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Ephphatha. Ephphatha.

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Mark 7:31-37
October 13
Lauren J. McFeaters
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It’s an unusual story from beginning to end.

Jesus returns to the Sea of Galilee by way of Sidon, ending up in the area of the Decapolis or the “Ten Towns.” That would be a little like going from Princeton to Richmond, by way of Boston, and ending up in Atlanta.

And the crowds in this vast area, are again and again, bringing to Jesus people needing significant healing. Today, people bring Jesus a deaf man who could hardly speak; and they implore him for a laying on of hands.” [ii]

Who is this man? He has a name. We don’t know it. What we do know is his deafness is profound, his speech distorted, and tongue tied.

The first time I remember experiencing this story was in Mrs. Mahaffy’s 3rd grade Sunday School Class. This was in my home church in Mount Lebanon, PA and Mrs. Mahaffy always had us sit on the floor where there was a big blue flannel board. This is how we learned Biblical stories in those days. Mrs. Mahaffy would use precut, 8 inch, felt characters of the Bible and she would tell the story across the flannel board.

Enter stage right, Mrs. Mahaffy introduces Felt Friends bringing the Felt Deaf Man to Jesus.

  • Felt Jesus bids them a bright welcome and asks what’s the problem.
  • Jesus warmly takes man aside. Hands on ears. (I don’t think we heard about Jesus’ Spit on the man’s tongue.)
  • Healing is complete. Man can hear. Man can speak. All rejoice.
  • Felt Children jump for joy. Lambs and puppies sound out their delight. Jesus is cheerful.
  • All go home.

I loved it. I loved it so much I still remember it.

But when we peel away the felt and move to a complex, multi-dimensional Jesus, what we learn is Jesus – rather than delighted, is exhausted and burdened.

He’s trekked over miles, preached, prayed, healed without a break. By the time we encounter him, he’s in serious need of Sabbath. There’s such a hunger for his word and his touch, Jesus is enveloped by masses of people. He’s full of emotional ups and downs, has a frayed temper, and is overwhelmed by the weight of his call. There’s no Felt Jesus here. No one-dimensional, perpetually blissful guy.

  • He’s exasperated by the foolishness of the disciples.
  • He’s overcome by the neediness of humanity.
  • He’s tired of having to be “on” all the time. [iii]
  • And now a man who can not hear. Cannot speak. Cannot be understood, lands at his feet.

I don’t know the experience of being deaf and can’t imagine being deaf in first century Palestine. For millennia, all over the globe deafness is treated as a severe deficit. In our own country, deafness has historically been treated as a disease, a disorder, a condition.

More recently, we know deafness is not a deficit, but is a unique culture with a spatial and visual language, and it is one of strength and creativity that emphasizes hands, faces, bodies and eyes. [iv]

Where did our contemporary deaf culture have it’s beginnings?

In the church. And in particular at the Methodist Camp Meetings of Martha’s Vineyard. For most of the 18th and 19th centuries, long before it was a vacation spot, Martha’s Vineyard was center of Christian Education. It was a multi-racial and bi-lingual community. It was bilingual because everyone spoke both English and – not French, not Spanish … but sign language.

You see, deafness was a recessive hereditary trait, and Martha’s Vineyard had a pretty isolated genetic population — which meant that any given person on the island could have both hearing and deaf siblings. In the mid-1800s, 25% of the population was deaf. So deafness was just a trait some people had, like brown eyes or tallness. And everyone spoke sign language. It was a bi-lingual, abolitionist, Christian community that went on to shape the beauty of expression through the body.

We don’t know how the deaf man who was brought to Jesus communicated. But there was language enough that:

  • The intrepid man and his friends moved to the front of the line.
  • The man and his robust friends came to Jesus face-to-face.
  • The man and his friends pleaded strongly enough that the exhausted Jesus reached out with compassion.

And here’s the thing I find most beautiful. The deaf man also became a healer for Jesus. By stepping away from the fray, finding a quiet, calm, and private spot: Jesus took a breath, Jesus found stillness. Jesus enjoyed some serenity. Perhaps the deaf man put his hand on Jesus shoulder in an act of mercy. Jesus could catch his breath. Jesus could breathe. Jesus could savor solitude.

