Faithful Works
Stories
Contents
"Faithful Works" by Peter Andrew Smith
"A Dog Speaks" by John Fitzgerald
Faithful Works
by Peter Andrew Smith
Romans 10:5-15
Paul ran in from the water, waved at the lifeguard on duty, and flopped down on the towel next to his mother. “Did you see me?”
“Sorry I was reading.” His mother looked up from her book. “Did you have fun swimming?”
Paul grinned widely. “I was even putting my head underwater some of the time.”
“Wow, that is something. Good for you!” She smiled at him and then turned her attention back to her book.
“What’s the matter?”
“Pardon?” She looked up from her book again. “Why do you think that anything is the matter?”
“You stopped smiling when you started reading again. Actually you started frowning.”
She waved a hand. “Oh, I’m just having trouble making sense of something I’m reading in the Bible.”
“Huh.” Paul grabbed another towel from the bag and started to dry himself off. “Can I try to help you?”
“Unfortunately it’s a hard passage about faith and works I’m afraid.” She sighed. “I thought this study would be easy to lead but this is hard to explain.”
“We learned in Sunday School that faith is when you believe and trust in God.”
“That’s right.”
“How do you get faith?” Paul asked.
“The more you know God the more you trust in God.” His mother furrowed her brow. “Like you knew that we were coming to the beach today, didn’t you?”
“Sure.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you told me we were and you don’t lie to me. I trust you.”
“That’s kind of like faith,” his mother explained. “We know that God loves us so we trust and believe what God tells us.”
“So what are works?”
“In the part of the Bible I’m reading works are when you do something and hope that God will love you because you do it.”
Paul shook his head. “That’s just silly.”
“I know but it isn’t easy to explain why it’s silly.”
“You can’t do anything to make God love you. God already does.” Paul rubbed his chin. “Maybe you just need to explain about Moms and their kids.”
“What about Moms and their kids?”
“Well you are my Mom and because I’m your kid you love me. So I don’t do things in order to get you to love me. You love me because you’re my Mom.” Paul put down his towel. “It’s the same way with God, isn’t it? God loves us because that’s what God does. We see that in Jesus and all through the Bible. God didn’t stop loving when people did bad things so why would we think that God would love us when we do good things?”
“That’s actually a pretty good explanation.” His mother pulled out a pen and made some notes on a piece of paper. “If I shift the discussion from faith and works and discuss it in terms of our relationship with God then I think that would make all the difference.”
Paul stared blankly at her.
“Sorry Paul. I was just thinking out loud for adult Bible study. You’ve been a great help and I think I can do this now.” His mother made a final note. “I need to remember to draw a distinction between works and good works.”
“What are good works?”
“That’s a name given to the things we do because of our faith like giving to the poor or visiting people who are lonely.”
Paul frowned. “If God loves us no matter what why do we worry about doing the things that God asks of us?”
“You mean why do Christians do good works like feeding the hungry and providing shelters for the homeless?”
“Yeah. If God already love us why do we do those things?”
His mother tilted her head. “Why do you do the things that I ask?”
“Because I love you and I want to make you happy.”
His mother smiled and hugged him. “I love you too.”
Paul beamed at her again. “Okay I get it. We do good things because we love God.”
“We also do them because they’re good for us too.”
Paul nodded. “I can see that.”
His mother looks at the passage in Romans again. “You know I think I can probably explain this to the study group because of your help.”
“So everything is good then?”
His mother looked at the Bible and frowned. “No, there’s something still off.”
Paul looked around the beach and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
His mother put her Bible in her bag. “I think we need to go swimming together so you can show me how you can swim with your head underwater.”
