O giver of life to all the world,
Hear me…
I am one of your many children
Let me walk in beauty,
And ever behold the red and purple sunsets
Let me learn the things
You have taught
My people
Let me discern the secrets you have
Hidden in every leaf and stone
I pray for strength
Not to be greater than my sisters and brothers
But to overcome my greatest enemy
Myself
Keep my eyes straight
And my hands clean
So that when life fades
As the fading sunset
I may come to you
Without shame
Pentecost Sermon – Bryson City UMC
Acts 2:1-21
Two weeks ago I sat in the second pew on the right hand side and thoroughly enjoyed Rev. David Russell’s interpretation on the account of Paul’s preaching in Athens. As I listened to David skillfully weave through the narrative of Paul’s debate over the unknown God, I realized that I was getting distracted by David’s shirt [it was Casual Sunday] which read: “I am smiling because you all have finally driven me crazy!” As I stand before you now, two weeks later, I realize how true David’s shirt was. You all have finally driven him crazy enough to leave me here by myself after only being in Bryson City for two weeks.
In all seriousness, it has been a blessing getting to spend time with David the last two weeks and I have gleaned much from his experience as Pastor. Additionally I am eagerly looking forward to the transition between David and Wayner, as this is something that I will be experiencing on my own in two years from now. Bryson City is a remarkable place, and I am so happy knowing that I am here for another 8 weeks.
Would you all please pray with me:
“Gracious and Merciful God, grant us the strength to understand and discern the Holy Spirit in our lives, reform us into your image from which we were created. Bless us with you presence as we strive to live according to your will. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my rock and my redeemer”
“All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.” Acts 2:44-47
“Is this historically possible? I want to know who among you believes that this could have actually taken place. Anyone?!”
I found myself sitting in the middle of our lecture hall at Duke Divinity School, glancing around at my peers to see if anyone was brave enough to answer the question.
“Do you really believe that 3,000 Jews in ancient Palestine would sell their possessions and distribute the proceeds to all who had need?!?”
It was obvious from his tone that my Professor believed that it was impossible for this to have historically taken place, and he wanted to make sure that we all agreed with him.
But I didn’t.
As I raised my hand I knew that I was Daniel entering the lion’s den, I knew deep down that what I was about to say was right and true, I was just hoping that God would deliver me from the jaws of my New Testament Professor.
“Yes, you, what do you have to say?”
I took a long deep breath and said: “Well, I believe that this most assuredly took place. It seems like it would have been easy for the 3,000 to share everything because 5,000 had already shared the loaves and fishes when Jesus preached to them by the water. The Gospels make it clear that it was easy for the disciples and earliest apostles to walk away from their former lives to accept a new and radical reality. And to be perfectly honest I think this passage in Acts 2 explains how and why Christianity continued to exist and thrive throughout the first century.”
“Hmm… Good, but where your points are possible, my understanding and rendering of this narrative as being not historically possible is more probable. It is next-to-impossible for human-beings to exist in such an unselfish manner then and now.”
With two sentences my New Testament professor had waved off my claim and was ready to move on to the next subject. The scripture in question that afternoon in class was Acts 2:44-47. It details the account of what transpired after Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, which was partially read for us this morning. After Peter’s sermon 3,000 new converts were welcomed into the budding “Christian” community and continued to `live together devoting themselves to the apostles teaching, the breaking of bread, and prayer. Though my professor was eager to move on to another subject, I could not stop thinking about this passage from the day of Pentecost.
The question of the historical validity of the passage permeated my thoughts and I began to critically evaluate the actions of the first century church. The more I thought about the first century the more I felt like my professor might have been right. How could a group of people, after watching their friend and leader crucified, continue on in the way they were taught? Better yet, why would a group of people continue on after losing their friend and leader? Why would they knowingly engage in activities that would stratify them from the rest of the world, inevitably leading to persecution and death? Why would they institute their own suffering? I wrestled with these questions throughout the rest of the year; I stopped reading scripture like a story or book and tried to imagine the reality of these accounts taking place. After spending much time in books, prayer, and conversation I now realize that the answers to “how and why” are Pentecost and Jesus Christ.
How?
Pentecost, the fiftieth day, was a Jewish celebration of the fiftieth day after Passover. For the disciples who are described in Acts 2, this would have been a common holiday celebrated every year as prescribed in the book of Leviticus. This particular year I believe the disciples had little to celebrate. Though they had previously spent 40 days with their Resurrected Lord, he had ascended into heaven leaving them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. I can imagine them gathering together in the upper room waiting and waiting, knowing what they need to do, but not how to do it. Jesus commanded them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, only after receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. And then came Pentecost.
“Suddenly from heaven there came a sound like a rush of a violent wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them”
It was through the fire of the burning bush that God spoke to Moses, the prophet Isaiah’s lips were touched with a flaming coal giving him the ability to prophesy, eventually stating that God would return through fire. Fire, then, is a miraculous mechanism by which God manifests his divine presence.
So the violent wind and fire of God rested on each of the 12 disciples as they waited in the upper room. With the ability to speak in foreign tongues the disciples went out into Jerusalem amazing and perplexing those who lived in the city. They began to testify to the life of their Lord Jesus Christ culminating in Peter’s sermon to the crowd.
“In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams…”
When the crowd heard his words they were cut to their hearts and asked the disciples what to do: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” [Acts 2:38]
Through the Holy Spirit the apostles were able to further the Christian movement, build their community, and exist for and with one another. Now that we have looked at “how” the 12 received the power of the Holy Spirit and began to witness in Jerusalem, we must turn to the question of “why.”
