Tag Archives: Mister Rogers

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Welcome to the Neighborhood!

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“Welcome to the Neighborhood!”

Mark 12:28-34 (12:33) – June 29, 2025

Welcome to the second in our summer sermon series on Fred Rogers, of the television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which aired on PBS for more than 30 years. As I said last week, I have great respect for Fred Rogers. I have even said a number of times (only partly humorously) that when I grow up, I want to be Mister Rogers.

When we consider our Scripture reading today, we might not at first be able to see clearly how the Rabbi Jesus instructing on the Greatest Commandment connects with Fred Rogers. We will explore that, but first, let’s take a closer look at today’s reading from Mark 12.  

            Starting with verse 28: 28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

            We need a little backstory here. The teachers of the Jewish Law (or the Law of Moses, from the Hebrew Scriptures) were quintessential rule-followers, often to the extreme! We can see that from the situation Jesus is dealing with, right here.  As one of our commentators said, “Throughout Mark’s Gospel, the scribes [and teachers] were always evaluating Jesus’ activities. They judged Jesus theologically.” [1] The Rabbi Jesus and some high-ranking teachers of the Law are having another in their series of continuing discussions. These teachers really enjoyed discussing the Law, and both the major as well as the minor points of Judaism. Some teachers would get all excited and rub their hands at the prospect of a good argument! I mean, discussion.

That’s where we pick up our thread of the narrative. Different rabbis or teachers had different opinions on what was the greatest of all commands. I am certain some of these teachers wanted to know what Jesus considered the “most important” of the 613 laws in the Mosaic Law code, which was (and still is) the official, orthodox Jewish rule book.

Our Lord Jesus said right here (and also in a parallel account in Matthew 22) that the Greatest Commandment has two parts. First part: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Second part: Love your neighbor as yourself. The short way for us to think of this two-part command? Love God – vertically – and love neighbor – horizontally.

One common way of understanding this is that loving God first and foremost (which is a command, NOT a suggestion!) naturally leads us to loving neighbor. Our sermon today is called “Welcome to the Neighborhood,” because loving and caring about our neighbors is one of the foundational beliefs that was all-important to Fred Rogers.

For some additional understanding on what the Bible has to say about our neighbors, we can look at an unexpected place. Unexpected for Christians on a typical Sunday morning in the 21st century, that is. Let’s turn to Deuteronomy 10:17–19, where we see the Hebrew people after they have left slavery in Egypt and before they have entered the Promised Land.

Starting at verse 17: “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.” Did we catch that last part? This is the Lord speaking. God shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. God tells us – and it is NOT just a suggestion – God commands all of the people of Israel and all of us (by extension) as the people of God, to love the foreigner residing among us, “for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”

So, who IS our neighbor? Not just our relatives. Not just the people who go to our church, or our acquaintance from the garden club, or our friend from down the street. Instead, God commands us to defend the fatherless and the widow, and love the foreigner living in our neighborhood. Those foreigners – or our new neighbors, as Fred Rogers would say – are the ones who speak in a different language, or who come from a different country, or who dress in different clothes, or who worship at a different place than we do. Fred Rogers would be open, be curious, and most important, be caring and loving to everyone.  

Think about a time when you were new in a place. It could be a new home in a new location or a new school or workplace. It may be being new in an activity or class or team. How did it feel to be the “new one?” What would have made you feel welcome? Could you do that for someone else? Even a friendly smile or a greeting, like “good morning?”

            Fred Rogers would often ask people to do a short exercise. He would ask journalists to participate, or groups he’d speak to, and even the audience when he won the Emmy for Lifetime Achievement in 1997. Mr. Rogers would ask people to be silent for thirty seconds and think about people who have loved them into being. At the Emmy’s ceremony, Mr. Rogers marks the time. The camera pans the whole audience, with people deep in thought, and everything on the recording is absolutely silent during this time as well. [2]

Just like Fred Rogers, I would like to ask us to take 30 seconds to think about people who welcomed us and made us feel like neighbors. Who loved us, and welcomed us? Can you think of people who still warm your heart when you think of them? Take 30 seconds. ( … )  

I know I often ask in my sermons “what would Jesus do?” Who would Jesus love? We are supposed to, we are commanded to love God – vertically – and to love our neighbor – horizontally.

