Winthrop Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
No matter who you are. No matter where you are on life's journey. You are welcome here.
Matthew 11:28-30 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ Yokes are heavy. They are made of dense wood, rope, and/or strong metal, like iron. Yokes are stout enough to bind together pairs of strong draft animals: oxen, Clydesdales, mules. They are tools that allow us smaller creatures to constrain and direct the movements of much larger ones for our benefit. With yokes and the animals, we have trained to do the work, we plow fields, move goods, haul wood, and transport people. Yokes are heavy. No human who has been asked to carry one will dispute that.
As I sat down to write this sermon on rest, I remembered that I’d read somewhere that American workers have become far more productive over the last several decades but that their incomes haven’t risen in the same way. I dug around to see if I could find the article where I saw that. I found some information from the Economic Policy Institute. I’ll share the whole article with my sermon notes later in the week. When they talk about worker “productivity,” they mean “how much economywide income is generated in an average hour of work.” They looked at a bunch of data and crafted a chart that starts in 1948. The data they gathered shows a workforce that has steadily grown more productive, generating more income per hour, since shortly after World War II. They say that workers are almost 81% more productive now than they were in 1948. But, workers’ pay is not 81% more than it was in 1948. When adjusted to today’s money, workers’ pay has only gone up 29% in that same era. Apparently, increase in pay as compared to increase in productivity has been particularly slow since the late 1970’s, when economic policies that had helped pay keep pace with productivity began to be dismantled. Now, I’m not an economist. But, it seems to me like that isn’t particularly fair. “Every shut eye ain’t asleep. I am resting my eyes and listening for what God wants to tell me.” This is what theologian Tricia Hersey shares that her grandmother Ora would tell her when asked about her daily 30-minute meditation session. She was one of the many African-Americans who fled the particular violent, impoverishing racism of Mississippi and moved to Chicago in the 1950’s. Even with eight children and the pressures of avoiding poverty and the racism and pressures of the city, she insisted on these 30 minutes of restful attention to God. In a world that often denies marginalized people rest, Hersey continues to be inspired by her grandmother’s radical insistence on taking time for her own soul and body. When Hersey was in seminary and synthesizing in her heart and mind the Jim Crow South history she was studying, she would fall asleep while reading. She came to see that as a gift from her grandmother, who showed her how rest, and even sleep, could open the door to the Spirit, bringing her healing and insight. For years now, she has been developing what she calls The Nap Ministry. While the name, at first blush, might seem slight, she takes rest very seriously. She says in her book Rest is Resistance, “If we are not resting, we will not make it.” Particularly for those from backgrounds of poverty and/or racialized violence or for those who, right now, are doing exhausting, under-compensated work, it is vital to claim rest as something good and necessary for cultivating the rich, whole life God desires for us. It is odd for Jesus to call a yoke “easy” and to call following him light burden. Especially when, in other parts of the Gospel, Jesus says that following him will be hard, like carrying a large, wooden cross (which, incidentally, is heavier than a yoke). Dr. Courtney Buggs points this out in a commentary on this text. She says, “When we consider the broader requirements of the Way, which involves leaving family; sacrificing self and one’s own interests; even at the risk of one’s life, would this be considered easy?” Dr. Buggs returns to the original Greek for insight. She notes that the Greek word we read translated as “easy” is chrestos and it usually means something more like “useful, serviceable, effective, kind.” The word we heard translated as “light,” elafros, can mean “slight, insignificant, or agile.” With those alternate translations in mind, she offers this reading of our scripture, “for my discipleship is characterized by divine kindness, usefulness, and serviceability, and my burden or load is slight, insignificant, and agile.” She believes that it is wise to consider these words not as a statement that following Jesus is simple, but as a remind that God is defined by kindness and trustworthiness. Those qualities can help us transform that which is a challenge into that which is reasonable and manageable... the way that 30 minutes of rest a day made the challenges raising eight children as a Black woman in 1950’s manageable for Hersey’s grandmother Ora. Perhaps the easy yoke is the counter point to the heavy cross. Our walk with Jesus will include both rest and sacrifice as a counterbalance. The sacrifice can be more easily born because of the rest that is offered alongside it. Jesus is not a CEO, laying off hundreds of workers, wearing down those who remain with added uncompensated labor, in order to pad his own pockets. Jesus is in the fields with his friends, gleaning, teaching, healing, praying, eating, and resting. With Jesus, there will be work, but there will also be rest. Tricia Hersey, in her work as a spiritual director and theologian, has worked with so many people who are both exhausted and unable to take time to rest. In Rest is Resistance, she talks about hearing “I would love to rest more but I have bills. How is it possible?” This is one of the impossibilities