A Moment of Grief and Remembrance

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington All Saint’s Day November 7, 2021 John 11:32-44 Year B Opening Prayer Welcome Opening Prayer Healing God, we come to you today acknowledging that this has been a painful year. A year in which so much was lost. A year of grief in which we, too, may have cried out the same words of Jesus and the psalmist of: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And yet, we also acknowledge, Almighty God, that in our crying out, we are still calling out for you: to save us, to heal us, to provide a balm for our broken and wounded hearts. Today we come to you for comfort and healing as we boldly proclaim together the promise of the resurrection in Jesus Christ our Lord. Comfort us in our grief and remind us that your communion table stretches from the church altar to the communion of saints. Open our hearts and our lips to speak once more of your hope that always exist, always perseveres, and always conquers darkness even on our hardest of days. Remind us of the gift of the body of Christ, as we mourn together corporately in this place and across the conference. Heal us Lord, so that we may be your healing hands to the world. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. - Written by Director of Clergy Excellence, Rev. Jessie Colwell Stewardship Moment Moment for Stewardship (This would be a great Sunday to tell of the generosity of one of the “saints” no longer living but whose influence continues to be felt in the congregation. Consider asking one of your long-time members to tell the story of someone s/he remembers from years past who modeled generosity) or, tell this: Gretchen, a life-long member of the congregation, never had more money than what she needed for basics. After raising 10 children, experiencing the death of her beloved husband, and working in the high school cafeteria until she was 70, Gretchen yearned to have something big to give to her church. Quietly, Gretchen took on the weekly task of preparing communion. Each Saturday, she would let herself into the building and lovingly prepare 10 trays of cups and 10 plates of what she called “the crackers”. Then, after the hour-long process, she would go to the sanctuary for a time of prayer. Following that morning routine, Gretchen would return home to put her “first fruits” offering in an envelope, carefully set-aside from the money she earned by selling to anyone who came to purchase fresh eggs. This pattern continued for nearly fifteen years, until Gretchen was no longer able to drive, stand for an hour, or keep her chickens. Only a few months after that, Gretchen’s earthly life came to an end. At her funeral, the whole congregation took communion, remembering Gretchen’s faithful offering of her time, talent and treasure. What will this congregation remember of you and your faithful offering? Prayer of Thanksgiving We give you thanks, O God, for these gifts provided by living saints, and for gifts which have come from all the saints who ever worshiped you, from brush arbors or cathedrals, weathered wooden churches or crumbling cement meeting houses. We give you thanks, O God, for hands lifted in praise: manicured hands and hands stained with grease or soil, strong hands and those gnarled with age holy hands used as wave offerings across the land. We thank you, God, for hardworking saints; whether hard-hatted or steel-booted, head ragged or aproned, blue-collared or three-piece-suited. These gifts and all our lives are leaving their mark on the earth for you, for us, for our children yet to come. Thank you, God, for the sacrifices made by those who have gone before us, and for all who are sacrificing to offer you these gifts of finances, and gifts of time and talents. Bless these gifts, bless each giver, and bless our memories of your gone-before-us saints, AMEN Adapted from: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/a-prayer-meditation-for-all-saints-day Scripture John 11:32-44 Common English Bible 32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. 34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They replied, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to cry. 36 The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb 38 Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.” 