This week, I am going to change up my question, and ask “what would Fred Rogers do?” Who would Fred love? Who would Fred call his neighbor? I think, everyone. Each and every person. Go. Go, and do that.

Alleluia, amen.

(A big thank you to the online resources for Mr. Rogers Day – the Sunday nearest March 20th, Fred Rogers’ birthday. These resources come from the Presbyterian Church (USA). https://www.pcusastore.com/Content/Site119/Basics/13792MrRogersIG_00000154465.pdf )

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-31-2/commentary-on-mark-1228-34-4

[2] https://www.pcusastore.com/Content/Site119/Basics/13792MrRogersIG_00000154465.pdf

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Came to Serve in the Neighborhood

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“Came to Serve in the Neighborhood”

Mark 10:42-45 (10:43) – June 22, 2025

I’ve had a great respect and fondness for Fred Rogers, for many years. You know, Fred Rogers, of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I watched the television show with my small children – all four of them, at various times. I so appreciated Fred’s gentle, caring, loving way of speaking to everyone. Not only the children. He was the real deal. Fred was a genuine, caring, compassionate person, interested in everyone and everything. And, especially in children.

Right now, with bombings and raids and rumors of war on the minds of many people worldwide, right now seems like a strategic time for us to be starting a summer sermon series on Fred Rogers. Today’s uncertain time in history is somewhat similar to the uncertain times in the area where the Rabbi Jesus grew up and was teaching and preaching. Occupied territory. I fear that your typical person on that first-century street in Israel did not have guarantees of security or comfort in their lives, either.  

Our reading is from Mark 10, just a few verses before the beginning of chapter 11, where Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday for the final Passion week of His life. This is the very end of Rabbi Jesus’s three-year ministry. His disciples had been with Him, and learned from Him for three whole years. At this time just before the Passion week, Jesus calls all the disciples together to give them a short recap on the Gentiles—the Romans—the worldly way of dealing with pre-eminence, greatness, and authority.

I would like us to focus especially on a few verses from our Gospel reading today.  “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

If we notice, Jesus did not want to be a big shot, strong-man, autocratic leader. Instead, we see the life of Jesus as offering unique insights and inspiration to all of us. Our Lord Jesus shows us how to live as a servant leader. In His life and teachings, Jesus consistently demonstrated the core principles of servant leadership. Our Lord Jesus embodied servant leadership in its purest form. [1]

People in the first century just did not understand. Not even when the Rabbi Jesus explained to the disciples that they needed to become completely of no account, like children, they still did not have any idea of what Jesus was talking about.

What is the overarching disconnect and problem here? “Power has been the perennial problem in human history. The reality of power is complex; its use and misuse in all human, social and political relations and interactions has been a question of utmost importance for all peoples.” [2]  

I strongly suspect that Fred Rogers would have objected to have his life compared to the earthly life of our Lord Jesus. However, I see some definite parallels. It is here that Fred Rogers shines. Yes, he totally understood and appreciated becoming like a child. He became vulnerable, totally open, on a daily basis. Fred Rogers turned the power dynamics of the popular world and of politicians and of world leaders on their head. Just exactly like Jesus did.

I’m going to tell you about a church I attended, years back, while I was still at seminary. Smaller church, here in the north suburbs of Chicago. The church was going to have a clean-up day in the nursery and small children’s area, after the morning worship service. The Sunday school and children’s ministry people had been planning it for a number of weeks. A number of people had dressed for church with their cleaning clothes on, blue jeans and t-shirts. The group even sent out for sandwiches for a quick lunch before they began to clean up.

            My husband Kevin approved of the clean-up; our children weren’t that far beyond that younger age group. We couldn’t stay after service that day, but said our good-byes to the cleaners. On our way out, we ran into the associate pastor. She had delivered the sermon that morning and worn her clerical robes in church. However, she had transformed; she had changed into blue jeans and a sweatshirt. She had a bucket and a spray bottle of cleanser in her hands, and cheerfully wished us well as my husband and I went off to the next event.

