Guilty!
Stories
Object:
Contents
StoryShare Archives
A Story to Live By: "Guilty!"
Shining Moments: "Christmas Tears" by Christinia Seibel
Good Stories: "Two in the Manger"
Scrap Pile: "In the Thick of It" by Mark Whitaker
StoryShare Archives
Check out Jo's powerful story "A Voice in the Wilderness," which you can find in the StoryShare archives under Advent 3, Cycle B. You can now access that story, as well as any of the more than 200 other stories, jokes, and sermons contained in the Cycle B editions of StoryShare. Just go to the CSS website at http://www.csspub.com and click on the StoryShare icon, or go directly to the StoryShare homepage at http://www.csspub.com/story.lasso. When you fill in your user ID (your e-mail address) and your password, you can view the current installment -- and you can also search the entire archive of previous StoryShare editions by day, scripture, and/or keyword. (Look for the "Search StoryShare Archives" menu in the left-hand column.) Click the "submit" button, and you will see a brief summary of the StoryShare edition that relates to your query. Be sure to click on "more" to view the entire installment.
Keep sending your stories. Your contributions have helped to make StoryShare one of the best preaching and teaching resources available. If your ministry has been blessed by these stories, we invite you to forward this section of StoryShare to all of your friends who appreciate a good story. Invite them to check out the sample editions of StoryShare that are now available by clicking on http://www.csspub.com/storysample1.lasso. (A password is not needed to view the sample editions.) New subscribers receive a year of StoryShare plus full access to the StoryShare archives for just $19.95. Subscribing online is convenient using our secure server -- or you can all CSS toll-free at (800) 537-1030 Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) or send an e-mail to orders@csspub.com, and our customer service team will be happy to assist you.
John's new book, Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincidences, is now available from CSS Publishing Company. More information about the book is available on the CSS website at http://www.csspub.com.
A Story to Live By
Guilty!
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance..."
Luke 3:7-8a
In the first chapter of his acclaimed 1973 book Whatever Became of Sin? Karl Menninger tells of a remarkable event that occurred on a sunny day in September of 1972:
...a stern-faced, plainly dressed man could be seen standing still on a street corner in the busy Chicago Loop. As pedestrians hurried by on their way to lunch or business, he would solemnly lift his right arm, and pointing to the person nearest him, intone loudly the single word "Guilty!"
Then, without any change of expression, he would resume his stiff stance for a few moments before repeating the gesture. Then, again, the inexorable raising of his arm, the pointing, and the solemn pronouncing of the one word, "Guilty!"
The effect of this strange j'accuse pantomime on the passing strangers was extraordinary, almost eerie. They would stare at him, hesitate, look away, look at each other, and then at him again; then hurriedly continue on their ways.
One man, turning to another who was my informant, exclaimed: "But how did he know?" No doubt many others had similar thoughts. How did he know, indeed?
(Karl Menninger, Whatever Became of Sin?, Bantam Books, pp. 1-2.)
Shining Moments
Christmas Tears
by Christinia Seibel
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.
Isaiah 12:3-4
I think nothing breaks our hearts as badly as does the broken hearts of our children. My daughter, Melissa, moved back in with my husband and me just before Thanksgiving. Her husband had left her and wanted nothing to do with the baby they were expecting.
In the early morning hours of Christmas Eve day, as the world prepared to celebrate the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem, I held my daughter's hand as she gave birth to a premature stillborn child due to a separated placenta. Baby Afton Long died and was born on Christmas Eve day.
As I held my stillborn grandchild, my daughter, with a broken heart and tear-filled eyes, looked up at me and said, "Mom, I know we can't baptize the baby -- but can you give my baby a blessing?" As she named her baby, we prayed together. Then she held her baby so tenderly, marveling at how perfectly formed the baby was: ten toes, ten fingers. Through it all, a song from the Christmas Eve cantata kept echoing in my mind: "Be Exalted, O God."
Yet, in the midst of great tragedy, there were tears of joy.
