Always The Same, Always Changing
Illustration
Stories
Contents
"Always the Same, Always Changing" by Frank Ramirez
"Personally Invited" by Greg Tolle
* * * * * * * *
Always the Same, Always Changing
by Frank Ramirez
Jonah 3:1-5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
For the present form of this world is passing away.
-- 1 Corinthians 7:31
You know if you buy a book you can pull the book off the shelf any time you want and read it. Or go to the library and check out a copy. Or borrow it again from a friend each time you want to renew the experience.
That's books. It's not movies.
Once upon a time if you wanted to see a movie you went to a movie theater. You might see a cartoon, a documentary, a newsreel, and two separate feature films. The films would generally be there a week and then the bill was changed.
The important thing was -- if you did not see the movie during its release, you probably never saw it. And even if you saw it, you didn't expect to see it again. Occasionally some films were re-released, usually to much fanfare but then that was it.
Then along came television. Initially television had a lot of original, live programming, but at one point someone got the bright idea of showing old movies on the tube. Granted, they were cut up, bracketed around commercials, and sometimes stuff got removed so the movie fit inside the time block. But movies got a new lease on life on television because you could see them again. You still had to be present during the broadcast or you couldn't see it. You couldn't leave on an errand, answer the phone, or take care of a crying baby and be assured of seeing the movie. If you were interrupted, you were out of luck. If someone talked while you were trying to watch you couldn't hear.
Then came a breathtaking breakthrough -- videocassettes. The movie was on magnetic tape. You could play the movie, stop the movie, restart it, rewind it, and start all over again. You could watch the movie whenever you wanted. If one moment was especially striking, you could back it up and see it again. If some loud mouth talked during the film, no problem, turn it on and watch it later.
You went to a video store to rent them. Initially they were so valuable you had to put down a deposit of hundreds of dollars to insure you would return it. But gradually the cost of videocassettes went down.
At first a lot of people rented the players whenever they showed a movie at home but as the price went down more and more people owned them.
The downside was the videocassettes gradually wore out and so did the video players. Rewinding machines were invented so you wouldn't have to wear out your player in that function.
Not all innovations stuck. There were large LP sized disks, for instance, which supposedly provided a better image, but they never caught on. There were even dead-ends, as when Beta fought VHS videocassettes, and even though many said Beta was better, VHS won out.
Then came DVDs and videocassettes have virtually disappeared. Then came rental by mail and downloading directly into your television or computer. Soon video rental places started going out of business. Moreover, movies are now released sooner and sooner after the theatrical release. The way we watch movies keeps changing and some are available free -- legally or otherwise -- on the internet. What will come next?
One thing we've seen is that it doesn't pay to get too invested in one particular technology that might be come obsolete. Think of all those videos that can't be played because the machines that played them can't be repaired.
You see, the apostle Paul was trying to convince the Corinthians that they needed to be aware that things were changing, and they needed to change with the gospel.
We can certainly say with the apostle Paul that the present form of the world is passing away. Things are always changing and most people seem to change with technology. Paul wasn't talking about the way we watch movies -- he was writing to first-century Corinthians inviting them to change their way of thinking when it came to morality and faith. That can be hard for some people.
We know it can be done. The Ninevites are depicted as changing when they needed to in the face of the word of God that comes through Jonah.
Frank Ramirez has served as a pastor for nearly 30 years in Church of the Brethren congregations in Los Angeles, California; Elkhart, Indiana; and Everett, Pennsylvania. A graduate of LaVerne College and Bethany Theological Seminary, Ramirez is the author of numerous books, articles, and short stories. His CSS titles include Partners in Healing, He Took a Towel, The Bee Attitudes, and three volumes of Lectionary Worship Aids.
Personally Invited
by Greg Tolle
Mark 1:14-20
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea -- for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. (vv. 16-20)
For many years, Jerry Rice was the star receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He followed that with stints with the Oakland Raiders and the Seattle Seahawks. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest receivers in the history of football, if not the greatest. He has won three Super Bowls and was once named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. Ten times he has been All Pro and in 1987 was voted as the NFL MVP. Rice holds the all-time NFL records for touchdowns, receptions, and receiving yards for both the regular season and the Super Bowl. In his NFL career, he has over 20,000 receiving yards.
As a great star with all these records and accolades, you would think Jerry Rice must have come from some legendary college team like Notre Dame or the University of Miami. But he didn't. He played for tiny Mississippi Valley State University -- an NCAA Division 1-AA school in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Ever hear of it? The town might as well be called Itty Bitty, Mississippi, for no bigger than it is.
Rice was once asked, "Why did you attend a small, obscure university like Mississippi Valley State?"
Rice responded, "Out of all the big-time schools (such as UCLA) to recruit me, MVSU was the only school to come to my house and give me a personal visit."
The major universities recruited Jerry Rice through cards, letters, and advertisements. Only Mississippi Valley State came to meet Rice and showed him personal attention. It makes a difference in this world to meet people eye-to-eye and issue the invitation to be included.
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee and recruited his disciples, he did so in a personal way. He didn't carry a banner or send a letter. He talked to them face-to-face. He dealt with them as individuals and not as a commodity.
This is Jesus' example to us as well. He calls us to fish for people. We are called to invite people face-to-face. Cards and letters to invite someone into the kingdom can only do so much. Advertising is so impersonal. It makes all the difference to shake a hand and to extend a heartfelt invitation. It's probably what brought you into the kingdom and into our church. Someone personally invited you. Can we offer anything less?
from Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit, Series IV, Cycle B, 0-7880-2365-9 (CSS Publishing Company, Inc.: Lima, Ohio, 2005), 37-38.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 22, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"Always the Same, Always Changing" by Frank Ramirez
"Personally Invited" by Greg Tolle
* * * * * * * *
Always the Same, Always Changing
by Frank Ramirez
Jonah 3:1-5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
For the present form of this world is passing away.
