Genesis 28:10-18 (CEB)

Jacob left Beer-sheba and set out for Haran. He reached a certain place and spent the night there. When the sun had set, he took one of the stones at that place and put it near his head.

Then he lay down there. He dreamed and saw a raised staircase, its foundation on earth and its top touching the sky, and God’s messengers were ascending and descending on it.

Suddenly the Lord was standing on it and saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will become like the dust of the earth; you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. Every family of earth will be blessed because of you and your descendants. I am with you now, I will protect you everywhere you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done everything that I have promised you.”

When Jacob woke from his sleep, he thought to himself, The Lord is definitely in this place, but I didn’t know it.

He was terrified and thought, This sacred place is awesome. It’s none other than God’s house and the entrance to heaven.

After Jacob got up early in the morning, he took the stone that he had put near his head, set it up as a sacred pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.

Genesis 25:27-34 (Common English Version)

When the young men grew up, Esau became an outdoorsman who knew how to hunt, and Jacob became a quiet man who stayed at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was boiling stew, Esau came in from the field hungry and said to Jacob, “I’m starving! Let me devour some of this red stuff.” That’s why his name is Edom.

Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright[b] today.”

Esau said, “Since I’m going to die anyway, what good is my birthright to me?”

Jacob said, “Give me your word today.” And he did. He sold his birthright to Jacob. So Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. He ate, drank, got up, and left, showing just how little he thought of his birthright.

___

“Birthright” is defined as any right or privilege to which a person is entitled by birth.

When I was born, I was automatically a citizen of the United States. Unlike many among us, I did not have to study 100 questions and take a test, or be interviewed. I did not have to prove I could speak, write, and understand English. I did not go before a judge to get sworn in as a citizen.

When I was born on June 1, 1958 at Home Hospital in Lafayette, Indiana, I was a citizen right then and there. It was my birthright.

It was my birthright because my parents were citizens. So I was too.

Now, if my parents had not been citizens, but I was born in the United States, I would be a citizen because the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees it.

The idea behind the word Birthright is that I have certain privileges that are mine by birth. And where I was born and to whom I was born guarantee certain birthrights.

So when women have marched for equality, when LBGTQ+ folks have demanded equality, when black and brown people have made their voices heard for equality, it is because equality is their birthright as citizens of this nation. “All men are created equal!”

The idea of birthright goes back a long,

long way. In ancient cultures, Birthright was a transactional relationship between parent and child.

The exact meaning of birthright privilege is different in different cultures and different periods of time. And in misogynistic, paternalistic cultures, it was specifically about a transactional relationship between a Father and his sons, especially the first born son and his father.

The first born son was considered more blessed because the first born son indicated the approval of God. The first born son was the first fruits, so to speak, and the first fruits were always considered the best fruits. In many ancient cultures the first born was specifically dedicated to God, and in some cultures, sacrificed to God.

The first born son was considered the head of the household, second behind his father. If the father died, the first born son literally took over control of the family assets and affairs from his mother and siblings.

In some cultures, fathers bestowed a blessing on a child which was considered a powerful omen. The blessing usually, unless they were tricked out of it, went to the first born son.

In the scheme of things, the first born son was considered pivotal to the progression of the family lineage.

In many cultures, when it was time to dole out inheritance, the first born son received a double portion or more. The other sons received a single portion and daughters were simply left out of the will.

Being the first born son, having the birthright, was a big deal.

Which is what makes the story in Genesis 25 so puzzling.

There are twin brothers, Esau and Jacob. Esau is older by a minute or two. So, according to the doctrine of birthright, Esau has all the good stuff coming his way.

As the two boys grow up, they pursue different interests. Esau is an outdoorsman, while Jacob stays closer to home. If truth be told, Esau is his father‘s favorite son and Jacob is favored by his mother.

One evening, while Jacob is cooking stew, Esau returns from hunting tuckered out and hungry. He smells the stew and sees it boiling in the pot. Feeling famished, Esau shouts at his brother, “I’m starving. Give me some of that red stuff.” No please, no appreciation of the culinary properties of the stew Jacob is making. Just, “Gimme some of that red stuff.”

I assume this makes Jacob mad. And Jacob, being wily and manipulative and perhaps a little mean, uses the occasion to grab a hold of something he has always wanted, but was two minutes too late to get.

He says to his brother, “Sure, I will be glad to serve you some soup, if you will give me your birthright.”

