September 27, 2020
Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song You Raise Me Up Josh Groban https://youtu.be/b0kPQBAHep0 Announcements New Zoom Book Study to begin Wednesday, September 6 at 7:00 PM. Here is your invitation: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Book Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85224166154?pwd=TzJ1TGkvUmMzUHBFdmFOZ1EvSThwZz09 Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 One tap mobile +13126266799,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keaonGxryr *Call to Worship Enter with conscious intent into the presence of God. God looks on us with compassion and grace. The glory of God surrounds us every day. We will praise our Creator forever! God is at work in us, and in all people. Let us be shaped by the example of Jesus Christ. Amen. Song Look Up, Child Lauren Daigle https://youtu.be/DcwHLXpjAlo *Opening Prayer Almighty God, your words bursts forth into our lives like a glorious sunrise. You speak, and our hearts rejoice. You command, and our eyes are opened. The sound of your voice brings revival to our souls. O living Word, light our way. As we listen to your Spirit, may the words of our mouths and the thoughts of our hearts be accepted in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. Song You’re the Only Jesus The Imperials https://youtu.be/qDDgv7nOS8o Hearing the Word Scripture Matthew 21:28-32 [Jesus said,] “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” Sermon Actions Speak Louder Than Words NBA player Grant Hill was something of an anomaly: a professional basketball player without an attitude. You wouldn’t find him shooting off his mouth, wearing gaudy jewelry, sporting a weird hairdo, doing celebration dances on the court, or talking trash about his opponents. His basic approach was a direct result of the early influences on his life. He said once, “When I was young, I remember watching Julius Erving. The think I liked best about Doctor J was that he carried himself with class. He never went out of his way to embarrass anybody. I feel like I come from a generation that has the wrong type of heroes. I never got to see Arthur Ashe play tennis, but I saw the way he lived his life after tennis. I always felt that was the type of person I should be looking up to because of his spirit. It’s a matter of respect.” The way we choose to live our lives makes a kind of statement about the kind of people we are. And this is especially true of our spiritual lives. What we do, how we live, reflects what it is we believe most deeply and aspire to most passionately. If we are deeply committed to Jesus Christ and to his church, that will shine through in all that we do and say. And if we are just pretending to be disciples, if we are just talking the talk and not walking the walk, then that will also be evident from the way we live our lives. Do you realize that every member of the church is an advertisement for the Christian faith? If we practice our profession, then we will be a good advertisement. The truth of the matter is that every day our lives either attract or repel people to Christianity, based on our faithfulness or lack of faithfulness to what we say we believe. Jesus addressed this issue one day through a brief parable that he told to a crowd of religious leaders, people who professed to be the most faithful people to Jewish faith and practice in the first century. And there were, most likely, some of the less desirable people in the crowd too, the kind of people who tended to follow Jesus wherever he went, the kind of people that Jesus chose to associate with, much to the horror of the religious establishment. Jesus tended to hang around with those the religious leaders labeled “sinners”: tax collectors, prostitutes, and anyone else who could or would not maintain all the strict requirements of being ritually clean and pure according to Jewish law. It is interesting to note which group of people Jesus praised and which group of people Jesus called to repentance. Jesus told about a man who had two sons, neither of whom were what you would call ideal children. The father asked them to go and work in his vineyard. The first son said that he would not do it, but later he changed his mind and went out to work. The second son said that he would do it, but he did not go out to work. While both sons were a disappointment to their father, the one who obeyed in the end was better than the one who did not. It is easy to see the comparison that Jesus had in mind. The religious leaders were the ones who said they would obey God. But they didn’t obey; they were all a bunch of hypocrites. The tax collectors and other sinners appeared to not be interested in obeying God. And yet, when they heard the gospel they changed their lives and they practiced what they now professed to be true. Therefore, according to Jesus, the tax collectors and prostitutes and other sinners would enter the kingdom of heaven before the religious leaders. That sounds offensive now, but it would have been even more shocking in first-century