Proper 20 (C, E)
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle B
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Proverbs 31:10-31 (C)
The good news is that this depiction of a good wife was laudatory, commending the idea that she be happy, that she be praised by her husband. There are, indeed, intimations of a much later time in history when the idea of sexual equality will arrive. The bad news, however, is that women are still depicted here by implication as being subject to the whims of their husbands, held to a very high standard of performance around the house while ñHer husband is known in the city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land.''
If we were to preach a sermon on this passage, I think we would begin by contrasting the role of women in America today with that of women in the ancient world (a status, incidentally, still suffered by the women of many third world societies). This would be a good opportunity to talk about what a Christian view of marriage involves.
Lesson 1: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 (RC); Wisdom 1:16„2:1 (6-11) 12-22 (E)
Lesson 2: James 3:13„4:3, 7-8a (C); James 3:16„4:3 (RC); James 3:16„4:6 (E)
The acquisitive instinct. According to James, that is what sponsors most of our evil thoughts and actions. ñYou want things, but you cannot have them ...'' he contends, ñso you are ready to kill.'' HeÍs no doubt right, though the case may be overstated for emphasis. The consequence of this is ñevery kind of evil.''
Submission to God is the only antidote to the worldÍs evil. ñResist the Devil, and he will run away from you.'' Take note, too, that often we do not receive answers to our prayers because our motives are bad. All in all, James has most of us nailed to the wall. We get all caught up in the quest for material possessions, we often try to persuade God to cooperate in this, and the upshot is we make a terrible mess of our lives. Most of us preachers can think of people who have about as much in the way of material wealth as anyone could wish, yet are miserably unhappy. We can also think of people living in very modest circumstances who seem quite happy and content. We have to believe that once we possess the basic life needs „ a home, sufficient food, educations for ourselves and our children, meaningful employment, transportation, and a few good books „ we can be happy. If weÍre not, buying luxury items or achieving power over others by one means or another will not make us happy. The only thing that can do that is a personal relationship with God, and that is ours through Jesus Christ if we wish. But that relationship requires certain things of us, among them peacefulness, friendliness, and gentleness. We are to be free of prejudice and hypocrisy, and our lives are to be marked by the performance of good deeds.
Gospel: Mark 9:30-37 (C, RC, E)
We clergy, of course, are appalled at the thought that these disciples of Jesus were actually arguing about the relative positions they might enjoy in GodÍs eyes. Right! (That was intended as irony.) I can only speak for my own denomination, but itÍs sometimes amusing to watch us Methodist pastors gather in great numbers and see the various reactions to the assignments of who will speak here, and who will make the major report there, and who will be seated on this dais or that stage. I guess itÍs because weÍre human. The whole business of expensive, colorful robes and glorious stoles and gold crosses and all is probably not what Jesus had in mind in founding the Christian faith. One very distinguished and talented pastor once confided in me that he remains depressed for days following our Annual Conference.
My point is not to disparage my clergy brothers and sisters, wherever you are. IÍm one of those, after all, with the same feet of clay as the rest. My point is that to worry privately about our position in regard to the opinions of others, and in regard to our vocational recognition and status, is very nearly universal. Before we get too self-righteous about these disciples, we need to remind ourselves that the battle of character with which they were struggling is one that nearly all of us should recognize. Envy and jealousy are terrible emotions, but I doubt that any of us will get through life without occasionally feeling twinges of those emotions. The sin is not that we might feel such emotions, but that we would fail to recognize their damaging force, and that we would fail quickly to accept responsibility for them, and through prayer and self-discipline, do something constructive about them.
