In That Day
Stories
Object:
Contents
What's Up This Week
"In That Day" by Argile Smith
"A Vision of the Future" by Richard Jensen
What's Up This Week
The future can be a tremendous source of fear and excitement. The story of our lives in waiting to be written in the future's blank pages. Individually and collectively as the church, our anticipation of the future can take many forms. We can be fearful of the unknown. We can be impatient, wanting everything to happen at once. We can focus entirely on the future at the expense of the present. We can even turn a blind eye to the future, our minds fixed on past memories or accomplishments. In "In That Day," Argile Smith explores our view of the future from the perspective of the individual, while "A Vision of the Future" by Richard Jensen looks at the future through the eyes of the church. How do we look at the future?
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In That Day
Argile Smith
Luke 21:5-19; Isaiah 12
Even though she had just turned her calendar to the month of October, the semester had already been too long for Kim. Her first semester at the university had been tough. The difficulties associated with adjusting to campus life, getting over syllabus shock, and learning how to sleep in a dorm paled in comparison to her almost constant ordeal with homesickness. At night, she would cry herself to sleep, thinking about her bed at home and her parents. She even missed her little brother, who had been nothing but a pest to her as far back as she could remember.
She could hardly wait for Thanksgiving break so she could return there for an entire week. That's why her heart sank to the floor when her mother called her to say that a trip for home at Thanksgiving wouldn't be possible. A strange and sudden change in plans at home left her with only one option: to drive up to her uncle's house for Thanksgiving Day. The rest of her time would be spent at school in the library or in front of her computer, and in either case, all by herself.
In her anger over what she considered to be unfair treatment, she emailed her mother about the change in plans and the devastation it had caused. First, Kim blamed her for being insensitive and thoughtless. She went on to remind her mother of the favored treatment her little brother had received all of his life, adding that he had been away at school, such a change in plans wouldn't have been considered at all!
Kim sent her searing message and sat there in her dorm room. The late afternoon sun cast a sad glow over her sullen face while tears of disappointment trickled down her cheek. She waited for a minute and wondered if she had done the right thing. After all, her mom couldn't do anything about the change of plans. Kim's dad wanted to visit his mother who had been sick for a long time. In fact, the doctors agreed that the past couple of birthdays had not been good to her frail frame and that no medicine could be prescribed that would stretch out her days. Kim's dad didn't want to live in regret over not making one last visit, and Kim's mom understood completely. That's why she made arrangements for Kim to spend Thanksgiving with her brother and his wife, Kim's favorite relatives.
But at the moment Kim didn't think about her dad's need to see his mother. She could only think about her agony over needing to see her folks and the home she missed so much.
Two hours passed before Kim got a reply from her mom. She wrote, "Sweet Kim, I knew that not being home at Thanksgiving would break your heart. I understand why you are mad at me. Keep in mind that Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away from the end of the semester. On that day, you can put your papers and exams behind you and come for a long Christmas break. It will make having to wait worthwhile. Keep thinking about that day, and it will help you to get through the days between now and then. And remember that no matter how you feel about me, I love you."
In time, Kim took her mother's advice to heart. She began to see every setting sun as a signal that she would have one less day to wait until she could go home.
Argile Smith is vice president for advancement at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He has been the pastor of several congregations in Louisiana and Mississippi, and has also served as a preaching professor, chairman of the Division of Pastoral Ministries, and director of the communications center at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. While at NOTBS, Smith regularly hosted the Gateway to Truth program on the FamilyNet television network.
A Vision of the Future
Richard Jensen
Isaiah 65:17-25
A few years back a west coast bishop returned home from a meeting of his denomination's bishops in Kansas City. He reported on the meeting to his staff. He worked up the most energy in talking about the three major speakers. ''One of the speakers,'' he told his staff, ''teaches Bible at one of our seminaries. She did an excellent job of tracing all the currents of biblical research that have brought us to the present. She gave an excellent review of the recent and not so recent past in biblical studies.''
''A second speaker,'' the bishop continued, ''was a theologian. He did much the same thing as the biblical teacher. He reminded us of our heritage. He talked about the giants of theology in the early twentieth century. He outlined the major streams of theology that have brought us to our present state.''