Jerusalem. While the Jewish leaders had spent their lives professing their devotion to God, they had not followed through with putting their faith into practice. On the contrary, the people who had been labeled sinners had seemed as if they had turned their backs on God, but then they changed their minds and found a place in God’s kingdom. Actions speak louder than words. And words can never take the place of deeds. You can talk a good game and yet have zero commitment to practice what you preach. The earliest name for the Christian community was “The Way,” because it wasn’t a creed that set these people apart; it was the way of life that they put into practice. Hypocrisy is not just a problem found in first-century Jerusalem. It can be a problem for 21st-century Christians, as well. How many times have you heard someone say, “The church is full of hypocrites”? One man saw a pastor at a cocktail party one night and said, “The church is full of hypocrites!” The pastor suggested, “Why don’t you join us? One more won’t make any difference!” But we have to take this issue seriously. Yes, there are hypocrites in church. And yes, we are all guilty of hypocrisy to a certain degree. We have to look at our own hearts to see the extent to which hypocrisy has taken hold. A person whose practice doesn’t match his or her profession will do great harm to the church. It is a great handicap to the church when Christians are not living the life Jesus called us to live. We need to be good examples of the faith, believers who act on what we say we believe. One place to start is to make sure we are right with God. The early church father Athanasius wrote, “You cannot put straight in others what is warped in yourself.” So we need to look for our warped places and get them straightened out. Then we can be the kind of witnesses that Jesus needs in his church. There is nothing more influential in a person’s life than a good role model. Andrew Murray wrote, “God has no more precious gift to a church … than a man [or woman] who lives as an embodiment of his will, and inspires those around him [or her] with the faith of what grace can do.” We do that, not only with our words, but also with our actions. Paul Gilbert wrote, “You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day, by the deeds that you do, by the words that you say; men read what you write, whether faithless or true. Say -w hat is the gospel, according to you?” The early Christians set a good example in faith and practice, living lives of integrity, preaching the gospel by what they said and even more by what they did. We know that because the church continued to grow and to spread, until it eventually became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Publius Aristides, a 2nd-century philosopher who lived in Athens, wrote about the Christianity of his day: “The Christians know and believe in God, the Maker of heaven and earth. They walk in all humility and kindness, and falsehood is not found among them. They observe scrupulously the commandment of their Messiah; every morning, and at all times, on account of the goodness of God toward them, they praise and laud him, and over their meals they render him thanks. On account of them, there flows forth much beauty in the world.” We need to be about the business of bringing forth much beauty in the world. We can do that by living out our faith. Albert Schweitzer remarked, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” How important is our example? Listen to this story told by Jay Kesler about a conversation he had with a young lady attending a church camp. She came forward after a worship service and asked to talk with someone. She was crying when she told Jay how her father had been molesting her since the time she was four years old. She felt guilty about it, as if somehow it was all her fault, and had even tried to kill herself. Jay asked her why she had not committed suicide. She said it was because of the youth pastor at her church. The young woman told Jay that the youth pastor had just gotten married before he came to her church. He was always holding his wife’s hand and looking at her with tenderness. Maybe all men weren’t like her father. One day she was watching out the church window when the youth pastor walked his wife to the car. Even though the parking lot was empty, and nobody was looking, he walked all the way around the car to open the door for his wife, then went all the way back around to get in himself. She repeated, he even did it when he didn’t know anyone was watching. Then the young woman asked Jay, “Do you think my youth pastor is a Christian?” Jay answered, “Yes, I do.” She said, “That’s why I came here tonight. I want to be a Christian, too.” And all because of something a man did when he didn’t know anyone was looking. I’d like to close with a prayer of John Henry Newman: “Lord, shine in me and so be in me that all with whom I come into contact may know thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus. Amen.” Song For Who He Really Is Steven Curtis Chapman