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada currently serving St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things are Ready (CSS) a book of lectionary based communion prayers and a number of stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
* * *
A Dog Speaks
by John Fitzgerald
Psalm 85:8-13
Dr. Sharpe tells this story in his book, No Dogs in Heaven:
Last weekend, as my family was camping, I watched as an elderly woman in a wheelchair, cradling an old dog on her lap, was pushed to our campsite. I made a remark about the pair to my neighbor in the camper and he replied, “That’s my mother-in-law and that dog’s just what she needs. Another thing to take care of when she can’t take care of herself!” It was obvious to me that the dog was just what she needed. Animals stick by us “in sickness and in health, for better or worse, richer or poorer, as long as they live,” and they don’t even need the vows, ring, or the cake. Our pets accept us, flawed as we are. They look at us and think we are simply terrific when few others do. We have no “past” in their eyes, only the present. And in that present we are perfect and hold great promise. Animals never criticize us, and they offer limitless forgiveness -- a kind of grace when we don’t deserve it. They let us know that no matter what kind of person we may be, no matter how we fall short, they accept and love. Wait a minute -- haven’t I heard all this somewhere before? Maybe... in church?
I believe Dr. Sharpe had it right. Animals, and especially our pets, do have ability to form a special connection with us. A dog can speak volumes in a non-verbal manner. It is up to us in receiving grace, love, and affection from our animal friends.The scriptures make note of this bond which exists between human beings and all living things. Our Bible reading for today from Psalm 85 illustrates the way in which Godly qualities such as faithfulness, peace and righteousness can be found in all of creation.
Examples of this relationship can be found in verses 10-11 of our lesson: “Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good and our land will yield its harvest.” Verse 10 indicates the bliss in creation when divine attributes are joined together: “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.”
Verses 8-9 are a song of salvation and the glory of God when peace is practiced by faithful servants. We have a glimpse of this very same glory and peace when a dog and its master are in harmony.
Treat your pets kindly because this relationship can reflect the Lord’s righteousness and peace.
John Fitzgerald lives in Leesburg, Ohio, with his wife Carolyn and has served as pastor at the Leesburg Friends Meeting for the past 27 years. Cornfield Cathedral (Fairway Press, 2013) is the second book authored by Pastor Fitzgerald. John has earned a Master's of Ministry Degree from the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana.
*****************************************
StoryShare, August 13, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 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.
"Faithful Works" by Peter Andrew Smith
"A Dog Speaks" by John Fitzgerald
Faithful Works
by Peter Andrew Smith
Romans 10:5-15
Paul ran in from the water, waved at the lifeguard on duty, and flopped down on the towel next to his mother. “Did you see me?”
“Sorry I was reading.” His mother looked up from her book. “Did you have fun swimming?”
Paul grinned widely. “I was even putting my head underwater some of the time.”
“Wow, that is something. Good for you!” She smiled at him and then turned her attention back to her book.
“What’s the matter?”
“Pardon?” She looked up from her book again. “Why do you think that anything is the matter?”
“You stopped smiling when you started reading again. Actually you started frowning.”
She waved a hand. “Oh, I’m just having trouble making sense of something I’m reading in the Bible.”
“Huh.” Paul grabbed another towel from the bag and started to dry himself off. “Can I try to help you?”
“Unfortunately it’s a hard passage about faith and works I’m afraid.” She sighed. “I thought this study would be easy to lead but this is hard to explain.”
“We learned in Sunday School that faith is when you believe and trust in God.”
“That’s right.”
“How do you get faith?” Paul asked.
“The more you know God the more you trust in God.” His mother furrowed her brow. “Like you knew that we were coming to the beach today, didn’t you?”
“Sure.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you told me we were and you don’t lie to me. I trust you.”
“That’s kind of like faith,” his mother explained. “We know that God loves us so we trust and believe what God tells us.”
“So what are works?”
“In the part of the Bible I’m reading works are when you do something and hope that God will love you because you do it.”
Paul shook his head. “That’s just silly.”
“I know but it isn’t easy to explain why it’s silly.”
“You can’t do anything to make God love you. God already does.” Paul rubbed his chin. “Maybe you just need to explain about Moms and their kids.”
“What about Moms and their kids?”
