Confession (Lion King)

Holy One–
Mighty, Tender, and Challenging,

We must confess that we sometimes get lost.
We lose the sound of your voice within us,
The powerful truth that you spoke before time began,
And we feel as if we are going it alone.

Sometimes the world seems to laugh.
The powers threaten to devour us.
The night and the scope of our problems
Make us feel tiny and friendless.
We are tired, ashamed, vulnerable.

Forgive us for what we have done, and left undone.
Reach within us and give us hope and courage.
Set our spirits aflame.

Remind us of who, and whose we are:
We are your children. We cannot do this alone.
We need you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Prayer of Confession:
God on Broadway Series
The Lion King (Pentecost Sunday)

Dear Leah: A God on Broadway Sermon (Wicked)

The Text from Broadway: “I'm Not That Girl” from the Broadway musical Wicked.

There's a girl I know, he loves her so....I'm not that girl...

The Text from Scripture:  Genesis 29

So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah...

Audio Recording of Scripture & Sermon can be found here.

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Dear Leah, 

Because our stories are all alike, and a little bit different, I wonder:  

Growing up, did you and Rachel argue over what beauty means?  Did she wield her good looks like a weapon?  Did she taunt you for your bad eyes?   What did you think, when your cousin Jacob came to town?  When he noticed your sister – like everyone did – and you remained unseen?

All those seven years as Jacob worked – did you know what your father had up his sleeve?  Did you try to talk him out of it?  Or did you embrace it as an escape, your last, best, chance for finding a partner, for leaving a difficult home?  

At the altar, how did you feel?  Were you sick inside?  Were you silently grateful?  And on your wedding night, in the darkness of the tent, knowing that your husband imagined he was touching someone else?   Were you able to weep then, or did you hold off until the morning, when a portion of the truth was revealed?   Over the days of the honeymoon, did you hope you could come to terms with one another?   For the next seven years, how did you hold the pieces of your broken heart together, seeing him work day after day for the love of another?

If we could sit down over a cup of tea, I would ask you these things, and seek to learn from your strength.  And then, when you were done saying the things that needed to be said, I would share what I have with you…

Whatever You Want: A God on Broadway Sermon (Chicago)

The Text from Broadway: “When You’re Good to Mama” from the Broadway musical Chicago.

There's a lot of favors I'm prepared to do - You do one for Mama, she'll do one for you!

The Text from Scripture:  Mark 6:14-29

Herod’s daughter came in and danced, thrilling Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the young woman, “Ask me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” Then he swore to her, “Whatever you ask I will give to you, even as much as half of my kingdom.”

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Our soloist and I had a little chat when she was in to rehearse the other day, “Are you ok with me vamping it up a little bit?”  It happens all the time with this Broadway series – a singer will come and say “are you sure you’re ok with…..”  Ab-so-lutely.  Nobody could ever honestly slap a G rating on the Bible.   If we were to just focus on the nice wholesome bits on a Sunday, there would be a whole range of human experience that would not be reflected in our common worship.   Life is not G-rated.  So we bring it all to God –  heart, soul, mind, strength… hands, feet, and head (whether it’s connected or not).

Let me give you a little window into King Herod’s court:  the royal family tree has enough scandal embedded in it to parallel the most sordid reality television.    Let me recap just the current generations:  Woman marries her uncle.  Woman dumps her uncle and marries her other uncle.  Great-niece dances for great-uncle and a room full of party guests in a way that’s worth half a kingdom…or the head of a prophet.  

Just what kind of a Gospel are we running here?  Perhaps it would be best not to invoke Biblical family values too hastily. Herod’s birthday banquet offers an unsettling vision of what it’s like when self-interest is the name of the game, when everybody’s a free agent waiting to be bought off, and every decision is high stakes.

A fabulous birthday party thrown by Herod, for Herod.   It’s a great day in Herod’s world– he knows his own tastes, and he’s in charge.  Nobody’s going order the anchovy pizza or give him a clunker of a gift.  Nothing but the best for Herod.  Nobody he doesn’t want there, either.  Everybody invited for a reason – someone to impress, someone to intimidate, someone to manipulate.   He knows how to throw a razzle-dazzle kind of party.

May the Fourth Be With You

We are proud geeks.  Well, my child and I are.  The cats refuse to admit they know us.  Star Wars Day  (May the Fourth....get it?) fell on a Sunday this year.   I was baptizing 3 children from a family of geeks.  I had every excuse.   Thus, the 3rd Sunday of Easter this year became Star Wars Sunday.  I am, as ever, grateful to serve in a setting where the congregation is willing to embrace a playful spirit.   I'm happy to share some snippets of liturgy in case you want to plan your own Star Wars service - although it'll be a while before May 4th falls on a Sunday again.  Free use, with credit.

