Changing The World
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series V, Cycle C
Object:
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. (vv. 28-36)
In the autumn of 1974, Steve Wozniak was a dropout from the University of California, Berkeley, who worked for Atari, Inc., as a game designer. He also was a member of the Palo Alto-based Homebrew Computer Club, a local group of electronics hobbyists. It was through these two associations that Wozniak met Steve Jobs, a young man who would change his world -- as well as the world at large.
The two discovered that a slightly modified toy whistle available as a prize in Cap'n Crunch cereal boxes could reproduce the 2600 Hz tone used by AT&T for long distance phone calls. Jobs and Wozniak went into business briefly to build "blue boxes" that replicated that sound for free long distance calls.
In 1976, Wozniak, then 26, and Jobs 21, came to the conclusion that a completely assembled and inexpensive computer would be in demand. Jobs and Wozniak pitched their idea to Atari, but Atari declined. They offered it to Hewlett-Packard, but Hewlett-Packard also declined. They weren't interested in big bucks; all they wanted was a salary and the opportunity to continue their work.
It seemed that Jobs and Wozniak alone could see the possibilities. So Wozniak sold his HP scientific calculator and Jobs sold his Volkswagen van to raise $1300 and create a prototype in Jobs' garage. It was quite unimpressive by today's standards, but for the time, it was an engineering marvel. They called the computer the Apple 1 and the company they formed was Apple Computer Company, named because of a happy memory of a summer Jobs spent working in an Oregon orchard.
Wozniak was brilliant engineer but had no wider ambition. Jobs was a visionary who saw great potential. In December 1980, Apple Computer became a publicly traded corporation. As Apple continued to grow, the company began looking for corporate management talent to help manage its expansion. In 1983, Jobs lured John Sculley, an executive with Pepsi-Cola, to serve as Apple's CEO. There was absolutely no reason why Sculley should leave a highly paid position in a world-leading company to go work with a bunch of computer nerds in a fledgling industry. Not unsurprisingly he turned Jobs down.
But Jobs wouldn't take no for an answer. He approached Sculley again. Again, Sculley turned him down. In a last ditch effort, Jobs passionately presented his visionary ideas to Sculley and he asked Sculley a question that forced him to accept. The question was this: "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?"
Jobs saw the future. He saw the home computer changing the world. Wozniak didn't see it -- he was content to design computers, but not change the world. Sculley couldn't see it without help -- he was content to sell "sugared water."
Likewise Peter, James, and John had a limited vision. They were following Jesus around and enjoying the ride, but until the Transfiguration, they had limited vision as to who Jesus was. They didn't know he was bigger than Moses -- bigger than Elijah. They didn't know he was the Son of God who would change the world.
But there was Jesus glowing in glory before them essentially asking, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling fish, or do you want a chance to change the world?"
In the autumn of 1974, Steve Wozniak was a dropout from the University of California, Berkeley, who worked for Atari, Inc., as a game designer. He also was a member of the Palo Alto-based Homebrew Computer Club, a local group of electronics hobbyists. It was through these two associations that Wozniak met Steve Jobs, a young man who would change his world -- as well as the world at large.
The two discovered that a slightly modified toy whistle available as a prize in Cap'n Crunch cereal boxes could reproduce the 2600 Hz tone used by AT&T for long distance phone calls. Jobs and Wozniak went into business briefly to build "blue boxes" that replicated that sound for free long distance calls.
In 1976, Wozniak, then 26, and Jobs 21, came to the conclusion that a completely assembled and inexpensive computer would be in demand. Jobs and Wozniak pitched their idea to Atari, but Atari declined. They offered it to Hewlett-Packard, but Hewlett-Packard also declined. They weren't interested in big bucks; all they wanted was a salary and the opportunity to continue their work.
It seemed that Jobs and Wozniak alone could see the possibilities. So Wozniak sold his HP scientific calculator and Jobs sold his Volkswagen van to raise $1300 and create a prototype in Jobs' garage. It was quite unimpressive by today's standards, but for the time, it was an engineering marvel. They called the computer the Apple 1 and the company they formed was Apple Computer Company, named because of a happy memory of a summer Jobs spent working in an Oregon orchard.
Wozniak was brilliant engineer but had no wider ambition. Jobs was a visionary who saw great potential. In December 1980, Apple Computer became a publicly traded corporation. As Apple continued to grow, the company began looking for corporate management talent to help manage its expansion. In 1983, Jobs lured John Sculley, an executive with Pepsi-Cola, to serve as Apple's CEO. There was absolutely no reason why Sculley should leave a highly paid position in a world-leading company to go work with a bunch of computer nerds in a fledgling industry. Not unsurprisingly he turned Jobs down.
But Jobs wouldn't take no for an answer. He approached Sculley again. Again, Sculley turned him down. In a last ditch effort, Jobs passionately presented his visionary ideas to Sculley and he asked Sculley a question that forced him to accept. The question was this: "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?"
Jobs saw the future. He saw the home computer changing the world. Wozniak didn't see it -- he was content to design computers, but not change the world. Sculley couldn't see it without help -- he was content to sell "sugared water."
Likewise Peter, James, and John had a limited vision. They were following Jesus around and enjoying the ride, but until the Transfiguration, they had limited vision as to who Jesus was. They didn't know he was bigger than Moses -- bigger than Elijah. They didn't know he was the Son of God who would change the world.
But there was Jesus glowing in glory before them essentially asking, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling fish, or do you want a chance to change the world?"
