Fourth Sunday After The Epiphany
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III, Cycle C
The Church Year Theological Clue
The birth story, with the visit of the magi, and the baptism of our Lord, at the beginning of the season, and the Transfiguration story, at the conclusion of Epiphany in many lectionaries, combine to enclose the other Sundays of Epiphany in a period of time when the manifestation/ministry of Jesus are celebrated in worship and preaching. Each Sunday, some aspect of Jesus' Epiphany in his teaching and/or his miraculous works/signs is put before the people of God to confirm the faith of those who believe that Jesus was really Lord at his birth and to inform them about the gospel and their lives as members of a Christian community. Epiphany is meant to be a time of discovery and learning more about Jesus Christ, the church, and the mission he has given it to perform in the world. Ecciesiology and ethics receive considerable attention in the readings for the Sundays of Epiphany and are, of course, connected to the growing self-revelation of Jesus in the Gospel of St. Luke.
The Prayer Of The Day
This is one of those Sundays when the second reading, especially the portion from 1 Corinthians 13 (Lutheran lectionary), is likely to be more familiar to the people at Worship than the Gospel for the Day. Two prayers pick up the "love" theme of 1 Corinthians 13; both are for the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany. The LBW prayer goes this way: "Lord God, we ask you to keep your family, the church, always faithful to you, that all who lean on the hope of your promises may gain strength from the power of your love; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
The BCP prayer "meshes" with the second reading quite nicely: "O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."
The Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 71:1-6, 15-17 (RC, E, L) - This is one of those rare occasions when the several liturgical churches concur on the use of a psalm, but this is not the only time that Psalm 71 is appointed for worship during the year; the Episcopal lectionary makes multiple use of Psalm 71 (three times in Year A, once in Year B, and twice in Year C). The LBW appoints it for Tuesday in Holy Week, annually, as well as for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany. The ORDO selects it for this Sunday only. It is the lament of a man who is old and in deep trouble, afraid, perhaps, that he might lose his faith, despite the fact that he has been faithful to God all of his life. In his old age he continues to pray to God, placing his life in God's hands. Psalm 71 might well be called "a psalm of the elderly," and it might be used in all sorts of devotional situations. It appears to have been appointed here because it reflects the actions of Jeremiah, when he got into trouble, and it also points to Jesus' passion, when he has only God to support and deliver him from death at the hands of his enemies.
Psalm prayer (71 - LBW) - "Lord God of the living, do not desert us in old age, but help us to follow your will in both good and bad times, so that forever we may praise your faithfulness; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
The Readings
Jeremiah 1:4-10 (E, L, C); 1:4-5, 17-19 (RC) - This is Jeremiah's version of how God called him to be a prophet; before he was born, he was destined to be a spokesperson for the Lord God. God had called and consecrated him to speak to the children of Israel and, beyond them, to "all nations. " Nevertheless, Jeremiah was hesitant to prophesy in the name of God, claiming that he didn't know what to say, so God "touched my mouth, and ... said: 'Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." The ORDO picks up the latter part of the call and God's directions to Jeremiah about speaking to all the nations of the world, calling them to repentance and faith, "say to them everything I command you." This reading prepares the people to hear Jesus' sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth, particularly when Jesus asserts that "a prophet is not without honor, except in his home town." Surely on that occasion God did, through his word in Isaiah, put words in Jesus' mouth, and he spoke them to the people."