https://youtu.be/bdbVj9pJxU4 Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer In the stillness, O God, receive the prayers of your people. Hear the confident voices of children who are close to your kingdom and the trembling voices of adults who fear that they are not. Comfort those whose hearts have been stricken by grief, that they may live once more with hope. Bind up the wounds of the shy and the lonely and the disappointed, that they may discover love and fulfillment. Teach us all to be at peace within ourselves, that we may become peacemakers to others. Forgive us for the selfishness and shortsightedness that have blinded us to your appearances all around us – in the song of a child, the touch of a friend, the smile of a stranger, the taste of bread, the benediction of a sunset. Renew your spirit of love and creation and fellowship within us. And in everything, let us dance for the grace that is in us through Jesus Christ our Lord. (John Killinger) We offer this prayer in his name, as we pray together the prayer he taught his disciples: The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Prayer of Dedication Sovereign God, put these gifts, and our time and talents, to work in your vineyard. Grant us the capacity to move beyond good intentions to give ourselves completely to the purposes of your kingdom. Amen. Song The Walk Steven Curtis Chapman https://youtu.be/0PJPOGk8GUM *Benediction Depart to serve in obedience and faith; there is work for all of us in God’s vineyard. We will respond as disciples of Jesus, and we believe that God will bless our labors. God will go with us and will reveal his glory among us. Surely God is at work in our midst. Amen.
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September 20, 2020
Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song Together For King and Country https://youtu.be/lR1Hk0FVi_k Announcements New Zoom Book Study to begin Wednesday, September 6 at 7:00 PM. Here is your invitation: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Book Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85224166154?pwd=TzJ1TGkvUmMzUHBFdmFOZ1EvSThwZz09 Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 One tap mobile +13126266799,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keaonGxryr *Call to Worship Remember the wonderful works of God and rejoice in God’s steadfast love. God has blessed us beyond all deserving. Examine before God the quality of your commitment. We come to worship the one true God. God promises to dwell with us. God meets us here and now; we will rejoice in God’s presence together. Song Live for You Rachel Lampa https://youtu.be/53vreeB8_aI *Opening Prayer Gracious God, whose ways are not our ways, we seek your truth. Let your word become so much a part of us that our lives may become worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Grant us opportunities to share the good news, and gratitude to respond generously to all who seek our help. Amen. Song Carry My Cross Third Day https://youtu.be/XZIu_wokiV8 Hearing the Word Scripture Matthew 20:17-28 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink.” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Sermon Politics 101 With just a little over six weeks until the election, I don’t know about you, but I am already sick and tired of all the ads on TV. It’s bad enough to have all the ads for the presidential candidates, but then there are the ads for candidates running for governor, the state house, and the U.S. Congress. Depending on which channel you have on, you even have to listen to candidates who are running in other states besides New Hampshire. Politics has become such a harsh, ugly, polarizing force that I just wish I could ignore the whole thing. This story from Matthew has everything to do with politics. And I think it sheds some positive light on a troubling subject, giving us a new framework to look through. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for the last time. It couldn’t have been an easy journey. While he was experiencing success in his ministry, with crowds following him all the time, to the point where he could hardly find time alone to eat or to pray, he was also realizing that his closest disciples didn’t have a clue what he was all about or what he had really come to do. He had tried before to tell them the truth, and he tried again here. He took the Twelve aside in private and laid out the cold, hard facts: he was going to be arrested, condemned to death, mocked and beaten within an inch of his life, and then put to death on a cross. And on the third day, he would be raised from the dead. Matthew does not record any response from the disciples to what Jesus had said to them. We don’t know what they were thinking, or if they understood any of it. We don’t know if they believed that these things would really happen, or if they thought Jesus was just overreacting to the threats and rejection of the religious leaders. They didn’t say anything, and so we are left to wonder what was going on in their heads and in their hearts. Except