Year C - Proper 26, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, 24th Sunday after Pentecost (November 3, 2013)

There are choices to be made by worship planners this weekend.

Halloween was on Thursday night, but will probably be celebrated in many communities on Friday and on into the weekend.  The Habakkuk reading and the format of Psalm 119 provide great opportunities for meditating on our fears.

All Saints Day was on Friday, but will be celebrated in many churches on Sunday.  If you are one of those, go to All Saints Day - Year C.  But also check out these texts since there are some interesting connections.  Another possibility to consider is the gospel text about life after death found in Proper 27.  It could be moved here saving Zaccheus for next week.  Go to Proper 27 (Year C) to see the details.

And, if you live in the USA it is time change Sunday.  So no matter what texts you select, remember to set your clock back an hour to claim that wonderful extra hour of sleep.

The Texts

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

F  Habakkuk complains about the violence and injustice that are causing so much pain in the world.  He speaks in generalities about what everyone fears and then delivers God’s promise that the violence and evil will not be the final word.  On Halloween we practice facing up to our fears.  We tell scary stories, walk through haunted houses, and dress up as monsters.  Children’s Halloween picture books range from tales in which heroes rise above their fears and in the process prove the scary thing or place is not so scary after all to tales in which monsters are shown to be just like us.  (There is even a take-off on Good Night Moon called Good Night Goon in which a young monster says goodnight to all the scary-to-us stuff that is part of his everyday life and a similar take off on Runaway Bunny called Runaway Mummy.) 

F  Display a not-too-scary mask (remember it doesn’t take much to scare the youngest).  Handle it, describe how it might frighten you but then point out that it is just a mask and not all that scary.  Use this as an entry to identifying the things we really fear – that bullies at school will go after us, that something bad will happen to someone we love, that we will get lost, that there will be a war where we live, that we will never be able to do what we want most to do….   If the children’s fears lead to talking about adult fears about jobs, the economy, world conflicts, etc., the children learn that fear is part of life.  They will then be ready to hear God’s promise to Habakkuk and us in Habakkuk 2:2-4. 

GOD SAYS

“Those who are evil will not survive,

but those who are righteous will live

because they are faithful to God.”

F  The TEV provides the translation of verse 4 that makes most sense to children: “Those who are evil will not survive, but those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God.”  Write it in large letters on a big poster.  Have fun seeing if someone running up the aisle can read it while running.  Then, note that God’s goal in asking Habakkuk to write the message so big was that God wanted everyone to read it and know that God was on the side of the faithful and against the evil.

F  Suggest that everyone in the congregation hold hands because you are going to talk about scary things.  Then start with Halloween-y things and progress to the violent scary parts of everyday life for people of all ages.  Read Habakkuk 2:2-4 again, explaining some of its meaning related to the fears you have named.  Shake hands loose or clap hands to celebrate not having to be afraid because God is with us and will not all the bad things have the last word.
 

F  Some Things Are Scary, by Florence Parry Heide, is a random collection of things that scare children.  Turn to some of them to be sure the things that scare children as well as the things that scare adults get attention today.  

 

F  Display a large poster or some other item with an Alpha and Omega on it (maybe a stole or parament).  Explain its meaning and connect it with Habakkuk’s message.  Just as God was in charge at the beginning, God will be in charge at the end, so we don’t have to worry.  We can trust God.

F  Sing “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” after Halloween and in response to Habakkuk’s list of all the things that are going wrong.  It was written by Martin Luther while he was hiding in castle from people who wanted to kill him.  Tell this brief story of its writing before singing it and encourage worshipers to watch for fear and trust words. 

Psalm 119:137-14

F  Psalm 119 is an acrostic, that is an alphabet poem.  Each line in each section starts with a word beginning with the same letter.  The lines in this section start with the Hebrew letter zade/tsade (צַ).  If possible show a Hebrew Bible opened to this psalm or print this passage in Hebrew in your worship bulletin and help people recognize the repeated letter. 

When reading the psalm, have the congregation say the Hebrew letter zade before each line is read.