Why?
Why would the apostles give up their possessions for the betterment of the community? Why would they serve the Lord Jesus instead of Empire Rome? Why would they continue to witness when people were constantly arrested [Acts 5] persecuted, and martyred?
The answer, I believe, is that Jesus turned the world upside down.
Later in Acts we read about how the apostle Paul traveled to Thessalonica and preached in synagogues explaining and proving that is was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and raise from the dead. Paul witnessed to the life of Jesus Christ and proclaimed the Gospel. Those in the community who were jealous of Paul’s teaching went before the city authorities accusing them while shouting: “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also, they are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus.”
Though this held a negative connotation of disturbing the peace, insurrection, and revolution in the first century, I believe it is of fundamental importance for understanding the Good News.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus’ life, ethics, parables, Sermon on the Mount, healings, and actions all point to a paradigmatic shift whereby the values of the world are turned upside down. Jesus instituted radical changes in the way people perceived the world.
Through the story of the Prodigal Son Jesus showed how we could lose sight of the love of God and fall captive to the appeal of the world. We are called to rejoice in the lost being found.
The story of Zacchaeus demonstrates how no one, not even a snobby cheating tax collector, is beyond the reach of the Gospel. Jesus eats with the sinners and sinless alike, showing no partiality.
Jesus called for a world where the last will be first and the first will be last, where it is better to serve than to be served, where turning the other cheek isn’t a possibility but a profound commandment to love, where resurrection is possible, real, and tangible.
Imagine the Church described in Acts 2. Thousands of people, young and old, short and tall, sinful and righteous, unified around a common belief in the Messiah Jesus Christ. A community that was set aflame by the Holy Spirit, moved to live for one another, compelled by love rather than hate, genuine in their devotion towards their bothers and sisters in Christ.
Today, our modern culture’s emphasis on selfish individualism leads to destruction. The world has begun to fall back to the way before Pentecost. The irony is, that Jesus’ radical call for a shift in perception isn’t all that radical; He simply calls each of us to live by love.
Coming to Bryson City has provided me with an amazing glimpse of the kingdom of God. For as much as I enjoyed reading about Augustine, Aquinas, and Anselm at Duke Divinity School, I have begun to truly see the kingdom at work here in this community. I have been welcomed by so many already into their homes for meals and fellowship. I have learned about how the church co-exists with the social service department here in the town to bring about better opportunities for people. I have heard stories about how this church has celebrated the mountaintop of joy and come together in support of one another when in the valley of despair, pain, and grief. I was even invited to a lectionary reading on Monday morning with pastors of all the different denominations in the community. Can you imagine sitting with a Catholic priest, Presbyterian minister, Baptist preacher, and Methodist pastor all discussing what Pentecost means? Leaders of the church who work together because they care more about the community as a whole, rather than the individual theological differences that set us apart. I sat in this church the last two Sundays and experienced 15-minutes of passing of the peace of Christ! Never in my life have I experienced the body of Christ in such a profound way.
Worship, it seems, is not so much about what you do, but what you let God do in and for you.
So, I believe in what we are doing here.
But, I also believe that through the Holy Spirit the world has been transformed. As the body of Christ we are called to live by love and continue in this transformative process.
I believe in a world where the sick can be healed, the blind can see, the hungry can be fed, the naked can be clothed, and the lost can be found.
I believe in the world turned upside down.
Amen.
a haiku.
we sit here talking
beating on the things of life
so it goes my friend
t
Durham, North Carolina
I have spent the last 8 months attending Duke Divinity School working on my Masters of Divinity
Most of my time and money has gone towards this shelf.
Included: Theology, Church History, Old Testament Studies, New Testament Studies, Koine Greek, Wesleyan Discipleship, Historical Jesus Quest, Ethics, Religion and Science, Barth’s Dogmatics, etc.
Recently, I was given a Cayenne pepper plant; I am ridiculously excited for its production.
I have been slowly developing my Record collection
Religious: Gregorian Chants, Jesus Christ Superstar [film version], Jesus Christ Superstar [stage version], Liturgical Music from the Russian Cathedral
Brubeck: Jazz Goes to College, Southern Scene, Octet, Jazz Goes to Junior College, West Side Story and Dialogues for Jazz Combo and Orchestra
New Records: Cults: Cults EP, Smith Westerns: Dye It Blonde, Megafaun: Gather, Form, and Fly, Grizzly Bear: Live on KCRW EP, Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion, Iron and Wine: Kiss Each Other Clean
The Desk
I have been blessed with many opportunities to see live music since arriving in Durham:
Megafaun: Sounds of the South, Dirty Projectors, Sufjan Stevens
Durham is an incredible place filled with incredible people.
t
Jeremiah 29:1-9
“These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,a for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.” [ESV]
Let us pray: Gracious God, through the story of your prophet Jeremiah, teach us patience, grant us the courage to accept your will, and enlighten our lives to the community of your holy son Jesus Christ. Amen.
“Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak! Why would you pick me?”
“Jeremiah, I have put my words into your mouth. See today, I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”[1]
Thus began the paradoxical prophetic career of Jeremiah; Destruction and new life, submission and growth, despair and hope. He had to tell the people, exactly what they DID NOT want to hear.