1 Corinthians 12:31--13:13 (RC) (longform); 13:4-13 (shortform); 12:27--13:13 (L); 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (C) - The ORDO and the Lutheran lectionary appoint the last verses of the 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians to provide the setting and continuity of what is said about love in the 13th chapter of the book. Verse 31 bridges the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next: "But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a more excellent way." Paul counts love as the highest gift that God can bestow upon people; the person who loves as he or she has been loved by God in Jesus Christ possesses the most precious gift of all. This means that the most humble persons, who reflect God's love in their lives, are not only blessed by God, but those persons are a genuine blessing to others. Such people transmit the Christian faith by the good that they do in the world; they love God and they really care about other people, much as God loves and cares for all of his own. The Christian life begins with faith as a response to God's activity in Jesus and the Holy Spirit, it grows into the expectation of that which is yet to come - life forever in the kingdom of God - and it expresses itself in worship and the world through love for God, for others, and for one's self. Love, according to Paul, is the "more excellent way" of being a follower and a disciple of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 14:12b-20 (E) - Just why the lectionary of The Book Of Common Prayer skips over the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians and moves ahead a week of the other churches by selecting 1 Corinthians 14 as the second reading is a bit of a mystery. It is compounded by the fact that 1 Corinthians 12:27--13:13 is appointed for the last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, of the three-year lectionary, when the transfiguration gospel is read. The "carry-over" from chapter 13 to chapter 14 is also omitted; 14:1 reads, "Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy." Paul gets to the heart of the controversy that existed in the Corinthian congregation over "speaking in tongues," comparing speaking in tongues with prophecy, and insisting that it is much better to prophesy than it is to speak in tongues, because no one can understand the person who "speaks in tongues." Glossalalia is a matter for private devotion, according to Paul, and it may edify only the "speaker;" prophecy is public business, which is of benefit and blessing to those who hear, understand, and heed what is said in the name of the Lord. And he concludes this reading this way: "I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all; nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue."
Luke 4:21-30 (RC, C); 4:21-32 (E, L) - To say that this, the second part of Jesus' sermon in the synagogue, is puzzling is an understatement. Once again, a reading begins with the last part of the gospel reading of the previous week, Luke 4:21, spelling forth the reaction of those who were present when he read from Isaiah 61 and declared, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." On one hand, "all spoke well of him," but, on the other hand, they "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." Their question - "Is not this Joseph's son?" seems to have put Jesus on the defensive, and he responds with the "physician heal yourself" statement and refers to what he did "in Capernaum" (where he has not yet been, according to Luke). The "no prophet is acceptable in his own country" does not indicate so much that he is hurt by their question about his family origin as it does his disappointment that the people apparently want him to back up his words with deeds. The word about Jesus' healings in the beginning of his ministry has spread rapidly, and now, it would seem, the people of Nazareth want to see for themselves that this hometown man really has the power to heal as well as to speak. The situation deteriorated to the point where the congregation became a mob threatening Jesus' life, but he escaped by "passing through their midst" and "went away." Luke, no doubt, is showing that Israel will reject Jesus, will put him to death, as they tried to do in this incident, and that this will turn him to all people of the world, whom he has come to save.
Sermon Suggestions, Synopses, Sketches, Stories
Luke 4:21-30 (RC, C); 4:21-32 (E, L) - "How To Turn A Congregation Into A Mob." - In one of the chapters of Journeys Toward Narrative Preaching, Dr. Robert Hughes, of the Lutheran School of Theology at Philadelphia, writes about a pastor - Pastor Gilbert Martin - who made a deep impression upon him as a child. He says that "Moose" Martin (a 245-pound former college football tackle) ' 'was a key figure in my years at Vacation Bible School. Along with the singing, Bible-story time was the part of the 'opening exercises' I liked best. After the entire school had assembled, and when the buzz of young voices had built to a roar, the bulky pastor would appear. His stomach protruded in front, and frequently his shirt-tail would be hanging out in back. But this ragtag appearance seemed to enhance the storyteller's mystique."
Bob Hughes continues: "Biblical narratives were Pastor Martin's stock-in-trade. The room fell silent as his eyes took on a faraway look and he cleared his throat to call the 'mob' to attention. As he warmed to his task, Pastor Martin began to pace and then to perspire. Biblical characters came alive. Kings drove chariots and Cadillacs, warriors used swords and bazookas, merchants hawked spices and bubble gum. I wonder now if our pastor was a fan of Peter Marshall and his 'sanctified imagination.' I have some sense of the pastor's style predating that of Frederick Buechner by several decades. But what I know for sure is that when Pastor Martin told Bible stories we kids could feel the centuries melt. We were there, on Mount Sinai with Moses, in the lion's den with Daniel, or in Gethsemane with Jesus."
