Notes for Sunday, May 6
Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of Easter.
We celebrate the baptism of John Mathew Willock!
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 11-12, passim
SERMON: A Faith For Life
ANTHEM: Children’s Letters to God
Shearer’s musical setting of these letters brilliantly captures the paradox inherent in children – their endearing inexperience in the world and their other-worldly wisdom.
The congregation will smile at the text of the letters printed in the bulletin – at Robert, at the thought of Noah’s ark (which some of us may have wondered about these last few days) and the three-cat-dilemma. But the serious tones of the musical settings of the other letters will remind them of the wisdom of children. Wisdom that we often grow blind to, the more we have seen of the world.
What does your God think about nonbelievers? The answer to this question speaks volumes about one’s concept of God; about one’s daily motivations. Does your God favor believers over nonbelievers? (Put differently, do you accept Pascal’s wager as sound?) If so, what challenges does your view pose for belief versus faith? If not, what challenges does your view pose for daily living? (Last summer, I found myself out to lunch with colleagues one afternoon – a group of one Muslim, one Jew, one Hindu, one Lutheran, one Protestant – at the downtown Lebanese Catholic church that serves lunch each Wednesday. Fantastic! The Lutheran and I were trying to explain the difference between Catholics and Protestants. We noted the distinction between salvation by virtue of good works and salvation through the grace of God. And our Hindu colleague asked, “If one gets to heaven by the grace of God and not as a result of good works, then why bother being good?” How would you answer?)
What is it like in heaven? I spend a good portion of my days as an economist trying to help students grapple with the problems that insatiable human beings face in a world of scarcity. Counter-examples are often a useful learning tool. And we sometimes try to think about how to adapt our models of a finite world to describe what it might be like in heaven. (As theologian M. Douglas Meeks suggests, God is perhaps the ultimate economist. And the Bible is arguably a codification of rules for living the optimal life in a world of scarcity.)
What is it like when you die?
Rabbi Sandy Sasso writes that all children by age five have a conception of God – whether or not they’re taught spirituality/religion by their parents. And that they ask large questions. She suggests that what children need from us is a language they can use to converse about their inherently deep ideas. I would suggest that we need their questions just as much.
(Sasso writes wonderful books for children – “God’s Paintbrush” and “In God’s Name” are among her best known. And she has edited a marvelous volume entitled “Nurturing Child and Adolescent Spirituality: Perspectives from the World’s Religious Traditions.” What “religious” books did you grow up with as a child? I nearly wore out our Purple Puzzle Tree books and records. (Yes, I still play them – chuuuurple, chuuurple, chuuurple.))
HYMNS AND RESPONSES:
#582 Memorial Acclamation
#495 We Know That Christ Is Raised
#579 Gloria Patri
#524 With Grateful Hearts Our Faith Professing
#106 refrain, Alleluia No. 1
OTHER ITEMS:
Prelude: Children’s Prayer and Child’s Dream, F. Peeters; Jesus and the Children, G. Martin
Postlude: Toccata in Seven, J. Rutter
Until Sunday,
Bonnie
We celebrate the baptism of John Mathew Willock!
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 11-12, passim
SERMON: A Faith For Life
ANTHEM: Children’s Letters to God
Shearer’s musical setting of these letters brilliantly captures the paradox inherent in children – their endearing inexperience in the world and their other-worldly wisdom.
The congregation will smile at the text of the letters printed in the bulletin – at Robert, at the thought of Noah’s ark (which some of us may have wondered about these last few days) and the three-cat-dilemma. But the serious tones of the musical settings of the other letters will remind them of the wisdom of children. Wisdom that we often grow blind to, the more we have seen of the world.
What does your God think about nonbelievers? The answer to this question speaks volumes about one’s concept of God; about one’s daily motivations. Does your God favor believers over nonbelievers? (Put differently, do you accept Pascal’s wager as sound?) If so, what challenges does your view pose for belief versus faith? If not, what challenges does your view pose for daily living? (Last summer, I found myself out to lunch with colleagues one afternoon – a group of one Muslim, one Jew, one Hindu, one Lutheran, one Protestant – at the downtown Lebanese Catholic church that serves lunch each Wednesday. Fantastic! The Lutheran and I were trying to explain the difference between Catholics and Protestants. We noted the distinction between salvation by virtue of good works and salvation through the grace of God. And our Hindu colleague asked, “If one gets to heaven by the grace of God and not as a result of good works, then why bother being good?” How would you answer?)
What is it like in heaven? I spend a good portion of my days as an economist trying to help students grapple with the problems that insatiable human beings face in a world of scarcity. Counter-examples are often a useful learning tool. And we sometimes try to think about how to adapt our models of a finite world to describe what it might be like in heaven. (As theologian M. Douglas Meeks suggests, God is perhaps the ultimate economist. And the Bible is arguably a codification of rules for living the optimal life in a world of scarcity.)
What is it like when you die?
Rabbi Sandy Sasso writes that all children by age five have a conception of God – whether or not they’re taught spirituality/religion by their parents. And that they ask large questions. She suggests that what children need from us is a language they can use to converse about their inherently deep ideas. I would suggest that we need their questions just as much.
(Sasso writes wonderful books for children – “God’s Paintbrush” and “In God’s Name” are among her best known. And she has edited a marvelous volume entitled “Nurturing Child and Adolescent Spirituality: Perspectives from the World’s Religious Traditions.” What “religious” books did you grow up with as a child? I nearly wore out our Purple Puzzle Tree books and records. (Yes, I still play them – chuuuurple, chuuurple, chuuurple.))
HYMNS AND RESPONSES:
#582 Memorial Acclamation
#495 We Know That Christ Is Raised
#579 Gloria Patri
#524 With Grateful Hearts Our Faith Professing
#106 refrain, Alleluia No. 1
OTHER ITEMS:
Prelude: Children’s Prayer and Child’s Dream, F. Peeters; Jesus and the Children, G. Martin
Postlude: Toccata in Seven, J. Rutter
Until Sunday,
Bonnie
posted by Bonnie at
10:13 PM
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