F  Each line says something about the value of God’s Word.  Hebrew poets rhyme ideas rather than sounds.  So, they say the same thing over and over again in slightly different ways.  For example,

It is a beautiful day.

The sun is bright and there is not a cloud in the sky.

It is wonderfully warm and there is a pleasant breeze.

I wish every day were just like this one.

Then, read one or two of the lines about God’s Word to show their similarity. 

F  Challenge children (and others) to write an alphabet psalm praising God on Halloween weekend or on other days when we are afraid.  Below is an activity sheet for doing this using words that begin with the letter H in honor of Halloween. 

N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N

Try some of             Write a psalm prayer about fear. 

these words            Make each line begin with H in honor of Halloween.

 

Help

H_______________________________

Have

 

Hope

H_______________________________

Heal

 

Hallelujah

H_______________________________

Hear

 

Hide

H_______________________________

Happy

 

Hold

H_______________________________

How

 

Horrible

H_______________________________

 

 

N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N

Isaiah 1:10-18

To understand Isaiah’s message one needs detailed information about worship in Old Testament times and then be able to connect that message to our different form of worship today.  That is a tough task for children.  So I would tend to use the other Old Testament texts.  If you do work with this one, go straight to verses 17 and 18 with the children.  They are more direct and use more familiar words. 

F  If your congregation regularly uses the language about sins as scarlet being made white as snow, this is a good chance to explain what we are saying when we say that and then to use it in the usual way.  Bring something rough and deep red (even a wadded up ball of red Christmas foil) and something soft and white (maybe a white sweater or piece of white cotton).  As you discuss the colors, remember that most children would prefer red over white.  For them the stark difference between red (think red ribbons, Christmas, valentines..) and white (think white paper, white shirt, OK, maybe also snow, but… white is generally boring) is more important than the colors themselves.  Tie the difference in the colors to the different feelings we have when we are hiding sins and when we admit them in Psalm 32. 

Psalm 32:1-7   SIN  TRANSGRESSION  INIQUITY  DECEIT  GUILT

F  Psalm 32 in the New Revised Standard Version is a collection of words about sin used often in worship but nowhere else.  So, before reading it, list the words and encourage listeners to watch for them in the psalm and in other parts of worship today.  If this will be the focus of worship, give children red pencils with which to underline all the sin words they find in their printed order of worship.

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

Because there is so much for children in the other texts and themes for this day and because a preacher is likely to go many different ways using this text, I am going to leave it with you.  If you find a great connection for children, please share it with the rest of us in the Comments.

Luke 19:1-10

F  This is another text that can take worship leaders many different directions.  Themes that speak especially clearly to children include:

• People CAN change.  Zacchaeus changed.  You can change.  People around you can change. 
• The best way to deal with a troublesome person or enemy is to become a friend.  We can follow Jesus’ example by eating with the lonely ones or inviting them to eat with us in the school lunch room.
• Giving away money or stuff can save you (or bring happiness).  Jesus told Zacchaeus that returning the money he stole and giving half of all he had to the poor was going “to save his life.”  Take time to define “save his life” to include bring happiness, peace, and a place among God’s people as well as eternal salvation.

F  Jesus and Zacchaeus get most of the attention in this story.  But the crowd is us and is worthy of our attention.  To explore their responses, enlist the help of a few youth or adults.  Their job is to show the crowd’s response at key points in the story using their faces and their whole bodies.  The script below could be used to prepare a rehearsed pantomime.  Or, it could be the beginning of a more free-wheeling interaction between members of the crowd as the worship leader helps them and the congregation explore the response of the crowd to what happened.

MNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLO

Luke 19:1-10

 19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it.

 

19:2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich

Zacchaeus stands proudly to one side.

 

19:3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.

Jesus stands to the other side.  The crowd steps between the two and they jostle with each other with knowing smiles to keep Zacchaeus at the back of the crowd.

 

19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.

Zacchaeus climbs a short step ladder.

 

19:5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today."

Jesus calls Zacchaeus down. 

 

19:6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.

Zacchaeus comes down smiling happily and heads off with Jesus.