1. That sort of electricity went through the congregation in the synagogue when Jesus read Isaiah 61 and told them that "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." It was a powerful experience for all of the people."
2. Perhaps it was too powerful, because beyond their good words about Jesus they were puzzled that this hometown boy could speak this way. How can a person speak for God? How can one claim that he or she is God's appointed servant, a prophet, or, in this case, the Messiah? When prophecy becomes personal, it is a bit much!
3. But when they pushed Jesus out of Nazareth, they didn't know it but they were giving Jesus to the world, to you and me, to all of us. He was nailed to a cross instead of being pushed over a cliff.
4. And what they did was preliminary to the reaction of the religious leaders, who would attempt to close his mouth for ever by having him put to death and sealed in a tomb, which they thought would be the end of him!
5. God backed up Jesus, at that point, and just when he seemed so distant, for God was with him on the cross, and raised him up so that everyone would know that the claim he made about himself in Nazareth has been heralded throughout the world as God's truth. He is Lord of all.
Jeremiah 1:4-10 (E, L, C); 1:4-5, 17-19 (RC) - Note: I would not preach a separate sermon on this text, but would incorporate it in the sermon on the Gospel for the Day, most likely at point two. By comparing Jeremiah's belief that he was consecrated and appointed a prophet while he was still in his mother's womb with Mary's experience, one can renew the "Christmas-Epiphany" experience of the people and deepen their perception of Jesus' manifestation of himself to the world as the Son of God. One would have to develop the story of the two and fit it into the sermon in light of the "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
1 Corinthians 12:27--13:13 (L) 12:13--13:13 (RC); 13:1-13 (C) - "Love Story" - Rather than attempting to explain or explicate "love" as a gift of God to the humble and the lowly, I would simply tell a "love story," if I were going to preach on this text.
Three days after Easter, in 1990, the headlines of an inside page of a newspaper (Minnesota Star Tribune) read: "Dying blind girl lights up lives of people around her." The story first appeared in the Los Angeles Times: it is about a 4 1/2-year-old girl, Kati, who is dying of cancer. She has had cancer since she was seven weeks old and has little time left. One eye was removed when she was about two months old, the other when she was 2 1/2. Her life has been filled with pain, with chemotherapy, which has only postponed her death; she has a tumor near her brain, and cancer in her bone marrow, her spinal fluid, and her lymph glands. She has spent most of her time in and out of Children's Hospital in Los Angeles and has been there for the past six months, according to reporter Sheryl Stolberg. Stolberg describes her as "ebullient and friendly with a crackerjack wit, mature beyond her years and more accepting of her fate than even her own family. Full of love and full of life, she has charmed the hospital staff, from her doctors to the public relations people to the housekeeper, a close friend even though the two speak different languages."
One of the nurses, Cammie Lancaster, says, "She's amazing ... If people could only view the world as Kati views it. With Kati, everything is magical ... She's always reaching out to other people. She just radiates love." The Make-a-Wish Foundation learned about her situation and offered to fulfill her fantasy. Sheryl Stolberg writes: "Kati did not do what most children do. She did not choose to visit Disneyland, or to meet a celebrity or take a trip to Hawaii even though her parents told her she could have any of these things. Instead, she simply asked for a party. She wanted it at the hospital, with the staff by her side. And with pizza even though she cannot eat solid food anymore. 'I love parties,' she explained about her decision. 'I love the hospital.' "
Kati had her party two days after Easter, just as she wanted it with the staff, family, friends, and the usual balloons, toys, a clown, a book for the guests to sign. It will surely be her last party, but that doesn't concern her; according to Stolberg, "Kati has been talking more and more frequently about heaven ... Because she cannot see, touch means a lot to Kati, and one of her favorite things to do is to snuggle close to her mother and rub Kathy's (her mother) ear. Not long ago, her mother said, the little girl remarked upon that habit: 'She said that when she's in heaven and I feel a tickle in my ear, it will be her.' " Her mother said of her: "She's taught me so much, more than I have ever learned in my whole life and I'm thankful for it ... I feel like I'm the luckiest mother in the whole world."
How much one might say about that strange love party that Jesus held at Golgotha and the Garden Tomb would depend upon the local congregation and the preacher.