Soup - birthright

Soup - Inheritance

Soup - Family leadership

Soup - Family blessing

Soup - Family control

Soup?

Well Esau must be really hungry. And to be honest, maybe not too bright, as he responds to Jacob by saying. “I am so hungry. I will give you my birthright! I swear.”

Well, that was that.

Jacob goes on to be Israel, the father of the 12 tribes, the patriarch of the kingdom.

The nation of Israel is referred to as Jacob over 30 times in the Psalms and almost 90 times in the prophets while Esau is relegated to the trash Heap of bad decisions.

He gave up his birthright for soup, must been some mighty fine soup.

You have heard of people giving up their birthright or their inheritance for something noble, a prince gives up his claim to the throne because he is in love, a millionaire’s child gives up her inheritance because she has taken a religious vow of poverty. But for a bowl of soup?!? Wow.

As I read the story, I confess my concern that many within the Christian community, national Christian leaders, churches, pastors, and lay folks have traded their spiritual birthright for the soup of political power and prestige. They have given up their birthright to gain a seat at a table where they do not belong. I cannot imagine that it will end well for the church as it’s reputation is further tarnished and its spiritual authority is lost.

There is another story in the scriptures about giving up a birthright. You know it well.

There is in Christian theology an understanding that the God-head exists in three persons or personalities- There is the Creator, there is the υιός, there is the Holy Spirit. As Christians explain it, there is a moment in time, or a timeless moment, when the υιός του θεού, son of God, made a proclamation of liberation and chose to abandon the divine birthright for the sake of humanity, for women and men, for you and me.

The Apostle Paul quotes a first century hymn in Philippians 2 when he writes, Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: “Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings. When he found himself in the form of a human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” These are the words people sang as they gathered to worship.

Wow.

Giving up his birthright as deity, to come to us.

Giving up the glory, to be in our midst.

Giving up the majesty, to encounter humanity.

Giving up the divine privilege, to show us what a loving God looks like.

Giving up that for what?

To start life as a refugee with a bounty on his head,

to grow up in poverty,

to be misunderstood,

to be shamed,

to be judged,

to be rejected,

to be so alone that the presence of God seemed impossibly far away,

to experience the last breath of human life.

St. Augustine describes it this way, “Humanity’s maker was made human that He,

Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother's breast;

that the Bread of Life might hunger,

the Fountain might thirst,

the Light would enter the darkness,

the Way might be exhausted on its journey;

that Truth might be accused by false witnesses,

that the Teacher of peace might be beaten with whips,

the Foundation of the universe might be suspended on wood;

that Strength might grow weak;

that the Healer might be wounded;

that Life might die.”

That is the noble act of giving up a birthright.

For what, for whom, would you give up yours?

Amen.

Worship

10:30 AM

July 5, 2020

From the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes

At Second Baptist Church https://www.facebook.com/155120191289/live/

On Facebook or at 2ndbc.org/sermons

Prelude Marilyn Short

"We Come, O Christ, to You"

arr. by Colin Mawby

Welcome David Menninger

Call to Worship Judi Mechem

Remembering by Alora M. Knight

When sleepless I lie,

As the hours slip by,

I go walking the paths back home.

I hear the meadowlark's song

As I amble along

In this fanciful way that I roam.

As my memories clutter,

A tractor's soft mutter

Is providing new chocolate brown fields

For the ground to be seeded

When spring planting is needed.

A plan for which all nature yields.

A tinkling cowbell

Tells me all is now well

With the herd contentedly grazing.

Mother cows keep an eye,

While their newborns race by

With a speed that is simply amazing.

Thunderclouds overhead

Start to fill me with dread,

For I know that soon it will storm.

I cannot complain.

In fact, I love rain

As long as I'm in where it's warm.

As my feet stir the dust

I know that I must

Leave my childhood memories behind.

Still, it's a comfort to know

That wherever I go,

They will always be there in my mind.

Greeting Time

Lord’s Prayer Brad Short

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name,

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done,

On earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our sins,

As we forgive those who have sinned against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil,

For Thine is the Kingdom,

And the power,

And the glory, forever.

Amen.

Solo Monica Eppinger

"Brethren, We Have Met to Worship"

Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God;

will you pray with all your power, while we try to preach the Word?

All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down:

brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.

Sisters, will you join and help us? Moses' sister aided him;

will you help the trembling mourners who are struggling hard with sin?

Tell them all about the Savior - tell them that he will be found:

Sisters, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.