In a sermon, I would first acknowledge the human condition which so often leads us to experience our insecurities and self-esteem problems by desiring recognition and status. The positive side of that is that it can motivate us to work to achieve goals which are deserving of such recognition. But the negative effect often causes us to be jealous of the successes and accomplishments of other people. If we have good character and Christian love is working within us, we will quickly see these feelings for what they are. We will understand our own humanity, pray for forgiveness and for the eradication of our sin, and we will work at cultivating the opposite feelings of charity, modesty, humility, love for others, and also trust that whatever rewards are appropriate for us will be ours at the proper time. Jesus used the innocence of a small child as the ideal goal for us. He indicated that Christ will thereby enter in in the form of the presence of God.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: ñLove And Marriage''
Text: Proverbs 31:10-31
Theme: The roles of men and women have been dramatically altered by the events of the past few years in America. The attitude toward women in this text is not very different from that of America in, say, the Í50s. Then it changed, more by revolution than by evolution. Other than the suffrage movement in an earlier era, I know of no historical process of redefinition of roles comparable to those of the Í60s, Í70s, and Í80s. Now, today, most people struggle between some natural differences between males and females on the one hand, and the desire of thinking, caring people, to achieve genuine equality of the sexes on the other hand. Most estimates more or less agree with the one I recently read: 43 percent of all marriages in America will end in divorce. Clearly, the Church has work to do in helping reverse this tide. And tongue-clucking disapproval based on scripture passages will not help. Love will help, but we need to somehow retain the romantic element in marriage, yet help people understand that real love is Agape, not Eros. Scott Peck, in his splendid The Road Less Traveled, makes the point that only when romantic love dies does true love really begin. He doesnÍt mean there is no longer romance in the marriage. He means that only when the sexual dimension settles into its proper place can the hard and worthwhile work of loving really begin. Love is something you do. We might turn to PaulÍs Corinthians letter and refer to his three characteristics of true love: love does not insist on its own way, love does not keep a record of wrongs, love is patient and kind.
1. Love does not insist on its own way. In a good marriage each member is devoted to the happiness of the other. Anyone who has counseled (or been happily married „ or both) knows that there cannot be just one happy member of a marriage.
2. Love does not keep a record of wrongs. WeÍre all human. Despite our best intentions, nearly all of us sometimes say things we regret, or do things impulsively that we later would do anything to undo. If you have Italian blood, or Greek blood, or Irish blood, or Hispanic blood, you probably have a passionate side, and that can at times get momentarily out of control. (No offense to the rest of you. ItÍs probably true for all of us.) It is so important that we not only forgive each other, once we have heard a sincere ñIÍm sorry,'' but that we refrain from throwing the recollection back later in order to win an argument or to punish some other offense.
3. Love is patient and kind. Patience is something some of us must cultivate. I am devoting my life to this effort with, I regret to say, only limited success. But it must be done. Kindness is the key ingredient in love, and where there is unfailing kindness, there will be a high degree of probability that a marriage will succeed.
Title: ñGetting The Most Out Of Life''
Text: James 4:1-3
Theme: Bobby Burns caught the irony of lifeÍs search for pleasure:
But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white, then melts forever.
We search for happiness, and often we discover much too late that there is an important difference between happiness and pleasure. I know a young man who is presently living very miserably at home under close scrutiny because he went out for a fun evening, drank too much, did something he should not have, and now must pay. He had pleasure. But he is far from happy.
1. Happiness is not to be found in things. DonÍt misunderstand, IÍm not an old Scrooge, disdaining the fun part of life. I find no fault with healthy, responsible striving in the marketplace. I applaud sincere effort to provide a good home for a family, with education for the young, cultural opportunities for all, and some of the laborsaving devices available to us all. But I also know this is not the route to happiness.
2. Happiness is a product of three qualities: Good personal relationships, a productive life which contributes to the good and welfare of others, and a secure relationship with God.
3. The necessary ingredients for a happy life are only to be found in full measure in a prayerful relationship with God.
Title: ñHow To Be A Big Shot For Jesus''
Text: Mark 9:30-37
Theme: We all remember the tale about the frog who was pursued by a fox. He was hopping along just fine until he came to a river. The current was too much for the frog, and it was certain his fate was sealed. But just then, a flight of geese started overhead. The frog called out and got the attention of two of the geese, which promptly landed nearby and inquired of the frog what his problem might be. When he explained, the geese, not being admirers of foxes either, asked how they could help. The frog suggested the geese take opposite ends of a piece of string lying nearby. He would then clamp his ample mouth on the string, and away they could go. They did just this, and as the fox arrived at the river bank, he was dismayed to see the frog ascending overhead in the direction of the far river bank and safety. Not to be outsmarted, however, the fox cried out, ñWhat a marvelous idea that is. Who thought of that?'' The frog, proud of his achievement, couldnÍt resist. He called back, ñI did.'' And he promptly plunged into the river.