            My husband’s opinion of that associate pastor rose by leaps and bounds that day. He told me how impressed and pleased he was to see that she was willing to go to work without blowing her own horn. She was willing to get her hands dirty for the church, not just look pastoral and holy up front in the sanctuary. She was willing to be a servant, as well as a leader!

            I know I have mentioned this before, in my past sermons. I’ll mention it again. Fred Rogers was not only the star, puppet performer, writer and producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he was also a Presbyterian minister in the PC(USA) denomination. He was ordained into the ministry of communication to families via the medium of television. “Fred Rogers committed his life to making television programs for the very young because he saw its potential as an instrument for good as a gift. He cared deeply about those on the other side of the screen – their needs, concerns, struggles and joys.” [3]

            Years ago, I sensed that deep caring through the television, as my small children watched Mister Rogers. I rejoice that my children – and countless others – had the opportunity and blessing to meet with this television neighbor, who strove to give his absolute best in a way that young children could readily understand.

That is exactly who and what Fred Rogers was, too. Each and every day. He said, “I’d like to be remembered for being a compassionate human being who happened to be fortunate enough to be born at a time when there was a fabulous thing called television that could allow me to use all the talents that I had been given.” [4]

I do not imagine that I have one quarter, even one tenth of the compassionate skills, talents and spiritual gifts that Fred Rogers was blessed with. But, I have the ability to be my honest, caring self in my ministry with others. God has given us all the opportunity and the blessing to be a blessing to others, each and every day.

How can you be a blessing to others, today? Tomorrow? Next month? We don’t need to be television personalities or leaders on the state or national level to follow in the way of Fred Rogers, and of other servant leaders. We can also be faithful in the little things, like clean-up day at the church. How can you and I serve God and serve others, today? We are all called to serve by Jesus. Let us serve in all honesty, caring, and love for others, in our neighborhood today.  

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://chieflings.com/examples-of-servant-leaders-in-the-bible/

[2] “Minjung and Power: A Biblical and Theological Perspective on Doularchy (Servanthood),” Kim Yong-Bock, at Religion OnLine.

[3] https://www.misterrogers.org/about-fred-rogers/

[4] https://www.misterrogers.org/about-fred-rogers/

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The Most Excellent Gift

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“Love: The Most Excellent Gift”

1 Cor 13 love, ring

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (12:31) – February 3, 2019

In less than two weeks, the yearly holiday of romance and love will be celebrated. Yes, the holiday of Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. According to the popular women’s magazine Woman’s Day, people here in the United States spend a lot of money on their Valentines: an estimated $18.2 billion in 2017, including 144 million Valentine’s Day cards. [1] Gifts, cards and chocolates are wonderful for that special someone in your life! But—is this idea of love what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote the Scripture passage we read today?

As we come to the end of our series of gifts from God, we can think back over the past month. As we celebrated Epiphany the first Sunday of January, we not only saw the gifts the foreign-born Magi gave to the toddler Jesus, but we celebrated the greatest Christmas gift of all time: the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. We also rejoice as we remember our baptism and the tremendous gift of God’s grace bestowed upon all of us.

We consider what Paul was talking about in the previous chapter, 1 Corinthians 12. Spiritual gifts! We spent two weeks discussing the generous gifts God gives each of us—all of us. Gifts of helps, service, teaching, healing, wisdom, understanding—and then some. What is more, Paul encourages us to put these gifts into practice for the common good of others. And last week, we explored the interconnectedness of each of us and each of the gifts that we bring to this family of faith. We learned that we need one another in a fundamental way. [2]

Which leads us to our Scripture reading for today, from 1 Corinthians 13. Paul caps off this discussion of spiritual gifts with the most excellent gift of all: love.