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Easter Season Call to Worship

One:      It is so good to remember...
Many:    To remember the sacred stories together, and connect them with the everyday.

One:       It is good to remember the Easter message,  A saga spanning generations -
              From death to life.  From despair to A New Hope!
Many:    We have this hope because Mary said, “I have seen the Lord!”
              and a roomful of once-frightened disciples said, “We have seen the Lord!”

One:      The Good News is a powerful Force! It has continued to this day,
             Because one person told another, Master to Apprentice, Teacher to student,
             Until it came to us: Christ is Risen!
Many:   Christ is Risen indeed!

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A Prayer of Confession

Holy One, risen from the dead --
In dark places, we find ourselves,
with just a little knowledge to light the way.
You see more of our faults than we would like.

Forgive our fear, our anger and hate.
Forgive all that we do that leads to suffering.
When we enter the murky swamps of the human heart,
we find a disturbing lack of faith in your power,
a disturbing reliance on our own power.

We have tried our own way.
We know that Your way leads us through the suffering,
and on the other side, returns us to life.

Teach us to claim this new hope,
based upon your resurrection --
to live in love and harmony
with the whole of your universe.
Amen.

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Focus Scripture  

Acts 9:1-19.   Our accompanist played the Imperial Death March as the theme for Saul.  :)

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Sacrament of Communion

Invitation to the Table 
Perhaps you’ve heard about the Great Feast of Rejoicing. All people welcomed to the table, enough and more than enough. A feast where the power of life reigns. This is Christ’s table, and whether you have kept close, or come from a galaxy far, far away…you are welcome here!

Eucharistic Prayer
Ruler of the Stars and Planets, Spinner of Universes,
Creative impulse who gave shape to all things,
We give thanks for all your good gifts:

For the unfolding of tremendous diversity,
Species and songs and stories that each tell a tale of your handiwork.
For breathing life into us and calling us good,
even when we struggle to live into our promise.

When we turned from your way
and Embraced the Dark Side,
You did not forget us.

You came to us as Jesus, our Master and Teacher.
You journeyed with us into an abyss of betrayal and despair.
Threatened by agents of destruction, your dearest ones abandoned you,
but all was not lost. Even the blueprints of death are not hidden from you.

From the terror of the cross, you launched a sneak attack on Death
and set your sights on an impossible future, cracking open the tomb.

For all these things we give you thanks and praise,
singing with the faithful of all times and places, Holy, Holy, Holy.

[Continue with the consecration of the elements, 
Words of Institution and sharing the bread and cup
in the way your community is accustomed.]

Prayer of Thanksgiving 
Risen Christ, we give thanks for this holy meal.
We reach for the stars and walk the good earth,
sustained by this Bread and Cup.
We prepare to leave this place, your Easter people,
overflowing with rejoicing and the power of Life! Amen!

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Again, you are welcome to use these materials in your own setting.  
Please attribute per the Creative Commons License you'll find in the footer.

Game of Thrones

From time to time, popular culture coincides with our church year in a particularly helpful way. I speak not of the cult of Black Friday, nor of Wisconsin’s high holy days, the gun deer season. While one could make an argument for the entire genre of reality TV as a monument to sin and depravity, that’s not where we’re going today, either. Instead, I want to take you to HBO, to a popular series known as Game of Thrones. 


In the church calendar, today is known as Christ the King, or Reign of Christ, Sunday. It marks the end of one church year, and the beginning of the next. How could we not talk of Kings, and Thrones, and what rules us, on Christ the King Sunday? Cable TV dramas are not generally a refuge for saints – and this one is no exception. I was going to show you a clip, but it was a little hard to find one safe to show in the sanctuary. The program is based on an epic fantasy spread across six books (and counting). It has its fair share of foul language, revealing dress, violence and blood and beheadings. In other words, this is not a series to be watching with your young children. 

The premise of Game of Thrones is this: Centuries ago, one king conquered seven kingdoms, and his family ruled for centuries until a rebellion by feudal lords ended the dynasty. The leader of this rebellion became the new King. Years later, he dies of a wound taken in a hunting accident, and a new power struggle begins. His best friend and right-hand man – know as the “Hand of the King” asks too many pointed questions about the King’s heir, and finds himself accused of treason. (Those of you who are familiar with the series will know that I am guilty of gross oversimplification…forgive me) Things don’t end well – for his dedication to the realm and to finding out the truth, he loses his head. The kingdom fractures. For a time, nearly everyone is declaring himself a ruler: the dead King’s son, the dead Hand’s son, the King’s younger brother, the King’s elder brother, the dead Hand’s foster son’s iron-willed father…in the way of epic plotlines and dysfunctional families everywhere. 