of this very moment. Many people, particularly those who are most vulnerable, have little space for the rest they need to survive. And, our churches, which can be places for respite, can also be sites of over-work. Who here has needed a break from the responsibilities you have accepted as a part of this church? I bet a bunch of people here have. And, that’s fair. In her book, Kersey reminds us that “our worth is not connected to how much labor we can withstand.” Perhaps a word we can take from this as folks who love our church, our neighbors, and Jesus, but are also tired, is that we need to build systems, both within our churches and in the world, that don’t demand sacrifice without sabbath. Dr. Buggs lifts up two examples of churches offering rest and service in her commentary. The first is a church that had regular group of people who did not have homes but did feel welcomed by the church. The pastor and congregation had a breakfast before worship and a small changing room where people could pick up fresh clothes. They’d give anyone who could use it $5 as they came in the sanctuary, too. And, everyone, regular parishioners and people who started coming just for breakfast and funds, but opted to stay for worship, sat together as one body of Christ. The second example comes from her own life, as a young adult who had grown-up in the church, when Dr. Buggs got her first job out of college, she began to tithe to the church to support their ministry. She explains that after a year of trying very hard to manage her expenses, she was struggling to make ends meet. Though she was working, she wasn’t even always sure she’d have money for food. When she shared this with her pastor, the pastor helped in two ways. One, she told Dr. Buggs not to tithe for three months. And, two, she gave her food. This is a world where a small group of people benefit from large groups of people being worked too hard. Systems that required increased productivity without increased pay or increased support are systems that run counter to Jesus’ promise of rest that restores us for service. Today’s reading is a call to Imagine Together a rested church and community. May we make the time to rest within our church community. And, in times of service, make sure that our neighbors can rest, too. Resources consulted while writing this sermon: Courtney Buggs’ commentary in the Imagine Together stewardship material Marvin A. Sweeney’s entry on yokes in in Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, Paul Achetemeier, ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1996) Productivity pay gap: https://www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap/ Tricia Hersey, Rest is Resistance (New York: Little, Brown Spark, 2022)
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Sermon for October 13, 2024: Imagine Together: Enough at Every Table based upon Isaiah 5510/15/2024 Isaiah 55 An Invitation to Abundant Life Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you. Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that He may have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Think to a time of celebration in your life. Tell me what kind of celebration it is: a wedding, a holiday gathering, an anniversary, a birthday party, a graduation, completion of a big project, a welcome home. Did you eat when you celebrated? What did you eat? What kind of things did you eat? Cake! Steak! Brownies! Mashed Potatoes! Tacos! Pizza! Today's scripture is a story about celebration. Pizza is, unfortunately, not listed as one of the celebration foods. But, milk, honey, and wine are! And there's water and bread... probably fancy spring water and crusty focaccia bread. God says to the people, “Listen carefully and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” It has been a long journey and you are home. Let's celebrate!
Today's reading is from a portion of Isaiah that scholars call “Second Isaiah.” Remember, even though tradition credits this book to the work of one prophet, it was likely written over generations and inspired by several events and different prophets who had similar themes to the oldest parts by Isaiah. Second Isaiah is a series of what Patricia Tull calls “poems of hope” found in chapters 40- 55. Our reading for the day is the culmination of this vision of a hopeful future written for the group of people who were taken into exile in Babylon. The prophecy is clear: God is inviting God's people into great abundance. But, they must be willing to do something in order to get to the table. You remember that Babylon, in conquering Judah, destroyed Jerusalem and kidnapped many citizens of Judah, forcing them to live in Babylon. The audience for this prophetic poetry is the descendants a couple generations removed from those who were first taken. There is an explicit invitation to return to Judah within this poetry. Tull outlines some of the arguments the prophet makes for return in her commentary: 1) this is the land of Abraham and Sarah, the central founding figures of their faith; 2) their religious community, as symbolized by the nation of Israel, has a calling that was best lived out in their ancestral home; and 3) that they would be re-enacting the Exodus from Egypt. Basically, it matters that the people who were taken return home to those people and places that were left behind. It matters that the people rebuild. There may come a comfort in exile. If you never know when you may return, you may begin to figure out how to make a home in the place where you have been forced to go. You may even be able to craft a measure of comfort. You will certainly, within a few generations, have a measure of familiarity. Familiarity can be a gift, can't it? I can imagine that the grandchildren of the taken likely benefited from some stability, even as they knew they were exilees. It