for James and John. We soon find out exactly what they were thinking. James and John apparently missed the message about suffering and death and crosses, and they were hung up on the idea of a kingdom with Jesus sitting on the throne. They wanted to be a part of that, an important part. But they didn’t go to Jesus and talk to him about it directly for themselves. Instead, in good political fashion, they brought in a lobbyist to argue their case for them. And who would make a better lobbyist than their mother? She would surely present all their good points in the best possible light. And so she approached Jesus and asked if he would do her a favor. When he became king, would he appoint James and John to sit at his right and at his left? In other words, would he make them second and third in command? I can only imagine the disappointment of Jesus when he heard this request. Clearly James and John and their mother had no idea what was really going on. They had their heads in the clouds of wishful thinking and grandiose plans. They missed the entire point of Jesus’ previous remarks about going to the cross. They were only thinking of all the power and glory and authority that could be theirs if they followed Jesus as he established his reign on earth. They believed that Jesus was soon going to be crowned as the rightful ruler of Israel, kick out the Romans by force, and bring about peace and prosperity for all the people. And they wanted to be at the top of the new regime. Jesus could only shake his head in despair and reply to them and to their mother, “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” When they quickly responded, “We can!” he knew that they really didn’t get it. All he could say was, “You will, in fact, drink from that cup. But it is not my privilege to grant you these positions on my right and my left; that is my Father’s prerogative.” When the other ten disciples heard about James’ and John’s efforts to seal a back-room deal, they were greatly upset. Perhaps they were angry that they had not thought of it themselves. Or maybe they were offended that two of the group thought they were better than the others. Or it could be that they were worried that Jesus might give them what they wanted. But in any case, their arrival on the scene created an opportunity for Jesus to teach them more about the kind of leadership he expected from them. Jesus said that the political rulers exercised authority over others and lorded it over them. But it was not to be that way among his disciples. Instead, whoever wanted to be great among them must be a servant, and whoever wanted to be first among them must be their slave. That was the way it was to be among them, and that was the example Jesus had set for them. Just as he did not come to be served but to serve, so they were to serve. Among Jesus’ disciples, power was not the goal; service was the goal. Alan E. Lewis, in his book, Between the Cross and the Resurrection, writes that “the surrender of power is the form, and the only form, that God’s power takes.” It is a paradox: service is powerful. This is, in fact, a Christian revolution in the way we think of the world, of power, and even of politics. It is the complete reversal of the world’s standards and a totally new set of values. Just imagine what it would be like if, instead of aspiring to power and authority and privilege, those who were in positions of leadership focused on how they might serve others? If they were more concerned with the well-being of those they served than they were on getting all they could for themselves? I have been impressed by one candidate’s ads this campaign season. I don’t know anything else about him, but Congressman Chris Pappas is the only candidate I have heard of recently refers to public service as his focus. I wish there were more out there who made that a priority. There is a huge difference between politics and public service. Politics is defined as “factional scheming for power and status.” On the other hand, public service is defined as “work done for others; giving assistance to others.” Jesus had no interest in politics. Jesus had no desire to gain political power, or even religious power. He often criticized the political and religious leaders for their skewed values and unethical practices. Instead, Jesus was all about serving others, especially those who were at the bottom of the heap: the outcast, the sick, the shunned, the injured, the poor, and the sinners. Jesus wanted to make their lives better, even at the cost of his own life. Tohohiko Kagawa was born in Kobe, Japan in 1888. His parents died while he was young, and he was sent away to school, where he was in the care of American missionaries. He became a Christian and even attended seminary, but believed that Christianity in action was more important than focusing on theology. He became a pacifist and labor activist. He had a concern for the poor, and in 1909 he moved into the slums of Kobe to be a missionary and social reformer. He lived there in a 6x6 foot hut. On the first night, a man asked