The bishop started warming to his subject now. ''The third speaker,'' he reported with a gleam in his eye, ''was an incredibly gifted lay woman who works in the field of applied science. She is a member of our denomination and a product of one of our church colleges. The things she told us about the nature of science today were mindboggling. It's a field that is changing with incredible speed. The average length of time of a job in her field is three years. The average length of time of a company in the field is seven years. On the one hand, she said, that is scary. On the other hand, however, this is probably the most exciting time to be alive that humankind has ever known. Things are changing. There are grand new opportunities. We can change our future!''
After he had finished reviewing the speakers the bishop grew more serious. ''I found it interesting,'' he went on, ''that our church's teachers talked to us mostly about the past while she talked to us mostly of the future. And that's not all. She not only talked about the future but she made it clear that science has moved far beyond the point of thinking that God is to be factored out of any intelligent equation. As we move to a new future, she said that the spiritual issues were of absolutely vital concern. And you have the answers here, she said to us. We look to you. We need you. Help us provide the spiritual sustenance the world needs as we move toward a new tomorrow.''
The bishop was clearly fond of this woman scientist. He had a chance to visit with her at the end of the five days they were together. He reported to his staff on that conversation as well. ''She told me,'' the bishop began, ''that she had been very carefully observing our group over our five days together. And she was impressed. 'These are wonderful leaders,' she told me. 'As a group you are incredibly bright and talented. I've never heard any group that is so knowledgeable of the kind of issues you discuss with each other. I've been listening in on your conversations and I am thankful that my church has such dedicated leaders. But,' she said, 'everything you talk about is in the past. It's the past that you are so expert in discussing. It's the church's past that you are so knowledgeable of. But I don't think I've heard anyone discuss the future. Where is your church going in this exciting time? What kind of new future are you going to create? Surely in the church you have language to talk about the future. Surely you have language in the Bible which can hold out a vision of hope for a new world.' ''
(from Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit, CSS Publishing Co., Inc.: Lima, Ohio, 1994), pp. 123-124, ISBN: 0-7880-0081-0)
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How to Share Stories
You have good stories to share, probably more than you know: personal stories as well as stories from others that you have used over the years. If you have a story you like, whether fictional or "really happened," authored by you or a brief excerpt from a favorite book, send it to StoryShare for review. Simply email the story to us at storyshare@sermonsuite.com.
**************
StoryShare, November 18, 2007, issue.
Copyright 2007 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., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
What's Up This Week
"In That Day" by Argile Smith
"A Vision of the Future" by Richard Jensen
What's Up This Week
The future can be a tremendous source of fear and excitement. The story of our lives in waiting to be written in the future's blank pages. Individually and collectively as the church, our anticipation of the future can take many forms. We can be fearful of the unknown. We can be impatient, wanting everything to happen at once. We can focus entirely on the future at the expense of the present. We can even turn a blind eye to the future, our minds fixed on past memories or accomplishments. In "In That Day," Argile Smith explores our view of the future from the perspective of the individual, while "A Vision of the Future" by Richard Jensen looks at the future through the eyes of the church. How do we look at the future?
* * * * * * * * *
In That Day
Argile Smith
Luke 21:5-19; Isaiah 12
Even though she had just turned her calendar to the month of October, the semester had already been too long for Kim. Her first semester at the university had been tough. The difficulties associated with adjusting to campus life, getting over syllabus shock, and learning how to sleep in a dorm paled in comparison to her almost constant ordeal with homesickness. At night, she would cry herself to sleep, thinking about her bed at home and her parents. She even missed her little brother, who had been nothing but a pest to her as far back as she could remember.
She could hardly wait for Thanksgiving break so she could return there for an entire week. That's why her heart sank to the floor when her mother called her to say that a trip for home at Thanksgiving wouldn't be possible. A strange and sudden change in plans at home left her with only one option: to drive up to her uncle's house for Thanksgiving Day. The rest of her time would be spent at school in the library or in front of her computer, and in either case, all by herself.
In her anger over what she considered to be unfair treatment, she emailed her mother about the change in plans and the devastation it had caused. First, Kim blamed her for being insensitive and thoughtless. She went on to remind her mother of the favored treatment her little brother had received all of his life, adding that he had been away at school, such a change in plans wouldn't have been considered at all!
Kim sent her searing message and sat there in her dorm room. The late afternoon sun cast a sad glow over her sullen face while tears of disappointment trickled down her cheek. She waited for a minute and wondered if she had done the right thing. After all, her mom couldn't do anything about the change of plans. Kim's dad wanted to visit his mother who had been sick for a long time. In fact, the doctors agreed that the past couple of birthdays had not been good to her frail frame and that no medicine could be prescribed that would stretch out her days. Kim's dad didn't want to live in regret over not making one last visit, and Kim's mom understood completely. That's why she made arrangements for Kim to spend Thanksgiving with her brother and his wife, Kim's favorite relatives.