puts me in mind of people who were forced to leave New Orleans during Katrina. They were able to make a home in Houston or Atlanta or where ever they landed. Poor Appalachians who moved to Detroit and Cincinnati in the 1960's often shared a similar sentiment. They were able to make a new home and find stability in the wake of disruption. As Corinne Carvalho notes in her commentary on the text, some eventually no longer yearned for their first home. But, some did. And they taught their children and grandchildren about “back home.” Those grandchildren were the ones this chapter was written for. Here comes God who says, “yes, you've made a place in the place you never wanted to be in. But, now is a time to return.” In her commentary on this text, Melinda Quivik points out that exile has a cost “devastation, anguish, loneliness, guilt, shame, terror.” The return to Judah would have a cost, too. It's no small thing to travel that distance to a place you have never been, to a people who were left with so little on which to survive, and a temple that lay in ruins. The poet prophets of Isaiah work to assure the people that God wants them to have an abundant, meaningful life. And, that life is found among those who were not taken and live among the ruins. Tull, in her commentary on this text, notes that text began as a reference to an historical event, the exile and return of Judean leadership and scholars, and became a potent symbol, especially for Christians, of a spiritual journey from alienation to home in God. She also argues that part of that spiritual journey is paying attention to concrete needs of people on that journey. It is not by accident that food and drink are key metaphors for God's abundance in this world. As Lee Yates says in a study of this text, “the kindom of God is a time and place when everyone has all they need, and everyone feels good about what they have.” What inspires people to hope is not only a spiritual connection with God, but also a reminder of the ways that restoration will help bring more steady access to all the things a body needs: food, drink, shelter, community. Many of us who read this text at this moment in time may not be reading it with an exilee's heart, though some might. I have a former professor who is transgender and left Tennessee after it became clear that the legislature was going to continue to work to deny him life-saving healthcare and guaranteed access to public bathrooms. He has found a good job pastoring in New York. He still speaks of this move as an exile. Even if you haven't had to make a move based on safety, you might still resonate with this reading. In her commentary on this text, Quivik invites us to consider “Who in your community, state, nation, and on earth lives in conditions of exile, devoid of what is stable and nourishing... who are those who need to be invited to what is life-giving?” Perhaps that's what Isaiah is inviting us, who are far away from Babylon, but still on a journey with God, to pay attention to. Isaiah tells us that there is a future where people have what they need and are happy with it. That is what God hopes for us. How do we imagine, together, what that future where there is enough at every table may look like? I can't see the whole way forward yet, but I feel like I can see it in part. I saw a piece of God's kindom this week when I met a volunteer from Winthrop Hot Meal Program dropping off several days of food at the home of an isolated and impoverished senior. I saw a piece of God's kindom when our church, another church, and a mutual aid fund worked together to help a neighbor with rent. I know that the Board of Church and Community Concerns is already working on plans for supporting the Family Violence Project in the next few months. We are the ones being invited to give up some comfort and some time and some money to be a part of the blooming of the kindom of God. When we do, we are working alongside God, preparing for that feast we talked about just a few minutes ago. May our solidarity with those in the ruins bring us closer to the God we met at the table. Resources consulted while writing this sermon: Patricia Tull's notes on Isaiah 55 in the Imagine Together stewardship materials Lee Yate's Sunday School curricula in the Imagine Together stewardship materials Melinda Quivik: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/vigil-of-easter/commentary-on-isaiah-551-11-2 Corrine Carvalho: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/return-from-exile-2/commentary-on-isaiah-551-11 Isaiah 35 The Return of the Redeemed to Zion The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. I have a lot of friends who have jobs where they help people. One my friends, Adam, who is a counselor, recently shared something called a social story that he thought might help people who have been having a hard time. Social stories are a tool that adults like teachers, counselors, and parents may use to help a child prepare for a new situation or for a situation that might be challenging. Some people can get anxious about a new thing, even if it is a good new thing. The social stories are written to help prepare them for the things that will happen in the situation. They might include details about what things they can expect to happen, some feelings they might feel, and maybe some descriptions of behaviors that would be appropriate and expected in the situation. The social story that Adam shared was created by the Family Support Network of North Carolina. It is to help people who have been having a hard time after the bad floods that were there last week. The people who wrote the social story want to acknowledge the hard parts of the last week, the feelings that are being felt, and will be felt some more, and what we ultimately hope will happen: that everyone will be safe.