40 Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” 41 So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 I know you always hear me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me.” 43 Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” Sermon A Moment of Grief and Remembrance The five stages of grief are denial, numbness and shock, then bargaining, then depression, then anger, and finally acceptance. Whenever there is the loss of deep love, we experience grief. All of us go through these stages of grief Howver, the pathway through that grief is different for each of us. Sometimes the experience we have with the loss of each loved one is different, and each stage of grief is different. Sometimes we go through the stages in order, sometimes the stages may happen all at once, sometimes we may spend a short time in one stage and forever in another, sometimes are all over the place, sometimes we experience them in our own order, sometimes you may think that you are over one stage, only to discover that it is back again. Grief if a part of all of our lives. However you experience these stages it is okay. Whereever you may be right now, it is okay, and wherever you are – you are right where you need to be. We want to honor those who have joined us today – in the pews and in spirit. But I think we can all say that this has been a long year for us all. We are grieving for those before us, but we are also grieving our life, our wellbeing, our sense of normalcy. Sometimes it is easy to point out these stages of grief in ourselves and others. But our scripture teaches us that Jesus grieved also. All of John 11 shows us that. Jesus is with his disciples taking the scenic route to Jerusalem – he wants to meet new people. Sometime on his journey – he just feels in his spirit that his friend Lazurus has died. Rather then rushing to comfort the family, Jesus just waits for two days. In some ways that could be the first stage of grief – denial. Then bargaining – he tells the disciples that he has to go to Bethany, even though he knows it may cost him his life. in the depression stage Mary cries out to him, Jesus gets angry at the world, and eventually he not only heals Lazurus, but continues his mission. Scripture tells us that Jesus got so angry that he wept. Perhaps he was angry at the whole concept of death and its affects on his friend and his family, perhaps he is mad because of his own hesitation to come to help his friends. Perhaps he is mad at the world for not understanding God, we don’t know that full extent of his anger – but we do know that Jesus is the only messiah who feels pain and cries about it. What is the point of a savior who cries? Remembering the Saints For those who are with us virtually, you are welcome to have a candle on hand to light in remembrance of all those named and that you hold in your heart. Intro to the Candle Lighting and Naming of the Saints God of the Saints (does not need to be printed) We give you thanks, O God, for every saint who ever worshiped you Whether in brush arbors or cathedrals, Weathered wooden churches or crumbling cement meeting houses Where your name was lifted and adored, Where your scriptures were studied, your people served. We give you thanks, O God, for centuries of hands in service: hands groomed, hands stained with grease or soil, Young hands, hands marked with age Holy hands of every shade raised in praise, Serving hands that cooked, hammered, and held. We give you thanks, O God, for hardworking saints; Whether hard-hatted or steel-booted, Head ragged or aproned, Blue-collared or three-piece-suited They ministered on the earth for you, for us, for our children to come. We give your thanks, O God, for saints in a season of pandemic Family and friends whose love was taken from us too soon, Caregivers of every kind who put our safety before theirs, Employers and landlords who gave us steady wages and roofs over our heads, Cooks and drivers that kept us fed and stocked. Liturgy for All Saints Day 2021 In gratitude for the gifts of these saints, we take a moment to name them before you, and the body of Christ, claiming their lives as a gift to the church: List the names of the people we are lighting candles for Today we also light a candle for all the saints who have been lost in this community and in years past that are on our hearts today. Finally, we light one more candle acknowledging all the saints who lost their lives to COVID-19. We acknowledge that over 20,000 people in Illinois have died due to this virus and we pray for their families. Now let us take a moment of silence in remembrance of those we love who are no longer physically with us. • A show comment from last time round the cycle: “I can never hear this account of Jesus' raising Lazarus without thinking of an impromptu Bible study I had with a bereaved mother in her hospital room. During my Clinical Pastoral Education unit (required for priests in training in the Episcopal Church), my assigned areas were the NICU (neo-natal ICU) and high risk pregnancy unit. I spent several days visiting and praying with this woman whose baby died in