The Wedding Service for Arika Gregg and Anthony King on Saturday, August 28, 2021

On Saturday, August 28, I officiated the marriage of Arika Gregg and Jaimie Smiley at an orchard in Millersburg, Ohio. If you're planning your wedding and need an officiant, please give me a call at 304-479-3402.

Serve, Work and Transform: Call to Prayer and Action for Afghanistan

Serve, Work and Transform: Call to Prayer and Action for Afghanistan: Call to Prayer and Action for Afghanistan Stated Clerk urges US to provide 'constructive, humanitarian support' for people of Afghan...

Looking into the lectionary — Mark 7:24-37

SUBSCRIBE \ ABOUT \ DONATE \ CONTACT Mark 7:24-37 — September 5, 2021 15th Sunday after Pentecost Mark 7:24-37 is a text to avoid if you’re not ready to confront and examine your own hypocrisy.  As a pastor who preaches God’s inclusive love, Jesus’ rejection of the Syrophoenician woman led me to recognize how quick I am to say “no” to people who don’t fit my criteria of those who deserve my help. Recently, a young alum of the college I served as chaplain reached out to me. She needed a recommendation from a pastor to get a job teaching at a Catholic school. I happily write a lot of recommendation letters for students and former students. But this request gave me pause. I knew of this young woman, but didn’t know her well. She’d never shown up for worship, never attended any religious life programs, never participated in any service projects. So I quickly added her to that vast category of young adults uninterested in religion until they find themselves needing a pastoral recommendation, or a cute church to serve as the backdrop for their wedding, or a baptism for a child they have no intention of raising in the church but need the ritual to appease the grandparents. Yeah, no. I wasn’t going to write this letter of recommendation. The placement of the two healing stories in Mark 7:24-37 is interesting. They follow Jesus rebuking the Pharisees for their hypocrisy — for the way they judge people according to tradition and doctrine instead of God’s commandments. They honor God with their lips, Jesus says quoting Isaiah, but not their hearts. But immediately following this rebuke, Jesus himself appears to make a snap judgment. A desperate Gentile woman, of Syrophoenician origin, seeks him out, bows at his feet and begs him to cast a demon out of her daughter. To this desperate, begging woman whose child he can certainly heal, Jesus responds; “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” This story is shocking for a variety of reasons. Here, Jesus is uncharacteristically rude. He refers to the woman as a kynarion in Greek, translated here as “dog,” but known widely throughout the ancient Middle East as an ethnic slur used by Jews against non-Jews. And, Jesus had already healed a Gentile in chapter 5 of Mark (the Gerasene demoniac), so why is he so put out by this poor woman’s request?  This is a tough text to handle. Christians are often tempted to soften it, to make excuses for Jesus, to avoid the difficult questions this text raises. How could Jesus be so quick to judge? Why would he withhold healing from a woman in need? Why would the Son of God stoop to the use of a terrible slur? Some commentators have described this scene with the Syrophoenician woman as Jesus’ conversion moment. It’s the moment when someone outside his tribe, someone society gives Jesus every right to disdain, presses Jesus to be as generous with her as he is with others. “Sir,” the woman says to Jesus, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”  What this woman says to Jesus changes his mind. Her persistence in asking is rewarded. She forces Jesus to reconsider his stance, and reconsider he does. “For saying that,” Jesus responds, “you may go — the demon has left your daughter.” What follows this exchange is another healing story that also feels strategically placed. A deaf man is brought to Jesus. Jesus puts his fingers in the man’s ears, looks up to heaven and, in Aramaic, says, “Be opened.” Immediately the man is healed and the reader is left with the feeling that being opened, or to be open, is a blessed miracle.  Human beings are very tribal. We are constantly sorting people into categories — who belongs, who does not, who deserves our care and attention, who does not. It seems like people of faith are especially interested in drawing lines in the sand, setting doctrinal standards, deciding what or who is acceptable or not. I’m pretty progressive. I believe we should include more than we exclude. Yet, when asked for a letter of recommendation, I am quick to judge. The Syrophoenician woman who changed Jesus’ mind is working on me this week as well. Maybe the person in need of healing is not the young person asking for a pastoral recommendation, but the pastor reluctant to be open, accept and give. Questions for reflection: What feelings stir within you as you read this passage? Who are you reluctant to help because they don’t fit into your category of “deserving”? If you or your church were to “be opened,” what would this miracle look like? In what ways would you or the church be changed?  What fiction has taught me about the story of God Each week, pastors stand up and teach about the radical, life-changing love and grace of God as experienced through Jesus. They continue to tell the story of God, to come alongside people and gently point out where their story and God’s story are intersecting. Fiction can shape the work pastors do by strengthening their skills to tell God's ongoing story. Read the full article by Rebecca Gresham-Kesner Book review "Love Mercy" by Samuel Wells Outlook blog Reading as a listening exercise by Rachel Young Commentary An unexpected holy Communion by William McConnell  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌

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The Lectionary Passages for Sunday, September 5, 2021 (15th Sunday after Pentecost)

Below are NRSV translations of the lessons from the Old Testament (Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 or Isaiah 35:4-7), Psalms (Psalm 125 or Psalm 146), the Letters (James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17), and the Gospels (Mark 7:24-37) Please make any comments concerning the passages you want. Together, let's discuss the Word of God.

Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,

and favor is better than silver or gold.

The rich and the poor have this in common:

the Lord is the maker of them all.

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,

and the rod of anger will fail.

Those who are generous are blessed,

for they share their bread with the poor.

Do not rob the poor because they are poor,

or crush the afflicted at the gate;

for the Lord pleads their cause

and despoils of life those who despoil them.

Isaiah 35:4-7

Say to those who are of a fearful heart,

   ‘Be strong, do not fear!

Here is your God.

   He will come with vengeance,

with terrible recompense.

   He will come and save you.’

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

   and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then the lame shall leap like a deer,

   and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,

   and streams in the desert;

the burning sand shall become a pool,

   and the thirsty ground springs of water;

the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,

   the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

Psalm 125

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time on and forevermore.

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous might not stretch out their hands to do wrong.

Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts.

But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers. Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!

I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.

When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God,

who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!

James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Mark 7:24-37

From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Connectional Church School and Episcopal District Virtual Sunday Morning Worship Services on August 29th

Virtual Sunday Morning Connectional Church School and Worship Services on August 29th Connectional Church School Church school will be at 9AM Eastern Time View the Zoom video: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82993251894 Buy the Church School Literature Join the AME Church School Facebook Group Virtual worship resources and graphics from the AMEC Church Publishing House https://www.iamame.org/worship-resources-2/ Watch the recording here Christian Education Department Click here for free Worship Resources from the Christian Education Department   August 29, Clean Hands vs Clean Hearts Word Search Activity This intergenerational activity helps us think about the lessons from one of the lectionary passages for this week: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23.   August 29, Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost Devotional Meditation This devotional meditation by Mr. Daniel H. Wilcox is based on one of the passages from the lection for Sunday, James 1:17-27. It can be used as group devotional time or for an individual. For more free resources click here. AME Health Commission  First Episcopal District Mt. Pisgah, Philadelphia will live stream at 10:45 Eastern Time. Rev. Jay Broadnax is the pastor. The link is available here.  Second Episcopal District: Visit the 2nd Episcopal District Facebook Page for church information. Kingdom Fellowship AME Church also has a Roku Channel. Third Episcopal District Quinn Chapel, Forrest Park streams services online at 10AM Eastern. The services can be viewed online here. Rev. Dr. Fred A. Wright is the pastor. Fourth Episcopal District Fifth Episcopal District You can also view their Roku Channel here. Visit the 5th Episcopal District Facebook group to view other services. Sixth Episcopal District:  Seventh Episcopal District:  Eighth Episcopal District g Ninth Episcopal District St. John, Huntsville will stream at 10 AM Central Time. The pastor is Rev. Maurice Wright. The stream is available here. Tenth Episcopal District Eleventh Episcopal District Twelfth Episcopal District  List of 12th Episcopal District Churches with virtual services. Thirteenth Episcopal District Sixteenth Episcopal District Bethel, St. Croix, Virgin Islands will stream their worship via Zoom at 10 AM Atlantic Standard Time. The pastor is Presiding Elder Uklyn Hendricks, The Zoom ID 729-922-5880 and the password 366642 The Conference Call number is 712-832-8330, and the Access Code 526-4847. New Bethel II, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic will live stream at 2 PM Eastern Standard Time. The pastor is Rev. Efrain Mateo. The stream is available here. Emmanuel AME Church, Barbados will stream their service via Zoom at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time. The link is here. Rev. Ruth Phillips is the pastor. Meeting ID: 839 6704 0207 Passcode: 025267 AME Churches with ROKU Channels 1st District Mt. Zion AME Church (Dover, Delaware); Rev. Dr. Erika Crawford, Pastor Bethel AME Church (Copiague, New York); Rev. Dr. Keith Haywood, Pastor 2nd District Community of Hope AME Church (Temple Hills, Maryland); Rev. Tony Lee, Pastor Kingdom Fellowship (Silver Spring, Maryland); Rev. Matthew Watley, Pastor 5th District New Philadelphia AME Church (Long Beach, California); Rev. Dr. Darryl Walker, Pastor 6th District Flipper Temple AME Church (Atlanta, Georgia); Rev. Dr. Gregory V. Eason, Pastor 7th District Greater St. Luke AME Church (Charleston, South Carolina); Rev. Dr. Krystal Sears, Pastor

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