Let us pause before our Maker and in silence hear his voice;

Christ the Living Word now meets us; in his truth let us rejoice.

What we are should not appall us for his mercy meets us here;

we are now made one in Jesus, may our worship be sincere.

Let us love our God supremely, let us love each other too;

let us love and pray for sinners till our God makes all things new.

Then he'll call us home to heaven, at his table we'll sit down;

Christ will gird himself and serve us with sweet manna all around.

Scripture Judi Mechem

How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!

It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, Flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes.

It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion.

Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.

Psalm 133

Message Pastor Steve

Homecoming

Interlude Marilyn Short

"It Is Well With My Soul"

arr. by Mark Hayes

Solo Brad Short

"How Beautiful"

by Twila Paris, arr. by Craig Courtney

How beautiful the hands that served

the wine and the bread and the sons of the earth.

How beautiful the feet that walked

the long dusty roads and the hill to the cross.

How beautiful is the body of Christ.

How beautiful the heart that bled,

that took all my sin and bore it instead.

How beautiful the tender eyes

that choose to forgive and never despise.

And as He laid down His life, we offer this sacrifice:

that we will live just as He died, willing to pay the price.

How beautiful the radiant Bride

who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes.

How beautiful when humble hearts

give the fruit of pure lives so that others may live.

How beautiful the feet that bring

the sound of good news and the love of the King.

How beautiful the hands that serve

the wine and the bread and the sons of the earth.

Sharing Communion

Benediction

Postlude Marilyn Short

"Allegretto"

by J. Hanisch

Galatians 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

--

It is 1981. Judi and I are leaving a large shopping mall in Indianapolis and walking toward our car.

I become aware of two young black men walking behind us. An uneasiness comes over me, and I find myself saying to Judi that we need to hurry up and get to the car.

So we pick up our pace, (this is back in the day when I could pick up my pace).

When we get to the car, I nervously fumble with my keys and can’t get them in the door lock before the two black men are upon us,

and pass us by

and continue to walk on.

For them, it was one more moment in a litany of moments wherein white people were afraid of them because of the color of their skin.

The incident bothered me deeply. Not the actual events, but my reaction.

Fact: there was nothing that had ever happened to me,

no experience I ever had,

no trauma or drama that should have led me to believe that two people walking behind me were a threat to me simply because they were black. But I was afraid.

Why?

I was an enthralled with Dr. King, whose books “strength of love” and “why we can’t wait” were life-changing for me as a young adult. I saw myself as enlightened, quite confident that there was no prejudice in me. So, why was I in the south parking lot at Washington Square, seized by an irrational fear of two young black men walking.

Why?

That question lingers to this day, 39 years later. Why? What was it that caused me to be afraid?

Was it the racial stereotyping of African Americans I saw on TV?

Was it the depiction of black people on the evening news?

Was it the distorted and misused statistics that were often quoted about black crime?

Was it things I heard in school hallways as I was growing up?

Was it the vilification of black people in political discourse?

I would never have guessed that the fear I felt that day was inside of me. From where did it come?

I know for certain that nothing ever happened to me personally that might be the root of that fear.

And yet . . .

The rest of this message represents my attempt to answer that question. Why?

According to Ibram X. Kendi, racism is a marriage of racist ideas and racist policies.

These racist ideas and policies have been perpetuated over the years through stories, through myths and through lies told to bolster the idea that people who are not like us

are inferior to us

are different from us

and dangerous to us

and therefore, must be kept in check.

Systems, both structural and informal, help standardize racism and induce unfounded fear toward people of color, toward immigrants, toward anybody who is other.

I am convinced that most of us are victims of this fear-bating, society wide racism.

People of color have taken the brunt, of course, as they have experienced the pain of discrimination and have experienced violence against their bodies, because a direct consequence of fear induced racism is violence against the other. History is replete with examples; as is the evening news.

But I think a lot of white folks are also victims in a prevailing culture of fear and tribal indoctrination that causes us to see black and brown people as essentially different and fear-worthy.

This racist indoctrination has repeated itself through successive generations, over the decades, over the centuries and leads to a place

of massive distrust,

of unfounded fears,

of ever more destructive policies that lead to ever more oppressive attitudes and behavior toward those we are taught to fear.

White people have been victims on the other side of racism- as it has taught us to fear, and to hate.

It is time for us to declare that we will no longer be victims of fear and that we will stand against racism in all its forms.