For 23 years, and 28 chapters, Jeremiah took heed of his commission and prophesied the imminent destruction and overthrowing of his native Jerusalem. For 23 years and 28 chapters Jeremiah prophesied oracles of judgment against Israel for its arrogance. Jeremiah preached about the sinfulness of God’s people, he spoke out against the false emphasis on temple worship, he even wore a wooden yoke around his neck as a symbol of Israel’s inevitable servitude.[2] Indeed, Israel fell under the yoke of Babylon; it was pulled down and placed into submission and Jerusalem was eventually destroyed.
Like a true prophet, Jeremiah had to spread a message that no one wanted to hear.
Our scripture reading today is the first part of a letter written by Jeremiah to the exiles in 594 BC. Interestingly, this message lies in stark contrast to the previous 28 chapters. Jeremiah commands the exiles to “build houses, plant gardens, multiply there and do not decrease […] if you pray for the welfare of Babylon, you too will find your welfare.”[3] Where is the gloom and doom in this message?
Jeremiah’s emphasis to the exiles is simple: Accept your fate and make the best of it. Do not resist God’s will for you.
During this time, many false prophets in Babylon created a sense of false hope and told the Israelites that there time in exile would be short, that they would soon return home. Jeremiah quickly responds with a stern dismissal: “Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream.”
These false prophets were telling the exiled Israelites exactly what they wanted to hear.
False prophets often tell US exactly what WE want to hear…
If you take this weight loss pill, you can have the body of your dreams
If you buy this car, you neighbors will respect and admire you
If you come to church and pray, God will give you everything you need
Just because it might be what we WANT to hear, doesn’t mean that its what we NEED to hear.
Our culture has adopted an unhealthy appetite for instant gratification. We desire the products that will provide the quickest result in the most efficient way. Emails have replaced letters, phone calls have replaced visits, and Facebook has replaced real relationships. We have become so obsessed with this idea of efficiency that we have even brought it into our churches:
“I come to church for an hour every Sunday, I don’t have time to read the bible, or pray during the week.”
Before the exile, Israel believed that the Temple in Jerusalem held special power; they WANTED to believe that by making pilgrimages to the temple, they could procure the security they needed. The temple itself was no guaranteed security at all. Jeremiah called the people away from this false belief and advocated for the people to practice justice, and to care for one another.
Truly I tell you, we have reinstituted this false temple worship from the time of Jeremiah with our own modern understanding of church. We believe that by attending church on Sundays we deserve to be called Christians, and that God should reward us for our “pious” behavior.
I am now going to tell you what you do not want to hear:
God does not work that way.
In today’s world the church has become an exiled community within our own Babylon. We exist as a separate entity within the larger dynamic of Western Culture. We have become a pleasant place to bring your family on Sunday mornings, with little expectation once you leave the building.
I believe that this letter from Jeremiah to the exiles has much to say to us:
“Do not listen to the dreams they dream” Church and Christian livelihood is not easy! Being called to live as a Christian is a radical change in one’s lifestyle where you live for your brother and your sister instead of yourself. Being a Christian isn’t about taking the easy road to receive God’s mercy. It’s about reflecting God’s love on those around you. By practicing justice, and living for your neighbors!
“Build houses, plant gardens, multiply there and do not decrease.” Being a Christian is about fostering and promoting community! The only way that we can continue to exist within our exile is to believe in living with a vital collective identity. We need to practice our faith as a community.[4] We need to move beyond the walls of our church and live into a new understanding of the body of Christ. We need to break bread together and praise God for the goodness of our lives.[5] And we need to admit that we cannot do this alone.
Do not be mistaken; we are not called to do this because we are waiting for God. God is ACTIVELY in control. “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”[6] Even in the midst of the Babylonian exile God was in control; in fact it was God who sent them into Israel, yet God was also the source of their hope. The most famous lines from the book of Jeremiah comes in the next few verses of this letter specifically addressing God’s sovereignty: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”[7]
Just as God had plans for the exiles, God has plans for us.
“When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me.”[8]
What are we afraid of? Why have we become so complacent with limiting our experience of God’s reality to one hour on a Sunday morning? Why are we so willing and eager to hear the false messages from false prophets?
God is ready for us to call on God. By living into God’s reality, by seeking God with our whole hearts, by practicing justice and loving kindness, we will find God. We are called to live into a community where the well being of those around us becomes more important to us than ourselves. We are called to put on the new self in Jesus Christ.[9] We are called to have hope in the future that God has for us.
God has not abandoned us and we must NOT abandon God.
Amen
Colossians 3:1-11
“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed [which is idolatry]. On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things – anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!”
“In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!”
Paul’s letter to the Colossians is traditionally held to have been written sometime in the late 50’s AD. Paul is met, yet again, with a church having a Christological dispute. This particular church has been met with false teachers urging them towards asceticism and observance of specific Holy Times. Paul specifically addresses these issues by announcing, again, that Christ is in you, thereby denying the false teachings.
In two of my sermons this summer we have seen Paul, in his letters to the Romans and the Galatians, responding to similar problems with the same resounding answer. “Christ is in you!”
We then find ourselves wrestling with verses 2 and 3…
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.”
At first glance it appears that Paul is telling us that we need to keep our minds focused on heaven and not on earth. That God is up in the clouds and we are here stuck on the ground. That we are falling short of his expectations and need to put to death that which is earthly. Though we often succumb to the evil powers of fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, as Paul tells us… I think his words describing the separation of Heaven and Earth have been met with confusion and harmful interpretation over the centuries.