The ego. It often gets us in big trouble. These disciples, men just like us in many ways, couldnÍt resist speculating about their futures and the relative status of their importance to what was going on. We do that, do we not? I mentioned elsewhere the sight of a well-known clergyman cleaning his fingernails with a gold cross while another man preached. Self-importance. What dear Wallace Hamilton called ñthe drum major instinct in human nature.''
1. ItÍs all right to try to be important, but only if we do so in the right way.
2. Genuine importance results from good deeds and loving acts of kindness.
3. One universal characteristic of true importance is humility. That sounds like an oxymoron, but Jesus said the true Christian never pushes himself or herself to the front.
4. The best example for Jesus was a small child. Now, having just come from lunch with two friends and having been seated next to a family with a one-year-old, I urge a distinction between being childish and childlike. That baby was noisy and demanding, totally self-absorbed. ThatÍs not a criticism, since thatÍs what babies do. But those are not the qualities Jesus had in mind. He meant innocence and openness to beauty and newness. He meant unawareness of worldly importance.
5. Once we have become sophisticated and worldly, we canÍt go back. What we can do is ask God to help us emulate the qualities of innocence. Jesus here promises that when we welcome Jesus, God goes to work as well.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
In case you are inclined toward humor in preaching, you might be interested that Jerry Lewis said he has a movie of his wedding, and when he and his wife have an argument, he runs the movie backwards and leaves a free man. Or there is Henny YoungmanÍs reply when asked how he and his wife had remained married for so many years: ñWe go out to dinner twice a week „ she goes on Tuesday, I go on Thursday.''
Bruce Larson told of the Swedish couple „ weÍll call them Lars and Helga. Helga went to a marriage counselor who suggested she pray about her marriage problems. This she did. The counselor asked what she had prayed. She said, ñI prayed that God would judge between the two of us who is right, and would take the guilty one to himself in heaven. Then I can go to live with my sister in Milwaukee.''
____________
A psychiatrist in my congregation handed me a little book titled His Needs, Her Needs, in which the author, an experienced marriage counselor, reported having asked counselees to fill out a questionairre which asked questions designed to discover what made the counselee happy in marriage. After many years, he wrote that he had compiled a list of five essential qualities in a marriage for a man, and five for a woman. Interestingly, the two lists are completely different. I have used these lists in leading groups of couples who are preparing for marriage. I have yet to have anyone seriously disagree with the lists. They are:
For The Woman:
1. Conversation
2. Affection
3. Financial security
4. Honesty
5. Interest in the home by husband
For The Man:
1. Sex
2. An attractive spouse
3. Leisure-time companion
4. Peaceful home
5. Admiration
Worth thinking about. The author contends that a marriage cannot succeed without these qualities in the relationship.
____________
Tolstoy became increasingly unhappy as he aged. By the time he was fifty he was convinced that life had no real meaning. Depressed, he hid all ropes and guns so he would not impulsively commit suicide. One day Tolstoy, quite depressed, took a long walk in the woods, and presently, he began to think about God. He later reported that he had no idea why he should think about God, but he noticed that every time his thoughts turned to God, his depression lifted. He later wrote of the change which came over him that day, of the new feeling of optimism which flooded his mind. Then he wrote: ñSo then, why look I further? This is it. The reason I canÍt help thinking of God is because God is here. And the reason life takes on meaning when I think of God is simply because it is God who gives life meaning. This is what I am looking for. This is it.''