to share his bed who had a contagious skin condition. Kagawa agreed to let him come in. Then a beggar asked him for his shirt, and he gave it to him; the next day the man was back asking for his coat and pants, which he also gave to the man. The people in the slums laughed at him, left with only a ragged kimono to wear. But they came to respect him. He would preach in all kinds of weather, with the message, “God is love. Where there is love, there is God.” When he would fall down exhausted because of poor health, men would carry him back to his hut. Kagawa went on to become a reformer, author, and activist, advocating for peace in the years before and during World War II, and promoting the right of women to vote. He was arrested on numerous occasions for speaking out against the government. Kagawa wrote, “God dwells among the lowliest of men. He sits on the dust heap among the prison convicts. He stands with the juvenile delinquents. He is there with the beggars. He is among the sick, he stands with the unemployed. Therefore let him who would meet God visit the prison cell before going to the temple. Before he goes to church let him visit the hospital. Before he reads his Bible let him help the beggar.” Jesus redefined what it means to be a leader. A leader is not someone who is interested in practicing politics. A leader is someone who is interested in serving others. A leader is someone who puts the needs of others ahead of their own needs. A leader is someone who is even willing to lay down their own life for the sake of others. As we consider the candidates for office in this year’s election, we would do well to ask ourselves, “Is this person a politician? Or is this person a servant?” And then vote with that answer in mind. Song I’d Rather Have Jesus Steven Curtis Chapman, Herb Chapman, Sr., Herb Chapman, Jr. https://youtu.be/vVBVSunAjd4 Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer In the coolness of the morning, O God, we are aware of the changing of the seasons. In the stillness of these moments, we are aware of the changing of our lives. They too have their seasons: times of doubt and times of faith, times of weariness and times of energy, times of anxiety and times of hope, times of loneliness and times of love. Help us to accept them, God, and know they are all from you. Teach us to celebrate them as part of what it is to be human, to be finite, to be your creatures. In all of these seasons, we praise you for our lives, for our insights, for our church, and for Jesus Christ, whose death atones for our sins. Give us vision, to see the world as yours. Give us courage, to claim the world for Christ. Give us love, to accept one another as brothers and sisters. Let the healing power of the cross be upon us all today – all who are ill, all who are lonely, all who are anxious and afraid, and all who grieve. May the glory of the heavens be upon all who worship you. (John Killinger) We offer this prayer in his name, as we pray together the prayer he taught his disciples: The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Prayer of Dedication Thank you, God, for the generosity that enables us to share. We are rich in so many ways. Help us to empty ourselves of pretense, even as we pour out gifts of gratitude. We dedicate our offerings and ourselves to shaping that community you intend, in the spirit of Christ. Amen. Song Do Something Matthew West https://youtu.be/b_RjndG0IX8 *Benediction Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel. We will share the good news with others by what we do and in all we say. Hold your sisters and brothers in your hearts. We will do all we can to uphold each other’s ministry. Amen. September 13, 2020
Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song Testify to Love Wynonna Judd https://youtu.be/g1rYmj1AN44 Announcements New Zoom Book Study to begin Wednesday, September 6 at 7:00 PM. Here is your invitation: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Book Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85224166154?pwd=TzJ1TGkvUmMzUHBFdmFOZ1EvSThwZz09 Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 One tap mobile +13126266799,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keaonGxryr *Call to Worship This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. All of our days belong to God and we give thanks for them. None of us lives to ourselves, and none of us dies to ourselves. If we live, we live to Christ, and if we die, we die to Christ. Let every tongue give praise to the Lord and every knee bow before our God. Song Light Your World Newsong https://youtu.be/5j_mkdYD1d8 *Opening Prayer Merciful God, we are ever in need of your grace and mercy. When we have injured your little ones, forgive us. When we have laughed at others’ misfortunes, pardon us. When we have belittled the weak, humble us. Help us walk through the trials of life with your powerful hope and your loving grace. Amen. Song Love is the Answer England Dan & John Ford Coley https://youtu.be/B_lBaUH_0GY Hearing the Word Scripture Romans 14:1-7 Accept