You see; taking Paul’s words literally, places God in the sky above. Yet, we all know that no spaceship could ever fly far enough to glimpse God. The ancient biblical writers of the Old Testament did not suppose that if they could have traveled into space that they would somehow come closer to the place where God lived; He is not an object within our perceived physical universe.
I often wrestle with this question of “where does God exist?” And as I began preparing this sermon I realized that many of my personal theological answers to this question confuse even me. In preparation for Duke Divinity this fall, all incoming M.Div students are required to read Bishop Tom Wright’s Simply Christian, which we read as a congregation a few years ago. Bishop Wright’s book gives the best answer I have found.
There are three ways in which we can imagine God’s space and ours relating to one another:
Number 1: We slide both worlds together. God is everywhere and everywhere is God. God is everything and everything is God. Modern theologians refer to this belief system as Pantheism. [Pan meaning “everything” and Theos meaning “God”] Categorizing yourself in this belief set is quite demanding because it is often hard to literally imagine divinity in everything; wasps, cancer cells, hurricanes, earthquakes, the Dallas cowboys. This belief system makes it difficult to cope with evil; when everything lives in divinity there is no court of appeal when something bad happens. Nothing, nobody, can come rescue you.
Number 2: We completely separate both worlds as far apart as possible. God has no active part here on earth and watches us from far away. This belief system is known as Deism. Thomas Jefferson himself was a noted Deist. [Jeffersonian Bible- no miracles] If you have a relatively stable life this option makes sense, you can shrug your shoulders at God and hope to still remain okay. But for those who are underprivileged, you have no hope for attaining anything better; your only option is to ditch this world.
It makes sense to me why this option is so popular, and why many people believe that this is the way Paul is describing the world in his letter to the Colossians. If I believe that God is distant and far away, having no bearing on my life, I wouldn’t worry about living like Christ, I wouldn’t pray, and I certainly wouldn’t get out of bed on a Sunday morning to attend church.
Number 3: The worlds overlap and interlock in different ways. This may at first seem confusing, but with proper explanation I think it might prove to be the absolute truth. The Old Testament insists that God belongs in heaven and we on earth, yet there are plenty of stories where the two spheres overlap. When Moses discovers the burning bush he is told that he is on holy ground, literally in God’s presence; heaven and earth are intersecting. When the Israelites finally make it to Mt. Sinai God appears to Moses giving him the Ten Commandments. David builds the Temple in Jerusalem, the place where Israel’s God would make his home forever. In the Old Testament, the Temple was where Heaven and Earth met.
The New Testament itself offers us glimpses of when these two worlds combine as well.
Jesus is God incarnate. He is both fully human and fully divine simultaneously. He is the best interlocking example of God’s sphere and our sphere. Last week Dennis used the scripture from 1 John 4:
“Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
If we love one another, God lives in us. This is to say that by loving one another we can literally bridge our world with God’s world. We can experience the divine by simply loving. Additionally when we partake in the Lord’s Supper we are experiencing the divine in the meal.
Truly I tell you, God’s sphere and our sphere overlap and interlock in amazing ways.
Two weeks ago I left National airport with Jason Micheli and five of my peers to begin our week in Guatemala. This was my third trip and I knew what to expect from the beginning, yet this trip was unlike any other.
After spending 2 days with the adult group, we left them in the valley near Quetzaltenango and we made our way up to Chiquisis at 13,000 ft. Arriving in the village was like being in a dream. The visibility was next to nothing because we were literally in the middle of a cloud. After spending a night in sleeping bags we awoke to a completely different sight. For the moment the clouds were gone and we could all the mountain chains and valleys around us. Lush greenery was everywhere and we could now see the clouds below us. It was at this moment that I began to realize that this trip would be different.
Typically when one goes to Guatemala to work for HSP they stay at a place called El Refugio, they are bussed from their lodging to their worksites, and rest comfortably at night in the hotel. We were staying feet away from our families, in the same conditions, and eating meals prepared on a stove built just like the ones we were to construct. The relationships that we formed with the families were stronger than in the past. The children would follow us everywhere we walked in the village and would be waiting for us to wake up every morning. Because there is no running water on top of the mountain we each took a turn in a sweat lodge, bathing ourselves in the exact same way as the families around us. We completely immersed ourselves within the community and experienced a week of their lives. And we loved them: the children and their joyful smiles and the women who were so eager to welcome us into their homes.
And I know that they loved us back. Not for building stoves or playing with their children, but by simply showing them that we are equals, that by being made in the image of God we are all unique yet, connected.
I saw Heaven and Earth combined, God’s world interlocked with ours, in the love expressed between that village and us. If we love one another, God lives in us.
After we finished our stoves and made our way down the mountain, back to the valley with the adults we joined together for a worship service where Jason blessed the bread and the wine for communion. We congregated in a small class room, read scripture, performed hymns, and shared stories from our week. I have always enjoyed communion but some of Jason’s words that night made me appreciate in a new way.
“It was on the road to Emmaus that Jesus appeared to two of his disciples. They did not recognize him, but later that evening when he broke bread with them there eyes were opened.”
I will admit that I often limit my perception of the Eucharist to the Last Supper, the night before he found himself on the cross. Yet Jesus made himself known to his disciples, in the breaking of the bread on Easter, after the walk to Emmaus. Celebrating this meal should not be a sorrow filled venture. We should not limit its majesty to the forgiveness of our sins. This meal is joy. This meal is Easter. This meal bridges God’s world and our world.
In a few minutes each of us will be invited to partake in the Eucharist. Jesus will make himself known to you, again, in the breaking of the bread. He is the host of this meal.
