What do you say? After all the special prayers, after all the pastoral care,
your church and all the people just stumbling shocked into our sanctuaries are
looking to you to speak a word from the Lord on behalf of God. What will you
preach on Sunday?
Only Holy Spirit working through your prayers, your thoughts, your observations,
your intuitions, your study can tell you what to preach. What I offer here instead
is a reminder of how to think through the homiletic process theologically in
order to speak a word from the Lord into your particular situation.
First of all, as is sometimes the response of clergy to socio-political issues,
we dare not bury our heads in the sand and say nothing because we don't know
what to say. The people in the pews before us are expecting us to say something
of God which is what they now see is holding all of life together. No one really
wants us to proffer yet another opinion such as those heard on the plethora
of newscasts. We're the ones called to speak God's news in all of this tragedy.
But it's time to get real, real Real. People have left our churches because
we've been cheerfully handing out platitudes while the rest of the world has
been suffering like this all along-too often due to our own less-than-compassionate
public policy that we Christians have failed to denounce as contrary to the
Kingdom of God's shalom. Please hear the following as a theological, not ideological,
condemnation because it comes from Ezekiel 33:1-9-read it. I don't want to be
clergy bashing here, but we pastors have failed our country and, more importantly,
our God. We have gotten rich, amusing ourselves to boredom, ignoring those who
suffer. My own denomination has been so busy playing Keystone bedroom Cops,
spending our time arguing over who's righteous enough to be pastor, that it
has neglected to say much about public policies that oppress people. Why? Why
were we silent on the public policies (both Democrat and Republican) meant to
protect our wealth and power that were so oppressive to others that madmen are
able to recruit loyalists for suicide missions from all over the world and find
it easy to get past security people who are considered so unimportant that we
give them no training and don't pay them a living wage? Why have we preachers
been silent at the ways in which we've been ordering our society that are not
in accord with God's intentions of shalom for creation? Maybe because we have
too much to lose. Many of our nice parishioners are complicit in death-dealing
economic systems that we'd rather not talk about as pastors because, well, it's
just not polite. And we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. And they pay our
salaries. In our desire to be nice, kept people we have neglected to do our
duty as prophetic sentinels, and the blood of this nation is upon our hands
(Ezekiel 33:1-9). So before we say one word from the pulpit this Sunday, we
need to get on our knees beneath the cross and cry for mercy, for we and our
people have not only been sinned against; we, too, have sinned by what we have
done and by what we have left undone. Instead of tapping into nationalistic
arrogance, we need to help our people humble themselves and pray and confess
our own sinful complicity in this violence and cry, "Lord, have mercy."
Then, on our knees, we need to look, listen, study, think, and meditate upon
life from all the different perspectives that are a part of this tragedy so
that we can speak a word from the Lord-not our own pretty opinions, wash of
feelings, personal narratives, etc.-but words from the wisdom of the ages regarding
what God has to say in times of terror. As you watch yet another newscast, read
the prophets. Just start reading anywhere in the prophetic texts to listen for
what will demand to be spoken. Terror is nothing new to the Christian tradition.
Pray, meditate, translate, study, pray some more. Keep reading and praying.
Then just go about your business and listen for Word as it unfolds in patterns
that are similar to the biblical witness.
As you watch the news, listen to radio reports, talk to people, listen for the
deep questions, the theological questions: where are we safe? how can Palestinians
dance in the streets over this? where was God? In the aftermath of all the horrible
images, you are called to answer the question of the man who struggled down
a hundred flights of steps in the World Trade Center only to walk out to see
a body in fetal position lying in front of him on fire: "How are we supposed
to go on after seeing something like this?"
Resist any urges to give easy answers-even from the prophets, and especially
from the Psalms-for easy answers aren't Real, and everyone knows it and will
write the gospel off as a result. Even biblical world views with sharp dichotomies
of good/bad generally partake of Gnostic heresies. What is Real is that the
world is highly ambiguous, an admixture of various amounts of good and evil
that are affected by various situations. We are called to embrace the good of
us and resist and contain and admonish the evil in and among us. And to love
our enemies, pray for those who persecute us. With our baptism we transferred
our citizenship from this world and its ways of doing things to God's Kingdom
inaugurated by a man on a cross of political terror meant to keep an oppressed
people in line crying not, "Hunt the bastards down and kill them!"
but "Father, forgive them: they don't know what they're doing." So
lest we be tempted to join in any flag-waving inflammatory rhetoric, we need
to remember where our ultimate loyalties lie and stand beneath the cross of
Jesus without any illusions about how hard what lies ahead will be.
Sunday is not the time for a glib, happy-clappy Jesus fix. As a pew sitter this
Sunday, the only Jesus I want will be gasping for breath, bleeding from wounds,
trapped on a cross. I heard one sermon this week that amounted to the reassurance
that Jesus loves me. As the preacher preached on, I had this picture of Jesus
as a great big yellow smiley face, and I got angry. This is not Howdy-Doody
time, people! I wanted to stand up and shout, "Would someone slap some
reality into this person?" or "Is there a preacher in the house who
can speak the gospel into this situation?" Lives are dead and dying here,
and we need a doctor in the house come Sunday, someone with a firm grasp of
Reality.
So, as doctor in the house, you are called to preach what is ultimately Real
this Sunday. What abides eternally is not evil, crumbling idols, a world in
ruins, or even nice people, as wonderful as they are. But the incontrovertible
truth that remains steadfast is that despite our best efforts at securing ourselves,
we are all fragile, frail creatures of a God who loves all and thus demands
just uses of power from us so that we might all flourish as intended; the goodness
of people goes on despite death; and the Word of the Lord endures forever though
the world as we know it lies in ruins at our feet. God and God's Way alone is
our only security. It may seem tenuous and dubious to the world, but we know
the joy of God's peace that passes all understanding that could cause martyrs
to sing even as their flesh burned at Roman sporting events.