 

19:7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner."

At this point a worship leader steps in and works with the crowd actors to show with their faces and bodies how they might be feeling.  Feelings might range from  disbelief (Zacchaeus couldn’t change!) to disgust with Jesus for reaching out to such a sinner or maybe amazed acceptance of what happened.

 

19:8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."

Zacchaeus stops, turns to Jesus as this is said.

 

19:9 Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.

Jesus reaches out to Zacchaeus.  Putting an arm around Zacchaeus’ shoulder, walks off the stage with him.

 

19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."

                                                                                    NRSV

MNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLO

F  It’s another opportunity to point out the invitation to the Lord’s Table and stress that it is open.  People who look hopeless like Zacchaeus (and sometimes us) are welcome. 

 

F  If it’s still Stewardship Season in your congregation, take a look at Miss Fannie’s Hat, by Jan Karon.  Elderly Miss Fannie gives the best of her grand collection of hats to raise money to fix up the church.  When she goes to church hatless on Easter morning, she finds the church surrounded by blooming rose bushes purchased with funds from the sale of her hat.  She and those all around her find great happiness in her gift.  One hopes that Zacchaeus and some of the folks he refunded will share similar happiness.

Year C - Proper 25, 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, 23rd Sunday after Pentecost (October 27, 2013)

Happy Almost Halloween!  For older children Halloween is all about testing their courage with haunted houses, ghost stories, and gory costumes.  But, for younger children, it is all about the costumes.  “What are you going to be?” is the chief question in the days leading up to Halloween.  So, with younger children begin by asking this question and hearing about their plans.  Some children will have known for weeks “what I’m going to be.”  Others will still be deciding.  A few will not have given it a thought.  After hearing about costume plans, address the whole group with “something I want you to remember on Halloween.”  Tell them that no matter what costume they wear, you want them to remember that they are always THEMSELVES.  They are God’s loved children.  Speak briefly of the fun of wearing a costume that makes them look like someone else.  Remind them that they are still THEMSELVES.  Tell them to remember that AND to act like God’s loving children every minute of the day.

Remember to include Halloween in the church’s prayers with prayers for safety for Trick or Treaters and those who dare haunted houses.  Also pray that all will remember to act like the children of God they are behind their masks and costumes.

Go to Spooky Halloween Organ Councert and Tour and A Book for Halloween and Other Scary Days for two more Halloween ideas.

I found only one Halloween connection to today’s texts.  See it in Psalm 84.

The Texts

Joel 2:23-32

u  Maybe the best connection for children is the visions and dreams promised in verse 28.  Identify dreams as possibilities and ideas about what could be.  Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech illustrates the importance of a dream in shaping life for both individuals and communities.  Read at least one of King’s dreams and note ways we are doing better now than we were when he said them.  Explain that the dream words become a way to measure how close we are getting to the dream.  According to Joel such dreams are gifts from God and therefore should be valued and worked with.  

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”  Martin Luther King

u  Display a Native American dream catcher or a picture of one.  Describe its use as a dream sorter.  Bad dreams are supposed to be caught in the web.  Good dreams slip through.  We have to sort our dreams, keeping only the truly good ones.  Encourage children to sort their dreams with stories of dreams you have had during your life, some of which you have set aside (I dreamed of being a ballerina, but set it aside when I realized I was way too tall.) and other dreams which you have held for years (I share the Habitat for Humanity dream of a decent house for every person.  It hasn’t come true yet, but I keep working with other hoping it will one day be true.).

u  Two well-known hymns that explore dreams and can be child accessible with a little help.

“Be Thou My Vision” offers a straight forward prayer but is stated in Elizabethan English.  So, before singing it, read through the first verse and put it into your own words: 

Be Thou my vision, O Lord (joy) my heart

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art –

Thou my best thought, by day or by night

Waking or sleeping Thy presence my light.

Becomes something like

God, your plan for the world is my plan.

No one is more important to me than You are.

You have the best ideas to think about.

Whether I am awake or asleep, You light up my world.