You have a New Life in Christ, one where He lives and abides within you. So I ask you to look for where God’s world and our world interlock. Love one another so that God may live in us. And remember that you are all one in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Amos 7: 7-17
“This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said, “Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from this land.” And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am [was] no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am [was] a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following my flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
“Now therefore hear the Word of the Lord. You say, “Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.” Therefore thus says the Lord: “Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parceled out by line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.””
I have been invited to preach about a dozen and half times and I try to make each sermon end with a nice happy warm feeling. Given the scripture today that usual comfort becomes nearly impossible
“I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a shepherd, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following my flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
The Prophet Amos presents us with a distinct call and description of his role in communicating the Word of the Lord. He was no prophet, nor did he come from a family of prophets. He was a simple shepherd, a man plucked from his profession and way of life, to proclaim the judgment of God. I read chapter seven and I am left feeling uncomfortable and uncertain. Amos first presents us with an image of a plumb line, to my knowledge this is the only reference to a plumb line in the entirety of the bible, this plumb line is a device used to determine straight and even lines in a field. Think of it as a proverbial level used in construction. Now see, God sets a plumb line against Israel, using a divine standard to measure the fidelity of God’s people.
To fully appreciate Amos’ vision we need to understand Israel during this time…
Amos was called during the reigns of two kings: King Uzziah of Judah [south], and King Jeroboam II of Israel [north]. Amos was from Judah and was called to the northern kingdom to proclaim the Word of God. The reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam were relatively peaceful. There were no major military conflicts and according to Amos it was a time of prosperity, at least for a few at the expense of the many. There seems to have been a breakdown in the old tribal and family systems of land ownership and the emergence of a wealthy class at the top of society. A generation after Amos’ proclamation, the Assyrian empire invaded the Northern Kingdom and carried the people into exile. Amos repeatedly announces that because of Israel’s social injustice and religious arrogance, the Lord will punish them by means of a total military disaster. Amos was not introducing new moral laws, but rather holding people accountable for their transgressions.
The people of Israel during Amos’ time had forgotten what the Lord had done for them. They ignored the Mosaic exodus and turned away from their own deliverance, only to begin subjugating people repeating the events of bondage in Egypt. The elite increased their wealth and became stratified from all others in society. According to Amos, the elite along with the rest of society had rejected the laws of the lord, forgotten their past and ignored God’s greatest commandments. You shall love the lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all you mind and all your strength, AND you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
God sets a plumb line against Israel, judging people by His standards.
Can you imagine what Amos was called to do? Leave his home and way of life, to go into a different kingdom to announce that they will be destroyed because of their actions? I am not surprised to find that Amaziah, priest of Bethel, responds to Amos’ words by telling King Jeroboam “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel.”
God’s judgment is not limited to the King; this is a judgment against all of God’s people.
GUATEMALA
Next Saturday I will be traveling with other college age students to Guatemala for our annual international mission trip. When I first read the scripture for this Sunday I realized how well it matched with the Guatemalan Missional experience… The social injustices of Amos’ time are eerily similar to the injustices still seen in Guatemala today.
Just a little history to establish context:
The Spanish invaded Guatemala in 1519, bringing with them disease and dominion. An epidemic swept across the land; many lost their lives and Guatemala was eventually colonized for its jade, lumber and dye. Many of the indigenous Mayans were pacified and removed from their land. The Spanish also brought the Guatemalans their own religion: Christianity. The Church in Guatemala officially labeled the Mayans as “Naturales” which literally meant that they were primitive. They were considered a lower species, somewhere above animals but below Adam and Eve. This prejudice continued through the 19th century when non-Spanish corporations moved into the country to exploit its fertile lands for fruit and coffee. Again Mayans were displaced and the distinction of “naturales” continued to be used. Imagine being told for over 500 years that you were a lesser creature created by God.
After World War II through 1996 Guatemala was consistently in a state of civil war. Throughout the 1980’s the Military dictator commissioned death squads to seek out indigenous Mayans for their unwillingness to takes sides in the conflict.
So, the people that we are going to serve have experienced 5 centuries of persecution and oppression, they do not have the education or resources to thrive today.
The very few elite in Guatemala have thrived off of the suppression of the Mayan culture. To me this sounds a lot like Amos’ Israel.
The Mission organization that we will be partnering with is called HSP for Highland Support Project; established by Ben and Lupe Blevins. After graduating from the University of Richmond in the 80’s Ben traveled to Guatemala to participate in community organizing and acted as a human shield during the Civil War. It was during this time that me met his wife Lupe and they have been organizing this effort ever since.
The first summer I went to Guatemala, Lupe offered me a story of two villages to explain why HSP does what they do:
Lupe’s village saw the arrival of missionaries when she was a child and they refused to give handouts to the people. Instead of establishing a health clinic they taught the people how to heal one another. Instead of handing out boxes of food they taught the people how to be more efficient with their cooking to sustain their existence. This relationship eventually allowed the missionaries to leave the village because it had become empowered and was able to truly thrive on its own.
The next village over also saw the arrival of missionaries at about the same time. Yet these missionaries brought handouts, brought boxes of food, brought medicine, and then left. Although initially endowed, the materials did not last and the village was unable to sustain itself.
Ben and Lupe believe in attacking injustice by teaching and allowing the indigenous Mayans to thrive on their own, offering empowerment instead of charity.
So what do we do when we go to Guatemala?