____________
Recently I heard a radio preacher tell this story from the Vietnam War period. Two women entered a train station, and they saw a disheveled young soldier sitting on a bench. He was unshaven, his uniform was badly mussed. In his arms he held a baby. As the preacher put the matter, one who approached the soldier soon realized the child was in immediate need of hygienic attention. The women were appalled at this unsoldierly-looking soldier. They decided he must have been on an all-night drunk, also that the same was true of his wife and that was why she wasnÍt there. They muttered their disapproval, and went to wait outside.
Another woman entered. Seeing the young man, she went to him and said: ñI see that you have your hands full there. Would you like me to care for your child for a while? I could clean him up in the ladiesÍ room, and you might feel better if you go freshen up in the menÍs room.''
Gratefully, the soldier handed the lady the baby. When they returned, he explained that he had been called back from Vietnam because of his wifeÍs illness. He had only just reached her bedside when she died. Now he was escorting her body back to their home state. Having very limited funds, he found it necessary to travel by coach, and had been sitting up all night. The preacher telling this story pointed out how loving kindness had done what judgment can never do.
____________
I again mention the story they tell at Riverside of the self-important gentleman who impatiently waited to be seated when the great Harry Emerson Fosdick was about to preach. An usher informed the waiting visitors that there was a single seat in the front, but otherwise the remaining seating was in the balcony. One distinguished man was about to be seated when the aforementioned whispered loudly, ñIÍll take the seat near the front. IÍm not the balcony kind.''
Smiling, the other man quietly slipped upstairs to the balcony, obviously unrecognized by Mr. Pushy. The quiet man was John D. Rockefeller, who had paid to build Riverside Church.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 1 (C) „ ñHappy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked.''
Psalm 53 (RC) „ ñFools say in their hearts, ïThere is no God.Í ''
Psalm 54 (E) „ ñSave me, O God, by your name....''
Prayer Of The Day
Eternal God, thou source of love and wisdom, work within us to overcome the urgent need we sometimes feel to be recognized and rewarded. Help us to find reward in the good we do, the love we give, the kindness in our hearts. Forgive our persistent failure, renew us by thy power. In ChristÍs name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Proverbs 31:10-31 (C)
The good news is that this depiction of a good wife was laudatory, commending the idea that she be happy, that she be praised by her husband. There are, indeed, intimations of a much later time in history when the idea of sexual equality will arrive. The bad news, however, is that women are still depicted here by implication as being subject to the whims of their husbands, held to a very high standard of performance around the house while ñHer husband is known in the city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land.''
If we were to preach a sermon on this passage, I think we would begin by contrasting the role of women in America today with that of women in the ancient world (a status, incidentally, still suffered by the women of many third world societies). This would be a good opportunity to talk about what a Christian view of marriage involves.
Lesson 1: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 (RC); Wisdom 1:16„2:1 (6-11) 12-22 (E)
Lesson 2: James 3:13„4:3, 7-8a (C); James 3:16„4:3 (RC); James 3:16„4:6 (E)
The acquisitive instinct. According to James, that is what sponsors most of our evil thoughts and actions. ñYou want things, but you cannot have them ...'' he contends, ñso you are ready to kill.'' HeÍs no doubt right, though the case may be overstated for emphasis. The consequence of this is ñevery kind of evil.''
Submission to God is the only antidote to the worldÍs evil. ñResist the Devil, and he will run away from you.'' Take note, too, that often we do not receive answers to our prayers because our motives are bad. All in all, James has most of us nailed to the wall. We get all caught up in the quest for material possessions, we often try to persuade God to cooperate in this, and the upshot is we make a terrible mess of our lives. Most of us preachers can think of people who have about as much in the way of material wealth as anyone could wish, yet are miserably unhappy. We can also think of people living in very modest circumstances who seem quite happy and content. We have to believe that once we possess the basic life needs „ a home, sufficient food, educations for ourselves and our children, meaningful employment, transportation, and a few good books „ we can be happy. If weÍre not, buying luxury items or achieving power over others by one means or another will not make us happy. The only thing that can do that is a personal relationship with God, and that is ours through Jesus Christ if we wish. But that relationship requires certain things of us, among them peacefulness, friendliness, and gentleness. We are to be free of prejudice and hypocrisy, and our lives are to be marked by the performance of good deeds.