“Well you are my Mom and because I’m your kid you love me. So I don’t do things in order to get you to love me. You love me because you’re my Mom.” Paul put down his towel. “It’s the same way with God, isn’t it? God loves us because that’s what God does. We see that in Jesus and all through the Bible. God didn’t stop loving when people did bad things so why would we think that God would love us when we do good things?”
“That’s actually a pretty good explanation.” His mother pulled out a pen and made some notes on a piece of paper. “If I shift the discussion from faith and works and discuss it in terms of our relationship with God then I think that would make all the difference.”
Paul stared blankly at her.
“Sorry Paul. I was just thinking out loud for adult Bible study. You’ve been a great help and I think I can do this now.” His mother made a final note. “I need to remember to draw a distinction between works and good works.”
“What are good works?”
“That’s a name given to the things we do because of our faith like giving to the poor or visiting people who are lonely.”
Paul frowned. “If God loves us no matter what why do we worry about doing the things that God asks of us?”
“You mean why do Christians do good works like feeding the hungry and providing shelters for the homeless?”
“Yeah. If God already love us why do we do those things?”
His mother tilted her head. “Why do you do the things that I ask?”
“Because I love you and I want to make you happy.”
His mother smiled and hugged him. “I love you too.”
Paul beamed at her again. “Okay I get it. We do good things because we love God.”
“We also do them because they’re good for us too.”
Paul nodded. “I can see that.”
His mother looks at the passage in Romans again. “You know I think I can probably explain this to the study group because of your help.”
“So everything is good then?”
His mother looked at the Bible and frowned. “No, there’s something still off.”
Paul looked around the beach and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
His mother put her Bible in her bag. “I think we need to go swimming together so you can show me how you can swim with your head underwater.”
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada currently serving St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things are Ready (CSS) a book of lectionary based communion prayers and a number of stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
* * *
A Dog Speaks
by John Fitzgerald
Psalm 85:8-13
Dr. Sharpe tells this story in his book, No Dogs in Heaven:
Last weekend, as my family was camping, I watched as an elderly woman in a wheelchair, cradling an old dog on her lap, was pushed to our campsite. I made a remark about the pair to my neighbor in the camper and he replied, “That’s my mother-in-law and that dog’s just what she needs. Another thing to take care of when she can’t take care of herself!” It was obvious to me that the dog was just what she needed. Animals stick by us “in sickness and in health, for better or worse, richer or poorer, as long as they live,” and they don’t even need the vows, ring, or the cake. Our pets accept us, flawed as we are. They look at us and think we are simply terrific when few others do. We have no “past” in their eyes, only the present. And in that present we are perfect and hold great promise. Animals never criticize us, and they offer limitless forgiveness -- a kind of grace when we don’t deserve it. They let us know that no matter what kind of person we may be, no matter how we fall short, they accept and love. Wait a minute -- haven’t I heard all this somewhere before? Maybe... in church?
I believe Dr. Sharpe had it right. Animals, and especially our pets, do have ability to form a special connection with us. A dog can speak volumes in a non-verbal manner. It is up to us in receiving grace, love, and affection from our animal friends.The scriptures make note of this bond which exists between human beings and all living things. Our Bible reading for today from Psalm 85 illustrates the way in which Godly qualities such as faithfulness, peace and righteousness can be found in all of creation.
Examples of this relationship can be found in verses 10-11 of our lesson: “Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good and our land will yield its harvest.” Verse 10 indicates the bliss in creation when divine attributes are joined together: “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.”
Verses 8-9 are a song of salvation and the glory of God when peace is practiced by faithful servants. We have a glimpse of this very same glory and peace when a dog and its master are in harmony.
Treat your pets kindly because this relationship can reflect the Lord’s righteousness and peace.
John Fitzgerald lives in Leesburg, Ohio, with his wife Carolyn and has served as pastor at the Leesburg Friends Meeting for the past 27 years. Cornfield Cathedral (Fairway Press, 2013) is the second book authored by Pastor Fitzgerald. John has earned a Master's of Ministry Degree from the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana.
*****************************************
StoryShare, August 13, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 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.