We spend the majority of the week building stoves for local Mayan families and finish by helping plant new trees in an attempt at reforestation. The stoves are necessary because most families cook over an open fire within their home, and this creates massive respiratory problems for the children. The stove is incredibly efficient and uses a chimney to draw the smoke outside. The families now use less wood, and have more time to spend with their families. It also helps to empower the local women by giving them more time to work things such as weavings, which they later sell in the market.
But more important than the stoves are the relationships that we are creating with the families we serve. Through our relationships we hope to show these people that we are all equal, that they deserve to be treated fairly, that they are loved. This will mean more than any stove ever could.
Now I did not come all the way to Harmony UMC this morning to tell you that you need to go to Guatemala or any mission trip for that matter. What I offer to you is a new way to live your life. A way handed to us through the bible over the last 2000 years, one where we live for others rather than for ourselves. Knowing that even the Son of God came not to be served but to serve. You do not need to go to a foreign country to do this. Look at your neighbors, look at your community, and look at your church.
When Amos preached his message to the people of Israel it was already too late. They had all settled for the status quo and accepted an unrighteous life. Amos never even calls the people to change their actions; God’s judgment had already been decided.
We still have hope. For us it is not too late. We know from the gift of Jesus Christ what it is that God is calling us to do. So are you willing to settle for mediocrity? Are you content to live an unrighteous life? Truly I tell you we are Israel. Where do you measure up on God’s plumb line?
Amen
Galatians 2:15-21
“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. But if, in our effort to be justified by Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of Sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again the very things I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. For through the Law, I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the Law, then Christ died for nothing.”
[Taylor Mertins] “For through the Law, I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” Paul’s letter to the Galatians, written around 50 AD, offers a window into the formation of what we know as Christianity. As I noted in my sermon on Romans 5 two weeks ago, one of the largest debates in the 1st century was delineated between the validity Jewish-Christians and Gentile Christians. I tried to raise Paul’s admonition that is does not matter WHO you are, Gentile or Jew, God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul addresses yet another debate on what it means to be a follower of Christ. Paul had founded the churches in Galatia and after his departure some Jewish-Christian teachers urged his converts to adopt Jewish laws and customs including circumcision, Sabbath observance, dietary laws, and Jewish festivals. Paul rebukes these claims and attempts to show the people of Galatia that is does not matter WHO you are, or WHAT you do.
Paul contends later in chapter 6, that all who live under the cross of Christ in the new creation are members of the “Israel of God.” He also notes in chapter 3 that the Jewish Law was “our disciplinarian” until Christ came, so that we may be justified by faith.” The late and great theologian Jaroslav Pelikan described the Jewish law as the custodian or tutor of the Jews until Christ came.
Because Christ gave himself up for us, because the Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts, we are justified by our faith, not by what we do. God loves us no matter what, unconditionally. Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul knew that even with his past, persecuting Christians before his CONVERSION on the road to Damascus, Christ lived in him. I think what Paul was trying to tell the Galatians could be summarized this way:
It does not matter who you are.
It does not matter what you do.
But what does matter, is WHY you do it.
[Jake McConville]
– Puerto Rico Mission trip
– Of course my Mother had other plans
– Arriving Puerto Rico
– Time went on relationships developed
– Who is about to kneel at the altar?
[Taylor Mertins] What Jake and I are talking about is not limited to those who are going on mission trips. Each and every one of us is called to help and to serve your neighbors.
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; who lives in you.
Amen.
Romans 5:1-5
“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that he has given to us.”
To me there are two main points in the scripture lesson for today:
1] We are justified by Faith.
2] That suffering eventually leads to hope.
Justification by Faith, made famous by Martin Luther, can be seen in our own Methodist Church history.
“I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: And an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
John Wesley penned these famous words in his journal on May 24th, 1738 in the hours shortly after attending a Moravian society meeting on Aldersgate street in London, England. It is from this place that we, our church, derive our name. This warming of the heart is symbolized in our United Methodist logo with the flame next to the cross. This moment was the paramount of numerous experiences in Wesley’s life that led him from being a man suffocated by his own sufferings to a man who felt and saw the hope of God’s assured love.
“I felt my heart strangely warmed”
Wesley had been listening to a Moravian man read Martin Luther’s preface to Paul’s epistle to the Romans when the event took place. The reader was describing the change, which God works in the heart through faith in Christ.
To fully comprehend Wesley’s episode, one must grasp Paul’s desire and hope in writing to the Roman Church.
One of the biggest issues facing the church in the 1st century was the legitimacy of Jewish-Christians versus Gentile Christians. We know from Pentecost [last Sunday, the day that celebrates God’s pouring down of the Holy Spirit] that Peter went out and addressed the crowds calling out to the Israelites: “Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” This was specifically aimed at the Jews, the Israelites, yet Jesus came to be the light of the World.
In the wake of the day of Pentecost, churches were established throughout ancient Palestine, Greece, and reaching parts of Europe. By the time Paul wrote to the Roman church he faced opposite misunderstandings of the Gospel. In Jerusalem he needed to defend the validity of a largely Gentile church in Rome, who did not observe the Jewish law. In Rome he needed to defend the continuing validity of Israel in God’s purpose. His letter to the Romans insists that there is one gospel for all humanity. Even in his letter to the church in Corinth he decrees that we are all, Jew and Gentile, one body in and through Jesus Christ.
“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that he has given to us.”
It is our faith in God that justifies each and every one of us.
So we are justified by faith.
Our suffering leads to hope.
