John 6:1-13
Virtual Chancel Drama
August 23, 2020
By Tom S. Long and Allen Pote
Presented virtually by Children and Youth from Nassau Presbyterian Church, 2020
Drama Director – Heather Riehl
Music Director – Ingrid Ladendorf
Piano – Noel Werner
Video and Audio Support – Michael Riehl, Nick Mastalesz, Ingrid Ladendorf
Jeremiah 29:10-14
David A. Davis
August 16, 2020
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From the prophet Jeremiah: “For thus says the Lord…. For surely I know the plans I have for you….plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” For surely I know the plans. I know the plans.” And every child of God at some point in life responds “Really?” I know the plans. And every child of God this summer asks, “Would you mind sharing them? That would be really helpful right now!” “I know the plans”. “Well I certainly hope so, because this current plan? It’s not working so well!” “I know the plans.” It was much easier when that verse was a home-made needle point framed and on the wall over your Aunt Stella’s kitchen table. It made more sense when the youth pastor back in the day handed little magnets with the verse printed on it to you and each high school senior that last night of youth group in the spring. It was so much simpler back before a whole lot of real life rose up sometime in your life and sort of smacked you in the face. “I know the plans” “Seriously God? So how about a plan B.”
“For thus says the Lord…. For surely I know the plans I have for you….plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” Exile. The people of God in exile. That is the context of this promise of God through the prophet Jeremiah. The context, here, is really helpful. Yes, helpful in leading to better understanding of verses usually dropped only as a snippet. But even more, helpful in keeping God’s promise alive in the reality of our lives.
Jeremiah chapter 29 takes the form of a letter, perhaps parts taken by later editors from several letters from Jeremiah. They are from the prophet to the leaders of the people of Judah who are exiled in Babylon. Some of the elders in exile in Babylon were listening to a few who claimed to be prophets. Jeremiah writes to condemn them for following false prophets, to correct the false teaching, to give instruction regarding how to live and be faithful in exile, and to provide a vision of the future of the land of Judah. The prior chapter in the book of Jeremiah tells of Hananiah. Hananiah boldly and optimistically predicted that the whole exile thing would be over in two years. That within two years, Hananiah would triumphantly return all the sacred vessels that King Nebuchadnezzar stole and carried to Babylon when Jerusalem was plundered. Jeremiah then stood before the priests and all the people of Judah to take issue with that prediction. The return to Jerusalem and the restoration of peace would happen when a true prophet announced it, Jeremiah proclaimed. When that word came true, then everyone would know that the true prophet was sent from the Lord. It would seem there were those in exile in Babylon claiming to be prophets who chose to go with Hananiah’s word rather than Jeremiah’s. The self-anointed prophets went around spouting the Hananaih’s rosy prediction that everything would be better soon, that better days were soon to come, that the whole exile thing wouldn’t last as long as those back in Jerusalem. Jeremiah’s concern was that the people in exile were opting for the misleading, overly optimistic, much sooner time frame for a return from exile. The false prophets were gaining quite a following.
Jeremiah’s letter makes it clear that the people in exile should settle in for the long haul, In the verses from the 29th chapter that I read for your hearing: “For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.” Not two years. Seventy. Earlier in the letter with a word from the Lord, Jeremiah tells them to build houses and inhabit them, plant gardens and eat what they produce. Have families. Bear children. And seek the welfare, the shalom of the city, where God has sent them into exile. And, as it says there in Jeremiah, “do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name.; I did not send them, says the Lord.”
The people of Judah held captive in exile. A life so distant in so many ways from what they knew and experience and yearned for again. Some in leadership making the empty promise of an easier path forward, a swifter return to the way things used to be. Leaders building a following which Jeremiah labeled as not true, not honest, not the way it was going be. And the prophet Jeremiah, never one to hold back when it comes either to his criticism of the people of Judah nor his passion for the Lord’s promise, the Lord’s way pleads with the people to plant, to build, to settle in exile and to seek the welfare of the city. He tells them to seek after and work for the peace the shalom, the wholeness of the city. He tells them to settle into exile and work for the common good. People yearning for a return to a more familiar life. Differing timelines set before them. And a call for a commitment to the greater good of wholeness of all.