Chapter 34 is like the first part of our social story. We didn’t read it together, but, I’ll go ahead and tell you that there’s a big fight in a place called Edom. It’s scary and gross and everyone- the people, the farm animals, the land itself- has a really bad time. The wild animals and spiny plants get control of the land. They are the only creatures that are even a little happy. This is the “We had a flood. The rain was loud. The water was high. I was scared” part. Edom was a nation that didn’t get along with Judah, the nation that the prophet Isaiah was from. People in Judah were worried that the bad things in Edom would also happen in Judah. To be fair, some very bad wars did happen in Judah. They weren’t wrong to worry. Our reading for today, chapter 35, shows us what happens after the bad stuff. It shows us a land, people, and animals that are healing.
“Now the flood is over. I am safe. My house looks different. I might stay somewhere new. We will work together to clean up our town. Things will be different, but we will be safe.” That all sounds so much to me like “the wilderness and the dry land will be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing... Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear!’... and the ransom of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” The book of Isaiah, which is really a collection of several stories told in different eras by different prophets, is supposed to remind us that it is possible to rebuild. According to Joseph Blenkinsopp’s notes, chapter 35 is the link that connects the bad that happened to the possibility for rebuilding and reconnection that can come later. Patricia Tull described this chapter in another fun way. She calls it a “hinge,” like you’d find on a door. On one side of the door is devastation. On the other is renewed life and a broken place repaired, replanted, with people and animals returned. After spending a lot of last weekend watching a region I care about get swamped with dangerous flooding and worrying about people I know in the area, I have seen so many hinge moments that remind me that even though things will be different, people can be safe. One of my seminary friends, whose family was able to get out of the mountains to stay with friend in central North Carolina, is heading back with his kids to help with clean up. His friend, a Boy Scout leader, has been organizing kids and adults in his neighborhood to cut a path out to the main for some folks who had been isolated by downed trees and debris. They even salvaged a culvert that had washed into the area to use to make the path drivable. He’s been using his Scout skills to help people treat water, find fuel, and make sure to dispose of their waste in clean ways. Churches all over the area are cooking, housing donations, offering showers, and laundry. People are driving donations up from surrounding areas and into hard-to-reach homes, using ATVs, four-wheel drives, mules, and their own two feet. Helicopter pilots, both private citizens and service members, have been dropping supplies and carrying out people who need transport. Remote volunteers are working with Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, have been working together to cover backlogs of emails from people outside of the region asking for wellness checks on relatives. Seventy people have called 700 families and processed 2000 emails in two different evening volunteer sessions. I’m signed up for one session tonight. It’s gonna take a while for everyone affected by the floods to be safe and things are definitely already different. But, the flood is over. The highways will be rebuilt. Isaiah shows us that the wilderness and the small towns and the mountain cities can be glad once again. May will be willing to stick around long enough to be a part of making this place whole once again. Resources consulted while writing this sermon: More information about social stories: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/children-disabilities/article/social-stories Family Support Network of North Carolina's social story post : https://www.facebook.com/share/p/UAEG8DeWZhNy43bs/ Patricia Kay Tull's notes on Isaiah 35 in the Imagine Together stewardship materials Joseph Blenkinsopp's notes on Isaiah in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) James 5:13-20 The Prayer of Faith Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. One of my seminary professors talked about there being two kinds of prayers, “help me, help me, help me” and “thank you, thank you, thank you.” I think he got the idea from Christian writer Anne Lamott, who eventually wrote a book called Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers. Lamott, who came to a Christian faith from what I’ve read called her “rock bottom” from drug and alcohol abuse, understands prayer as a central feature of our shared faith. When she paid attention to her prayer life, she saw themes that she refined down to “help, thanks, wow” as an easy way to talk about the heart of her conversations with God. I remembered Lamott’s work and my teacher’s use of it when I read today’s scripture. Christian faith comes with many tools. Here, the first one James recommends in prayer.