the one who’s faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. Sermon To Mask or Not to Mask? To mask or not to mask? That has become the question of the day for many people in the United States. How this turned into a political issue rather than a public health issue still confounds me. I read about a grocery store employee verbally assaulted for asking someone to put on a mask. I see on the nightly news a video of a man in Dollar Tree wiping his nose on an employee’s shirt when asked to wear a mask. I see images of a shopper at a Trader Joe’s throwing a tantrum when asked to wear a mask, throwing down her shopping basket and shouting, “You’re democratic pigs, all of you!” And I read about an employee at a Family Dollar store being shot after telling a woman that her daughter had to wear a mask to enter the store. I just don’t understand it. So I decided to do some research to try to figure it out. For some people, the issue of wearing a mask is seen as a sign of weakness. It’s like admitting that you are afraid you could catch COVID-19 because you’re not strong enough or healthy enough to fight it off. For other people, being asked to wear a mask if taking away a person’s individual liberty. When overturning a Harris County mandatory mask order, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that people “have every right to control their own path.” Some people refuse to wear a mask because they don’t trust the medical experts or government officials who are telling them that it can protect them and others from spreading the virus. Kile Spelz, 39, says, “I don’t trust anything, and I question everything … I’m not going to overreact to something that hasn’t been proven. I think it’s more of a scare tactic to continue to push people to see what they’re willing to trade as far as their liberty. I think it’s an extra layer of control or influence from the government.” There are those who see some kind of conspiracy at work. To what end, I am not sure, but they seem to believe that the whole coronavirus thing is a big hoax. A woman in Florida said, “What you say is the political dogma that they’re trying to shove down our throats … and it’s disgusting.” There is something called the “plan-demic” conspiracy theory, where supposedly the Democrats made up the who thing to somehow take down the president. And others are convinced that this is a Constitutional issue. A woman in Palm Beach, Florida stated, “You’re removing our freedoms and stomping on our constitutional rights by these communist dictatorship orders or laws you want to mandate.” And then there are those who say that they can’t breathe while wearing a mask. A man in Florida told a reporter, “I don’t wear a mask for the same reason I don’t wear underwear: things gotta breathe.” For those who do choose to wear a mask, 74% of them do it to protect themselves and others. Brent Taylor, 32, always wears a mask when out in public. And yet, in Texas, that makes him a target. He was shopping in Home Depot with his mask on when someone offered to pray for him. He says, “It’s very disconcerting and very disheartening to see people get aggressive and political on this issue. I’m frustrated with people who are becoming hostile about it. It only takes one person to infect someone.” And Cathy Power, 51, commented, “We are all in this together. I get it – it’s not comfortable … But it is worth it if you help someone, and it makes a big difference for vulnerable populations.” The truth is, according to the CDC and most health experts, mask wearing is the single most important thing we can do to stop the spread of the pandemic. COVID-19 is spread mainly by someone inhaling the virus expelled by another person. If 50% of the people wore masks, transmission rates would be cut in half. If 80% of the people wore masks that were even 50% effective, it would reduce the death rate by 17-45% in two months. And if everyone wore masks, the pandemic could be brought under control. While I can understand somewhat people’s dislike of being told what to do, it seems to me that the most important factor in the mask debate isn’t what makes you happy or comfortable; it’s what will keep the virus from spreading so that we can get rid of it in our country. It’s not about my personal preference; it’s about protecting my fellow citizens from me possibly spreading the virus to them. It’s about having compassion for your community rather than being concerned about your own comfort. That is what Paul was talking about in his letter to the Romans in the passage I read a few moments ago. There were some divisions in the church over some practices that people couldn’t agree on. Some people felt that it was wrong to eat meat, and others felt that it was fine to eat meat. The issue here wasn’t whether or not to be a vegetarian; the issue was you didn’t know where the meat in the market had come from. There were ongoing animal sacrifices being made to Roman gods in various temples, and only part of the meat was used for the sacrifice. The rest of the meat was sold in the markets. That