The very first thing that we can do is to confess that we have been duped. Racism is a construct used to keep people in their place. And as a white people, We have, in a myriad of ways, been influenced to believe people who are different than us are a threat to us.

But here’s some truth:

Some people of color are bad people,

Some white people are bad people.

But, most people, regardless of race, are decent, caring folks who love their families and their friends and just want to figure out a way to get by in this world.

We have been fooled into thinking something else. We have been coached to look at people who are different than us with suspicion. It has been falsely instilled in us to be afraid of young black men walking behind us in a parking lot.

Of course, the two black men walking behind you in the parking lot could mean you harm, but so could two white men, or two women, or two people covered in tattoos, or two guys in business suits. There is reason for men and women to be aware of their surroundings.

But, It is a false narrative to believe that just because people are other than you that they are out to get you. We must call that narrative what it is- a racist lie.

The second thing, it seems to me, that we must do is embrace the fact that we are all One people.

Systems:

governmental systems,

justice systems,

religious systems,

systems that control wealth,

separate us into categories,

categories that are reinforced all of our lives.

But the Scripture teaches us something different. We learn that we are One in Christ Jesus, that there is neither male or female, slave or free, Jew, Gentile, black or white or brown, straight or gay or trans, but that we are One in Christ.

And since the scripture also teaches that Christ is the agent through which creation takes place, I take that Oneness to mean that we are all One as part of the Creator’s work.

We are one family, all equally children of God.

Rather than irrationally fear members of our family, we are called to embrace each other as beloved of God.

And of course it is important to recognize that within our one family, there is incredible diversity of culture and tradition. It is so important for all of us to celebrate diverse cultures around us even as we celebrate our oneness.

A third thing we can do to counter this racist paradigm in which we live is to intentionally get to know people who come from different cultures, who have different skin tones, who worship differently, who identify differently. This is so simple, yet so essential to the breaking down of racial barriers. I am convinced, through personal experience, that the surest way to defeat prejudice and racism in your own life is to get to know people who appear to be different than you.

And a fourth thing that strikes me as necessary if we desire a world free of racism is that we must work together for change.

Many of us have participated in peaceful protests to call attention to the scourge of racism and racist policies.

And beyond the protests, there are many ways to work together to create change. Read.

Pray.

Engage.

Volunteer.

Sign-up.

Serve.

Stand up.

Be heard.

March.

Give.

Rise up together.

Vote!

For change, systemic change, to take place,

for personal attitudes to evolve,

We must stand together for justice.

We must stand together for fairness.

We must stand together and work toward the transformation of all systems that preserve racism.

It is in response to this racist challenge, and in response to violence against black bodies, that we say Black Lives Matter.

When I say Black Lives Matter, I’m not saying That all other lives matter less and I’m not being anti-police. I happen to believe that you can affirm that every life matters and respect proper policing and also stand up for the rights of those who are often oppressed by the system.

I recently read a re-imagining of one of Jesus’ great parables. It goes something like this.

There is a shepherd who has 100 sheep.

One of them goes missing, and is in danger and so the shepherd leaves the 99 to focus on the one at risk.

The 99 shout out, “Why are you focusing on that one. Don’t we matter as well?”

The shepherd responds, “Of course you matter, but right now we must focus on the one who is in danger, the one who is most at risk.”

Black Lives Matter means it is time to focus on preserving lives that in the scheme of history, have not seemed to matter much.

And the truth is that all lives can’t matter until black lives do matter. Let’s work together for it.

Amen.

Genesis 21: 8 - 17

Isaac grew and stopped nursing. On the day he stopped nursing, Abraham prepared a huge banquet.

Sarah saw Hagar’s son laughing, the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.

So she said to Abraham, “Send this servant away with her son! This servant’s son won’t share the inheritance with my son Isaac.”

This upset Abraham terribly because the boy was his son.

God said to Abraham, “Don’t be upset about the boy and your servant. Do everything Sarah tells you to do because your descendants will be traced through Isaac. But I will make of your servant’s son a great nation too, because he is also your descendant.”

Abraham got up early in the morning, took some bread and a flask of water, and gave it to Hagar. He put the boy in her shoulder sling and sent her away.

She left and wandered through the desert near Beer-sheba. Finally the water in the flask ran out, and she put the boy down under one of the desert shrubs.

She walked away from him about as far as a bow shot and sat down, telling herself, I can’t bear to see the boy die. She sat at a distance, cried out in grief, and wept.