There's old homiletic wisdom proffered in African-American preaching circles:
when you don't know what else to do, go to the cross. Not bad advice. One could
preach a sermon describing the event of the cross in such a way that it sounds
like Tuesday only to slowly reveal not a picture of plane crashes but the terror
of the crucifixion. Then you can go on to more objectively remind folks that
terror is nothing new to our ancestors in the faith. Crucifixion is what the
glorious Roman empire we grew to love in civics classes used to rule by fear.
The Babylonian exile, which wasn't contained in a box in our living rooms, was
in our ancestors' homes in the form of soldiers murdering grandparents and raping
daughters before carrying big strong men whimpering like dogs off in chains.
Then maybe you go to your biblical text to hear what God says-with a little
judgment of our nation for reflection as well as the ultimate comfort we are
given: out of symbols of terror that tortured and shattered the beautiful vision
of God's shalom that Jesus embodied emerged the eternality of the Word of the
Lord that remains forever--a word of hope and trust in the good that will ultimately
prevail despite what evil may threaten to do to us. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said
it well on the Today show Wednesday when he said something like: "The most
visible symbol of New York is not the World Trade Center, but the spirit of
a free people." The Holy Spirit of a free people bound only by the love
of God--not commerce nor military might--is what no terror can ever take from
us, even though we lie in twisted ruins. For by the eternal love of God's power
for shalom, holy spirit rises up even from the ashes of death.
Having said something of preaching, let's look a little at the service itself.
Liturgy is extremely important this Sunday. Consider switching up the order
of worship a little, moving from prayers of confession and intercession first
in order to get the emotions voiced so that people can be still to hear the
Word, then stand to confess faith, offer, give thanks, commune, praise. Go slow
in your ritual performance! People in shock and grief need time to digest all
the words coming at them. I suggest the following, for whatever help it may
be to you, though this is something you need to discern for your situation:
Call to Worship-look at funeral scriptures from your book of worship to open with.
Hymn-Quiet Assurance, no bombast and no patriotic songs, please. God is our sovereign, not country. We dare not buy into the idolatry of nationalism at this time. Jesus Christ alone is head of the church, declares the Barmen Declaration, written out of Nazi territory, when the church was complicit in state terror. No doubt we love our country, especially as it is the embodiment of God's sovereign reign. But we need to maintain our critical space from which to call our nation to accountability to God's rule. Having said this, you may have to use some pastoral judgment even as you do the teaching, and then compromise with "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies" But hold fast at this one hymn alone.
Opening prayer expressing some of the rawness of our emotions and need for God. Even if you don't normally do this, you probably need to this Sunday. Call on God as little children.
Call to Confession: It's interesting that the rhetoric right now is "This won't bring America to its knees!" Well, it should. On our knees is exactly where we always need to be before God with a call to confession: "If we claim we have no sin, we deceive ourselves . . . . "
Strong unison prayer of confession, traditional language(#1 or 2 on p. 53 of Book of Common Worship)
LOTS of silence.
Kyrie ("Lord, have mercy")-sung. A choral kyrie with explanation as to what kyrie means, etc. Or a litany begging for mercy.
Assurance of pardon-again, go traditional, with time-tried true words.
Hymn: How about something like "There is a Place of Quiet Rest"? or something along those lines. Consider carefully.
Then I would go to prayers of intercession-long pastoral bidding prayer where anyone could add their prayer. This is an important prayer. Don't wing it this week. At least have something scripted. Look in prayer books, call on someone in your congregation with the gift of intercessory prayer. Think carefully about this.
Choral selection-Randall Thompson's "They Shall Not Have Died in Vain" (I think that's the title-your church musician will know) or Reutter's Psalm 23 or something reflective or a slow grieving spiritual like "I Want Jesus to Walk with Me" or "God So Loved the World," etc. At a little church with no choir, a taped selection would be good, perhaps some Gregorian chant (even little country churches love this) or perhaps a ~3-min. symphonic piece with no words from Albinoni or Sibelius' Finlandia . Don't do "Amazing Grace" for rhetorical reasons; it's being used as something religious by a nation that doesn't know what else to do. You do, so don't go there. Besides, its words are not appropriate.
Then move into the Word section of the service, moving from an appropriate psalm, like 46, 74, 91, 130 to what you will preach. I highly recommend the prophets at this time. This is no time for glib consolation. There is consolation, of course, but the hope of the resurrection is born out of crucifixion. Don't skip the cross.
You may move to a hymn that confesses faith and/or a confession of faith ("In life and death we belong to God.")
A time of offering-take up a special offering for victims, put out the call to help. This means having something for people to do-even if it means lighting a candle each evening and praying as a household. You will have to have that information for folks today. Get your secretary on it and have her/him write up a bulletin insert of volunteer numbers to call, etc.
What follows here is a prayer that can be rewritten using images from this week's disaster:
A Prayer after the Oklahoma City Bombing
by --Margaret Bullitt-Jonas,
April, 1995
(published in Women's Uncommon Prayers, ed. Elizabeth Rankin Geitz, Marjorie
Burke, Ann Smith, Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2000)
We can not post this at this time since this is copyrighted material.
You may then move to communion. We're a people who no matter what go on to give thanks for life with a God who prepares a table in the presence of our enemies.
Sing-a song of confidence in God. We're a people who sing even as lions
are tearing our flesh.
Charge people with #1, p. 82 of Book of Common Worship:
"Go forth into the world in peace; have courage; hold on to what is good;
return no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak;
help the suffering; honor all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in
the power of the Holy Spirit."
Bless
Depart to Serve
Dr. Teresa Lockhart Stricklen,
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary