Worship
for the Lord’s Day
June 14,
2020
A Note
before we begin this day’s worship:
Our sessions from both congregations
at Bethesda United Presbyterian Church and Olivet Presbyterian Church met this
past week and made the decision to return to corporate worship on July 5, 2020
barring no significant increase in cases of the coronavirus in our area. We’ve decided to hold a joint service at 10am
at the Bethesda church building for a number of reasons and may continue to do
so throughout the summer.
I
will continue to offer this posted version of our service each Sunday and we
may (key word – MAY) offer a YouTube version or a Streaming version of the
service as well. Our Phone Tree will be
activated to give members details of what they should expect in this new
environment and a letter will be sent to members. If you’ve been following along with this
on-line version of our services and would like to join us in worship, please
drop me a note at revwaltp@gmail.com and I’ll be sure to
give you any details you might need to know for joining us.
As an ally for our black brothers and
sisters, this month, I will be featuring the gifts and talents of black artists
for the weekly Anthem, particularly Negro Spirituals. Last Sunday was the female acapella group,
Sweet Honey in the Rock singing Wade in the Water. Today, Hold On by a trio of talented
young black men called Dem Singers. The
God Who Sees on June 21 is a departure from the slavery-era inspired hymns,
but is sung by an amazing black female artist and tells an incredible story
through the biblical narrative, I hope you end up being as moved by it as I was.
And finally, the last Sunday in June we’ll hear The Fisk Jubilee Singers, sing Steal
Away.
Although I’ll give respectful tribute
to the underlying and hidden meanings of each of these spirituals, I’ll also be
using the songs in the sermon message, outside the bounds of those hidden
meanings. I don’t want to be accused of
misappropriation, so I’m trying to make it clear that these songs were written
by slaves in order to teach their children, to undermine their owners, often to
help them escape to freedom, and to subjugate their own experiences at the
hands of a cruel system. In the 20th
and 21st Century, having predominantly grown up in the 80’s, it is
unfathomable to me that slavery EVER existed – let alone the treatment blacks
received at the hand of their owners.
However, we still participate, both overtly and silently, in the current
treatment of Black Americans.
I
bring this up now in light of where we are today in America and will talk about
it all month long because we, as white folk, can do better. We MUST do better.
One final note: last week there was some confusion about me using the small "g" in god often in my sermon. Just so you know and understand, I did this deliberately, as the cultures of Africa and the peoples brought here during the slave trade often believed in polytheistic gods and it wasn't until later in their conversion to Christianity that the idea of a Monotheistic God was fully adopted.
Let’s
begin:
Opening
Prayer
Lord,
we want to follow You wherever You lead. Reach out to us this day, stirring our souls
and spirits with the winds of Your power that we may faithfully be Your
disciples. For we ask this in Jesus’
Name. AMEN.
Prayer
of Confession
Most Holy Lord, You call us to be a priestly
people and a holy nation, but we, like lost sheep, go astray. We know that peace comes through openness to
our neighbors, but we make little effort to crash the walls between us. We know that the soft answer turns away
wrath, but we greet our enemies with hard words and even harder looks. We know that self-giving breeds self-givers,
but we refuse others the grace with which You treat us. We criticize fellow believers for not
patterning their lives after Jesus, yet we ourselves do not mirror his
life. Forgive us, O God, for our
betrayal of Your call to be faithful followers of Your Son. Let us take our place at the foot of the
mountain of revelation. Open our ears
that we might hear Your commandments, and transform our hearts that we might
keep Your covenant. AMEN
Words
of Assurance
Although following Jesus is difficult, you can
be assured that God is always with you, bringing you encouragement, strength,
and peace. Rise up and follow the one
who offers his life for you. AMEN
Affirmation
of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
I believe
in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His
only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost; born of the Virgin
Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He
descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended
into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from
thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic
church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of
the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
Pastoral
Prayer
We need Your healing love today, O Lord. Create in us a new heart of compassion, as
Christ has called us to be witnesses of redemption rather than alienation. Hold us gently. Heal us. Enable us to truly be Your disciples, O
Christ.
Mighty and Holy God, we are thankful for the
life you have given to us and for your renewing Holy Spirit that meets us with
challenge and comfort. We pray for the
community of faith wherever they may be today; gathered together in churches or
parks, in parking lots or fire halls, in homes with others or at home alone,
that we may be instruments of peace on earth.
Guide our church and all believers around the world to extend the grace
of Jesus Christ through service and commitment to faith and understanding.
Make
us mindful of those from whom the goodness and abundance of Your creation are
hidden; of those who have been dispossessed from their homes and lands; of
those unable to find food and bread.
Strengthen our hands to reach out to those living in fear and in the
shadows of violence. Give us Your Holy
Spirit to turn our wishes for justice into expressions of concern. Make our prayers into efforts on our own part
towards justice and grace.
We
lift up to You our requests for healing, comfort, compassion and understanding
for our neighbors and loved ones. I want
to especially lift up to You in prayer for….(name those whom you’ve been
praying for this week)
Jesus, Your Son, taught us a prayer
that we often say together; 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. Forgive us
our debts as we forgive our debtors. 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
Readings
Old
Testament: Genesis
18:1-15
The Lord appeared
to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the
heat of the day. 2He looked up and saw three men
standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet
them, and bowed down to the ground. 3He said,
“My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4Let a
little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the
tree. 5Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves,
and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they
said, “Do as you have said.” 6And
Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three
measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7Abraham
ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant,
who hastened to prepare it. 8Then he
took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them;
and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9They said to him, “Where is your
wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10Then one
said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall
have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11Now
Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah
after the manner of women. 12So Sarah
laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old,
shall I have pleasure?” 13The Lord said to
Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that
I am old?’ 14Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will
return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15But Sarah
denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you
did laugh.”
New
Testament: Romans
5:1-8
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through
whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in
our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3And not
only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces
endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces
hope, 5and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been
poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
6For while we were still weak, at
the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7Indeed,
rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person
someone might actually dare to die. 8But God
proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Noah,
Noah, let me come in.
Doors all
fastened and the windows pinned.
Keep your
hands on that plow. Hold on.
Noah
said, “You done lost your track.
Can’t
plow straight and keep a-lookin’ back.”
Keep your
hand on that plow and hold on.
Hold on. (Hold on.)
Hold on. (Hold on.)
Keep your
hand on that plow and hold on.
Hold
on. (Hold on.) Hold on.
(Hold on.)
Keep
your hand on that plow and hold on.
Mary had
a golden chain.
Every
link spelled with Jesus name.
Keep your
hand on the plow hold on.
All that
chain had never been tied.
Every
round goes higher and higher.
Keep your
hand on that plow and hold on.
Hold on. (Hold on.)
Hold on. (Hold on.)
Keep your
hand on that plow and hold on.
Hold on. (Hold on.)
Hold on. (Hold on.)
Keep your
hand on that plow and hold on.
(Oooh.)
If you
want to get to heaven, now I’ll tell you how.
Keep your
hand on that gospel plow.
Keep your
hand on that plow. Just hold on.
All that
chain had never tied.
Every
round goes higher and higher.
Keep your
hand on that plow and hold on.
Hold on. (Hold on.)
Hold on. (Hold on.)
Keep your
hand on that plow. Just hold on.
Hold on. (Hold on.)
Hold on. (Hold on.)
Keep your
hand on that plow.
Keep your
hand on that plow.
Keep your
hand on that plow.
And hold
on.
Sermon
– Hold On
Today’s African American
spiritual, Hold On, has been used by quite a few generations and has changed
over the years. Originally, this song
was a slave era hymn sung in the fields by the workers. Being adopted by various groups and eras to
tell their story, both the lyrics and the message have changed. It was first recorded by the Hall Johnson
Negro Choir in 1930, then known by the title Keep Yo’ Hand on the Plow. But by 1942, versions began to appear with a
change in lyrics to attack the United Nations and the need for solidarity
against fascism. The message changed
from keeping the faith, to keeping up the fight. And rather than Keep Yo’ Hand on the Plow, it
changed to Keep Your Hand on That Gun.