Sound familiar? Scripture and the living word? Which brings back to Jeremiah and the promise of God.
“For thus says the Lord…. For surely I know the plans I have for you….plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope…I will hear you….I will let you find me…I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all nations and all the places where I have driven you….I will bring you back.” In the context of Jeremiah’s letter, the Lord’s promise is to the people of Judah. It is a promise to the whole of the people of God. “I know the plans I have for you.” Yes, one could hear that word of the Lord on a personal level of my future, what’s next for me. The affirmation that while I may have doubts about my career path or life path or even about tomorrow, God knows. Jeremiah and the promise of God can be likened to a Psalm 139 kind of assurance. “O Lord, you have searched me and known me…You search out my path…your hand shall lead me.” Amen and Amen.
“I know the plans I have for you.” It is also, maybe more so, a macro promise from God. An affirmation of God’s sovereignty. A proclamation that even in exile, the Lord is still the Lord of all. Not just I know the plans, but I know thee plan. The plan of salvation for my people, for the world, and for all of creation. A healing of the brokenness that shall break the yokes of oppression and burst the bonds of captivity, serve the welfare of the city, bring a light to all nations, and establish a kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Not just a macro promise. A greater promise. No greater promise than “I know the plans I have for you.”
Last week in our shared preaching life, I offered a sermon on the generosity of God. A Christ-like God. Last weekend an article also came out in the New York Times by Elizabeth Dias entitled “Christianity Will Have Power.” I was struck by the overwhelming theological contrast between my sermon and the content of the article. Elizabeth Dias is the main religion writer for the paper and also a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary. The title of the article is actually a quote from a speech given by then candidate Donald Trump at a campaign stop in Iowa. “Christianity will have power. If I’m there, you’re going to have plenty of power, you don’t need anybody else.” The bulk of the article quoted interviews with evangelical Christians about their support for the President.
While a bit unsettling, I found the quotes quite helpful in trying to understand a perspective on the gospel so different from my own. They were honest, sincere, absent of hate, and rather unadorned of editorial commentary. What came through loud and clear was fear. With America’s changing complexion, they fear the loss of freedoms and the loss of a way of life. If the President wins the election, one man said “At least we will be safe for four more years.” Many of the quotes taken collectively in the piece come down to not only a fear of freedoms being lost and guns being taken but Christianity itself being taken away. The God described in one quote from one congregation’s prayer was a God who will vanquish our foes rather than a Lord who is generous to all who call upon the Lord. Of course, you could find biblical support for each of the respective understandings of God. Not so much with the image of a Christ-like God.
The newspaper article has been on my mind this week like a song in your head that won’t go away. If we are honest, who among us has not been wrestling with fear the last six months. A fear that may take many forms. Maybe a fear of different things. A fear for many different reasons. Plenty of things, plenty of reasons for fear. Fear expressed in very different ways. Perhaps the people of God from all perspectives and positions can find strength and peace by leaning into the God’s greater promise. The prophet Jeremiah and the greater promise of God.
“I know the plans I have for you.” God is still the Lord of all. Christ is still head of the church. The church and Christianity, are still in Christ’s hands. Just like you and me, brother, sister, sibling. Just like the whole world. In God’s hands. An affirmation of the Sovereignty of God. A proclamation that even in exile, the Lord is still the Lord of all. An assurance that when you are in it for the long haul, God’s grace is still sufficient. “I know the plans.” God’s greater promise. A promise as real as that of the psalmist: “Your right hand shall hold me fast.” A promise as true as the words of the preacher in the Book of Hebrews: “I will never leave you or forsake you”. A promise as great as that of Jesus: “I am with you…always”.
Comfort, peace, and assurance can sometimes come in just a few words. A few simple words. Often that kind of comfort, peace, and assurance offered with few words to another is even better. A parent to a hurting child. A doctor to a worried patient. A teacher to a frustrated student. A grandparent to a disappointed grandchild. A best friend to one with a broken heart. A wise retired minister to an overwhelmed new pastor. A saint of the church with way too much experience in the journey for justice to a college student with fresh and righteous indignation. A care giver to a life long love whose body aches all the time. Just a few words.
