalom inhabits the earth, bringing together wolf and lamb, cow and bear, Jew and Gentile. Fear, pain, and division are overcome by your gift of peace. Fill our hearts withhope and peace as we worship you this day. Prepare us to receive your Son, whose coming we await and celebrate. In his name, we pray. Amen.
Call to Confession
Before Jesus began his ministry, John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” People came from miles around to be baptized by John. As we await Jesus’ coming, John’s words speak to us: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” Come. Repent. Make yourselves ready to receive Jesus with your prayers and confessions.
Prayer of Confession
God of wisdom and knowledge, you separate the wheat from the chaff. You prune dead wood from the vine so that new shoots can grow. You chastise those who judge and dominate while you embrace the repentant and the vulnerable. Where do we stand in your peaceable kingdom? Are we the Pharisees? The oppressors? The wolves? Where do we need to repent and turn toward your peace? Forgive us, God, for actions and perceptions which serve to separate us one from another. Forgive us for not living in harmony with your people and your creation. Open our eyes and direct our paths, that we may follow the way of John the Baptist and prepare for the coming of Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
The truth of God’s amazing love is this: God sent Christ Jesus into the world, not to condemn the world, but so the world might be saved through him. Hear God’s good news and know: in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
O Holy and Faithful God, Your image of peace turns the world upside down. How many of us would not welcome the peaceful image of cows, sheep, and lions lying in fields together? How many sigh relief at the promise of children living without fear or threat? We long for such a peace, O God. Yet what must change within the lion to share a feast of greens with the oxen? What changes will Pharisees face as they step away from their place of prominence to sit with the vulnerable? What must happen for enemies such as Jew and Gentile to live together in peace? Only you can hold up such peace as reality. Only in following you, in walking with you, can we know such peace... can we embrace and share in such peace.
You give us your Son to show us the way of peace -- a peace that exceeds harmony, a peace that sows justice, a peace that delivers hope. Prepare our hearts, O God, for the Prince of Peace.
Shower your peace and comfort upon those who are hurting this day. We offer our prayers for friends and loved ones who need your healing and peace. (Include prayer concerns from your faith community and from the world.)
Thank you, O God, for making a way when there seems to be no way to emerge from the pain and challenges which plague your world.
Receive our joy and thanksgiving for the good news we know this day. (Include prayers of joy and thanksgiving from your faith community and from the world.)
Thank you, O God, for blessings and miracles and joy.
Unite us in prayer as we together offer the prayer Jesus taught, Our Father...
Children’s Sermon Starter
Focus the children’s message on the Advent theme of peace. Invite the children to tell about their images of peace: (such as) keeping quiet, not fighting, getting along with one another. Expand their understanding of peace to include images of the peaceable kingdom from Isaiah 11. Imagine a peace where a cat and mouse live together, where a lion and a lamb lay side by side, where the bully stops being mean and shows kindness to those who have been hurt. This is the peace that God gives to us. This is the peace that Jesus shows to us. How do we get ready for the peace that Jesus brings?
Hymn Suggestions
These suggestions can be found in The Presbyterian Hymnal. Search the index of your hymnbook to find these or similar hymns on the theme of peace.
(PH = The Presbyterian Hymnal)
“Isaiah the Prophet Has Written of Old” (PH 337)
“O Day of Peace” (PH 450)
“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” (PH 48)
“On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” (PH 10)
“The Desert Shall Rejoice” (PH 18)
“Wild and Lone the Prophet’s Voice” (PH 409)
“Help Us Accept Each Other” (PH 358)
“All Hail to God’s Anointed” (PH 205)
“O for a World” (PH 386)
“O God of Love, O God of Peace” (PH 295)
“When Will People Cease Their Fighting?” (PH 401)
“Christ, You Are the Fullness” (PH 346)
“Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive” (PH 347)
“Lord, Make Us Servants of Your Peace” (PH 374)
CHILDREN’S SERMON
The Strangest Sleepover Ever!
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 11:1-10
Gather/create ahead of time:
* Create a wolf’s face and a sheep’s face using two paper plates (here’s one idea of how a lion and a lamb face were created on two paper plates). An alternative could be to gather lion and lamb stuffed toys.
* Print a copy of Edward Hicks’ “The Peaceable Kingdom.”
* Optional: Download and cut out a “Conflict Resolution Wheel,” and make copies for each child to take home to practice peacemaking skills.
Greet the children as they gather, welcoming them to worship for the second Sunday in Advent. Take a moment to point out anything that may be new in the worship space this weekend, including any changes in Advent banners or seasonal decorations. If your church uses an Advent wreath, point out that there are two candles burning. For many congregations, the second candle is often referred to as the “peace” candle, which is also the theme of this week’s scriptures.
Children will find some of Isaiah’s imagery too abstract. But they will understand the basic idea of what it means to live in peace. Being a peacemaker means solving problems with a “win-win” attitude so that everyone is respected. Talking about peace and conflict resolution will help them apply the message of Advent to their daily lives.
As you begin, show the children the paper plate with the lion. Ask them “Would a wolf make a good pet?” Be a bit playful with the children as you encourage them to think of some reasons why wolves do not normally make good pets. Wolves are beautiful animals and are an important part of God’s creation -- but it’s probably not a good idea to keep one as a pet. Next, show them the plate with the sheep’s face. We can probably agree that lambs are a bit more peaceful than wolves.
Now ask: “If you were a family of sheep, would it be a good idea to invite a wolf to a sleepover?” Things might get a bit out of hand! That happens to us sometimes too. We play with our friends, but then sometimes we may act more like a wolf than a sheep. We can be friendly, but then act like our opinion is the only one that matters. We might even insist that people only play the way we want them to play! People can have problems getting along, just like wolves and sheep.
In the scripture from Isaiah, the prophet tells us that there will be a time when all people will get along. People won’t be mistreated, and there will be no more fights and bad things. As you show them Hicks’ “Peaceable Kingdom,” read Isaiah 11:6-9. Isaiah knew that someday God would send someone who would help all people get along. Isaiah tells us that something as strange as a leopard having a sleepover with a baby goat is possible!
Advent is a time to remember that God sent us the gift of peace in Christ. As we wait for Christmas, we can remember that Jesus taught us to love each other. He showed us that peace is possible! Close with a prayer encouraging the children to be peacemakers. If you have provided the “Conflict Resolution Wheel,” pass them around and tell the kids that they can take them home as a way of practicing peacemaking skills. It is hard at first. Someday, however, wolves and lambs may really get to go to a sleepover!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 4, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 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.
