Theme:
Those Crazies; They Have Always Been with Us
Quotes
Being crazy isn’t enough
Dr. Seuss
Looks like what drives me crazy
Don’t have no effect on you–
But I’m gonna keep on at it
Till it drives you crazy, too.
Langston Hughes, Selected Poems
In a world full of people, there’s only some want to fly.
Isn’t that crazy.
But we’re never gonna survive unless we go a little crazy
Seal, Lyrics: Crazy
Call to Gather
There are so many people
thinking you’re crazy
to pack yourself into your winter coats
this early on a Sunday morning
when staying warm and cozy is the easiest thing to do.
There are so many people
thinking you’re crazy
for coming to church,
a remnant of another time, to them.
But welcome.
Crazy is and always was
welcome in this place.
Welcome.
Revised Common Lectionary Readings
Isaiah 11:1-10, Reimagined
Out of the root of our past, out of what has long lain dormant, new hope shall arise. Its cause will be our reawakening to the gifts we have forgotten. It will be as though we were reborn and amongst them we will find a spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and might, of knowledge and a humble acceptance of what we know to be right.
Let’s hold these things in our hearts, use them to make judgments, to pass beyond what appearances are and find the deeper truth of matters that touch the poor, the meek, those unable to speak for themselves.
Let’s use these things to create a world of peace and justice, a world in which those who have preyed upon humanity and the earth’s resources will be silenced by the beauty of all life and moved to humble response; a world where the simple trust in a child’s eyes will set responsibility at the feet of the powerful and that responsibility will be accepted with care and understanding; a world in which hurt and destruction will no longer be known for it shall be as full of the beauty of the holy as waters that cover the sea.
On that day, the wonder of life shall be seen and we might all rejoice.
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19, Reimagined
Where lie the boundaries of a people’s lands
that they might stretch their will upon it?
Who lays them out? What marks them?
Is it the trodden paths of its people, creased along its edges?
Do the banks of the rivers carve them out?
Or will the ranges of grey stone
forever draw them, shadowed lines against the sky?
And should a people claim a land and call it theirs,
where then should lodge their justice,
the balance of righteousness within those lands?
Shall it lie in the hand of a ruler to mete out the land’s prosperity?
Are the wealthy fit to judge the needs of the poor
or the poor better able to allot the rich their portion?
Who calls out the oppressors that they might learn hope?
Who leads the broken into recognition of their wholeness?
Who tells the dying they are loved?
Romans 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12
For complete texts, please see Vanderbilt Lectionary Resources: Revised Common Lectionary Texts
For commentary on original texts, please see Chris Haslam’s Commentary on the Revised Common Lectionary Texts
Alternate Readings
Words to Introduce the Reading(s)
Living is the magic that makes meaning of our lives.
For the information of the Reader
The original “Think Different” ad campaign cemented Apple’s “out there” philosophy. It also squarely targeted the well-known “Think IBM” message coming from Apple’s greatest competitor. Although Steve Jobs is often credited with the campaign, it was actually the brainchild of Craig Tanimoto, an advertising designer for the company Jobs hired to raise Apple’s faltering image. Once the concept was embraced by Jobs, Siltanen penned the words to accompany the TV campaign. Although Jobs initially argued the piece was “advertising shit”, Siltanen prevailed, and the final version was very close to what he originally presented. Forbes Magazine, “The Real Story Behind Apple’s Think Different Campaign.”
Reading
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Rob Siltanen, Apple Marketing Campaign
For the information of the Reader
Tara Kelly is an author and musician. Harmonic Feedback is about a young girl with Asberger’s.
Reading
Normal is an ideal. But it’s not reality. Reality is brutal, it’s beautiful, it’s every shade between black and white, and it’s magical. Yes, magical. Because every now and then, it turns nothing into something.