Gospel: Mark 9:30-37 (C, RC, E)
We clergy, of course, are appalled at the thought that these disciples of Jesus were actually arguing about the relative positions they might enjoy in GodÍs eyes. Right! (That was intended as irony.) I can only speak for my own denomination, but itÍs sometimes amusing to watch us Methodist pastors gather in great numbers and see the various reactions to the assignments of who will speak here, and who will make the major report there, and who will be seated on this dais or that stage. I guess itÍs because weÍre human. The whole business of expensive, colorful robes and glorious stoles and gold crosses and all is probably not what Jesus had in mind in founding the Christian faith. One very distinguished and talented pastor once confided in me that he remains depressed for days following our Annual Conference.
My point is not to disparage my clergy brothers and sisters, wherever you are. IÍm one of those, after all, with the same feet of clay as the rest. My point is that to worry privately about our position in regard to the opinions of others, and in regard to our vocational recognition and status, is very nearly universal. Before we get too self-righteous about these disciples, we need to remind ourselves that the battle of character with which they were struggling is one that nearly all of us should recognize. Envy and jealousy are terrible emotions, but I doubt that any of us will get through life without occasionally feeling twinges of those emotions. The sin is not that we might feel such emotions, but that we would fail to recognize their damaging force, and that we would fail quickly to accept responsibility for them, and through prayer and self-discipline, do something constructive about them.
In a sermon, I would first acknowledge the human condition which so often leads us to experience our insecurities and self-esteem problems by desiring recognition and status. The positive side of that is that it can motivate us to work to achieve goals which are deserving of such recognition. But the negative effect often causes us to be jealous of the successes and accomplishments of other people. If we have good character and Christian love is working within us, we will quickly see these feelings for what they are. We will understand our own humanity, pray for forgiveness and for the eradication of our sin, and we will work at cultivating the opposite feelings of charity, modesty, humility, love for others, and also trust that whatever rewards are appropriate for us will be ours at the proper time. Jesus used the innocence of a small child as the ideal goal for us. He indicated that Christ will thereby enter in in the form of the presence of God.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: ñLove And Marriage''
Text: Proverbs 31:10-31
Theme: The roles of men and women have been dramatically altered by the events of the past few years in America. The attitude toward women in this text is not very different from that of America in, say, the Í50s. Then it changed, more by revolution than by evolution. Other than the suffrage movement in an earlier era, I know of no historical process of redefinition of roles comparable to those of the Í60s, Í70s, and Í80s. Now, today, most people struggle between some natural differences between males and females on the one hand, and the desire of thinking, caring people, to achieve genuine equality of the sexes on the other hand. Most estimates more or less agree with the one I recently read: 43 percent of all marriages in America will end in divorce. Clearly, the Church has work to do in helping reverse this tide. And tongue-clucking disapproval based on scripture passages will not help. Love will help, but we need to somehow retain the romantic element in marriage, yet help people understand that real love is Agape, not Eros. Scott Peck, in his splendid The Road Less Traveled, makes the point that only when romantic love dies does true love really begin. He doesnÍt mean there is no longer romance in the marriage. He means that only when the sexual dimension settles into its proper place can the hard and worthwhile work of loving really begin. Love is something you do. We might turn to PaulÍs Corinthians letter and refer to his three characteristics of true love: love does not insist on its own way, love does not keep a record of wrongs, love is patient and kind.
1. Love does not insist on its own way. In a good marriage each member is devoted to the happiness of the other. Anyone who has counseled (or been happily married „ or both) knows that there cannot be just one happy member of a marriage.
2. Love does not keep a record of wrongs. WeÍre all human. Despite our best intentions, nearly all of us sometimes say things we regret, or do things impulsively that we later would do anything to undo. If you have Italian blood, or Greek blood, or Irish blood, or Hispanic blood, you probably have a passionate side, and that can at times get momentarily out of control. (No offense to the rest of you. ItÍs probably true for all of us.) It is so important that we not only forgive each other, once we have heard a sincere ñIÍm sorry,'' but that we refrain from throwing the recollection back later in order to win an argument or to punish some other offense.