Before singing “Open My Eyes That I May See” read through the repeated chorus challenging young readers to join in on that for sure.  Point to “illumine me” putting into phrases such as fill me up with your vision, let me hear your message, and help me claim as my own your dreams for me and for the world.

u  Read all or part of God’s Dream, by Desmond Tutu.  To keep the focus on God’s dream rather than our response and shorten the story a bit, start reading with “Do you know what God dreams about?” stopping after “God dreams that we reach out and hold one another’s hands an play one another’s games and laugh with one another’s hearts.”  Skip to “God dreams that everyone of us will see that we are all brothers and sisters…” reading from there to the end.  (Today this not only explores God’s dreams in Joel but addresses the Pharisee’s judgment of the tax collector.)

Psalm 65

u  There are so many random praises in this psalm that it is hard for children to follow them.  They are most likely to hear one or two that make sense to them.  One way to focus their attention on one or two of these phrases is to provide them with a page with the words of all or part of the psalm printed in the middle.  (Choose a translation such as the Contemporary English Version which uses words children understand more easily.)  Invite children to illustrate the psalm by drawing in the margins things they read about in the psalm or that the psalmist makes them remember with praise.  As they leave the sanctuary, take time to talk with those who worked on this project about what they drew and/or post their artwork on a special bulletin board near the worship space or outside your office door.

u  Even non-readers can join in on all the Alleluias in “All Creatures of Our God and King” – especially if they are specifically invited to do so.

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22

This text is for the adult Bible students.  Several of today’s other texts speak much more clearly and easily to children. 

Psalm 84:1-7

u  Use this psalm to compare Halloween haunted houses to the house of God.  Show a cardboard silhouette of haunted house.  Together talk about what that house is like and how it would feel to go into it.  Then show a silhouette of a generic church.  Read verses 1-7 challenging listeners to identify what is different about the two houses.  Enjoy the differences and identify which house is better to live in.

2 Timothy 4:6 8, 16-18

u  Tell the back-story before reading this text.  Invite listeners to imagine Paul sitting in prison in Rome knowing that he will probably soon be killed and writing his young friend Timothy whom he helped get started as a minister.  Then read the message thoughtfully, imagining yourself writing the letter, pausing at points to search for the right words for what you want to say. 

u  In Charlotte’s Web, by E. B. White, Charlotte the spider speaks shortly before her death to Wilbur whom she mentored very much as Paul spoke to Timothy in this passage.  She speaks about why such relationships are important.  Read the excerpt below or more from Chapter XXI of the book to explore the value of such relationships between the generations.  Charlotte said

”I’ve always been rather quiet.”

“Yes, but you seem ‘specially so today.  Do you feel all right?” (Wilbur replied)

“A little tired, perhaps.  But I feel peaceful.  Your success in the ring this morning was, to a small degree, my success.  Your future is assured.  You will live, secure and safe, Wilbur.  Nothing can harm you now.”….

“Why did you do this for me?” he asked.  I don’t deserve it.  I’ve never done anything for you.”

“You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte.  “That in itself is a tremendous thing.  I wove my webs for you because I like you.  After all, what’s a life, anyway?  We’re born, we live a little while, we die.  A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies.  By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle.  Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.” 

Luke 18:9-14

u  Two basic truths underlie the meaning of this story: God loves us and we are all sinners.  The Pharisee understands only one of them – God loves me.  He sees only his strengths and good deeds and tells God all about them.  It is a one sided conversation.  The tax-collector however understands both of them.  He is well aware of his weaknesses and sins.  (Lots of people point them out to him regularly!)  If that was all he knew, he wouldn’t be at the Temple at all.  But he also knows that God loves him in spite of his sins.  So he comes to God to confess and leaves OK with God.

u  To give the tax-collector’s prayer a physical reminder, put each truth in one hand then fold the hands together in prayer.  Either use your own hands or invite listeners to use their hands.  In either case, hold one hand palm cupped up to hold the truth that God loves us.  Briefly describe God’s creation of each one of us with our special gifts and talents.  Keep that cupped hand in place while raising the other hand up in the same position to hold the truth that we are each one of us sinners.  Move your hands up and down in relationship to each other to note that on some days we feel more loved and lovable and on other days we feel more sinful.  Then fold the hands together as if in prayer.  Jesus tells his listeners to be honest with God.  When we come to God honestly admitting our sins and trusting that God loves and forgives us, we are OK with God – and also OK with ourselves and the people around us. 