God heard the boy’s cries, and God’s messenger called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “Hagar! What’s wrong? Don’t be afraid. God has heard the boy’s cries over there.

--

I am bemused, not amused, bemused whenever I hear people, pastors, teachers, and sometimes national religious leaders refer to another religion as a religion of hate. They will say that the religion has a bent toward violence.

Often when they say this, they point to the actions of some adherents to that religion and the violence they do. They say this while ignoring the vast number of the religion’s practitioners who are simply trying to live out their faith. A reality that is true for Christians as well, even though there have been a plethora of violent groups that have grown out of Christian culture, who have perverted biblical teachings and have exchanged love for hate.

The other thing that people point to as evidence that the religion of which they speak is plagued by hate and violence is the religion’s holy book. They will say all you have to do is look at the words of their book and you can see the espousal of violence everywhere. I cock my head like a dog hearing a strange noise when I hear this and I think to myself, have you never read the Bible? Have you not read the “kill every man, woman, child, dog and cow” passages in the scripture? Have you not read the prescriptions to kill people if they break the rules? Have you not seen the violence and the cruelty done in our holy book?

But actually, I don’t think that the problem is that people haven’t read the Bible. I think, rather, that we have not been invited to read the Bible in the raw. Instead, we are invited to read the Bible and sanitize it and to interpret it in such a way that we dismiss the blood and gore.

It begins when we are young and we are taught the great stories found in the scripture. Of course the blood and gore are left out as they are stories being told to children, and the focus is on faith and heroics and God‘s goodness.

And then as we become adults, we read all of the story- blood, guts, and mayhem, but we are not really invited to grapple with it. Instead we are often given explanations which would make no sense in other any other discussion except one about religion, and after dismissing the troubling parts, we are instructed to focus on faithfulness and endurance and heroics and the work of God.

I want to give us permission to read the Bible in the raw. Because that’s the way it is written. And those original storytellers had a reason for not sanitizing the stories when they were first presented. They wanted us to grapple with the nitty gritty.

Let’s talk about our friends Abraham and Sarah. Abraham is considered the father of many nations, and the New Testament book of Hebrews lists Sarah and Abraham among the giants of faith.

But when you read their story in the raw, there are some incredibly disturbing things that the storytellers didn’t choose to leave out, so neither should we. When we read the scripture in the raw, it may cause us to say “yikes,” but that’s OK.

Abraham and Sarah lived in Haran, when God showed up and told them that they needed to move south and promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations. Abraham and Sarah, by faith, responded to God by packing up and moving south.

They traveled 400 miles from Haran and settled in the Negev, in what is now southern Israel. Since Abraham believed he was to be the father of many nations, he and Sarah tried to conceive but were unable.

While they were in the Negev, famine visited the land.

Abraham and Sarah were forced to head further south to Egypt to find food.

As they came to Egypt, Abraham feared that one of the leaders in Egypt might decide that they wanted Sarah. He feared that they might kill him, so that they could take Sarah to be their own.

So, Abraham came up with an idea. Abraham said to Sarah, “When we get to Egypt, tell everybody there that you’re my sister. That way if they find you desirable they will just take you, but not kill me.” Hear Abraham’s plan again- he is willing to trade his wife, in order that he might stay unharmed. Yikes

And sure enough that’s what happened. Sarah was approached by the king. She told him that she was Abraham’s sister, and the king took her as a part of his harem. He fully intended to have sex with her, but God intervened and all sorts of terrible things began to happen to the king. And so he asked Sarah if she knew why he was suddenly cursed. Sarah admitted that Abraham was her husband and that God was protecting her.

The king turned Sarah back over to Abraham in a heartbeat and to help cool the wrath of God gave them a bunch of stuff including, according to Islamic literature, his own daughter Hagar as a slave. Yikes!

Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and the stash that they got from the king of Egypt returned to Canaan. Sarah and Abraham continued to fail in their plan to have children.

Sarah was so desperate that she made what had to be ridiculously hard decision. She decided to give her slave Hagar to Abraham so that Abraham might produce children through her. Yikes!

Again I’m sure this was a hard decision for Sarah, but nothing compared to what happened to Hager, who because she was a slave, was forced to have sex with Abraham. In modern culture, we would call that rape. Yikes!

Hagar becomes pregnant and she gave birth to a son whom she named Ishmael. Ishmael grew up with Hagar as his mom and Abraham as his dad and Sarah became increasing jealous of the whole thing.