3. Love is patient and kind. Patience is something some of us must cultivate. I am devoting my life to this effort with, I regret to say, only limited success. But it must be done. Kindness is the key ingredient in love, and where there is unfailing kindness, there will be a high degree of probability that a marriage will succeed.
Title: ñGetting The Most Out Of Life''
Text: James 4:1-3
Theme: Bobby Burns caught the irony of lifeÍs search for pleasure:
But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white, then melts forever.
We search for happiness, and often we discover much too late that there is an important difference between happiness and pleasure. I know a young man who is presently living very miserably at home under close scrutiny because he went out for a fun evening, drank too much, did something he should not have, and now must pay. He had pleasure. But he is far from happy.
1. Happiness is not to be found in things. DonÍt misunderstand, IÍm not an old Scrooge, disdaining the fun part of life. I find no fault with healthy, responsible striving in the marketplace. I applaud sincere effort to provide a good home for a family, with education for the young, cultural opportunities for all, and some of the laborsaving devices available to us all. But I also know this is not the route to happiness.
2. Happiness is a product of three qualities: Good personal relationships, a productive life which contributes to the good and welfare of others, and a secure relationship with God.
3. The necessary ingredients for a happy life are only to be found in full measure in a prayerful relationship with God.
Title: ñHow To Be A Big Shot For Jesus''
Text: Mark 9:30-37
Theme: We all remember the tale about the frog who was pursued by a fox. He was hopping along just fine until he came to a river. The current was too much for the frog, and it was certain his fate was sealed. But just then, a flight of geese started overhead. The frog called out and got the attention of two of the geese, which promptly landed nearby and inquired of the frog what his problem might be. When he explained, the geese, not being admirers of foxes either, asked how they could help. The frog suggested the geese take opposite ends of a piece of string lying nearby. He would then clamp his ample mouth on the string, and away they could go. They did just this, and as the fox arrived at the river bank, he was dismayed to see the frog ascending overhead in the direction of the far river bank and safety. Not to be outsmarted, however, the fox cried out, ñWhat a marvelous idea that is. Who thought of that?'' The frog, proud of his achievement, couldnÍt resist. He called back, ñI did.'' And he promptly plunged into the river.
The ego. It often gets us in big trouble. These disciples, men just like us in many ways, couldnÍt resist speculating about their futures and the relative status of their importance to what was going on. We do that, do we not? I mentioned elsewhere the sight of a well-known clergyman cleaning his fingernails with a gold cross while another man preached. Self-importance. What dear Wallace Hamilton called ñthe drum major instinct in human nature.''
1. ItÍs all right to try to be important, but only if we do so in the right way.
2. Genuine importance results from good deeds and loving acts of kindness.
3. One universal characteristic of true importance is humility. That sounds like an oxymoron, but Jesus said the true Christian never pushes himself or herself to the front.
4. The best example for Jesus was a small child. Now, having just come from lunch with two friends and having been seated next to a family with a one-year-old, I urge a distinction between being childish and childlike. That baby was noisy and demanding, totally self-absorbed. ThatÍs not a criticism, since thatÍs what babies do. But those are not the qualities Jesus had in mind. He meant innocence and openness to beauty and newness. He meant unawareness of worldly importance.
5. Once we have become sophisticated and worldly, we canÍt go back. What we can do is ask God to help us emulate the qualities of innocence. Jesus here promises that when we welcome Jesus, God goes to work as well.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
In case you are inclined toward humor in preaching, you might be interested that Jerry Lewis said he has a movie of his wedding, and when he and his wife have an argument, he runs the movie backwards and leaves a free man. Or there is Henny YoungmanÍs reply when asked how he and his wife had remained married for so many years: ñWe go out to dinner twice a week „ she goes on Tuesday, I go on Thursday.''