-- 1 Corinthians 7:31
You know if you buy a book you can pull the book off the shelf any time you want and read it. Or go to the library and check out a copy. Or borrow it again from a friend each time you want to renew the experience.
That's books. It's not movies.
Once upon a time if you wanted to see a movie you went to a movie theater. You might see a cartoon, a documentary, a newsreel, and two separate feature films. The films would generally be there a week and then the bill was changed.
The important thing was -- if you did not see the movie during its release, you probably never saw it. And even if you saw it, you didn't expect to see it again. Occasionally some films were re-released, usually to much fanfare but then that was it.
Then along came television. Initially television had a lot of original, live programming, but at one point someone got the bright idea of showing old movies on the tube. Granted, they were cut up, bracketed around commercials, and sometimes stuff got removed so the movie fit inside the time block. But movies got a new lease on life on television because you could see them again. You still had to be present during the broadcast or you couldn't see it. You couldn't leave on an errand, answer the phone, or take care of a crying baby and be assured of seeing the movie. If you were interrupted, you were out of luck. If someone talked while you were trying to watch you couldn't hear.
Then came a breathtaking breakthrough -- videocassettes. The movie was on magnetic tape. You could play the movie, stop the movie, restart it, rewind it, and start all over again. You could watch the movie whenever you wanted. If one moment was especially striking, you could back it up and see it again. If some loud mouth talked during the film, no problem, turn it on and watch it later.
You went to a video store to rent them. Initially they were so valuable you had to put down a deposit of hundreds of dollars to insure you would return it. But gradually the cost of videocassettes went down.
At first a lot of people rented the players whenever they showed a movie at home but as the price went down more and more people owned them.
The downside was the videocassettes gradually wore out and so did the video players. Rewinding machines were invented so you wouldn't have to wear out your player in that function.
Not all innovations stuck. There were large LP sized disks, for instance, which supposedly provided a better image, but they never caught on. There were even dead-ends, as when Beta fought VHS videocassettes, and even though many said Beta was better, VHS won out.
Then came DVDs and videocassettes have virtually disappeared. Then came rental by mail and downloading directly into your television or computer. Soon video rental places started going out of business. Moreover, movies are now released sooner and sooner after the theatrical release. The way we watch movies keeps changing and some are available free -- legally or otherwise -- on the internet. What will come next?
One thing we've seen is that it doesn't pay to get too invested in one particular technology that might be come obsolete. Think of all those videos that can't be played because the machines that played them can't be repaired.
You see, the apostle Paul was trying to convince the Corinthians that they needed to be aware that things were changing, and they needed to change with the gospel.
We can certainly say with the apostle Paul that the present form of the world is passing away. Things are always changing and most people seem to change with technology. Paul wasn't talking about the way we watch movies -- he was writing to first-century Corinthians inviting them to change their way of thinking when it came to morality and faith. That can be hard for some people.
We know it can be done. The Ninevites are depicted as changing when they needed to in the face of the word of God that comes through Jonah.
Frank Ramirez has served as a pastor for nearly 30 years in Church of the Brethren congregations in Los Angeles, California; Elkhart, Indiana; and Everett, Pennsylvania. A graduate of LaVerne College and Bethany Theological Seminary, Ramirez is the author of numerous books, articles, and short stories. His CSS titles include Partners in Healing, He Took a Towel, The Bee Attitudes, and three volumes of Lectionary Worship Aids.
Personally Invited
by Greg Tolle
Mark 1:14-20
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea -- for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. (vv. 16-20)
For many years, Jerry Rice was the star receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He followed that with stints with the Oakland Raiders and the Seattle Seahawks. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest receivers in the history of football, if not the greatest. He has won three Super Bowls and was once named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. Ten times he has been All Pro and in 1987 was voted as the NFL MVP. Rice holds the all-time NFL records for touchdowns, receptions, and receiving yards for both the regular season and the Super Bowl. In his NFL career, he has over 20,000 receiving yards.
As a great star with all these records and accolades, you would think Jerry Rice must have come from some legendary college team like Notre Dame or the University of Miami. But he didn't. He played for tiny Mississippi Valley State University -- an NCAA Division 1-AA school in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Ever hear of it? The town might as well be called Itty Bitty, Mississippi, for no bigger than it is.
Rice was once asked, "Why did you attend a small, obscure university like Mississippi Valley State?"
Rice responded, "Out of all the big-time schools (such as UCLA) to recruit me, MVSU was the only school to come to my house and give me a personal visit."
The major universities recruited Jerry Rice through cards, letters, and advertisements. Only Mississippi Valley State came to meet Rice and showed him personal attention. It makes a difference in this world to meet people eye-to-eye and issue the invitation to be included.
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee and recruited his disciples, he did so in a personal way. He didn't carry a banner or send a letter. He talked to them face-to-face. He dealt with them as individuals and not as a commodity.
This is Jesus' example to us as well. He calls us to fish for people. We are called to invite people face-to-face. Cards and letters to invite someone into the kingdom can only do so much. Advertising is so impersonal. It makes all the difference to shake a hand and to extend a heartfelt invitation. It's probably what brought you into the kingdom and into our church. Someone personally invited you. Can we offer anything less?
from Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit, Series IV, Cycle B, 0-7880-2365-9 (CSS Publishing Company, Inc.: Lima, Ohio, 2005), 37-38.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 22, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