It’s not clear- one the one hand it appears that Ismael is barely older than Issac, on the other, it appears about 14 years pass between Ishmael’s birth and the divine visit to Abraham where Abraham and Sarah were informed that Sarah would indeed become pregnant and have a child.

And that’s what happened. Sarah gave birth to Isaac. When Isaac was about three they had a ceremony to celebrate his movement from baby to child, with a weaning party. During it, Sarah watched in dismay as Ishmael played and teased and acted like an older brother to Isaac.

Sarah exploded in jealousy and long held hatred came to the surface as She demanded Abraham to get rid of Hagar and that boy. Yikes!

This was hard for Abraham because he loved Ishmael and cared for Hager. But Sarah demanded it, and it appears from the scripture that God okayed it, and so Abraham sent Ishmael and Hagar into the desert with bread and water. Yikes!

Here God took over and took care of Hagar and Ishmael and Ishmael would grow to be the father of many nations as well.

In Islamic literature, when Sarah tells Abraham to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael, Abraham joins them on a journey that takes them to present day Mecca.

Here Abraham and Ishmael built the kaabah, the sacred shrine to which all adherents of Islam face as they pray every day.

And then Abraham left Hagar and Ishmael in the desert with some dates and water, and returned to Palestine. Yikes!

In both the Bible and in Islam, God shows up, protects Hagar and Issac, and guides them to safety.

So, as we read this story in sanitized fashion, we focus on Abraham the old guy and his wife Sarah who had a not improbable, but impossible, baby. We understand this as part of the fulfilling of God‘s promise to Abraham.

But a deeper, more raw, dive into the story as it is presented is much more intriguing and terrible, with drama, deception, cowardice, rape, jealousy, and abandonment all rolled into one massive messy story.

Personally I like the story in the raw, because it makes me grapple with things, to deal with issues of humanity and divinity.

The lesson of God’s fulfilling promise should not be missed. The lesson that God was faithful to Abraham and Sarah should not be discounted. But neither should the struggle of Hagar and the pain of abandoning a child in the desert be passed over.

Along with all these other lessons, is the lesson that God is willing to use frail, incomplete, not nearly close to perfect human beings, people who, on the surface are completely unworthy to represent God‘s goodness, who do truly reprehensible things, to be heroes in the faith.

I find this comforting because I know my degree of failure, I know that I come up short all the time, and still want to believe that God can use me. And so I find these stories of incredibly flawed characters who are used by God to be quite therapeutic.

These stories remind us that God is bigger than our mess.

I am reminded of the chorus of the great old invitation hymn,

“Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin!”

Amen and amen.

Genesis 1 in the Message Bible

First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

God spoke: “Light!” And light appeared. God saw that light was good and separated light from dark. God named the light Day, he named the dark Night. It was evening, it was morning— Day One.

God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature.

He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!

Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six.

When I get complemented, it is usually for one of two things. The first thing that I get complimented for, obviously, is my fashion sense. Check out these shoes.

The other thing for which I get complemented more than anything else is my perceived open mindedness and non-judgmental attitude. I don’t know that it holds true, but it is a compliment that I have been getting since I was very young in the ministry. And it is fair to say that It is not only said to me as a compliment, but as a criticism as well.

My projection of open mindedness grows out of my understanding of grace and acceptance that is at the heart of my understanding of God. If I am loved by God, in my ridiculousness, then surely everybody is loved and accepted and graced by the Creator and therefore I should give folks around me a break.

I think the other piece at work in my perceived open mindedness and non-judgementalism was taught to me in the very early days of faith, actually even before faith took root.

My grandpa Polly was as Baptist as Baptist could be, a Deacon, a leader at the church, there every time the doors were open.

When I was a teenager, he and I would ride around Frankfort in his car and - have conversations about life.

I had some pretty bizarre ideas that I would throw out to him, (Maybe hoping to put him on the spot), I might spout the most recent philosophical pondering of Marc Bolan of T Rex or new theological concepts I was getting from reading the back cover of Jethro Tull‘s aqualung album, or whatever.

These ideas would’ve been ridiculous to Polly. But when I would talk to him he would never scold me or tell me I was stupid or tell me I was wrong, he would nod his head as I spoke, and then ask questions. I didn’t realize it at the time, but invariably I would talk myself out of the very philosophical arguments I was making. But it all happened as he smiled and nodded and never once got all Judgy.

The other major influence in my development came on the Sunday I went forward in church as a 15-year-old. I’d become a Christian on Friday night, and went to church with my mom on Sunday morning.

When the pastor, my pastor, Darryl Paris, gave the invitation, I stepped out of the pew and walked to the front of the sanctuary to profess my faith.

After the service Darryl and I went down to his office, and there he did the typical pastoral stuff as he led me through campus crusade’s four spiritual laws and talked about what it meant to be a follower of Jesus.

He asked me if I had any questions. I found myself saying, “You know. I think evolution is a real thing and I know a lot of church folks condemn the idea of it. Can I be Christian and believe in evolution?

I honestly don’t even know where that question came from, Evolution was not a make-it or break-it core value to me, but still, I found myself asking whether my acceptance of evolution would violate my new found faith. Maybe I was just testing him?

Darryl looked at me, smiled, and asked “why would believing in evolution keep you from being a Christian?” Which led to a deeper discussion about faith and the ability to think for oneself.

And that conversation, 47 years ago, at the very beginning of my walk of faith, freed me to think for myself, and also allowed me to see that other people should be able to think, to explore, to question without judgement or condemnation.

And beyond that, maybe because of that conversation with Darrell, I am one of those people who believe that there is not a built in adversarial relationship between science and faith. I don’t believe that science proclaims alternative truths that I must reject so that I can hold onto my Christianity, but rather I believe that science and Faith are two ways of looking at the same realities, with different eyes, that compliment and challenge each other.

As a person of faith, I believe in the connectedness of human beings one to another and in a shared ancestry. And in science, through process of evolution, it is confirmed that the connectivity is a reality. Which then, as a person of faith leads me to reject notions of racism, and bigotry of all sorts because we are in this together.

When science says that our planet is undergoing climate change and that human beings play a significant role in that change, as a person of faith I recognize that I have a responsibility to this planet as one who believes Paul’s words that creation itself is groaning for redemption.

Further, if I take seriously Jesus’ words about treating others the way I want to be treated, I realize that how my generation leaves the created world to those who follow us is just as important as how I treat others who are around me right now As our good friend, the poet Wendell Berry has said, “Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.”

When science tells me that the best way to deal with a contagious virus that has in five months seen the Infection of 6 1/2 million people worldwide with 300,000 deaths, with almost a third of those infections and deaths in the United States is to practice social distancing and to wear a face covering and to wash my stinking hands, then as a person of faith who believes that I am called to love my neighbor as myself, do that- as an act of love.

Forgive my rant, but the popular anti-science rhetoric of the contemporary church drives me a bit batty.

As a person of faith, I understand that God is creator of all and that his creation is complex and beautiful. And then science affirms the depths of that complexity and the height of that beauty.

And when I read that the universe began 13.8 billion years ago as a speck and came into being through a rapid expansion (like a balloon) known as big bang, as a person of faith I have no problem accepting this scientific explanation knowing that at the beginning of that expansion (and permeating throughout that expansion) is God.

And so I don’t read the first few chapters of the book of Genesis as a refutation of the scientific, rather I read these verses as a beautifully majestic piece of storytelling, told in the simplest way to allow people to know that God is creator and that God is creating. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And it was good!”

The biblical account affirms the connectedness of all humanity and all creation.

So what does all this have to do with living in a COVID-19 saturated world that just now seems to be on the brink of a breakthrough in facing the inherent racism that is so ingrained not only in our country but around the world?

For people of faith,

and for people of science,

and for people who think,

and for people who care,

there is an understanding that we are all connected and so, when I treat my brother or sister,

regardless of

their skin color,

their nationality,

the language they speak,

the the gender with which they identify,

the person they love,

or how they pray

with respect and kindness and look out for their well-being, and strive for fairness and justice for them as well as myself, I am in fact being faithful- to God, to science, to common sense.

If religion and science and common sense teach us anything, it is that it makes sense for us to be interested in how others are doing, because we are all in this together, bound by the reality that we are all God’s children!

Amen.

Prayer and Response

How Long O Lord?

How long must those we love suffer through health problems without healing?

How long must the lonely be lonely, the hurting hurt, and the broken struggle?

How long before there is relief for those most vulnerable to poverty, disease and violence?

How long O Lord?

Listen to our prayer.

How long before justice comes to those who are downtrodden and left behind?

How long before the disgrace of racism is revealed to be an evil that cannot stand?

How long O Lord?

Listen to our prayer.

How long until all our brothers and sisters can breathe the fresh air of equality and fairness?

How long until our mothers and fathers can breathe without fear of catching a virus?