u  Instruct people to look at the other people all around them in the sanctuary - the people in their families, their friends, the people they see every Sunday but who aren’t friends, and the people they do not know at all.  Then tell them that every one of those people is a sinner.  Each one says and does things that hurt others, themselves and God.  Sometimes they mean to do those things.  Other times the mean words and deeds just pop out.  Even they are surprised at what they have done.  Then direct everyone to look again.  Point out that God loves every one of the people in the room.  God made them and knows them, even the awful things they do, and God loves them.   When we are honest with each other and with God about both the awful things we do and God’s love for each one of us, things work out OK. 

This is more powerful for both the children and the rest of the congregation if it is done as part of the Sermon because children are part of the whole rather than a “we” looking at a “them.”  It also invites the adults to participate in the activity rather than observe it.

u  The unrecognized sin of the Pharisee was that he saw none of his own faults and all of those around him.  The old word for that is scorn.  The word is not familiar to children and there are few better substitutes, but there is plenty of scorn in their world.  To explore this scorn or looking down on others,

u  Quote and discuss common phrases, labels and names as examples:

You’re not as (good, fast, smart, pretty….)  as me!

You’re just a (jerk, baby, …ask the children to add labels used in their school)

Names that belittle – shorty, four eyes, pipsqueak, etc.

Be ready to discuss what is hurtful about the names and labels and think ahead about how you will handle terms with racial or sexual connotations. 

JESUS MAFA. The Pharisee and the Publican, from Art in the Christian Tradition,
a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. 
http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48268 [retrieved September 27, 2013].

u  Direct attention to the Pharisee’s hands in this African artist’s illustration of this story.  One hand says “look at me.  See how fine I am.”  The other says, “Look at him.  I am soooo much better than he is.”  His hands explain the look on his face.  This man thinks that he is always right, that his ways are the best ways, and that very few people are as fine as he is.  Jesus says that God is not impressed with this attitude.  Even though the man does some fine things on God’s behalf, God is not impressed.  (Either print this picture in the bulletin or enlarge it and post it at the front of the sanctuary. )

u  Read this scripture as readers’ theater with male readers.  The Narrator may read from the lectern with the other 2 at center front.  Or, all three may stand center front with the Narrator in the middle of the other two.  Or, the Narrator may be in the lectern, the Pharisee at center front and the Tax collector off to the side.

& & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &

Luke 18:9-14

Narrator:  Jesus told a story to some people who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else: Two men went into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

Reader 1:  The Pharisee stood over by himself and prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not greedy, dishonest, and unfaithful in marriage like other people. And I am really glad that I am not like that tax collector over there.  I go without eating for two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all I earn.”

Reader 2;  The tax collector stood off at a distance and did not think he was good enough even to look up toward heaven. He was so sorry for what he had done that he pounded his chest and prayed, “God, have pity on me! I am such a sinner.”

Narrator:  Then Jesus said, “When the two men went home, it was the tax collector and not the Pharisee who was pleasing to God. If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.”

                                                         Contemporary English Version

& & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &

u  Use the prayer of the tax-collector “God have mercy” as an opportunity to look at the use of “mercy” in your weekly prayers of confession.  Practice the Kyrie or whatever you sing at the conclusion of prayers of confession, translating it if needed.  Set it in the pattern of ritual – I’m sorry, Forgive me, It’s OK (I won’t treat you as you deserve given what you have done.).

Jesus Loves Me does not use the word mercy, but it is a song the tax-collector could have sung.  Imagine him singing both the well-known first verse and the less known verse below.  Then sing both verses - perhaps as a response to the confession and pardon ritual today.

Jesus loves me when I’m good,

When I do the things I should.

Jesus loves me when I’m bad,

Even though it makes Him sad.