The Word of the Lord to you and to me when the days are long and nights are fretful. The voice of Jesus to you and to me when fear is on the rise and longing for the way things used to be couldn’t be stronger. The breath of the Holy Spirit to you and to me today, this morning, right now.
“I know….I know……I know”
Romans 10:5-13
David A. Davis
August 9, 2020
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The Presbyterian Church (USA) lost an important voice last week. Steve Montgomery, the recently retired pastor of the Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee died in a bicycle accident. He went to serve Idlewild the same year I came to Nassau. I didn’t know him but certainly knew of him and the importance of his witness. He was also an important voice in Memphis. He was still writing his column in the local paper there in the city. His last article just a few weeks ago was tribute to the civil rights icon C.T. Vivian who died on the same day as Congressmen John Lewis. When he retired, the paper asked him to write a column reflecting on his years of ministry in the church. He wrote about the 12 things he had learned in ministry over the years. The first lesson was that Jesus never used the word tolerate. It was love your neighbor, not tolerate. One of the twelve was a reminder that doctrines and creeds can be bad religion if you deify them. They are meant to be signposts, the pastor wrote, not hitching posts. As he put it, “Doctrines, you member, supported slavery and apartheid and some still support the marginalization of women and members of the LGTBQ community”.
My favorite was the lesson he shared about Jesus getting a bad reputation. Not from atheists or the media, but from what he called ‘the fundamentalist wing of Christianity whose faith in Jesus leads to a rigid exclusivism.” Jesus, Steve Montgomery suggested, is both a mirror to our humanity and a window to divinity. Over the years he had come to believe that what was most important to him was “not that Christ is God-like, but that God is Christ-like”. “Sit with that for a while” is how he concluded. God is Christ-like. He was referring to the ministry of Jesus empowering the weak, healing the wounded, caring for the poor, and taking on the powers and principalities of this world. God is Christ-like.
Which brings be to the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans and the generosity of God. As in “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on the Lord.” (v.12) Generous. In Romans 9-11, the apostle makes his argument that God’s salvation is for both Jews and Gentiles alike. It is a complex theological argument with some tough verses to understand or wrap your head around. That would include the verses I just read to you. Moses and the righteousness that comes from the law, who will ascend, who will descend, confess with your lips, believe in your heart, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. The complexity here in the middle of Romans 10 is not like the rhetorical flourish at the end of Romans 8 that concludes with “nothing shall separate us from the love of God” echoing like the last notes of an orchestra hanging in the air inside the symphony hall. It’s not like Paul’s lists of the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit that when you read them or hear them, you sort of just sort wrap yourself in them like an old, comfortable sweater. No, the reader has to work a bit harder here in Romans 10.
I found Professor Matt Skinner’s take on this part of Paul helpful. Dr. Skinner teaches New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Former colleague of Eric Barreto, he points out that Paul is quoting or alluding to several verses from the Old Testament. That contributes to the choppiness of the flow. But more importantly, Skinner argues “as a skilled midrashic deejay, Paul remixes a scriptural conversation for the Roman churches to hear, a conversation in which—in Paul’s arrangement—Christ sits at the center of the voices. All the words gravitate around him, thus acquiring new meaning as they express God’s work through Chris”. A skilled midrashic deejay. I love that. Like the ancient scripture commentaries called “midrash”, Paul drops some of that same ancient scripture into the context of his argument. Not simply reading Jesus into the Old Testament which preachers can so often and easily do with an unchecked cavalier zeal. Rather, engaging the church then and now in a scriptural conversation shaped by Paul’s understanding of God’s salvation. Salvation in and through the work of Christ, it is a conversation with the church then and the church now that turns toward the generosity of God. Turns toward the Christ-like nature of God.
A few of the verses here sound familiar: “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved….everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Familiar maybe because your grandmother taught one to you, or you heard a preacher say one many times, or maybe they were in some list of bible verses about salvation. You and your salvation. The familiarity makes sense because the tendency for Christians is to read scripture with an eye to what it says about us, what resonates with us, what helps us in our relationship to God. But what if you flip it and read Romans 10 with an eye toward what it says about God? Shift the focus from salvation, my salvation, your salvation to the one who is the author of salvation.