her arms just hours after being born. The last time I saw her, she asked, "Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead. Why won't he do the same for my little girl? I'm pretty mad about that--am I going to hell? If I do, will I ever see my baby?" After I swallowed a river of tears and assured her that she was not hell-bound for being mad at God, I located the Bible in her room (thank you, Gideonites!) and started reading John 11. I even took time to explain about the Book of Signs and why Jesus raised Lazarus in the first place (can you say pedantic pastoral care?). When we got to the part where "Jesus wept", the woman stopped me. "Do you think Jesus is weeping for my baby?" "Yes, he's holding her now and weeping for her and for you." A savior who knows pain, grief and suffering is just what we need. We need to know that we are not alone in our grief. The God who cries is with us. This story of Lazurus rising from the tomb is not about resurrection. Eventually Lazarus dies again. But through his own suffering and death, Jesus eventually overcomes that blockage for all of us – death has no control over us any more. All Saints day has a profound lesson in the cycle of life. I didn’t realize that Halloween and All Saints day are about a quarter of the way between Labor Day and Christmas. It marks the shift between darker days, the harvest season, colder temperatures. As a matter of fact, the symbol of All Saint Day is a shaft of wheat. Nature goes through its own grief process as we mourn the loss of the precious light that helps our life. Yet it is a reminder that Jesus us the light in the midst of darkness. Sometimes it seems like our grief will last forever and for many of us grief takes years and years to get through. But Jesus reminds us that resurrection opens the doors to something else. Leith Anderson, a pastor, shared an experience: As a boy, he grew up outside of New York City and was an avid fan of the old Brooklyn Dodgers. One day his father took him to a World Series game between the Dodgers and the Yankees. He was so excited, and he just knew the Dodgers would trounce the Yankees. Unfortunately, the Dodgers never got on base, and his excitement was shattered. Years later he was engrossed in a conversation with a man who was a walking sports almanac. Leith told him about the first major league game he attended and added, "It was such a disappointment. I was a Dodger fan' and the Dodgers never got on base." The man said, "You were There? You were at the game when Don Larsen pitched the first perfect game in all of World Series history'" Leith replied, ''Yeah, but uh, we lost." He then realized that he had been so caught up in his team's defeat that he missed out on the fact that he was a witness to a far greater page of history. (As told by Dean Register in the Minister's Manuel, 1995, 339) Let me ask you a question. What's going on down the street in our ball park? We may be so caught up in the beauty of our building, the eloquence of the sermon, and the friends who sit around us, that we miss out on a far greater page in the story of our Christianity. Look around you. What is it that is happening in our community? What is it that is happening down the street at your neighbor's house? What is happening down at the playground? What is your spouse trying to tell you? Is God pitching a perfect game in the world series of our neighborhood and we simply are missing out because we are so invested in our team? Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com The last thing that sticks out to me about this text is Mary’s response to Jesus when he returns to her house. She says Jesus has you been here my brother would not have died. How did she know her close friend was actually the messiah. How did she know that he had the answer to death? We will never know. She did not understand why her brother had to die – just as we may never understand why our loves ones die. But she believed – and that made all of the difference in the world. We honor our loved ones who also believed – and that made all of the difference in the world – they believed enough to follow Jesus to heaven and they now live forever. Jesus us the messiah who cries for us, but he cries also for the world, he cries for a better day, he cries for a cure, he cries for us to be faithful in our lives, and in our memories. It is days like this that remind us of love, lessons, hope, and peace that these people showed us. May we all be faithful saints of Jesus. Amen. Communion Song Come Ye Disconsolate UMH 510 Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook L: Let us go to be God’s saints this week. P: Not because we are more pious or special, but because we are called to care for