The birth story, with the visit of the magi, and the baptism of our Lord, at the beginning of the season, and the Transfiguration story, at the conclusion of Epiphany in many lectionaries, combine to enclose the other Sundays of Epiphany in a period of time when the manifestation/ministry of Jesus are celebrated in worship and preaching. Each Sunday, some aspect of Jesus' Epiphany in his teaching and/or his miraculous works/signs is put before the people of God to confirm the faith of those who believe that Jesus was really Lord at his birth and to inform them about the gospel and their lives as members of a Christian community. Epiphany is meant to be a time of discovery and learning more about Jesus Christ, the church, and the mission he has given it to perform in the world. Ecciesiology and ethics receive considerable attention in the readings for the Sundays of Epiphany and are, of course, connected to the growing self-revelation of Jesus in the Gospel of St. Luke.
The Prayer Of The Day
This is one of those Sundays when the second reading, especially the portion from 1 Corinthians 13 (Lutheran lectionary), is likely to be more familiar to the people at Worship than the Gospel for the Day. Two prayers pick up the "love" theme of 1 Corinthians 13; both are for the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany. The LBW prayer goes this way: "Lord God, we ask you to keep your family, the church, always faithful to you, that all who lean on the hope of your promises may gain strength from the power of your love; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
The BCP prayer "meshes" with the second reading quite nicely: "O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."
The Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 71:1-6, 15-17 (RC, E, L) - This is one of those rare occasions when the several liturgical churches concur on the use of a psalm, but this is not the only time that Psalm 71 is appointed for worship during the year; the Episcopal lectionary makes multiple use of Psalm 71 (three times in Year A, once in Year B, and twice in Year C). The LBW appoints it for Tuesday in Holy Week, annually, as well as for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany. The ORDO selects it for this Sunday only. It is the lament of a man who is old and in deep trouble, afraid, perhaps, that he might lose his faith, despite the fact that he has been faithful to God all of his life. In his old age he continues to pray to God, placing his life in God's hands. Psalm 71 might well be called "a psalm of the elderly," and it might be used in all sorts of devotional situations. It appears to have been appointed here because it reflects the actions of Jeremiah, when he got into trouble, and it also points to Jesus' passion, when he has only God to support and deliver him from death at the hands of his enemies.
Psalm prayer (71 - LBW) - "Lord God of the living, do not desert us in old age, but help us to follow your will in both good and bad times, so that forever we may praise your faithfulness; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
The Readings
Jeremiah 1:4-10 (E, L, C); 1:4-5, 17-19 (RC) - This is Jeremiah's version of how God called him to be a prophet; before he was born, he was destined to be a spokesperson for the Lord God. God had called and consecrated him to speak to the children of Israel and, beyond them, to "all nations. " Nevertheless, Jeremiah was hesitant to prophesy in the name of God, claiming that he didn't know what to say, so God "touched my mouth, and ... said: 'Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." The ORDO picks up the latter part of the call and God's directions to Jeremiah about speaking to all the nations of the world, calling them to repentance and faith, "say to them everything I command you." This reading prepares the people to hear Jesus' sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth, particularly when Jesus asserts that "a prophet is not without honor, except in his home town." Surely on that occasion God did, through his word in Isaiah, put words in Jesus' mouth, and he spoke them to the people."