How long until face coverings can be hidden in the drawer, and our hands are no longer chapped from hand sanitizer?

How long O Lord?

Listen to our prayer.

How long until the dream is fulfilled that people are judged, not by the color of their skin, or by who they love, or by the amount in their check book, or by how they pray, but by the content of their character and by their status as beloved children of God?

How long O Lord?

Listen to our prayer.

How long before your Kingdom breaks in fully,

where grace and acceptance rule,

where love is currency,

where kindness is vocation?

How Long O Lord?

Listen to our prayer.

Forgive us for impatience, for yearning, for wanting it to be all alright in this moment, and give us courage stand tall, stay masked, speak truth, wash our hands, strive forward and give ourselves in the service of others.

Amen.

Acts 2:1-13 Common English Bible (CEB)

Pentecost

When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

There were pious Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered. They were mystified because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages. They were surprised and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all the people who are speaking Galileans, every one of them? How then can each of us hear them speaking in our native language? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; as well as residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya bordering Cyrene; and visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the mighty works of God in our own languages!” They were all surprised and bewildered. Some asked each other, “What does this mean?” Others jeered at them, saying, “They’re full of new wine!”

Worship

9:00 AM May 24, 2020

From the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes

At Second Baptist Church

On Facebook or at 2ndbc.org/sermons

Prelude Marilyn Short

Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove

arranged by Tedd Smith

Welcome Jay Jensen

Call to Worship Judi Mechem

The best of Human Work Defers

by Wendell Berry

The best of human work defers

always to the in-forming beauty

of nature’s work. But human work,

true to the nature of places

as it should be, is not natural

and is not a mirror held up

to nature. At best it is

the gift of the Heavenly Muse

to the farmer’s art or the poet’s,

by endless learning learned,

forever incomplete.

It is only the Christ-life,

the life undying, given,

received, again given,

that completes our work.

Lord’s Prayer Brad Short

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name,

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done,

On earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our sins,

As we forgive those who have sinned against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil,

For Thine is the Kingdom,

And the power,

And the glory, forever.

Amen.

Scripture Reading Judi Mechem

Acts 1: 1-8

Theophilus, the first scroll I wrote concerned everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning, right up to the day when he was taken up into heaven.

Before he was taken up, working in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus instructed the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed them that he was alive with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days, speaking to them about God’s kingdom.

While they were eating together, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. He said, “This is what you heard from me: John baptized with water, but in only a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

As a result, those who had gathered together asked Jesus, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?”

Jesus replied, “It isn’t for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Solo Brad Short

"The Anchor Holds"

arranged by Bryce Inman

I have journeyed through the long, dark night,

out on the open sea,

by faith alone, sight unknown;

and yet His eyes were watching me.

The anchor holds, though the ship is battered.

The anchor holds, though the sails are torn.

I have fallen on my knees as I face the raging seas,

The anchor holds in spite of the storm.

I've had visions, I've had dreams;

I've even held them in my hand.

But I never knew they would slip right through

like they were only grains of sand.

I have been young - but I'm older now.

And there has been beauty these eyes have seen.

But it was in the night, through the storms of my life,

that's where God proved His love to me.

Message Pastor Steve

Restoration

Interlude Marilyn Short

Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart

arranged by Carol Tornquist

Pastoral Prayer

From Psalm 121

I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

God won’t let your foot slip.

Your protector won’t fall asleep on the job.

No! The protector never sleeps or rests!

The Lord is your protector; the Lord is your shade right beside you. The sun won’t strike you during the day; neither will the moon at night.

The Lord will protect you from all evil; God will protect your very life. The Lord will protect you on your journeys— whether going or coming— from now until forever from now. Amen.

Benediction

“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen”

Postlude Marilyn Short

“The Comforter Has Come

arranged by Carol Tornquist

Acts 17:22-28 Common English Bible (CEB)

Paul stood up in the middle of the council on Mars Hill and said, “People of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way. As I was walking through town and carefully observing your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: ‘To an unknown God.’ What you worship as unknown, I now proclaim to you. God, who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in temples made with human hands. Nor is God served by human hands, as though he needed something, since he is the one who gives life, breath, and everything else. From one person God created every human nation to live on the whole earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands. God made the nations so they would seek him, perhaps even reach out to him and find him. In fact, God isn’t far away from any of us. In God we live, move, and exist. As some of your own poets said, ‘We are his offspring.’