And as Jesus opened himself to the power of the Holy Spirit; he lifted one hand to the man’s ears; spit on his other hand and touched the man’s tongue; raised his face to the breeze; looked to heaven and sighed – oh how Jesus sighed – and said to the man – “Ephphatha,” “Be opened.” 

Are those not the most beautiful words for healing? “Be opened.”

Jesus sticking his fingers in all of our ears and saying, “Be opened.” Sanctified fingers burrowing down to our eardrums, “Be opened.” Anointing our mouths with spit, “Be opened.”

  • Be opened to a life where you aren’t the broken one anymore.
  • Be opened to the possibility that there is healing in the world, and it might not look like you think it would.
  • Be opened to knowing that your own brokenness doesn’t need to be hidden.
  • Maybe that’s what healing really is.[v]

And there’s one more thing I want to tell you. One more note about Openness. One more thing to share.

The most famous school in the world for the deaf is Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. There’s nowhere else on earth where deaf culture is more celebrated, advocated, and encouraged as it is at Gallaudet.

And Gallaudet University has a motto. And the motto is this:

‘Ephphatha.’ ‘Ephphatha.’

Jesus’ words:

“Be opened.’ ‘Be opened.”

And it’s not because they’re a community of the deaf.

It’s because we are.

Jesus lifts his eyes to heaven and sighs for us:

‘Ephphatha.’ ‘Be opened.’

Our ears are opened.

Our tongues released.

Our healing begins.

 

Thanks be to God.

 

ENDNOTES

[i] Scripture Lesson: Mark 7:31-37 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

 

[ii] David Lose, “In the Meantime: Mark 7:31-38.” June 25, 2012, davidlose.net.

 

[iii] Charlene Han Powell, “Mark 7:24-30: Desperate Belief.” September 6, 2015, day1.org.

 

[iv] A note on Deaf Culture. The American Deaf community values American Sign Language (ASL) as the core of a culturally Deaf identity. Through ASL, members are given a unique medium for personal expression, a spatial and visual language that does not require the use of sound and emphasizes hands, faces, bodies and eyes. Members of this community share a common history, values, morals, and experiences. Deaf individuals come from diverse backgrounds and influences, and as a result that variation is reflected in the community. Different types of sign systems are used to varying degrees, and the Deaf community welcomes this variety. Handsandvoices.org.

 

[v] Nadia Bolz-Weber, “Sometimes It Hurts; A Sermon on Healing.” September 11, 2012, sojo.net.

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Wow!

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Psalm 8
October 6
David A. Davis
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“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” It’s one of the verses from the psalmist that ought to stick with you. Like “Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within bless God’s holy name” and “Be still and know that I am God” and “Hope in God, for I shall again praise God, my help and my God” and “I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where does my help come My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!”

            “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Ingrid Ladendorf, our Director of Children and Youth Choirs and Director of Children and Family Ministries was helping to lead worship at a recent staff gathering. Ingrid offered a children’s setting of Psalm 8. We read in unison and broke up the psalm like this: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (WOW!) “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you mindful of them, mortals that you care for them” (WOW!) “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (WOW!)

            This first verse from Psalm 8 is also the last. It’s not quite a refrain but is the psalm’s first and last word. It frames the psalmist’s word. It’s the takeaway from the poetry. It sets the tone for the psalm’s guts, which comes in between. It shapes how the psalm will be read like an old adage about preaching. “Tell them what you are going to tell them. Then tell them. Then tell again and sit down.”  “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” You can’t miss the praise even though the word isn’t there. No “praise the Lord” in Psalm 8 but it is a song of praise nonetheless.