1 Corinthians 12:31--13:13 (RC) (longform); 13:4-13 (shortform); 12:27--13:13 (L); 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (C) - The ORDO and the Lutheran lectionary appoint the last verses of the 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians to provide the setting and continuity of what is said about love in the 13th chapter of the book. Verse 31 bridges the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next: "But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a more excellent way." Paul counts love as the highest gift that God can bestow upon people; the person who loves as he or she has been loved by God in Jesus Christ possesses the most precious gift of all. This means that the most humble persons, who reflect God's love in their lives, are not only blessed by God, but those persons are a genuine blessing to others. Such people transmit the Christian faith by the good that they do in the world; they love God and they really care about other people, much as God loves and cares for all of his own. The Christian life begins with faith as a response to God's activity in Jesus and the Holy Spirit, it grows into the expectation of that which is yet to come - life forever in the kingdom of God - and it expresses itself in worship and the world through love for God, for others, and for one's self. Love, according to Paul, is the "more excellent way" of being a follower and a disciple of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 14:12b-20 (E) - Just why the lectionary of The Book Of Common Prayer skips over the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians and moves ahead a week of the other churches by selecting 1 Corinthians 14 as the second reading is a bit of a mystery. It is compounded by the fact that 1 Corinthians 12:27--13:13 is appointed for the last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, of the three-year lectionary, when the transfiguration gospel is read. The "carry-over" from chapter 13 to chapter 14 is also omitted; 14:1 reads, "Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy." Paul gets to the heart of the controversy that existed in the Corinthian congregation over "speaking in tongues," comparing speaking in tongues with prophecy, and insisting that it is much better to prophesy than it is to speak in tongues, because no one can understand the person who "speaks in tongues." Glossalalia is a matter for private devotion, according to Paul, and it may edify only the "speaker;" prophecy is public business, which is of benefit and blessing to those who hear, understand, and heed what is said in the name of the Lord. And he concludes this reading this way: "I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all; nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue."
Luke 4:21-30 (RC, C); 4:21-32 (E, L) - To say that this, the second part of Jesus' sermon in the synagogue, is puzzling is an understatement. Once again, a reading begins with the last part of the gospel reading of the previous week, Luke 4:21, spelling forth the reaction of those who were present when he read from Isaiah 61 and declared, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." On one hand, "all spoke well of him," but, on the other hand, they "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." Their question - "Is not this Joseph's son?" seems to have put Jesus on the defensive, and he responds with the "physician heal yourself" statement and refers to what he did "in Capernaum" (where he has not yet been, according to Luke). The "no prophet is acceptable in his own country" does not indicate so much that he is hurt by their question about his family origin as it does his disappointment that the people apparently want him to back up his words with deeds. The word about Jesus' healings in the beginning of his ministry has spread rapidly, and now, it would seem, the people of Nazareth want to see for themselves that this hometown man really has the power to heal as well as to speak. The situation deteriorated to the point where the congregation became a mob threatening Jesus' life, but he escaped by "passing through their midst" and "went away." Luke, no doubt, is showing that Israel will reject Jesus, will put him to death, as they tried to do in this incident, and that this will turn him to all people of the world, whom he has come to save.
Sermon Suggestions, Synopses, Sketches, Stories
Luke 4:21-30 (RC, C); 4:21-32 (E, L) - "How To Turn A Congregation Into A Mob." - In one of the chapters of Journeys Toward Narrative Preaching, Dr. Robert Hughes, of the Lutheran School of Theology at Philadelphia, writes about a pastor - Pastor Gilbert Martin - who made a deep impression upon him as a child. He says that "Moose" Martin (a 245-pound former college football tackle) ' 'was a key figure in my years at Vacation Bible School. Along with the singing, Bible-story time was the part of the 'opening exercises' I liked best. After the entire school had assembled, and when the buzz of young voices had built to a roar, the bulky pastor would appear. His stomach protruded in front, and frequently his shirt-tail would be hanging out in back. But this ragtag appearance seemed to enhance the storyteller's mystique."
Bob Hughes continues: "Biblical narratives were Pastor Martin's stock-in-trade. The room fell silent as his eyes took on a faraway look and he cleared his throat to call the 'mob' to attention. As he warmed to his task, Pastor Martin began to pace and then to perspire. Biblical characters came alive. Kings drove chariots and Cadillacs, warriors used swords and bazookas, merchants hawked spices and bubble gum. I wonder now if our pastor was a fan of Peter Marshall and his 'sanctified imagination.' I have some sense of the pastor's style predating that of Frederick Buechner by several decades. But what I know for sure is that when Pastor Martin told Bible stories we kids could feel the centuries melt. We were there, on Mount Sinai with Moses, in the lion's den with Daniel, or in Gethsemane with Jesus."
1. That sort of electricity went through the congregation in the synagogue when Jesus read Isaiah 61 and told them that "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." It was a powerful experience for all of the people."
