Role Models, Part 3

 Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church 

 
 

 

 A warm welcome to each worshiper today. We celebrate you and offer you our friendship and love. We are a congregation of people who seek to grow spiritually, to become more like Christ in His compassion and acceptance of everyone while growing more aware of what it really means to be Christians today. 

 

As a Reconciling Congregation, EPUMC affirms the sacred worth of persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities and welcomes them into full participation in the fellowship, membership, ministries, and leadership of the congregation. 

  

  

943 Palmer Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12309 / 518-374-4306 epumc943@gmail.com / www.easternparkway.org 

Order of Worship 

February 12, 2023 

10:00 a.m. 

*You are invited to rise in body or spirit. 

  

Prelude  

 
 

Greeting and Announcements 

 
 

Mission Statement: 

We are a faith community striving to be, to nurture, and to send forth disciples of Jesus Christ. 

 
 

Call to Worship: 

Happy are those who are without blame. 

Blessed are those who walk in God’s way. 

Happy are those who are faithful. 

Blessed are those who seek God. 

We will obey your word, O God. 

We will praise you forever! 

 
 

*Hymn Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing #400 

 
 

Prayer of Confession: 

Loving God, 

you call us into community, 

teach us your ways, 

and bless us with abundant life. 

Yet we turn aside to follow other paths: 

we take the easy way out, 

listening to the world’s call 

rather than your call to commitment; 

we quarrel with one another, 

letting differences divide us; 

we cherish our resentments, 

shutting off our hearts 

from forgiveness and reconciliation; 

we cling to petty jealousies, 

feeling we deserve more than we have. 

Forgive us when we wander from your love. 

Draw us into community with each other, 

and feed us with the milk of your grace, 

that we may grow in faithfulness 

and work together in peace. Amen. 

  

Assurance: 

God is at work, nurturing our growth and showing us the ways that lead to life. God is at work, reconciling us to one another and teaching us the paths of love. God is at work, hearing our confessions, forgiving our disobedience, and blessing us in love. Thanks be to God! 

 

Scripture Reading Matthew 5: 21-37 

 

Concerning Anger 

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister,[a] you will be liable to judgment, and if you insult[b] a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council, and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell[c] of fire. 23 So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court[d] with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. 

Concerning Adultery 

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin,[e] tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.[f] 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin,[g] cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.[h] 

Concerning Divorce 

31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 

Concerning Oaths 

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.[i] 

 
 

Sermon Role Models, Part 3 

 

Friends, today we’re in part 3 of this sermon series I’ve put together during this time right before Lent when the Lectionary has us looking at the Sermon on the Mount together. Since the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ most familiar teachings on how to follow his lead in this life, every week we’re pairing the scripture with a role model of the faith who may not have been perfect, but who definitely did the best they could. 

Today’s role model is Jarena Lee. Born on February 11, 1783, in Cape May, New Jersey, she was born to free Black parents. However, by the age of seven, she began working as a live-in servant for a White family. Exact details of her childhood were scarcely recorded and hard to come by, but she moved between a few White families seeking live-in servants, and, by her account, didn’t grow up religious. As a teenager, just at the turn into the 19th Century, the United States was entering a religious revival, and by chance during this era she attended a meeting and felt spoken to. She began thinking of herself as Christian, but quickly internalized a ton of guilt, and feelings of unworthiness. She struggled with thoughts of taking her life for several years, but felt released from them after a few months of constant prayer. 

A side note from Pastor Natalie, when I read Jarena’s bio I questioned her mental health throughout her life, because as soon as she felt cured of suicidal thoughts, she began hearing voices. No judgment, but I wonder if a good psychiatrist might have been able to help her. However, my opinion is colored by my modern-day bias, and by just plain not being Jarena Lee. Lee recounted that those voices told her “Go preach the Gospel; I will put words in your mouth.”  

She told her friend, pastor, and mentor, Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, about the voices she was hearing, and, unlike me, Allen didn’t question her mental health, but he did firmly tell her that girls don’t preach in the AME. Lee responded, "If the man may preach, because the Savior died for him, why not the woman, seeing he died for her also? Is he not a whole Savior, instead of half of one?" Unfortunately, this didn’t change Allen’s mind. Nevertheless, Lee persisted. 

Lee’s perseverance paid off several years later, while attending service at her home church, when Lee noticed the pastor began to feel unwell during the service. I’ll spare you all details, but I got a nosebleed during a worship service once, and when something like that happens when you’re in the pulpit, you’re really in a jam. Lee took her pastor’s place and delivered the sermon that day, and won the respect of her community, whose eyes were forced open by the experience. On that day Lee became the first woman preacher in the AME. She began paving the way for scores of other women preachers, and preachers of color, who fought for their voices to be heard during this era. 