But at the moment Kim didn't think about her dad's need to see his mother. She could only think about her agony over needing to see her folks and the home she missed so much.
Two hours passed before Kim got a reply from her mom. She wrote, "Sweet Kim, I knew that not being home at Thanksgiving would break your heart. I understand why you are mad at me. Keep in mind that Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away from the end of the semester. On that day, you can put your papers and exams behind you and come for a long Christmas break. It will make having to wait worthwhile. Keep thinking about that day, and it will help you to get through the days between now and then. And remember that no matter how you feel about me, I love you."
In time, Kim took her mother's advice to heart. She began to see every setting sun as a signal that she would have one less day to wait until she could go home.
Argile Smith is vice president for advancement at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He has been the pastor of several congregations in Louisiana and Mississippi, and has also served as a preaching professor, chairman of the Division of Pastoral Ministries, and director of the communications center at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. While at NOTBS, Smith regularly hosted the Gateway to Truth program on the FamilyNet television network.
A Vision of the Future
Richard Jensen
Isaiah 65:17-25
A few years back a west coast bishop returned home from a meeting of his denomination's bishops in Kansas City. He reported on the meeting to his staff. He worked up the most energy in talking about the three major speakers. ''One of the speakers,'' he told his staff, ''teaches Bible at one of our seminaries. She did an excellent job of tracing all the currents of biblical research that have brought us to the present. She gave an excellent review of the recent and not so recent past in biblical studies.''
''A second speaker,'' the bishop continued, ''was a theologian. He did much the same thing as the biblical teacher. He reminded us of our heritage. He talked about the giants of theology in the early twentieth century. He outlined the major streams of theology that have brought us to our present state.''
The bishop started warming to his subject now. ''The third speaker,'' he reported with a gleam in his eye, ''was an incredibly gifted lay woman who works in the field of applied science. She is a member of our denomination and a product of one of our church colleges. The things she told us about the nature of science today were mindboggling. It's a field that is changing with incredible speed. The average length of time of a job in her field is three years. The average length of time of a company in the field is seven years. On the one hand, she said, that is scary. On the other hand, however, this is probably the most exciting time to be alive that humankind has ever known. Things are changing. There are grand new opportunities. We can change our future!''
After he had finished reviewing the speakers the bishop grew more serious. ''I found it interesting,'' he went on, ''that our church's teachers talked to us mostly about the past while she talked to us mostly of the future. And that's not all. She not only talked about the future but she made it clear that science has moved far beyond the point of thinking that God is to be factored out of any intelligent equation. As we move to a new future, she said that the spiritual issues were of absolutely vital concern. And you have the answers here, she said to us. We look to you. We need you. Help us provide the spiritual sustenance the world needs as we move toward a new tomorrow.''
The bishop was clearly fond of this woman scientist. He had a chance to visit with her at the end of the five days they were together. He reported to his staff on that conversation as well. ''She told me,'' the bishop began, ''that she had been very carefully observing our group over our five days together. And she was impressed. 'These are wonderful leaders,' she told me. 'As a group you are incredibly bright and talented. I've never heard any group that is so knowledgeable of the kind of issues you discuss with each other. I've been listening in on your conversations and I am thankful that my church has such dedicated leaders. But,' she said, 'everything you talk about is in the past. It's the past that you are so expert in discussing. It's the church's past that you are so knowledgeable of. But I don't think I've heard anyone discuss the future. Where is your church going in this exciting time? What kind of new future are you going to create? Surely in the church you have language to talk about the future. Surely you have language in the Bible which can hold out a vision of hope for a new world.' ''
(from Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit, CSS Publishing Co., Inc.: Lima, Ohio, 1994), pp. 123-124, ISBN: 0-7880-0081-0)
**********************************************
How to Share Stories
You have good stories to share, probably more than you know: personal stories as well as stories from others that you have used over the years. If you have a story you like, whether fictional or "really happened," authored by you or a brief excerpt from a favorite book, send it to StoryShare for review. Simply email the story to us at storyshare@sermonsuite.com.
**************
StoryShare, November 18, 2007, issue.
Copyright 2007 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., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