2. Perhaps it was too powerful, because beyond their good words about Jesus they were puzzled that this hometown boy could speak this way. How can a person speak for God? How can one claim that he or she is God's appointed servant, a prophet, or, in this case, the Messiah? When prophecy becomes personal, it is a bit much!
3. But when they pushed Jesus out of Nazareth, they didn't know it but they were giving Jesus to the world, to you and me, to all of us. He was nailed to a cross instead of being pushed over a cliff.
4. And what they did was preliminary to the reaction of the religious leaders, who would attempt to close his mouth for ever by having him put to death and sealed in a tomb, which they thought would be the end of him!
5. God backed up Jesus, at that point, and just when he seemed so distant, for God was with him on the cross, and raised him up so that everyone would know that the claim he made about himself in Nazareth has been heralded throughout the world as God's truth. He is Lord of all.
Jeremiah 1:4-10 (E, L, C); 1:4-5, 17-19 (RC) - Note: I would not preach a separate sermon on this text, but would incorporate it in the sermon on the Gospel for the Day, most likely at point two. By comparing Jeremiah's belief that he was consecrated and appointed a prophet while he was still in his mother's womb with Mary's experience, one can renew the "Christmas-Epiphany" experience of the people and deepen their perception of Jesus' manifestation of himself to the world as the Son of God. One would have to develop the story of the two and fit it into the sermon in light of the "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
1 Corinthians 12:27--13:13 (L) 12:13--13:13 (RC); 13:1-13 (C) - "Love Story" - Rather than attempting to explain or explicate "love" as a gift of God to the humble and the lowly, I would simply tell a "love story," if I were going to preach on this text.
Three days after Easter, in 1990, the headlines of an inside page of a newspaper (Minnesota Star Tribune) read: "Dying blind girl lights up lives of people around her." The story first appeared in the Los Angeles Times: it is about a 4 1/2-year-old girl, Kati, who is dying of cancer. She has had cancer since she was seven weeks old and has little time left. One eye was removed when she was about two months old, the other when she was 2 1/2. Her life has been filled with pain, with chemotherapy, which has only postponed her death; she has a tumor near her brain, and cancer in her bone marrow, her spinal fluid, and her lymph glands. She has spent most of her time in and out of Children's Hospital in Los Angeles and has been there for the past six months, according to reporter Sheryl Stolberg. Stolberg describes her as "ebullient and friendly with a crackerjack wit, mature beyond her years and more accepting of her fate than even her own family. Full of love and full of life, she has charmed the hospital staff, from her doctors to the public relations people to the housekeeper, a close friend even though the two speak different languages."
One of the nurses, Cammie Lancaster, says, "She's amazing ... If people could only view the world as Kati views it. With Kati, everything is magical ... She's always reaching out to other people. She just radiates love." The Make-a-Wish Foundation learned about her situation and offered to fulfill her fantasy. Sheryl Stolberg writes: "Kati did not do what most children do. She did not choose to visit Disneyland, or to meet a celebrity or take a trip to Hawaii even though her parents told her she could have any of these things. Instead, she simply asked for a party. She wanted it at the hospital, with the staff by her side. And with pizza even though she cannot eat solid food anymore. 'I love parties,' she explained about her decision. 'I love the hospital.' "
Kati had her party two days after Easter, just as she wanted it with the staff, family, friends, and the usual balloons, toys, a clown, a book for the guests to sign. It will surely be her last party, but that doesn't concern her; according to Stolberg, "Kati has been talking more and more frequently about heaven ... Because she cannot see, touch means a lot to Kati, and one of her favorite things to do is to snuggle close to her mother and rub Kathy's (her mother) ear. Not long ago, her mother said, the little girl remarked upon that habit: 'She said that when she's in heaven and I feel a tickle in my ear, it will be her.' " Her mother said of her: "She's taught me so much, more than I have ever learned in my whole life and I'm thankful for it ... I feel like I'm the luckiest mother in the whole world."
How much one might say about that strange love party that Jesus held at Golgotha and the Garden Tomb would depend upon the local congregation and the preacher.
