Skit and Sermon for Summer Worship - August

Preached at St. John Lutheran Church on August 14, 2016
Scripture text: 1 John 4:7-21

Pastor's note: As the others, this service and sermon is also derived from the Youth Sunday materials from Cross The Sky ministries.

It is also my last official function as youth pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in New Freedom. My time with them has come to its end and I look forward to new ventures. I give thanks to God for these past three years and the service I was able to render at this congregation.

Skit - Frozen People.

A group of people stand in a group. Each one holds a sign that ID’s them as “geek,” “bully,” “homeless,” etc.

Geek: (holding phone) Man, where is that Pokemon? I know it’s around here somewhere.

Bully: (mockingly) Dude, really? What a nerd. Get out of here. You make me sick.

Geek walks away dejected and the stranger approaches the geek.

Stranger: (To Geek) Hello.

Geek, still dejected and depressed, doesn’t notice at first.

Stranger: Hello

Geek: (sadly) Oh, hi.

Stranger: What are you doing?

Geek: Oh, I was just looking for Pokemon on my phone, but…

Stranger: (interrupting) That’s cool.

Geek: (disbelieving) Really?

Stranger: Yeah, and that’s a cool shirt too.

Geek: (disbelieving) This old thing? Everyone makes fun of me for the way I dress.

Stranger: They shouldn’t. You’re a good guy.

Congregation/other cast: YOU CAN’T DO THAT. HE’S A GEEK.

Stranger: So? He’s my friend.

Geek and Stranger walk off stage together.

Homeless: (approaching bully) You got some change? Anything? I’m hungry.

Bully: (disgusted) Yuck. Look at you. You haven’t showered in days. You smell awful. Get away from me!

Homeless walks away dejected and the stranger returns, approaching the homeless.

Stranger: (To homeless) Hello.

Homeless, still dejected and depressed, doesn’t notice at first.

Stranger: Hello

Homeless: (sadly) Oh, hi.

Stranger: How are you doing?

Homeless: Not good. I’m hungry. I need something to eat.

Stranger fishes in his pocket for some money.

Stranger: (offering money) Here.

Homeless: (disbelieving) Really?

Stranger: Yeah, take it.

Homeless: You don’t think I’m going to take it for booze or drugs or something else?

Stranger: No, I trust you.

Congregation/other cast: YOU CAN’T DO THAT. HE’S HOMELESS.

Stranger: So? He’s my friend.

Homeless and Stranger walk off stage together.

Bully stands alone. He paces about impatiently, then sits down dejected.

Bully: I hate being alone.

The stranger approaches.

Stranger: Hey. You okay?

Bully: Not really. I’m all alone.

Stranger: You weren’t exactly nice to those other folk.

Bully: Why should I be? No one’s ever nice to me.

Stranger: I can be. You want to hang out?

Bully: (disbelieving) Really?

Stranger: Yeah, you want to get a snack or something?

Bully: You don’t think I’m a terrible person?

Stranger: No, I think you need a friend.

Congregation/other cast: YOU CAN’T DO THAT. HE’S A JERK.

Stranger: So? He’s my friend. (Bully and Stranger walk off stage together.)

Fin

Sermon

I find myself in an interesting place as I begin to speak tonight. Tonight’s worship service is my last official duty as the youth pastor of this church. As many of you know, my position has been eliminated due to budget issues, so this is my swan song. It is also conducted barely 24 hours after I have returned from a week at the ELCA’s national church assembly in New Orleans, so I am filled with all sorts of thoughts and reflections about what happened to me there. And so here we are, at the intersection of these two moments in my life, wondering what does it all mean?

Of course, that’s the question that is always before us. It’s why we come to church in the first place. It’s why we’re here tonight. Our lives are what they are. We come here to this place to make sense of them and to find a way forward. We come to prayer, the reading of Scripture, the sharing of Sacrament, to hear God’s take on our lives. What does he think about what we’re dealing with? What we’re doing? What does he want us to do now? What does it all mean?

The questions are complex, but their answers are not. Because it seems no what the specifics of our questions on this or any other night, we keep coming back to the same answer. It’s about love. It’s always about love.

How do I relate to people who are different from me? People like the geek or the homeless guy or the bully in our skit tonight? Love them.

How do I respond to people in my life who are ugly in spirit or alien in thought? Love them.

How do I something about the problems of our society? Or our world? You start by loving people.

How do I deal with racism or sexism or Islamophobia or homophobia in someone else? Show them the way of love. How do I deal with it within myself? Start loving those people you used to hate.

But you can’t do that, the world will want to tell you. They don’t deserve it. It’s not proper. Go and love them anyway.

But what if they laugh at me? What if people reject me? It’s a dangerous thing to love the wrong sort of folk. It can get you in trouble. Just look at Jesus. Loving the wrong sort got him nailed to a cross.

Yeah, it did. Love is dangerous. Jesus did it anyway. He knew what would happen. In fact, he counted on it. Because he loves us so much that he would do anything to be with us, even die on a cross.

(To each person) He did that for you. That’s how much he loves you.

Jesus dies because God would rather die than be without us. Now THAT’S love.

And that love is the root and the foundation of all that we do. Growing up, I was that nerd in the skit. I got picked on and tormented by bullies. On my own, I’m not going to love people like that. I can’t do it. But, because of Christ, I can and I will.

Jesus doesn’t care what the world thinks of you. Jesus doesn’t really care even what you think of you. He just loves you and he calls you to love others.  That’s where all our questions lead. It’s where we are in this moment no matter what experiences have brought us to this place tonight. We are loved by a God who gives everything to claim us as his own and we are sent to show that love to a world that needs it. It really is that simple. Amen.