It is the kind of song of praise that comes from the children and we sing it our whole life long. “Out of the mouths of babes and infants”, the psalmist writes. From the lips of the youngest, O God, you formed this foundation. You have established this stronghold of praise, this bulwark within your people that shouts our praise to you and lifts our adoration before you. It is a perpetual stream, words and songs and worship in all places and in all circumstances and at all times. A continuous loop of praise intended to drown out all other voices,  intended to silence every voice in us but your own. Even the voice of death will be squelched by our bold song of praise, O God of resurrection life. “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

            When I plan a memorial service with a family or plan a wedding with a couple, one of the regular topics of conversation is whether or not to sing a few hymns during the service. I have learned to ask about whether the expected congregation would be familiar with a hymn or would be a singing crowd. That’s because of all the times I stand up here before a community gathered for the occasion and I am the only one singing. I always find it interesting and a bit disconcerting when attendees dutifully stand during a hymn, don’t open the hymnbook, and just look forward; just stare at me. I understand that folks might be from a different religious faith or from a tradition that doesn’t sing hymns. But when politely standing and not participating people just look at me. Sometimes it feels like they are glaring at me. “Can’t you just read along or look at the windows or scan the room? Are you mad at me because of this hymn?” Honestly, I would like to share with them that this is what we do in this place. This is who we are. We are a people built and called together to praise God in joy and sorrow.

This last week I was with my peer group of pastors that I often tell you about. 25 Presbyterian pastors from all around the country. We were at the Mercer Island Presbyterian Church in Seattle. But we were a smaller group this time because our friends and colleagues from Asheville and Black Mountain NC and Spartanburg SC were not able to come because of the hurricane. We were able to talk to two of them by phone and pray for them. The other pastor still had no cell service. What they described to us was more heartbreaking than the videos and pictures we have all seen. How they had no way to check on the members of the congregation. How the Black Mountain Church gave water and food to 1,000 people on Monday. How they were told it might be 6 months before water is restored. Patrick, the pastor of First Church Asheville told us the church had power but no water. They were keeping it open for the community to come and charge devices or use the wifi. As our in-person group listened on a beautiful sunny day in Seattle, most of us were in tears. And then Patrick said, “We will gather for worship on Sunday morning for whoever can get here.” Then everyone in the room was in tears.

We don’t often think about it like this but maybe more often than not the worship of God by the people of God is a subversive act in the world in which we live. The Psalm reading for this morning in the Revised Common Lectionary is Psalm 8. That means congregations of all denominations all over the southeast (those that can gather or still have their building) will be reading Psalm 8 together. “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Most will celebrate World Communion Sunday. The joyful feast of the people of God.” The children of God and the daring, subversive, counter-intuitive steady drumbeat of praise even when the world is washing away. Even when humanity’s care for the earth, the dominion entrusted by God has been abused. Even amid devastation and loss. Even when pondering the world near and far invokes a weariness deep within. Whether standing here for a child’s confirmation or here for a baby’s baptism or here to make solemn vows to one another, or sitting there for the service of a loved one now in glory, or gathered here for a “joyful feast of the people of God”. Or when two congregations gather to both celebrate and lament a history on race that is more complex than can be imagined, or when you are sitting out there on an ordinary Sunday joining in a hymn of praise when you weren’t sure you could bring yourself to sing after a rough week, or when you find yourself unspeakably grateful as three generations of your family share a pew. A steady drumbeat of praise. “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

            As I looked at the pictures coming out of the Montreat Presbyterian Conference Center where the Nassau Youth group went for the summer youth conference for several years, I thought of folks I know who live or lived there. David and Nancy Mulford lived there in retirement before moving here to Stonebridge to be closer to family. Marti and Peter Hazelrigg who were on staff with us here at Nassau now own a home in Montreat. Their home is okay but it will be some time until they can get there from Greensboro where Marti’s church is located. And I thought of Pat and MaryAnn Miller. They were part of Nassau for so many years when Pat taught Old Testament at Princeton Seminary. They owned a home for decades in Montreat that their children now have since both Pat and MaryAnn have joined the Communion of saints.

Dr Miller once wrote this about our praise and adoration of God. The worship and praise of the people of God “assumes and even evokes a world….where impossible things become possible, where things too difficult become the order of the day.” Miller continues “In a world that assumes the status is quo, that things have to be the way they are, and one must not assume too much about improving them, the doxologies of God’s people are one of the fundamental indicators that wonders have not ceased, possibilities not yet dreamed of will happen, and hope is an authentic stance.” That’s all ridiculous, he notes, “unless one has seen the wonders of God in the past.”