In the 1960’s there was a similar re-texting of the lyrics for a
rallying cry for Civil Rights and the change became Keep Your Eyes on the
Prize. This version by Dem Singers
goes back to part of its original roots, although alternative lyrics have been
suggested that the slaves may have sung.
These spirituals acted as a
means for emotional release and encouragement while the slaves worked long,
difficult hours in the fields. Whether
they did a good job or not, the slaves were often brutally whipped, beaten,
raped and sold over and over again as property.
These songs, as we saw in Wade in the Water last week, were also
often coded messages to guide slaves to freedom.
Obviously, the words to this
song imply plowing the field and that the slaves should be working hard at the
task at hand, making sure that the rows were being plowed correctly, not
looking back or keeping their eyes on anything other than plowing or the rows
would no longer be straight, while also teaching
some biblical principles. There’s a solid
reference to the story told in Luke 9:57-62.
As they were going along the
road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and
birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury
my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let
the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of
God.” Another said, “I will follow you,
Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to
the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
There are additional biblical
references in the song; the first one about Noah and wanting to get on board
the ark, but the ark is shuttered and ready to go; the second one about Mary
and her golden chain. I’ve read that the
original line had “Mary wore three links of chain, each link had my Jesus name.” The hidden messages behind many of the verses
have been lost to history, but historians have guessed what many of the lyrics
might have meant.
In reference to the Noah line,
when a slave escaped via the Underground Railroad along the way there were
homes that were safe and would harbor fugitives, ushering them on to the next
leg of the journey, often giving them water and some food to eat. But now and then, the authorities might be
observing the home and they weren’t safe, so this line in the song served as a
caution.
The refrain often meant that
it was difficult to leave your family behind, but sometimes that window of
escape was narrow and you’d have to leave without them, not looking back or you’d
miss the opportunity to escape. There’s
some reference that it may have also meant something about in which direction
to escape, about going straight.
The stanza regarding Mary is
mostly speculative as to its meaning. It
could have meant any number of things.
Some scholars believe that the links reference the slave’s chains,
others believe that it had more to do with the long chain of helpers and homes
leading them to safety, every part of the journey leading north (or higher and
higher) to freedom.
Our Old
Testament passage this morning is the story of Abraham and the visitors who
come to bring word from the Lord that he and his wife Sarah, although advanced
in years and Sarah barren of having children, that they would become the
parents of a mighty nation. That their
offspring would be more numerous than the stars in the heavens. Sarah did not believe them and laughed at such
folly. How could she, in her advanced
years and having tried for many of them to have children, ever have them now? It was almost a cruel joke to wave the
promise of something that seemed impossible in front of her.
This past
week I watched the movie, Just Mercy. It’s
a true story of a black man by the name of Walter “Johnny D” McMillan, accused in
1986 and sentenced to die for the murder of an 18 year old white woman in Alabama
and the story of a Harvard Lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, who comes to the south to
help death row inmates who never got a fair trial because they lacked the funds
to hire a good lawyer. No evidence was
ever given in the case, except the word of a convicted felon who said he’d witnessed
the murder in exchange for a lighter sentence in his own pending trial. Stevenson repeatedly encounters a system that placed
barriers to justice for black people in the south.
One of the
strongest connections to our Old Testament lesson this morning is that one of
the barriers to helping Johnny D, was Johnny D himself. When other lawyers before Stevenson would
immediately say to him, “You have nothing to worry about. There’s no evidence in your case.” Then time and time again, the police, the
court, and the system would betray him, Johnny D felt that the promises were empty. In one poignant moment (in my own paraphrase
of the moment) Johnny D explains that “when your whole life you’re told that
you’re nothing, when white folk look at you in fear just because you are a
different color, when you can’t do the same things that white folk do, when you
know that you are completely innocent of a crime and no one believes you and
yet they believe the words of a known felon, when people jump to easy answers,
when your own family and friends seem to fall away over the years, you wonder
about your own worth, you wonder if you really are the monster they see and you
forget who you really are.”