The scholar Cain Hope Felder describes today’s reading as “a litany of pastoral concerns.” As Kelsie Rodenbiker notes in her commentary on this text, though much of James is about pointed critiques of the community and clear instructions on how to maintain faithful integrity, the book as we have inherited it also acknowledges the struggles of the community and points them to the tools of the faith that can help them address those struggles. In her commentary on this text, Dr. Noelle Damico also reminds us that the small churches like the ones being addressed in James were likely made up mostly of quite impoverished people. James does note that there are wealthy people around, and sometimes they are given unearned privileges due to their wealth. Even with that being said, most of these churches were full of mostly poor people. And, it is hard to have what you need to survive when you’re poor. James believed that Christ compelled his followers to build a community that relieved suffering, not one that compounded it. An active, engaged prayer life was part of that relief of suffering. Where the wealthy would have places of honor and privilege outside of the church, within the walls of the church, according to Damico, they were to practice living as equals with the poor. According to Dr. Damico, prayer, with and for one another, became one mechanism by which “the community orders and reorder itself as an assembly of equals, both in fundamental critique of the wider world and in loving support of one another as we seek God’s guidance for how to live.” Listening to and praying for one another helps us see each other as whole people, beloved by God, and worthy of compassion, care, and dignity. Prayer isn’t the only tool in the Christian’s toolkit, either. Music, companionship, and the sharing of medication are listed as tools of the church, too. Our church particularly appreciates the music part. Look at our choir and all the folks who have chosen to join. And, later in the service Jeff and Steve will share a piece of special music that Jeff wrote. Jeff wanted to share it today in honor of beloved and recently departed Joan Edwards. James specifically mentions songs of praise.... those sound like “thanks” and “wow” prayers to me, though “help” might show up there sometimes, too. The companionship and medication part is interesting, too. “Calling the elders” is a lot like receiving visits from the deacons or from me. I always pray with folks when I visit, if they’d like. And, I use oil in anointing sometimes. That can seem like a weird, ancient holdover into modern practice, it has roots in ancient healing practices. In his notes on this verse, Dr. Cain Hope Felder points that this oil isn’t simply a ritual element that brings a nice smell or holy ambiance to the prayer session. The oil was a common medicinal remedy. He cites some other verses where medicinal oil is used. Isaiah 1:6 talks about tending to bruises and sores with oil as a medical treatment. Also, in the healing scene in Mark 6:13, oil, alongside prayer, is used to heal sick people. During a purification ritual in Leviticus 14:10, 12, 15-16 where someone has been suffering from leprosy is examined to see if they are healed, oil was put on the right ear, thumb, and toe of the person who was healed. It wasn’t always easy to afford this medicine, so it is good that the church seems to be encouraging people to share it with one another, along with their companionship and prayers. Prayers and medicine are part of Christian faith, and so is the responsibility to make sure that people have access to both. Rodenbiker points out that in James, “the body belongs to the soul and the soul belongs to the body.” The sufferings of our soul and our body are connected, and both deserve attention and care within Christian community. The final portion of our reading addresses this connection. Confession is of use and an honor for us to receive. Gay Byron points out that confession In James also often means confessing to those whom we have wronged. Yet again, the spiritual behavior we are encouraged to adopt is a relational one. The Wisdom of God will shape us into people who care for each other... through prayer, through song, through companionship, through sharing of resources, through confession and amend-making.... if we will let it. Like Elijah, we are regular people invited into an active, prayerful faith. And, while we know that it is dangerous to pass along theologies that tell people God must be punishing them if their prayers aren’t answered, we can take this message to heart: The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Byron points out that the final way that prayer is discussed in this reading is as a way to restore those who have been lost to community. Dr. Byron says of this portion of the reading, “For those who hold fast to an active faith, immersed in prayer and accountability, there is a path to life and freedom from sin.” Sin here is separation from God and from each other. This is ultimately our greatest calling when we pray for each other: we connect to each other and to God. May we not forget these basics of care in our faith and offer them to one another. In our suffering and in our cheer, may we pray our “help mes,” our “thank yous,” and our “wows.” Resources consulted while writing this sermon: an interview with Anne Lamott about Help, Thanks, Wow: https://www.npr.org/2012/11/19/164814269/anne-lamott-distills-prayer-into-help-thanks-wow Cain Hope Felder's introduction to James in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) Noelle Damico, "Proper 21[26]), Preaching God's Transforming Justice: A Lectionary Commentary, Year B Featuring 22 New Holy Days for Justice, Ronald J. Allen, Dale P. Andrews, and Dawn Ottoni- Wilhelm, eds. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011). Gay Byron: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26-2/commentary-on-james-513-20-5 |
AuthorPastor Chrissy is a native of East Tennessee. She and her wife moved to Maine from Illinois. She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary. Archives
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