In other words, our doxology, our drum beat of praise, our subversive act of worship assumes and evokes the very kingdom of God. The sounds of our praise serve both to witness to God’s past faithfulness and point to God’s future. The steadfast presence of our song on the sabbath day dares give witness to a world where justice and righteousness kiss, where the weak are made strong, where the poor are lifted up, where the hungry are fed, where the wounded are cared for, and where the oppressed are set free. It’s that song of God’s people. The proclamation of God’s people. “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

            A few generations of children have grown up reading the book “Guess How Much I Love You” at bedtime. It’s the story of two rabbits: Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nut Brown Hare. The two, parent and child, are engaged in a dialogue trying to one-up each other about how much they love each other. This much. THIS much. THIS MUCH. The little one is falling asleep and trying to keep up. “I love you to the moon”, Little Nutbrown Hare says just as sleep takes over. With the young one now fast asleep, Big Nutbrown Hare says, “and back”. As in “I love you to the moon and back again.”

One can imagine all sorts of children now grown who share the refrain with those they love. “love you to the moon…and back”.  Maybe the psalmist has offered a version of that dialogue to God’s people. More than a dialogue of praise. A dialogue about our love for God and God’s love for us.  “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Not just as part of our drum beat of praise but deeply ingrained in our relationship to God. You, me and God. When we rise, when we nod off to sleep. Expressing all the fullness of praise that comes with our life in God. And knowing ourselves to now and forever be basking in the love of God made known to us in and through Jesus Christ. God’s offering of the “and back” part of the steadfast love God has for us.

Come to the Table this morning. Even after a week like this, come and dare to celebrate the joyful feast of the people of God.

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

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#MissionMonday – HomeFront

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Helping Families Break the Cycle of Poverty

HomeFront, a Mission Partner of Nassau based in Lawrenceville, provides shelter, housing assistance, groceries, and social services to families experiencing poverty in central New Jersey. Recognizing an emerging need with the families they serve and proposing an expansion of their project to the Missions and Outreach Committee, HomeFront used grant funding from Nassau to distribute 114,800 diapers in the month of August alone.

Nassau also supports HomeFront through the monthly Hunger Offering. Organizations supported by your faithful giving each month received over $10,000 in the past fiscal year. At HomeFront, this has contributed to the 23,426 cartloads of groceries distributed at their Choice Market and pop-up food pantries since October. We invite you to bring a donation to church this Sunday (the last Sunday of the month) or give online through the Give Now page of this website and selecting “Hunger Fund” from the drop down menu.

Connect with HomeFront:

Plan Your Vote: Election Day is November 5

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Transporation to Polling Places:

The League of Women Voters has identified senior citizen and assisted living facilities in Mercer and Middlesex Counties whose residents need transportation to polling places during early voting or the general election.

And if anyone in our Nassau Church family requires any transportation assistance to a polling place, please contact us as well.

To volunteer contact Karen Brown (email) or Rich O’Brien (email)

New Jersey Voting Details:

  • Early Voting Period: October 26 through November 3
  • Deadline to apply by mail for a mail-in ballot: October 29 (envelope must be post-marked October 29)
  • Deadline to apply to receive a mail-in ballot by email delivery for qualified overseas civilians and military personnel: November 1
  • Deadline to apply in person for a mail-in ballot: November 4, 3 pm
  • Election Day: November 5
  • Deadline for Post Office to receive mail-in ballot (with November 5 postmark): November 5
  • Deadline for in person submission of mail-in ballot to county election offices or authorized ballot boxes: November 5.

Find more voting dates and deadlines online:

New Jersey NJ Department of State | Vote

Pennsylvania PA Agencies | Upcoming Elections

 

Adult Education: Women in the Old Testament

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Linked-In Learning, Fall 2024

“They Stood (Daughters of Zelophehad)” Lauren Wright Pittman (graphic image, inspired by Numbers 27:1-11)
“They Stood (Daughters of Zelophehad)” Lauren Wright Pittman (graphic image, inspired by Numbers 27:1-11) | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org Used by special permission. All rights reserved.

October 20 – November 17, 2024

9:30 a.m. | Assembly Room

A queen, mothers of nations, and advocates for themselves and other women are among those we will meet during these weeks. They employ faithfulness and savvy as they navigate a life at the margins. Let’s learn from these women together as we ask challenging questions and remember other women who have helped make a way for us in our own lives.