Bruce Larson told of the Swedish couple „ weÍll call them Lars and Helga. Helga went to a marriage counselor who suggested she pray about her marriage problems. This she did. The counselor asked what she had prayed. She said, ñI prayed that God would judge between the two of us who is right, and would take the guilty one to himself in heaven. Then I can go to live with my sister in Milwaukee.''
____________
A psychiatrist in my congregation handed me a little book titled His Needs, Her Needs, in which the author, an experienced marriage counselor, reported having asked counselees to fill out a questionairre which asked questions designed to discover what made the counselee happy in marriage. After many years, he wrote that he had compiled a list of five essential qualities in a marriage for a man, and five for a woman. Interestingly, the two lists are completely different. I have used these lists in leading groups of couples who are preparing for marriage. I have yet to have anyone seriously disagree with the lists. They are:
For The Woman:
1. Conversation
2. Affection
3. Financial security
4. Honesty
5. Interest in the home by husband
For The Man:
1. Sex
2. An attractive spouse
3. Leisure-time companion
4. Peaceful home
5. Admiration
Worth thinking about. The author contends that a marriage cannot succeed without these qualities in the relationship.
____________
Tolstoy became increasingly unhappy as he aged. By the time he was fifty he was convinced that life had no real meaning. Depressed, he hid all ropes and guns so he would not impulsively commit suicide. One day Tolstoy, quite depressed, took a long walk in the woods, and presently, he began to think about God. He later reported that he had no idea why he should think about God, but he noticed that every time his thoughts turned to God, his depression lifted. He later wrote of the change which came over him that day, of the new feeling of optimism which flooded his mind. Then he wrote: ñSo then, why look I further? This is it. The reason I canÍt help thinking of God is because God is here. And the reason life takes on meaning when I think of God is simply because it is God who gives life meaning. This is what I am looking for. This is it.''
____________
Recently I heard a radio preacher tell this story from the Vietnam War period. Two women entered a train station, and they saw a disheveled young soldier sitting on a bench. He was unshaven, his uniform was badly mussed. In his arms he held a baby. As the preacher put the matter, one who approached the soldier soon realized the child was in immediate need of hygienic attention. The women were appalled at this unsoldierly-looking soldier. They decided he must have been on an all-night drunk, also that the same was true of his wife and that was why she wasnÍt there. They muttered their disapproval, and went to wait outside.
Another woman entered. Seeing the young man, she went to him and said: ñI see that you have your hands full there. Would you like me to care for your child for a while? I could clean him up in the ladiesÍ room, and you might feel better if you go freshen up in the menÍs room.''
Gratefully, the soldier handed the lady the baby. When they returned, he explained that he had been called back from Vietnam because of his wifeÍs illness. He had only just reached her bedside when she died. Now he was escorting her body back to their home state. Having very limited funds, he found it necessary to travel by coach, and had been sitting up all night. The preacher telling this story pointed out how loving kindness had done what judgment can never do.
____________
I again mention the story they tell at Riverside of the self-important gentleman who impatiently waited to be seated when the great Harry Emerson Fosdick was about to preach. An usher informed the waiting visitors that there was a single seat in the front, but otherwise the remaining seating was in the balcony. One distinguished man was about to be seated when the aforementioned whispered loudly, ñIÍll take the seat near the front. IÍm not the balcony kind.''
Smiling, the other man quietly slipped upstairs to the balcony, obviously unrecognized by Mr. Pushy. The quiet man was John D. Rockefeller, who had paid to build Riverside Church.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 1 (C) „ ñHappy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked.''
Psalm 53 (RC) „ ñFools say in their hearts, ïThere is no God.Í ''
Psalm 54 (E) „ ñSave me, O God, by your name....''
Prayer Of The Day
Eternal God, thou source of love and wisdom, work within us to overcome the urgent need we sometimes feel to be recognized and rewarded. Help us to find reward in the good we do, the love we give, the kindness in our hearts. Forgive our persistent failure, renew us by thy power. In ChristÍs name we pray. Amen.