Many people relate the reading of the this “Love chapter” with weddings. Romance and hearts and flowers—and Valentine’s Day—seem to go hand in hand with this chapter. That is, on the surface. But, when the Apostle Paul really gets going on the depth and breadth of God’s love, he does not mean hearts and flowers and candy at all. God’s love is what is offered to all of us.

What does God’s love look like? Paul gives us some vivid examples. Reading from The Message: “If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all God’s mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, ‘Jump,’ and it jumps, but I don’t love, I am nothing. 3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.”

Forgive me. I’ve just told you what God’s love does not look like. This is what happens when a person does not have God’s love living within him or her. A very sad, despairing state of affairs, to be sure.

Paul does tell us what love is, however. Again, from the Message; “Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.”

This description from Paul tells us what love is.

Very sadly, if we read the newspaper and turn on the news, we see another expression of God-talk. This kind of black-and-white thinking, all-or-nothing talk comes from rigid or extreme religious groups. You know the groups I mean. Groups that say unequivocally “I’m on God’s good side, and you’re not. I’m going to heaven because I do the things God wants. You don’t, so you are going to hell.” It doesn’t matter whether they are stringent Christians, fundamentalist Catholics, extreme Muslims, or radical Hindus. Such hurtful thinking and corrosive speech lets us know these religious groups have likely not experienced God’s life-changing, wondrous love. You know, all of the wonderful, life-giving parts of love that the Apostle Paul just described to us.

Father Richard Rohr, Franciscan priest and director of the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico, has written and taught extensively on God’s love. He spoke of these hurtful religious groups, and then asked, “How can we do better? To begin, we might put ourselves in the other’s shoes and imagine why someone is so hateful.”

Father Rohr continues: “While working in the Albuquerque jail for over a decade, I met many men who had been raised in a punitive, authoritarian, absolutist way, often with an absent or abusive father. Understanding another’s story can teach us compassion. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t set some healthy boundaries. But it does open our hearts and help us recognize that other people are victims, too. They’ve been wounded, too. Yet they are still objectively an image of God, created in God’s image.” [3]

We are not all called to work in prisons, like Father Rohr. But, God has gifted each of us to offer our gifts to others. Each of us have been given gifts to reach out to our friends and neighbors with the love of God. Remember what we talked about last week, how all of our spiritual gifts are interconnected? Each of us is needed by the others in this family of faith. And, God’s love is one of the greatest connectors of all.

One of my absolute favorite people ever is Mister Rogers. Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister, ordained to ministry in television and mass communication by the Presbytery of Pittsburgh in 1963. He had a marvelous, moving ministry to children—and to adults—for decades—in public television.

One of the ways Mister Rogers reached out and communicated to children with his television show was through music. He wrote over two hundred songs about important things and things that concern children very much. Like this one: “There are many ways to say I love you. There are many ways to say I care about you. Many ways, many ways, many ways to say I love you. Cleaning up a room can say I love you. Hanging up a coat before you’re asked to do it. Drawing special pictures for the holidays and making plays.” [4]

Important words from a loving, honest, generous man, Fred Rogers. He let us know that love can be as simple as hanging up a coat—or doing the dishes—or sending a greeting card. Mister Rogers would definitely agree that showing love is being kind to others, and being your honest, caring self. No matter what.

A reminder, from the Message: “[Love] Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.” That is the kind of God we have. Love is a gift God offers to all of us, freely.

It doesn’t matter how each of us expresses God’s love. God gives many gifts to all of us, freely. Let us give love away to everyone, no matter what. Just as freely as God gives to us.

Alleluia, amen.

[1] https://www.womansday.com/relationships/a4702/10-fun-valentines-day-facts-103385/

[2] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship/season-after-epiphany-2019-part-1-worship-planning-series/february-3-fourth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-c/fourth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-2019-year-c-preaching-notes

[3] Adapted from Richard Rohr, Exploring and Experiencing the Naked Now, disc 3 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2010).

[4] http://www.neighborhoodarchive.com/music/songs/many_ways.html

(Many thanks to the Rev. Jeff Campbell and http://www.umcdiscipleship.org for ideas and assistance for this series on spiritual gifts.)

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2019: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!