“Linked-In Learning” helps us explore the same stories from multiple perspectives. In these classes members and friends of the congregation will lead us through the same texts the preachers will take up in worship and small groups will have engaged the week prior. Let’s learn together!

Download Flyer (pdf)

Audio recordings will be posted below each class description.

October 20 | Elaine James

Women, Poetry and God

Proverbs 31 (selected verses)

How can the Bible be a resource for women? How can women and folks on the margins engage texts that are patently androcentric and frankly difficult to read? This session considers the poem about the “worthy women” in Proverbs 31 as an example of how poetry can both reinforce patriarchal ideals and also imagine liberative pathways. Part of the craft of the poem is a celebration of the craft and handwork of women—creativity itself is enshrined in Proverbs as a divine force, in which we are all invited to participate.

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Elaine T. James is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her research interests are in biblical Hebrew poetry, ideas of art in the ancient world, and issues of land, ecology, and gender. She is the author of Landscapes of the Song of Songs: Poetry and Place (Oxford University Press, 2017), and An Invitation to Biblical Poetry (Oxford University Press, 2021).

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October 27 | Isabella Shutt

The Daughters of Zelophehad

Numbers 27:1-11, Joshua 17:3-6

Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah are known as the Daughters of Zelophad. They are remembered for advocating on their own behalf for the inheritance of their late father’s land. We will use Dr. Wil Gafney’s practice of “sanctified imagination” to enter the text and draw out its revelations of God’s inclusion and the stories’ connections to our own embodied knowledge. Where were these women when their covenant with Moses was broken by the temple’s leadership? Why are they included in the listing of land inheritance if their familial line seems to stop? Who was their mother?

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Isabella Shutt is a first-year M.Div. student at Princeton Theological Seminary and recent graduate of Princeton University. Originally from western North Carolina, she became a member of Nassau after worshiping weekly with Princeton Presbyterians at Breaking Bread. Isabella currently serves as the Intern for the Adult Education and Missions and Outreach Committees. She is the eldest of three daughters and brings this perspective to her readings of women in the Old Testament.

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November 3 | Leslie Virnelson

Ruth and Naomi: Identity and Belonging

The Book of Ruth

We will discuss identity and belonging in the story of Ruth from multiple angles of religion, ethnicity, family, and age. As you read Ruth 1-4 ahead, consider how various characters change their identities throughout the story.

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Leslie Virnelson is a Democracy Fellow at Interfaith America through a postdoctoral partnership with Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) and a scholar of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Her forthcoming book with Oxford University Press is Fruit of Her Hands: Women, Work, & Society in the Hebrew Bible. She has taught classes for masters and undergraduate students at PTS, Princeton University, Mercer University, Union Theological Seminary, and Union Presbyterian Seminary. She also served as the interim director of the Center for Theology, Women, & Gender at PTS from 2020-2023, organizing events and curricula to educate public and scholarly audiences on the intersections of religion and gender. She lives in West Windsor, NJ and enjoys hiking, foraging, and fermentation.

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November 10 | Jonathan Shenk

Sarah and Hagar: Re-imagining Paths to Healing

Genesis 16:1-16, 21:1-21

Sarah is the matriarch of Jews and Christians, while Muslims trace their lineage through Hagar. All three faiths claim Abraham as their forefather. These early biblical stories sow the seeds of both historic and present-day conflicts among Christians, Muslims, and Jews. But could they also offer paths to healing? Sometimes we get stuck with unworkable solutions because we are asking the wrong questions.

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Rev. Jonathan C. Shenk is a minister and entrepreneur. He is the owner of Greenleaf Painters, a local painting company. He is also a certified spiritual director and founding member of the Trenton Microloan Collaborative, a joint venture of Nassau and Westminster. He lives in Princeton Junction with his wife, Cynthia Yoder. Their son, Gabriel, is a high school English teacher and frontman for Sonoa, an indie rock band.

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November 17 | Joseph Kwan

Esther: Courage and Power

The Book of Esther

According to ChatGPT, the lessons that we can learn from Esther include courage, faith, wisdom, selflessness, leadership, divine timing, and advocacy. But is that all? What else can we learn from Esther? The story of Esther is interesting not only because of its content but also because it reveals the patriarchal structure of Ancient Near Eastern society, the roles of women in different systems, and various power dynamics. This time, we will try to look at it from a new perspective, putting ourselves in Esther’s experience and reflecting on what meaning this story can have for us today.