For me, this is one of the most difficult things to preach about. I live a very blessed life, and I continually see God’s love in everything that I do. But I also understand that suffering is everywhere. I appreciate that we learn from our mistakes but it is hard to stand here and preach to you, telling you that suffering is a good thing. What doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger is a good translation for the second point. I offer the story of John Wesley to help demonstrate how suffering can lead to hope.
When Wesley was 22 he began to fill his personal Journal with entries discerning his call to the ministry, yet he struggled with God’s love in his life. He knew that he felt called but he also felt unworthy of God’s forgiveness and believed that the Word itself was more important than his own personal faith. Within the year he was ordained deacon in the Anglican Church.
In 1735 Wesley was asked to go to America as a minister for the new colony of Georgia. He wrote in his Journal: “My chief motive, to which all the rest are subordinate, is the hope of saving my own soul.” The leader and founder of our denomination felt unworthy of God’s redemption. He was living a life predicated on God’s forgiveness at his death, not during his life.
Wesley’s first experience with the Moravians Brethren, one that would eventually lead him to Aldersgate, took place on the voyage across the Atlantic. The Moravians were holding a service on the deck of the ship when the sea broke over, split the mainsail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks. Everyone began to scream and run yet the Moravians calmly continued to sing and pray. They were not afraid of death. Their faith in God sustained them in all that they did; through their suffering they continued to have faith. This was Wesley’s first tangible experience with God’s unconditional love.
While in Georgia Wesley met his greatest moment of suffering, one that would force him back to England. During his time in Savannah he fell in love with Sophia Hopkey, a young and attractive woman, and he courted her for a short while. Wesley was often called out of the city on long missional ventures to the Native Americans in Georgia, and on one such trip he returned to find Miss Sophia engaged to another man. Feeling betrayed Wesley made the mistake of refusing Sophia communion shortly after her engagement. A warrant was issued for his arrest, which he continued to ignore, until he was considered a criminal at large. Wesley left the colony for England shamed, and suffering.
Upon returning to England Wesley was prevented from speaking in the Anglican churches in response to the Georgian incident. He endured through this time, eventually preaching famously in the open air. Through his endurance he eventually saw the errors of his choices in Georgia, and began to repent for what he had done.
When he was invited to the meeting at Aldersgate his sufferings had finally led him to the realization of hope. Wesley was finally able to hope and to trust in Christ for Salvation, because he felt the Holy Spirit in his own heart.
“I felt my heart strangely warmed, I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: And an assurance was given me, the he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
Suffering leads to Hope
It is fitting that the scripture for this service fell o Memorial Weekend. The greatest example of suffering that leads to hope is the sacrifice of those who have fallen in service to their country. Be it the Civil War, World War 1 or 2, Vietnam, Korea, The Gulf, and now Iraq and Afghanistan, those who have given their lives did so in the hope for a future of peace. The families who have lost sons, daughter, mothers and fathers suffer in the wake of death. But this suffering produces endurance. Our country continues to fight for justice throughout the world. Our endurance leads to character, we area beacon to the rest of the world. Our character produces hope; hope for a future without war, without suffering by the hands of evil.
This past Tuesday I was invited to a Bible Study meeting, made up of women from our church. They had spent the previous 12 weeks learning about the prophecies of the eschaton, or end times as detailed in the Book of Daniel. Before the meeting started one of the women asked me, “What do United Methodist believe about the apocalypse?” And to be honest with you, I have no idea. But like many times in my life, God sprung forth an answer through me that I did not see coming.
This is what I said:
I do not know what the United Methodist church believes about the end, but I do know this: John Wesley was tired of living a life worrying about the end. After his experience at Aldersgate he started living in the present. He made the kingdom of heaven happen here and now on earth to the best of his ability. He began to feel God’s love in his life and tried to replicate that feeling in all that he did.
My friends, this is exactly what we are called to do. We need to take his Word and replicate it in all that we do. We need to believe and understand that suffering produces hope. We need to take the warmth of our hearts and share it with our neighbors. We need to endure. We need character. We need hope. And finally we need to know that God will always love us. Always.
Amen.
The modern Jewish emphasis on individuality and acceptance is a response to the destruction of the personal “I” during the Holocaust. When examining the Nazi’s actions against the Jews through the lens of Raul Hilberg’s 5 Phases of destruction, it becomes clear that their entire intent was predicated on weakening the Jewish people. In light of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust, Modern Jews have become very accepting of differing lifestyles, attempting to rebuild the Jewish identity and culture.
As a people, the Israelites have been faced with conflict since the beginning of time. They were slaves under Egyptian rule until the Exodus story. After they made it to the Holy Land they subsequently attacked by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Persians. After the Diaspora of 587 BCE the largest attack against the Israelites came in Jerusalem by the Romans, culminating in the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. (Flannery, lecture) With the rapid rise and spread of Christianity, the stratification between Jewish Christians and Gentilic Christians grew. The adoption of Christianity in the Roman Empire, under the rule of Constantine, led to further separation.
By the Middle Ages anti-Semitism had grown in popularity. Numerous European towns included art that demonized the Jewish people. This artwork included bridges, statues, and signs. The Jewish people were depicted as having demonic characteristic and were often slaughtering animals for their blood. Subsequently many Jews were accused of the Blood Libel Charge: using Christian blood to make bread. Jews were even accused of “desecrating the host” by rubbing their hands over communion bread. (Flannery, lecture) All of these images aided the anti-Semitic desire to weaken Jewish culture.