Our passage from Romans in the
New Testament must have been emblazoned upon the hearts and spirits of those
who found themselves in slavery, imprisoned, brutally beaten and raped. How could the message of suffering leading to
hope not have had an impact? It
continues to have an impact on all those who suffer today. The gospel message that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope is a balm for
those who are oppressed and has been adopted and clung to by those around the
world in various time periods.
Many years ago, I came across an
80/90’s acapella male singing group called the Flirtations (not the same group
as the 60’s R&B women’s singing group by the same name). At one of their concerts I heard them sing a
song that reverberated within my heart and soul at the time. It was a time of inner conflict and confusion
for me. I spent years trying to find the
song again. I couldn’t remember many of
the specific lines, but knew the song was about being oppressed and being told that
you are worth nothing. The one line I
could remember comes at the end of the song – “Though you may disappear, you’re
not forgotten here. And I will say to
you, I will do what I can do….Hold on.” I
thought perhaps it had roots as a slave-era song and wanted to use it as part
of this month’s theme. I started to
research it more diligently. I used the
final Hold On as perhaps the title of the song and found instead today’s
spiritual which I immediately fell in love with. I did eventually find the original song that
has played in my mind for years. It was written
by Peter Gabriel and called Wallflower, inspired by an Amnesty International
pamphlet he read that dealt with political prisoners in Latin America,
prisoners of conscience, people being tortured.
The song gradually builds as it offers words of encouragement, exhorting,
“hold on.” The fact sheet about the song
says that although the song “has a specific inspiration, many fans find it
relates to their own personal struggles.”
Although, I used a different
song for today’s inspiration, I wouldn’t you to know where the original inspiration
came from and the line that runs through my head and heart often, “Though you
may disappear, you’re not forgotten here.
And I will say to you, I will do what I can do…..Hold on.”
Here’s a link to the full song
by the Flirtations, if you want to listen to it: Wallflower
I know that
there are many who are frustrated by the current stream of protests for Black
Lives Matter that have sometimes led to riots and violence. But it is a cause that we all need to care
about. I heard a story about this when
people began saying back to the Black Lives Matter, that All Lives Matter. It was a telling of the lost sheep. Jesus went to look for the sheep that was in
danger of being lost. Jesus left the
other 99 behind. It wasn’t that he didn’t
care about those other 99 sheep. He
loved them just as much, but they weren’t in danger at the time. Jesus left the 99 to find, protect, help, and
especially love the one sheep that needed it.
And so it is with today’s Black Lives Matter. Of course, All Lives Matter, but that isn’t
the problem right now. The problem is
that, right now, our black brothers and sisters haven’t received the equitable
justice that they deserve and we need to find a way to fix that in our hearts, in
our culture, and in our world today.
We cannot have a system that
treats people differently from the start because of the color of their
skin. We cannot be individuals who jump
to conclusions about someone, base our thoughts and feelings about them simply
because of the color of their skin. All
of us are created in the image of God.
You may say, “well, of course.”
You may say that “I’m not a racist and I don’t see color.” But it is so deeply ingrained in our culture
and our society that we (as white folk) simply can’t and don’t see how they
affect our black brothers and sisters every day of their lives.
Langston Hughes, an early 20th Century African
American poet, once said:
"Tomorrow, I'll sit at the table when company comes.
Nobody'll dare say to me, 'Eat in the kitchen,' then. Besides, they'll see how
beautiful I am and be ashamed. I, too, am America."
And I will say…and I hope you can say it with me; to our
black brothers and sisters in our community and in our nation and in our world:
You’re not forgotten here.
I will say to you, “I will do what I can do.”
Hold On.
Benediction
The fields of
peace and justice and love are not ripe unto harvest. They have been plowed and planted, but they
have yet to be cultivated with care and diligence. Send us forth into those fields, O God, as
laborers in your service. Let them be
made ready for the harvest. Let us and
our neighbors around the globe live in love and peace, with justice for
all. AMEN