Consider Paul’s language; the choice of words when it comes to the character of God. “No one who believes in God will be put to shame.” Paul, drawing on the prophet Isaiah. No shaming coming from God. “No distinction between Jew and Greek.” No distinctions in the eyes of God. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Everyone. Everyone. Or as Paul puts it “The Lord of all”. And this, “The Lord of all is generous to all who call on the Lord.” God is generous. The generosity of God.
It is surprising to find out that the word being translated in “generous” here is not the Greek word for “generous”. It is a word more accurately translated “rich”. As in “the same Lord of all is rich to all who call upon the Lord.” The Lord of all is rich to all who call. The Common English Bible translates “the Lord of all, who gives richly gives to all who call.” It is as if the word “generous” isn’t even close to being strong enough. Perhaps it should be more like God’s lavish, extravagant, abundant, shocking, breathtaking generosity to all who call. “The Lord of all is rich to all who call upon the Lord.” God’s lavish, extravagant, abundant, shocking, breathtaking generosity to all.
Years and years ago, I sat with a non-church family preparing a funeral for their husband/father/grandfather. They told me he was not a church goer, he wasn’t religious, and never talked about faith. But they said at every Thanksgiving dinner he would offer the prayer before the family feast. It was short, they said. And the mom and two adult children recited it to me in unison. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That was it. They didn’t know where he learned it or who told him. I am pretty sure they didn’t realize it was a bible verse. In my young, just out of seminary pastoral, theological arrogance, I remember feeling judgmental about poaching a simple memory verse and have it serve as the only taste of a relationship with God for an entire family. Maybe a better description would be that I drove away from that funeral home after the service with my self-righteous, pious, nose up in the air. But now, more than 30 years later, now in the year 2020, as I remember that conversation, it brings a different reaction. They labeled it a prayer because he said it right before the sat down to the Thanksgiving table. Maybe it was a prayer. Maybe it was a plea. Maybe it was a statement about God. Maybe it was simply one man’s craving for the generosity of God. And if a family has only one tidbit about the God to carry them, that’s not a bad one. What I missed back then was a glimpse of the lavish, extravagant, abundant, shocking, breathtaking generosity of God. I missed the opportunity to affirm for them and for me, the generosity of God. The Christ-like generosity of God.
In this summer of shaming and distinctions, I find myself craving the generosity of God. Frankly, if I am honest, it is far too easy for my theologically arrogant, self-righteous, pious nose up in the air self to rise up. I can share my list of reasons, occasions, video clips, interviews, pictures, quotes but it would take to long. Probably better to ponder you own list. You know we all have them. Our own Pharisee and Tax collector list. “Thank God I am not like….them” In this summer of shaming and distinctions, this summer of insults, name calling, and threats, this summer of suffering and death, this summer of racial protest and reckoning with racial injustice, but also in this summer of selfless life-threatening heroics, this summer of amazing acts of kindness, this summer of redefining what it means to live for and work for good of all, this summer of gifted time of reflection and tending relationship, I find myself craving the generosity of God. Hoping, praying, pleading that as I crave it, some of God’s lavish generosity might rub of on me, on you, on the nation, on the world. That with just a whiff of that Christ-like generosity, I might be able to see others and see the world, a bit more like God does. Because God’s promise of salvation is not just for me, for you, it’s for the world’s brokenness too. It is for all.
And remember this promise about God’s generosity tucked into the I Epistle of John. God is greater than our hearts. God is greater than our hearts. God is greater than our hearts.
Thank you for worshiping with us this morning. You can follow along with the order of worship below. Each video will play on this page and the words to the prayers and hymns are listed below the video. If you so choose, there is a YouTube playlist listed below for “one-click worship.” The words to hymns and prayers for the playlist can be found by clicking “show more” on the bottom left, below each video. For both choices, closed captions can be used by clicking the “CC” button at the bottom right in the video screen.
“Notturno” by Edvard Grieg
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God,
you pardon all who truly repent and turn to you.
We humbly confess our sins and ask your mercy.
We have not loved you with a pure heart,
nor have we loved our neighbor as ourselves.