The demonization of the Jews came to a head when the Nazis came into power in Germany. The Nazi Regime’s ideology was predicated on the eradication of the Jews. The party rested on four pillars of their platform: nationalism, authoritarianism, militarism, and anti-Semitism. (Flannery, lecture)
The nationalistic drive was fueled by Hitler’s desire for the providential Aryan Race to dominate Europe. He was often photographed in the Alps with a purebred German shepherd, German with blonde hair and blue eyes, and wearing traditional German clothing. Hitler and the Nazi party were successful in dismantling the German government during a time of economic depression, leaving him in an authoritarian position to rule the country. The Nazi party disregarded the limits of military numbers established by the Treaty of Versailles and rapidly began to (re)build the military. The final pillar of Anti-Semitism was carried out via a process that had been culminating since the Middle Ages.
Raul Hilberg’s 5 Phases of Destruction are useful when evaluating the actions of the Nazi regime. The phases are structured linearly as: definition, expropriation, concentration, deportation, and culminates in murder. (Flannery, lecture) To initiate the use of a new definition the Nazis used the Jews as a scapegoat for the country’s economic problems, and called for a boycott of Jewish businesses in 1933. Jews were then required to wear a symbol on their clothing, differentiating them the rest of society. Within 2 years the Nuremberg Laws had been put into effect; one’s “Jewishness” was a trait based on ancestry, rather than religious beliefs. The second phase of expropriation began to take form in and around the implementation of the “Kristallnacht.” In one evening 1,300 synagogues and 7,000 Jewish homes were set on fire, 30,000 Jews were sent to work camps or ghettos, and the forced segregation of Jews from the rest of society was put into action. (Flannery, lecture) In 1938 Hitler announced Germany’s desire to deport the Jews from Germany at a conference in Evian, France. 1939 saw the German invasion of Poland where the majority of the concentration camps would be constructed and filled. By 1940 the “Final Solution” was to be implemented, the goal of which was to eradicate the Jewish people. In a Secret Document from the Third Reich entitled “Protocol of the Wannsee Conference” (written in 1942) the extent of the Nazi desire to exterminate the Jews comes into light: “In the course of this final solution of the European Jewish question approximately 11 million Jews may be taken into consideration…”(Botwinick, 166)
The Nazi Final Solution was administered through the concentration camps of Europe in what is now known as the Holocaust. In the end over 6 million Jews were forced into these camps and were eventually executed. Dr. Carol Zemel’s lecture on the “Art of the Holocaust” gives rare insight into the psyche of the Jewish prisoners. Zemel choose to focus on the images created in the camps on in the time shortly thereafter, which she refers to as “time between time.” Many prisoners who had survived the camps were placed on trains and sent home, giving them time to artistically respond to their past events and uncertain future. It was during this time of “primeval chaos” after liberation that artists portrayed their images without emotion, without narrative sequencing, and without a personal “I.” The images are drawn without borders, helping to demonstrate the feeling of “time within time” and the emotionless faces lend to the destruction of Jewish individuality.
During Aaron Childs’ vacation to Europe he was able to visit the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany. His lecture and slideshow were filled with vivid anecdotes and images from the camp, 60 years after its inception. Childs described the camp’s desire to weaken the individual Jews through constant repetition and dehumanizing efforts. The prisoners were forced to congregate in the middle of the field three times a day for counting, regardless of still being alive. Dead prisoners were carried onto the field so that they too would be accounted for. During these times of inspection the prisoners were forced to look at the ground, again reinforcing the Nazi’s goal to weaken the individual Jew.
Throughout the early 20th century the Nazi party was overwhelmingly successful at weakening the Jewish people and culture. Every act against the Jews was carefully prepared as demonstrated in the “Protocol of the Wannsee Conference” and led towards the final solution. Between the forced symbols depicting one’s “jewishness” and forcing the Jews into the ghettos, the Nazi regime destroyed the Jewish personal “I.”
By 1946 World War 2 had ended and war crimes were being charged at the Nuremberg Trials. In the wake of these trials three major advances took place: the Geneva Convention, the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Response to the Holocaust. The response to the Holocaust was the creation and establishment of the modern country of Israel.
Over the last sixty years, the Jewish response to the Holocaust has resulted in a wide array of acceptance and diversity. The Jewish comedic film “When Do We Eat?” helps to demonstrate this modern sentiment. Though fictional, the characters show how through their diversity they are still one people. The grandfather, a survivor of the Holocaust, always keeps a suitcase with him because “you never know when they’ll come for you.” His son, the patriarch of the family, is a man whose employment comes from selling Christmas ornaments. The grandson, and eldest son of the patriarchical father, is a recent adoptee of Orthodox Judaism, and wore the proper attire to the Passover meal. All three of these men are incredibly different and would not have shared a Passover meal before the events of the 1940’s. But it is in light of the horror of the holocaust and the destruction of the personal “I” that modern Jews have become more accepting of the different lifestyles. As a people the Jews were forced to lose their own sense of identity during the Holocaust and the years leading up to it. The only necessary reaction was to celebrate life, to love on another, and to accept the differing perspectives of Judaism.
Bibliography
Botwinick, Rita. A Holocaust Reader: From Ideology to Annihilation. NJ: Prentice Hall. 1998.
Childs, Aaron. “European Vacation.” James Madison University. 4/2010
Flannery, Frances. “Judaism.” James Madison University. 1/2010 – 4/2010
When Do We Eat?. Dir. Salvador Litvak. 2005. DVD
Zemel, Carol. “Art of the Holocaust.” James Madison University. 3/2010
think and let think 