And these are just the players we know about! Everybody gets in on the action. At one point, a group is holed up for the night behind the gates of an abandoned town, when some soldiers ride up and bellow, “Open up in the name of the King!” The retort from inside the barricades is brief: “Which one?” 

“Which one?” 

Like the characters in this series, we are constantly part of the Game of Thrones, whether we see it, or not. To which king do you owe your allegiance? For which ruler do you open the gates? To which ruler do you bend the knee? Today, of course, you can’t figure out which ruler someone follows by looking at what banners they carry, what device is on their shield, or whose Great Hall they feast in. Most of us don’t go through a ritual of offering our sword to someone and swearing fealty. 

Maybe you already know who, or what rules you. But if you don’t, here are a few ways to figure it out: 

• How do you commit your time? Consider, for a moment, what is the most frequent entry into your calendar. Pull out your smartphone or your pocket calendar if you need to, while I’m talking. Maybe you’ll find your ruler lurking within. How do you actually spend your time? Maybe your work schedule rules you, or the sports schedule or your overwhelming load of homework. When you have to choose between two conflicting activities, what wins? That one might just be the ruler you have chosen. There’s another place you can look to see what rules you. Take a peek – as scary as it is in this gift-giving season -- at your checkbook register or your credit card statement. Pull out your checkbook, if you need to, as we talk. 

• How do you commit your financial resources? On what categories do you spend most of your money? Housing? Home decorating? Travel? Debt service? Groceries? Charity? Your smartphone bill? Eating out, theater or sports tickets, club memberships, hobby equipment? So, what rules your schedule, or your pocketbook, or, a third category…just in case you haven’t settled on one yet: 

• What captures your attention? On what do you spend your emotional, psychological, spiritual energy? What do you obsess over when you can’t sleep at night, or think about when you lose your focus at work, or muse on when you’re stuck in traffic on the beltline? When you snuck away from family gatherings this weekend, what was it for – surreptitious glances at your phone for work emails or text messages? Taking a turn at Words with Friends?

In at least one of these places, you will find what rules you. I ask you this: is it worthy of your devotion? Your allegiance? Is it worthy of your one wild and precious life? Sometimes, we don’t feel like we have a choice: it’s about brawn – we are captured or conquered with overwhelming force. Sometimes it’s a pragmatic decision, letting ourselves be ruled by whatever’s in closest proximity to us. Sometimes, our allegiance is won with stirring words…and sometimes it’s the influence of the crowd all around shouting, “Long Live the King” that causes you to lift your voice in acclaim. Sometimes it’s the ruler who has lifted you up from lowly places, and given you a title or an inheritance, who wins your undying loyalty. 

We’ve heard of a ruler like that: One whose kingdom is not of this world. One who came to testify to the truth. One who lifts up the lowly, seeks the lost, embraces the outcast. One who honors you a title better than any this world could bestow: Beloved child of God. And an inheritance beyond all we could earn or merit: a home in the heart and household of God. We who have been baptized, we who seek to follow the prophet of Nazareth, we who believe that God came to live among us as one of us – and in ways that confound logic, overcomes even the power of death: we know who wins the Game of Thrones. We know who conquers the false rulers, who offers freedom from tyranny and despair and division and madness. 

We call him, Lord. We know – at least a little bit – what his realm is supposed to look like. And we swear ourselves to it on a regular basis. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. The words are all over scripture and Christian tradition, and sometimes they come without thinking, because they are familiar to us. We proclaim them week after week, day after day. We offer our allegiance to the carpenter, teacher, healer, son of Man, son of God, ruling over an upside-down Kingdom. 

He tells us that his kingdom is not of this world. He shows us that the way is not easy. He asks us to set aside all other rulers -- Kings, Queens, habits, addictions, conveniences – for the sake of the Realm of God. On this last Sunday of the Christian year, when we celebrate the end and the beginning, when we celebrate the Sovereignty of God, we hear: 

“Open up, you ancient gates, open up you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in!”

To what King do you owe your allegiance? For which ruler will you open the gates? 
The Sovereign One is drawing near: “Open up, in the name of the King!” 

Amen.

 A sermon for Christ the King, or Reign of Christ, Sunday
Text: John 18:33-38