We have not done justice, loved kindness,
or walked humbly with you, our God
Have mercy on us, O God, in your loving-kindness.
In your great compassion,
cleanse us from our sin.
Create in us a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within us.
Do not cast us from your presence,
or take your Holy Spirit from us.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation
and sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
“Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty ” (Glory to God #35)
[ezcol_1half]1. Praise ye the Lord,
the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him,
for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near;
join me in glad adoration!
2. Praise ye the Lord,
who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
shelters thee under his wings,
yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen
how thy desires e’er have been
granted in what he ordaineth?[/ezcol_1half]
[ezcol_1half_end]3. Praise ye the Lord!
O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath,
come now with praises before him!
Let the amen sound from his people again;
gladly for aye we adore him.[/ezcol_1half_end]
This week talk with your family and friends about your favorite stories from the Book of Acts. You can read the stories in your Deep Blue Bible and some of them are in Growing in God’s Love, A Bible Storybook.
“I Know the Plans”
“Fix Me, Jesus” adapt. and arr. William F. Smith
Trenton Children’s Chorus
Affirmation of Faith
This is the good news
which we have received, in which we stand,
and by which we are saved, if we hold it fast:
that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day,
and that he appeared
first to the women,
then to Peter, and to the Twelve,
and then to many faithful witnesses.
We believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
Jesus Christ is the first and the last,
the beginning and the end;
he is our Lord and our God. Amen.
Tending the Flock
Birthday- Geraldine “Gerry” Bowers, celebrates her 99th Birthday on August 22, 2020.
Death- John Roger Drayer Jr., son of Peggy Drayer, brother of Dianne and Susan, on June 21, 2020 in Fairfax, Virginia.
“Be Still, My Soul”(Glory to God #819)
[ezcol_1half]1 Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide,
who through all changes faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
2 Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
to guide the future surely as the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
his voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.[/ezcol_1half]
[ezcol_1half_end]3 Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
when we shall be forever with the Lord;
when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.[/ezcol_1half_end]
“Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty” by Johann Gottfried Walther
“Miriam (Exodus 15)” presented by Kathleen McVey, created by First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia
Check your email for the link. We will begin promptly at 11:00 a.m.
“Notturno” Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907) Public Domain.
“Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty” Text: Joachim Neander, 1680; trans. Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt., Music: Stralsund Ernewerten Gesangbuch, 1665; harm. The Chorale Book for England, 1863. Public Domain.
“Fix Me, Jesus” adapt. & arr. William F. Smith © 1989, United Methodist Publishing House. Musical streaming and print rights granted under OneLicense #A-730100.
“Be Still, My Soul” Text: Katharina von Schlegel, 1752; trans. Jane Laurie Borthwick, 1855, alt., Music: Jean Sibelius, 1899; Arr. © 1933, ren. 1961 Presbyterian Board of Christian Education (admin. Westminster John Knox Press). Musical streaming and print rights granted by “Glory to God” the Presbyterian Church (USA) Hymnal.
“Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty” Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748). Public Domain.
During this time of Covid-19, the Deacon Card-makers have transformed into the ministry of the Nassau Cardigans (Card-igans). This team of dedicated crafters, led by Agnes Olah, has prepared in the last 3 months, over 1000 Craft Kits for the children of Trenton.
Partnering with Westminster Presbyterian Church and the Trenton YMCA, the Cardigans utilize materials from our Church School supply closets and monies dedicated for mission and outreach to create individual art projects that are taken home and enjoyed by dozens and dozens of children.
Out of these supplies and funds come creative kits filled with colorful and vibrant hands-on projects. Everything that’s needed is organized into individual packets. The Cardigans meet in Nassau’s parking lot on Wednesday mornings to pick up their homework for the week, then drop off the finished kits back at the church to Lolly O’Brien who delivers 100 kits a week to Westminster and the YMCA.
With huge thanks to Julia Hill, Hanka Spelda, Pamela Long, Anne Steel, Pam Kelsey, Mary Brown, and leaders Agnes Olah and Lolly O’Brien.
Follow #MissionMonday on our social media platforms to hear about how, with your help, Nassau Presbyterian Church is supporting others in our town, our state, and across the world.
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