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Prelude
Welcome and Announcements *Call to Worship I wait for the Lord, my soul waits. Our hope is in God’s Word. My soul waits for the Lord, more than those who watch for the morning. Our hope is in God’s Word. *Hymn 38 How Firm a Foundation Prayer of Confession God of perfect love, you continually bring forth life. transforming sadness to joy, and despair to hope. We are weak, but you are strong. Our ways are flawed, but your ways are true. Sometimes we stray from your way. You are always faithful. Forgive us, redeem us, transform us. Take away the sin that burdens us, and restore us to the people you would have us be, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen. Take, O Take Me As I Am Take, O take me as I am; summon out what I shall be. Set your seal upon my heart and live in me. Repeat. Declaration of Forgiveness God seeks us out relentlessly. With abundant grace and boundless mercy, God seeks us out and calls us by name. This is the good news: in Jesus Christ we are loved and forgiven. Be at peace. Reading from the Psalms Psalm 138 Time With Our Young Disciples Gospel Reading Mark 3: 20-35 Morning Message Who remembers when Nik Wallenda walked a tightrope across the Grand Canyon gorge? He was1500 feet in the air with no special equipment, no special body gear to save him if he fell. I watched a video of that event yesterday. I had forgotten that Nik wore a microphone and he said a series of prayers and verses of scripture with each step to keep him focused, steady, and brave. On the side where he would finish his feat was a popular TV evangelist praying out loud for Nik’s safety. The event was highly anticipated and advertised. I remember feeling conflicted about the whole affair. Who does that? To tempt the forces of nature and pray that God would save you from disaster? I couldn’t be the only one watching that broadcast that night who thought, “He must be---crazy!” In our text, it’s not a tightrope walker, it is Jesus, who seems to be tempting fate. The 1995 Contemporary English Version of the Bible says it this way: “When Jesus’ family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.” Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church says that Jesus wasn’t the only one considered crazy, so were those who would follow him, those who would be his disciples, those who would live and be the people of the Way, called and summoned and challenged to be just as crazy as Jesus. Bishop Curry says We need some crazy Christians!” I think what he means is that the gospel calls us to a different way of life, a life that is often against conventional wisdom and behavior. For example, what the world calls wretched, Jesus calls blessed. And blessed are the poor and the poor in spirit. Blessed are the merciful, the compassionate. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst that God’s righteousness would prevail. Blessed are those who work for peace. Blessed are you when you are persecuted just for trying to love and do what is good. Jesus, according to Bishop Curry, was crazy. One of my daughters is a psychologist and she would insist we use another word to describe such folks. But, Curry presses on with the term, which will have to be ok for today. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, pray for those who despitefully use you.” Even when he was hanging on the cross he called out to God to forgive those who were executing him, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” By our standards and expectations, that’s pretty crazy. Setting that term aside, I’d have to say I’m in full agreement with the good bishop. We do need some Christians, and people of other faith traditions who are courageous enough to love like Jesus, give and forgive like Jesus, to transform this conflicted nightmare of a world into the world of our dreams, the world God created it to be. Some of Jesus’ first followers were just that daring and brave. Let’s consider Mary Magdalene. Mary followed him all the way to the cross. Crucifixion was public torture. It sent the message that revolution would not be tolerated. If you were a supporter or follower of the person being crucified, it was dangerous to stand too close by during the execution. The rational and sensible thing to do was to go into hiding or exile. Who else from that inner circle bore witness to Jesus’ death? Simon Peter? No. James? No. Andrew? Absent. Bartholomew? Absent. But Mary was there. One of the least powerful people of that day witnessed the execution of her Savior. She was with him to the end. Bishop Curry wrote a book about some of our saints, people who marched to the beat of a different drummer and who advanced the kingdom of God. One of those people is Harriet Beecher Stowe. She was born in 1811 into a devout family committed to the gospel of Jesus in order to transform the world. She is best-known for her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She told a hard story in her book. She told about the practice of slavery and how it afflicted families held captive by it. She told of the brutality, the injustice, the cruelty, the inhumanity of the institution of slavery. Her book went the equivalent of 19th century viral. The book had such an impact that it was read by President Abraham Lincoln. Upon meeting Ms; Stowe, he is quoted as saying, “So this is the little lady who started this great war!” Harriet Beecher Stowe marched to the beat of that different drummer. Sometimes that means we are pay attention when we are tempted to care less, we stand up when others sit down, we speak up when others go silent. Back in 1997, Steve Jobs and company worked to re-brand Apple products. A commercial was created and the tag line was “Think different,” which is grammatically incorrect, but that was the point. In the commercial, were photos and video images of well-known people who invented, created, and sacrificed to improve the world. Bob Dylan, Amelia Earhart , Frank Lloyd Wright, Maria Callis, Muhammed Ali, Jim Henson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Mahatma Ghandi, and others appeared in that commercial. As the images rolled by, a narrator says: “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as they crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. T The evening that Nik Wallenda inched his way across that very thin wire above the Grand Canyon gorge, my nephew, who was in high school at the time, tweeted a message that had us doubled up with laughter: Borrowing from a Johnny Cash hit, he quipped: “Because he’s mine, (meaning Jesus), I walk the line.” And, you know what, there’s truth in that statement. Some of you walk a very dangerous line every day; some have walked it in your past, and some have yet to be tested. If you are called on to make a difference in your neighborhood, break an unhealthy pattern in your family, re-create a work environment, serve as an elected leader, or serve dinner tonight, a challenge will eventually appear. And, because you are a Christian, you can let your faith bear you up and say, “Because he’s mine, I walk the line.” *Affirmation of Faith The Apostles’ Creed *Gloria Patri (inside cover of hymnal) Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings With gratitude for God’s faithfulness and with thanksgiving for all that we have received, we bring our gifts to God. All contributions may be left on the Communion table in the plates provided. Offertory *Hymn Doxology (inside cover of hymnal) *Prayer of Dedication O God, with faith and hope, we offer these gifts. Use them, even as you use us, to accomplish your purposes in Jesus Christ, the head of the church and the Lord of our lives. Amen. *Hymn 367 The Church in the Wildwood *Blessing Go forth from this place trusting that God is always with us and for us in every moment of every day. May you know the blessings of grace, love, and companionship through the Triune God. Amen. *Postlude Comments are closed.
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PastorCinda Harkless Archives
July 2024
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