There is no recording for this class.

Joseph Kwan (he/him) is currently a final year Master of Divinity student at Princeton Theological Seminary, and he joined Nassau Presbyterian in 2022. Joseph is originally from Hong Kong, where he was born, raised, educated, and lived for most of his life. Before coming to the US for ministerial formation, he studied theology for four years in Hong Kong. His living and educational experience in Hong Kong gave him a special lens through which to approach the scriptures and Christian tradition from a post-colonial and East Asian perspective. He is a candidate for ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA) under care through our church.

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Hurricane Helene Response

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Updated 10/8/2024

As we join in prayer for our neighbors in the southeast who have experienced devastating loss from Hurricane Helene, we are invited to give as we are able to help with immediate response and long-term recovery. Colleagues in Dave Davis’s clergy group are working with their congregations in Asheville and Black Mountain to respond in their communities with food, supplies and other needs. Montreat Conference Center, a place of spiritual formation for many over the years, is also planning for their own recovery and serving as a supply distribution center.

To streamline the donation process for our partners in ministry, please make donations to Nassau Church, using the “Give Now” page on our website (choose the “disaster relief” fund) or by check (designating “Hurricane” in the memo line). We will monitor needs and split gifts between First Presbyterian Church Asheville, Black Mountain Presbyterian Church and Montreat Conference Center.

#MissionMonday – Churches for Middle East Peace

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On the anniversary of Hamas’s horrific attack on Israel, marking a year of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and in the midst of escalation in the Middle East, we join Churches for Middle East Peace in a prayer for justice and healing.

Churches for Middle East Peace is a Mission Partner of Nassau, educating churches, empowering us to advocate for policy changes moving toward peace, and connecting with Christians in Palestine. Join CMEP for a daily prayer over Zoom or watch their daily updates on the state of the crisis in Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank at cmep.org/resources.

#MissionMonday – Presbyterian Women

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On this #MissionMonday we highlight the work of Presbyterian Women (PW) in the Synod of the Northeast.

Nassau supports PW by giving to the Synod. Presbyterian Women educate, donate, and advocate for peace and justice locally, regionally, and globally.

We invite you to attend Adult Education on Sunday, October 6 for a special #JusticeSpotlight on the Presbyterian Delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (read more here). Also consider attending the Fall Gathering of Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of the Coastlands on Saturday, October 12, where you can hear from leaders advocating for protection from gun violence, Christian churches in Palestine, and improved healthcare in Haiti.

RSVP to pwcoastlands@gmail.com by October 7. You can find more information at https://pwsne.org/.

Pray

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James 5:13-18
September 29
Len Scales
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At the close of the passage today, we hear of a harvest. Last week, in James chapter 3, we explored a harvest of righteousness, elsewhere translated the fruit of righteousness. Dave in his sermon reminded us of the good fruit that we hear of throughout Scripture. The passage that always comes to my mind is the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. As we consider good fruit that comes from prayer, we can discern between the bad fruit that too often accompanies conversations around prayer in our current world.

It is not good fruit when prayer is only “thoughts and prayers” without any accompanying action. It is not good fruit when people are told they aren’t praying with enough conviction because loved ones are still sick. It is not good fruit when prayer is used to isolate an individual rather than surround them with supportive community.

We hear in our passage today how prayer is a part of community care. It has to do with connecting those praying with God and with others. Prayer acknowledges the mysterious working of God, the responsibility of the community, and the participation of the one praying.

Similarly, as we celebrate a baptism today (in the 11 o’clock service), we as a community are surrounding a family in prayer and with promises to help care for the child baptized and always tell them about Jesus. Baptism reminds us of the promises of God that nothing, nothing ever, can separate us from the love of God. Baptism of a child is also about the promises of the family to raise the child in the family of faith. Baptism of an adult includes the individual’s promises of faith. The prayers at baptism are about these promises, acknowledging the mysterious, unending love of God combined with the community’s active engagement in the life of the one baptized. Baptism is a sign of God’s love and seals us as Jesus’ disciples, caring for one another and our world.