those whom the world has tossed aside. L: Let us go now to serve with Jesus this week. P: Not because we are better than those around us, but because we are called to humble ourselves in serving those whom society has forgotten. L: Let us go now to journey with the Spirit this week. P: Not because we have the inside track, but because we have all lost our way, but hand in hand will be led to God’s heart. (c) Thom M. Shuman Community Time Benediction The pathway is open before you this day. It is a path of peace and hope, brought to others by God’s mighty love and wondrous blessings. Go in peace, bringing hope to all that you meet. Go, blessed ones, to serve God all your days. Go into the world as the living body of Christ, bringing eternal life to all who seek God’s face. Amen Children’s Time Additional Illustrations……. • “Jesus wept.” What does it mean to follow a messiah who wept? What does it mean to have a Savior who cries? The story is told of Frederick William IV of Prussia who once visited a school and quizzed the students. He held up a stone and asked the children: to what kingdom does this belong? They responded: mineral. He then, pointed to a flower and asked: to what kingdom does this belong? They answered: plant. He then pointed to a bird flying by outside the window and asked: to what Kingdom does that belong? They replied: animal. Then he asked: now, to what kingdom do I belong. He had raised a profound theological question. To what kingdom do we belong? On a literal sense, we are, off course, part and parcel of the animal kingdom. I belong to the same kingdom as my dog Ruff. He has many human traits. He can pout, he can get excited, he has a temper (as some of you who have visited the parsonage have discovered). But yet, Ruff does not understand time. He cannot grasp that there is a point beyond which he will not live. Only humans can grasp time. Ruff cannot tell right From wrong. It is not within him to share. His limited mind cannot set goals. All of those are human traits. The magnificent thing for humans is that it is within us to rise above purely animal desires and become a part of another kingdom----the Kingdom of God. Staff,www.Sermons.com Today, we celebrate “All Saints Day” –a day in the life of Christian tradition that honor all those in our Christian communities past, present, and future. For we are part of a huge body of Christ, and one that carries on through the generations by the passing on of the faith from one to another. All Saints is also tied to the idea of the harvest. As we come into our fall season, we celebrate the final harvest of the season. In the Jewish tradition, the final harvest occurs in the spring, as in the east, seasons are opposite. When we celebrate spring, they celebrate fall. When we celebrate fall, they are beginning their spring. So, the season most closely paired to our Harvest Celebration in the Jewish tradition is the season that we still celebrate now within our church year –the season of Pentecost, but most specifically tied to our harvest celebration is the Feast of Weeks –Shuvuot (the last harvest or the wheat harvest). In fact, the symbol for All Saints Day is the sheaf of wheat, symbolizing God’s final harvest, Jesus’ final victory. Think of it this way, when the harvest is here [hold two fingers up symbolizing the sheaf], God’s victory is near! [spread fingers into a V for Victory]. Can we do that together? “When the harvest is here, God’s victory is near!” [do the hand motions] All of you know the famous song by Knowles Shaw, “Bringing in the Sheaves,” right? Who has heard that song? We’re going to sing it today together. Well, that song was written as a response to psalm 126 –the idea that we spend our lives working in God’s vineyard as His loyal and faithful servants, sowing the seeds of kindness, and many times, shedding tears of sorrow, pain, and empathy for a broken world. Some of those tears may be our own for the things we’ve endured in our own lives. Some may be for others. But many times, life isn’t easy, especially when you’re devoted to God amid a world enmeshed in conflict. But we carry on, knowing that someday, the harvest will come, and we will be filled with the joy and love of God. Or as the psalmist says in Psalm 30: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” For Christians, we know the joy of Jesus’ sacrifice and victory in our own lives, and in the lives of people around us. We know the joy of God in our hearts even in the midst of sorrow. We may go out into the world in tears, but we come in from the field with joy! For God is Lord of the Harvest. You know sometimes as people of the Church, we think we need to be responsible for the harvest. We spend a lot of time