meant that a Christian could end up eating meat that had been part of a pagan sacrifice. Since no one knew whether the meat had or had not been part of those sacrifices, some Christians felt that it was better to not eat any meat at all. Another controversy had arisen over whether or not certain days were sacred. This probably was a difference of opinion between Jewish converts to Christianity and Gentile converts. Jewish converts would have insisted on observing Jewish holy days, including the Sabbath, but also other festivals. Gentile Christians would have no reason to see those days as special, and so would have not celebrated them. Paul’s point to the church in Rome was that these differences were not as important as maintaining unity in the church and showing care for one another. If your practices were causing hard feelings and quarrels, then it was better to leave them off. It was important to show concern for those whose faith was weaker, and not to insist on their own way at the expense of the common good. Americans have somehow lost a sense of the common good. We are such an individualistic people. It’s all about my personal rights, not about what is good for all of us. We are more worried about having to compromise our own beliefs, or make ourselves uncomfortable, than we are about saving each other’s lives. Other cultures are not like that. They put the good of the greater society ahead of their own individual rights or preferences. That is particularly true in Asian countries, where there has been no debate whatsoever about wearing masks. People value the common good more than they value their own individual well-being. And so they make sacrifices. I am so disappointed in our country in so many ways. I hate seeing the deep political divide that is so entrenched in our society. I am so angry at the rhetoric that has become acceptable. I am so frustrated at the lack of willingness to discuss and debate and compromise in order to address the very real issues – including the pandemic – that are facing us. And I am heartbroken at the way that issues – including whether or not to mask – have divided families, including my own. What is the answer? I think we need to re-learn how to put the needs of others ahead of our own. I think we need to remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them to unto you. I think we need to rekindle the communal spirit that has, at times, been strong in America. And I think we need to reclaim Christian compassion and hospitality as the core of our faith and practice. In that way, perhaps we can solve the mask issue, and other issues, in ways that bring about peace and health and hope. Song Lean on Me Playing for Change https://youtu.be/LiouJsnYytI Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer (Based on Psalm 123) Lord God, we seek the faith of the psalmist, weighed down by taunts of scorn, yet who still looks up in hope for mercy. For surely our world is bent on tearing down; we hear too readily words of criticism and the brutal language of blame and censure; we hear too seldom the words of approval, and the uplifting language of commendation and praise. We begin to believe depressing comment, sneer, satire, and abuse are normal, because it forms the basis of political life, family life, entertainment and sport, business life, even personal life. Lord God, we have not yet learnt your language of high esteem for your creatures. So we lift up our eyes heavenwards to discover a new schoolroom, an alternative teaching, another option, to the common carping we drown in. Lord God, shower us with mercy, bathe us in gracious love, clothe us in compassion, cover us in tender liking, enough for us to believe in the new speech-making. Uplift us with words of worth, upraise us to new levels of praise, hoist us high with songs of gratitude, upheave our heaviness into new light enough to practice this foreign language. For then the scorn and contempt we are used to will disappear, and our new mother tongue will bring glory to you, and blessing to neighbor, and health to self. (David R. Grant) We offer this prayer in his name, as we pray together the prayer he taught his disciples: The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Prayer of Dedication Merciful God, transform this offering into hope and joy for a troubled world. Transform our ministries into instruments of your grace. Through our giving, may places of sorrow and mourning know the sound of love and laughter. Through our living, mold us into your people – a people of promise and hope. Amen. Song This Day Point of Grace https://youtu.be/nxO5n_4ZyW4 *Benediction The week ahead holds hours and days that are gifts from God. They are given to each of us to enjoy and invest or to hate and destroy. When we encounter human need, let us remember how God has met our needs. In our sisters and brothers in distress, we meet Christ. Let us go out committed to giving ourselves for others. We will love in grateful response to God’s love for us. Amen. |
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