Prayer is this line that runs throughout our actions as a community in our entire life together. Civil Rights activists would gather to pray, preparing themselves, inviting God’s presence with them, that come what may, they would be ready to respond with nonviolence. One of my first sermons at Nassau in 2017 was the weekend of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Andrew and I saw our seminary colleague Seth Wispelwey gather with other faith leaders the evening they were surrounded by tiki torches in the church. They were there praying. They were preparing themselves for the day ahead. They prayed that night and they sang “This Little Light of Mine” in the morning as they stood between the Nazi-inspired white nationalists and the counter-protestors. The Rev. Dr. William Barber II when interviewed then and since has continued his call for a “non-violent moral movement.”[1] Barber’s call for a moral movement is built on a fusion coalition, bringing together people across differences for the good of the poor.[2]

So too prayer is about bringing us together, from our different identities and concerns. Our passage today offers several examples of how prayer is communal, for one, James encourages the sick to gather the elders, to pray in a way that is embodied. In the passage, they anoint the sick with olive oil, which was tradition. It is not about magic powers, but about a humanizing touch, a reminder that we are here together.

The call to confession is also in community, that we may together be honest about the brokenness of our world, our need for healing. When we participate in confession in worship in the Presbyterian tradition, we only do so in conjunction with the assurance of forgiveness. It is a time to tell the truth that God has the power to forgive and transform us to follow God’s call to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly.”

Through our prayers of preparation, our prayers of petition, and our prayers of confession, we engage them together. As we face the challenges of life, we as a congregation will do so with the compassion of community and the promises of God.

A particular community known for its prayer is the Taizé Community in France. Taizé is an ecumenical monastic community that joins together in prayer three times a day, welcoming young people from around the world. The fusion of people of faith from protestant, catholic, and Orthodox traditions along with their growing conversations between Muslim and Christian young people, results in this unique space of prayer and in their collective work for the poor. David Hicks wrote about the prayer and action of Taizé on the occasion of their fiftieth anniversary as a community in the 90’s. Hick’s encourages, “To be faithful to the lesson of Taizé, then, would be to use a ‘prayer and action’ commitment to the gospel to discern present, particular needs in present, particular places.”[3] As we share in prayer with one another, we can better see and understand the opportunities and needs before us in any given season.

One of the traditions on Sunday evenings at Breaking Bread Worship with the 40 or so undergraduate and graduate students who gather in Niles Chapel is how we participate in the prayers of the people. With a community of that size, we take the time to pray for one another with a communal bidding prayer. We ask for students, as they want, to briefly share something they are bringing with them that is either a joy or a challenge they need help holding. Then, the person leading the prayer rephrases the petition aloud, so that the person can hear it in another’s voice. We close by praying “Lord in your mercy,” and the congregation responds, “Hear our prayer.” In this way, it gives us space to acknowledge what we are carrying into worship with us and some insight into how to care for one another during the week.

In a larger community, small groups can be a way of understanding the present, particular needs. As you heard from Marshall & Debbie in the Moment for Mission, Small Groups are gearing up for a new season and are a wonderful way to get to know one another. They include a space to share prayer requests and join in prayer. Prayers for when we are sick, prayers for when we are celebrating, prayers when we don’t even have the words.

Praying is not about having the most eloquent phrasing or just the right description. It’s not a test of our vocabulary or faith. Prayer is about what is going on. Whether it is a timely topic, a shared silence, or a joining in the Lord’s Prayer, we are reminded that we are not alone when we pray. We can be carried by the community who is praying with us and even for us at times. It is an opportunity to be lifted by the community when we don’t have the energy or the focus to be able to put into words what is going on. We can draw on the words from Jesus and tradition.

In our prayers, we carry the needs of our community and are equipped by the Spirit to respond together. It reminds us that we are not alone. God is with us. Last fall, we explored prayer in the Old Testament with several narratives. As we turn to prayer in the New Testament with today’s text, we hear both descriptions of how people prayed but also prescriptions to simply pray. So in our corporate worship and in our gatherings in small groups, may we pray. Pray welcoming God’s everlasting love. Pray with an intent to follow it with action. Pray in sorrow and in joy. Pray in ways that bear good fruit.