worrying about results, and fretting when things don’t turn out like we hoped they would. We plan events, and few come. We try ministries that sometimes don’t work. We touch lives, and we fret, because those people aren’t in our pews. And sometimes, we start to feel down, because we feel that our efforts don’t matter. But we are not in charge of the Harvest crops. We are in charge of the sowing and the scattering of seed, and we are in charge of nurturing those seeds into fruition, and we are in charge of till and keeping the covenant of God and bearing the fruit of the gospel to everyone we can. We seek to work God’s mission fields, and to harvest (bring home to God) those of God’s faithful who respond to our good news. But we are not responsible for the turning of hearts and the growth of the crops. That’s God’s job. We are not the owners of the field; we are the workers in the field. And when we spread love, we never know how things might turn out. But spread we must. And sometimes, we gather people together, and we glean from the margins, and the edges, those who have been left behind, and we bring them to the Lord. Last week, we saw a film about John Wesley. Wesley wasn’t interested so much in just reaping the harvest he could easily see in the pews and churches of England. Wesley was interested in gleaning from the “leftovers” in the fields –those who weren’t welcome in the pews of the wealthy and well-brought up. He was interested in gathering from the margins among the downhearted, the poor, the disenchanted, and the depressed –those with addictions, and those with little money, those thrown into debtors prison, and those battling domestic issues, sickness, and pain. Wesley gleaned from the hopeless, and showed them the hope and the abundant mercy of God. And Jesus calls us to do the same. Today, we have heard the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman, born into another place and another faith, but whose heart found God. She followed her mother in law to Bethlehem, the land of fertile fields of barley and wheat –God’s House of Bread. Although destitute and hungry, Ruth found grace and hope in the fields of Boaz, where she was allowed to glean and gather from the corners of the field, left deliberately for the poor. Like David who would come after her, she is a servant before she is blessed with abundance. And through her humility and service, she is found to be worthy of becoming one of the “mothers” in the line of the Messiah Jesus. [You may wish to tell more of the story again here.] Ruth’s entry into God’s covenant is fixed when she meets and unites with Boaz on the threshing floor. Symbolizing the very wheat she has gleaned, Ruth is laid upon the threshing floor (the symbol of God’s place of judgment) and found by God to be pure of heart and sound of soul. In the uniting with Boaz, she is married to God’ covenant, and she reaps God’s abundant blessings. Ruth is rewarded for her love and loyalty by becoming Boaz’s wife. As a member of God’s faithful in Israel, Ruth will go on to become the great grandmother of King David. Jesus calls each and every one of us to be “gleaners” for God. Jesus tells us in Matthew 9: “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; therefore pay earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Today, as we celebrate the community of all saints, we celebrate those who have worked the fields of God’s vineyards, who have walked with God through both wheat and weeds, and have passed on the faith to you, and to those like you. To whom will you pass on the stories of Jesus? Who will one day say that YOU were their inspiration, their saving grace, the one they’ve looked to when they learned to follow Jesus? You are the workers of God’s harvest. “The harvest is plentiful; the workers are few.” As you prepare for Holy Communion today, I asked that when you receive the Eucharist, you answer the question, “Will you go into the fields for Jesus?” And will your answer be? …. “Lord, send me.” Today, as we celebrate the Holy Communion with Jesus, as we take the bread, and the cup, we recognize God’s final victory, and look forward to that Final Victory when we enter into God’s kingdom and sit at His heavenly table, partaking of the abundant blessings of our Lord and Savior with all of the saints who have come before us. But who will come after you? Who will sit here a hundred years from now to celebrate our Lord? “The harvest is plentiful; the workers are few.” Shed your tears for the poor and disenchanted. Tell your stories to those who haven’t heard of Jesus. God out into your communities, into your fields, into your coffee shops and firehouses. And tell the stories of Jesus to those in the margins and on the