Tara Kelly, Harmonic Feedback
Response to the Reading
Leader: Offered as wisdom for the journey
All: May we walk in its light
Focused Moment
The morning opens
another day,
scattering dreams
beyond memory,
their whisps crossing the liminal moment
into their forgotten realms,
intangible pleats pressed deep inside the grey
where what we know
is but a tiny fraction
of what might be.
Another day.
Another day.
Another day.
Another day.
Another possibility.
Another possibility.
Another possibility.
We are free.
© 2018, gretta vosper
Image:
Hymn
When Love is Shared
Tune: Hairston
Popular Hymn: Mary’s Little Boy-Child
The other night I dreamed a dream:
a wondrous thing had come about:
it made me want to sing and shout!
I now know what must be done!
Here is the simplest way:
When love is shared by everyone
‘twill be a truly wonderful day!
This happy day and all the year,
if we would stop and look around,
we’d find so much that we could do
so peace and love could truly abound.
I now know what must be done!
Here is the simplest way:
When love is shared by everyone
‘twill be a truly wonderful day!
© 2013, gretta vosper
Thoughts and Additional Resources on the Week’s Theme
Perspective(s) Notes
Thoughts
- Why is this time of year always so crazy?
- good reasons
- not so good reasons
- what might be changed?
- What might a different sort of crazy look like in your community?
- Who calls the shots? Are they crazy? Or do they need the input of some real crazies to get to where the community needs to be?
- Where do the borders lie within and beyond your community and what do they stimulate or prevent?
- What might be gained by a little bit of crazy or some seriously outside-the-box thinking?
Standard Outline
Concept
- What are the ideas that emerge from the readings, music, and videos?
- How did they evolve into importance or centrality for you?
- What can the people with you this week do with these ideas in their lives?
- Personally?
- Professionally?
- As citizens?
- Who are the other people for whom these ideas might be significant?
Given the theme, concept, and readings, where do you want to take the message this week? When exploring it with your congregation, what is the ultimate point you wish to bring to them to consider? Think this through carefully and have a good idea what you want to say before continuing.
Relevance: The following questions are meant to help you personalize and deepen what you will be offering your community. Because you have clarified the focus of the message already, it remains central and is strengthened when imbued with or attending to the realities in the lives of those who will hear you.
What’s relevant in your community right now?
Before you begin, take time to reflect on what is happening inside and outside your community locally, regionally, nationally, internationally.
- What may be happening in each or any of these constituencies that may be relevant? Be sure to allow yourself to consider each one independently of the others; on occasion, one might tend to overwhelm the others, but all are significant. Your effort is to be relevant to the people, not to list a host of connections. They are able to make their own connections the congregation the congregation’s neighborhood/municipality your country the world
Grounding: The purpose of your message is to provide meaningful insights and inspiration in the lives of those who gather before you. Closing is often difficult if times are challenging, and most of our times seem to be. This carefully but simply constructed outline gives hearers straightforward pieces to take with them and is based on consideration for self, others, and the planet. Consider that they leave asking themselves:
- How does what I have heard today make a difference to me?
- How does it allow me to see and act differently toward others?
- How does it call me to be in relation to the planet?
Video
Celebration of Commitment
What does crazy look like when we’re crazy for love we haven’t yet spent?
When we’re crazy for the people we haven’t yet met?
When we’re crazy for the world we haven’t yet saved?
What does crazy look like when we dream beyond our limits?
Can we even do that?
When we imagine tomorrow, why not let a little crazy find its way into the dream?
Just for fun
Consider playing Mustang Sally during the reception of the offering. Written by Mack Rice, recorded by Wilson Pickett in 1966, sung in this recording by Jimmy Barnes, 2015.
Commissioning
When you put your heart to crazy,
anything can happen.
Doors open.
Mouths shut.
Feet move or suddenly stop.
Fingers get pointed.
Possibilities become.
Endings prevail.
Fools abound.
Pretending a reality becomes a thing.
When you put your heart to crazy,
you have to be ready for a ride.
Ride, people, ride.
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