Lee gained the support of Richard Allen, and her first critic became a powerful ally. Still, as Lee’s calling to preach intensified, she faced a wall of criticism and prejudice from people who believed preachers should be White men, with the occasional Black man allowed to serve AME congregations, but never women. In response to those who condemned her ministry, Lee said, “Did not Mary first preach the risen Savior?” Knowing that many needed to see that Black women can preach, and further knowing how much the world needed Jesus, Lee began traveling by foot to deliver the Gospel to anyone who would listen. She recounted that in one single year she “travelled 2,325 miles, and preached 178 sermons.” She was married for a short time, a mere six years, to a man named Joseph who was a preacher himself, and who moved Lee away from the Philadelphia area that had eventually become her home and to a small town a few miles away. Lee felt like a fish out of water, and her husband didn’t support women preachers and stifled her mission. After his health began failing and he died young, Lee resolved that the best way to deal with her grief was to carry on with her calling. She had no money, no supplies, no means of travel other than her feet, and many, many detractors, but Lee covered a ton of ground, and brough the Word to anyone who would hear it. Her activity fortified that of itinerant Methodist preachers, who planted congregations across the country like wildfire right at this time period. Lee further paved the way for other prominent traveling women preachers like Sojourner Truth and Maria Stewart. Religious historians credit Lee with the founding of the Wesleyan Holiness Movement, a 19th Century expression of Methodism that urged pure and sinless living. In 1836, Lee became the first African American woman to publish an autobiography. She passed away in 1864 at the age of 80. 

So, we hold this woman’s incredible legacy against this morning’s scripture reading, which covers a ton of ground—anger, swearing, oaths, adultery, and divorce. The first thing you invariably notice in reading these verses is that Jessu holds us to a standard that is literally impossible to attain, at least in this life. And that’s exactly what Matthew’s predominantly Jewish audience would have thought. Well-versed in the Torah, they were very familiar with the Ten Commandments, two of which are quoted here, and the Law delivered by Moses. “Don’t murder”. Ok, sounds reasonable as long as you’re not Tony Soprano. Check. That makes me a good person, right? “Don’t commit adultery.” Pretty sure most of us who aren’t burned out celebrities or bored politicians can adhere to that one. Check. Am I good enough?  

Am I good enough?  

Remember the sorrow Lee felt right after her religious conversion, feeling so sinful and inadequate that she nearly died by suicide? Not that her level of sadness is exactly common, but by sharing those vulnerable details of her own life she exposed something important for all of us. We ask the wrong questions. “Am I good enough?” is the wrong question. The goal was never “good enough.” We can’t reach heavenly perfection, and Jesus wants us to understand that. He both comforts and challenges. Don’t burden yourself with the notion that there’s a list of cosmic laws you can’t break. The bad news? You probably broke several of them shortly after getting out of bed this morning. The good news? God loves you no matter what. 

The point isn’t narrowly and cautiously avoiding a list of naughty behaviors. The point is respecting one another on a deep enough level to not perpetuate harm. So resisting adultery isn’t enough to prove you respect women, especially in the age of #metoo. If you objectify women in thought, word, or behavior, you’re guilty. Fix that. Staying on this side of murder isn’t enough to prove you value life. Our sparks of rage toward one another at all these imagined offenses in life are where the problems always start. Fix that. And instead of making swears and oaths to one another, and setting yourselves up to make big promises you can’t keep, mean what you say and take care of one another.  

The world needs us to move away from legalism and towards respect. Our proud beliefs that we’ve stayed out of trouble don’t win us points with God, and, even more importantly, don’t transform the Church from an institution still dominated by White men to a place that hears all voices. If we want to empower the Jarena Lees in our midst to live out their callings—and we do—then we need to ask ourselves, over and over, how we can do more to embrace our neighbors and live in loving fellowship. 

Amen. 

 
 

*Hymn Come, Ye Thankful People, Come #694 

 
 

Offering  
 

Offertory  

 
 

*Doxology #94 

*Prayer of dedication             

 
 

Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer 

 

O Lord, hear our prayers: 
Prayers for hope for those who feel hopeless 
Prayers for healing for those who need healing 
Prayers for jobs for those who are jobless 
Prayers for community for those who feel lonely 
Prayers for peace for those whose lives are filled with conflict. 
Prayers for understanding for those seeking to be understood. 
Prayers for comfort those who grieve. 
Prayers for food for those who hunger. 
Prayers for shelter for those who are homeless. 
Prayers for clean water for those whose waters are contaminated 
Prayers for rain for those who live in drought. 
Prayers for a time of drying for those who are facing too much rain. 
Prayers for freedom for those who live under dictatorships. 
Prayers for wisdom for our leaders. 
Prayers for spiritual growth and health for our churches. 
Prayers for your Kingdom to reign here on earth. 
Amen. 

— written by Rev Abi, and posted on RevGalBlogPals blog.  http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.ca/  She blogs at the Long and Winding Road. http://vicarofwadley.blogspot.ca/ 

 

Our Father, Mother, Creator God, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdome come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. Lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen. 

 
 
 

*Hymn O For a Heart to Praise My God #417 

 
 

Benediction 

 
Postlude  

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

Staff 

Natalie Bowerman Pastor 

Betsy Lehmann Music Director 

Joe White Custodian 

Cassandra Brown Nursery Attendant