edges of the world today. Gather us in, Lord, gather us in. ________________________________________ Based on the Story Lectionary Major Text The Story of Ruth: A Story of Faith from the Heart Minor Text The Story of Tamar: Loyalty is Not As It May Appear (Genesis 38) A Raining Down of Manna (Exodus 16 and Numbers 11) Elijah’s Healing/Raising of a Phoenician Woman’s Son and a Gift of Bread (1 Kings 17) The Story of Jezebel (of Phoenicia, Daughter of King of Tyre), Ahab, and Elijah (1 Kings 9: 16-21) Elisha’s Healing/Raising of a Shunammanite Woman’s Son (2 Kings 4) Psalm 19: The Lord’s Salvation Jesus Heals a Canaanite Woman’s Daughter in Tyre (Matthew 15:21-28) Jesus Heals a Syrophoenician Woman’s Daughter in Tyre (Mark 7:24-30) The Parable of the Great Dinner (Luke 14:15-24) Salvation is for All Who Believe with the Heart Reminds Paul (Letter to the Romans, Chapter 10) Optional OPTION TWO Lectionary The Raising Up of a New Prophet Like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-22) Psalm 2: The Son of God Psalm 22: Song of Deliverance from Persecution and God’s Victory Psalm 110: The Priest of Melchizedek God Knows the Name of the Son (Proverbs 30:3-6) The Prophecy of Amos (8) Zechariah’s Oracle for Jerusalem (12) Jeremiah’s Prophecy of a New Covenant (31) Isaiah’s Suffering Servant (53) The Book of Hosea The Son of God Who Will Suffer (Hebrews 1 and 2) Jesus’ Prophecies of His Death and Resurrection (Matthew 16:21-23; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; 26:1-5; Mark 8:31-33; 9:3-32; 10:32-24; Luke 9:18-22; 9:44-45; 12:49-50; 18:31-34; John 7:12-24; 12:20-36; 13:31-14:7; 16:16) Jesus the Son of God (Acts of the Apostles 13) Christ’s Suffering (1 Peter 2) The Resurrection of the Son and the Promise of Resurrection for All (1 Corinthians 15) The Son of Man (Revelation 1) Image Exegesis: The Omer The “omer” or sheaf is an important metaphor in the life of the Jewish people. Most people were either shepherds or farmers, so agricultural symbols dominate the Hebrew scriptures. The story of Ruth is the story of one such agricultural community –at Beth Lehem (the House of Bread) –fertile hillsides from which the community was fed with rich harvests of wheat and barley and other grains, as well as grapes and wine. There are so many references to the idea of “workers in God’s fields or vineyards” both in the Hebrew scriptures and in the gospels, that they are more than one can mention easily. Jesus uses the metaphor copiously in his stories. From sowing seeds, to planting, to watering, to harvesting, and to talk of wheat and chaff, or wheat and weeds, we know that for Jesus too, God is the grand harvester, and the “owner” or “master” of the fields. The end of the harvest (or the last harvest) for the Jewish people is Shavuot (the wheat harvest). At Shavuot, the Book of Ruth is read, as a symbol of God’s great blessings upon not just the poor, but those whose hearts turn to God. God (and Jesus emphasizes this emphatically) does not care about genetics. God cares about the state of one’s heart, and where that heart is loyal. When one is loving and loyal to God, God bestows upon that person abundant blessings. Jesus spent his ministry turning the tables on the expectations in society. The poor and marginal would be first at the table (and we see that in Jesus’ table parable). The outsiders will be blessed (as we see in his address to the Syro-Phoenician woman). The last will be first! No better do we see this as in the story of Ruth –one of the “mothers” of the Messiah (as seen in Matthew’s genealogy). Looking at the symbol of grain in the spirit of Shavuot, Ruth is both gleaner and wheat. She symbolizes the servant of the field, but she also symbolizes the wheat laid upon the threshing floor, and chosen/redeemed by God. Her redemption comes in form of her wedding to Boaz, in which she becomes part of Israel’s royal heritage. Likewise, the symbols of crown (victory/kingship) and sheaf of wheat (love/salvation/bread/abundant blessing/victory of the final harvest) are the symbols of All Saints Day in the Christian tradition. For we also celebrate God’s harvest –especially harvest from the margins and the edges of our societies and our world. The story today then is a missional one. The metaphors are missional, as well as ministerial. We are called to participate in God’s mission field –we sow seed, but we also help in the harvest, to gather together those who are weary and heavy laden, so that Jesus may give them rest –and a place at His heavenly and abundant table. When we come to the great threshing floor of God –who will be gathered in? Will you be one of those who served well? ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., , by Lori Wagner