[1] “Religious Leaders Respond to White Nationalists in Charlottesville,” August 12, 2017, https://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/religious-leaders-respond-to-white-nationalists-in-charlottesville-1023675459700.

[2] Matthew Desmond, “A Prophet for the Poor,” The New York Review of Books, October 3, 2024, https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/10/03/a-prophet-for-the-poor-white-poverty/.

[3] Douglas A Hicks, “The Taizé Community: Fifty Years of Prayer and Action.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 29, no. 2 (1992): 202–14.

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Adult Education: October 6 & 13, 2024

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“Let Justice Roll Down” Anna Strickland (graphic image, inspired by Amos 5:18-24) | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org Used by special permission. All rights reserved.

 

October 6 & 13, 2024

9:30 a.m. | Assembly Room

Download Flyer (pdf)

Audio recordings will be posted below each class description.

October 6 | Lorraine Jackson

A Report on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

As a delegate with the Presbyterian Women’s group to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW ‘68) Conference held in March 2024, Lorraine Jackson had the privilege of attending a number of discussions, seminars, and presentations by folks from around the world focused on the theme of “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.” Having gleaned a number of fascinating personal stories, she will present a report on her experiences and share some of her impressions from that impressive gathering.

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Lorraine Jackson, a long-time member of Nassau Church and Choir member, is also currently serving as the Co-Moderator of the Presbyterian Women in the Coastlands Presbytery. She has been a Deacon and Elder and active participant on several Mission and Worship Commissions. A four-decade dedicated library and adult literacy advocate, Lorraine has served as the Director of the South Brunswick Public Library where she founded Literacy Volunteers of America, Middlesex County. She has held executive roles in The American Library Association and the International Federation of Library Associations, where she founded portable library systems in developing countries. She still teaches English as a Second Language for the Library. For many years pre-covid, she practiced weekly with her fellow Scottish Country Dancers. She also leads the Jersey Jam Scottish Fiddlers. Lorraine lives in Cranbury with her husband Bart with whom she paddles, hikes, pedals their tandem bicycle, and grows the grapes for their own Chateau Bonne Chance wine. Together they have explored over 80 countries.

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October 13 | Damon Venable & Rev. Dr. Russell Owen

Spotlight on Justice: Who Should Decide Who Gets a Second Chance?

New Jersey also ranks 4th among all states in its percentage of elderly people serving life sentences. Almost 500 people incarcerated in New Jersey are age 65 or older. The Rehabilitative Release bill now pending in the N.J. legislature will provide meaningful opportunities for elders in prison to petition the courts for sentence revisions or reductions. As communities of love, faith, and justice, how are we the voice of the voiceless and/or the vote of the voteless. Come and hear the perspective on the pressing need for this Second Chance legislation from two Lifers who survived over 30 years in the New Jersey Prison System. Rev. Russell Owen and Damon Venable will share their stories accompanied by videos lifting up other voices to explain why your voice and vote on this issue are critical.

Damon Venable is a Community Affairs & Policy Specialist with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender. He was tried as an adult and convicted to a sentence of life imprisonment for a crime he committed when he was 16. While challenging his sentence, he was released on parole after serving more than three decades in prison. During his time in prison, he continued his education and received a degree in Justice Policy from Rutgers University. After his release, he joined the NJOPD as a paralegal and is now serving in a number of roles in that office, including as a liaison for the recently launched clemency initiative.

Rev. Dr. Russell Owen, at age of 19, was sentenced to 30 to life within New Jersey Correctional Facilities. He was released on parole after serving 32 carceral years. He has earned various degrees and continues to find solace as a student, while gathering tools of freedom and liberation. While incarcerated, he was one of the original contributors/students of the NJ STEP program, which has grown into one of most successful college prison programs nationally. He has received the Esther Award from New Brunswick Theological Seminary for Transformative Radical Truth-Telling. He is a Rutgers alumni and is a member of the Phi Alpha Honor Society for Social Work. Since being released in 2021, he is now the statewide Power Organizer of Live Free New Jersey, which focuses on ending gun violence, mass incarceration, criminalization, and police brutality at the local, state, and national level. He does this in unison with Faith in New Jersey, a multi-faith, multi-racial civic engagement vehicle for faith communities and everyday people who strive to fight for social justice.

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