After notifying family members by phone, my father's closing words to me were, "Remember, Christmas still happens. Christ still comes." He was so right. God's abundant grace has indeed been with us.
The hospital staff and Melissa's obstetrician were truly God's hands of compassion that night. They were wonderful. The senior pastor at the church where my husband (who is my daughter's stepfather, as her dad died six years ago) serves as associate pastor offered to let my husband preach at my Christmas Eve services, so that I could continue to be with my daughter. It gave us precious time together to cry, to pray, and for me to just sit and hold her while she cried and slept. So many people -- friends, family, church members -- have offered their prayers and condolences. It got us through the first night. Then, Christmas morning, my council president and his fiancÈ called to say that Christmas dinner was being provided. Later on, a homemade "with all the trimmings" Christmas dinner was delivered to our door.
And then Christmas night as I helped my daughter get into bed, she hugged me and said through her tears, "Mom, it's so much harder at night. I love you so much! Thanks for everything. I don't know what I would have done without you." Then she looked up at me and said, "I don't mean this to sound weird, but I have really been feeling God's presence in this." The cantata hymn rang out in my mind once again, "Be Exalted, O God!"
Christinia Seibel is pastor of St. Luke's Lutheran Church (ELCA), in Curtice, Ohio. She is a second-career pastor who was ordained three years ago, her first career having been as a wife and mother while working in the social services field. This story first appeared in Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincidences, edited by John E. Sumwalt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2003), pg. 26.
Good Stories
Two in The Manger
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
Isaiah 12:2
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were also invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments, and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They related the following story in their own words:
It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger. Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me (no colored paper was available in the city).
Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States. The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat -- he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project.
As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately, until he came to the part where Mary and Joseph put the baby Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha started to ad lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mama and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did.
"But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, 'If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?' And Jesus told me, 'If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.' So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and told me I could stay with him -- for always."
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed.
The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him FOR ALWAYS.
(Author Unknown)
Scrap Pile
In the Thick of It
by Mark Whitaker
At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord.
Zephaniah 3:20
The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:5b-6
You would think that, with all the presents and decorations, Christmas would be a time of joy and laughter: that with all the "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmases," everyone would be filled with holiday cheer and anticipation about the gifts under the tree! But unfortunately, that's not the case. Christmas is, in fact, the most likely time for suicides. It is a sad and dangerous time for many people who don't have what the world says they should have, and so become depressed.
For many people God is like a character in Cool Hand Luke. Luke is a prisoner in an Alabama chain gang. God is symbolized in Godfry the boss, who wears silvered sunglasses. He is indifferent, remote, and detached from the prisoners, communicating through his underlings. When he speaks, someone suffers. He arbitrarily sets limits and punishes at a whim. They feel that God somehow doesn't understand their life.
There is a story about how all the people gathered around the throne of heaven. But instead of being a worshiping throng, they are an angry, seething mob. They are mad about the injustice they had to live with while on the earth, while God gets to sit up in heaven enjoying the heavenly city and the angels. They demand that before God can judge them, he experience the same things they had to experience. Their lists include that he be born into a poor family and have the legitimacy of his birth questioned. That he be homeless and in fear of his life. That he have to work hard all his life, and pay most of what he earns to the government in taxes. That he be deserted by his followers, persecuted by the government, and betrayed by his friends. They want him to be falsely accused of phony crimes, tried in a kangaroo court, convicted, and finally, be put to death. When the list is finished, there is this silence, and then the crowd disperses... for they realize that God has already done just exactly this when he sent Jesus.
But in the Scripture this morning Zephaniah is telling the people of Israel to rejoice. In spite of his warnings of the coming exile, of the punishment that God has visited upon them, God will restore them to a place of honor and safety. The enemy will be turned back; God is watching out for us. We will be abundantly blessed; we will be able to go home because God is with us!
In the Epistle lesson, Paul tells us to rejoice -- twice. We don't need to be pushy or anxious, but just rejoice, because "The Lord is near."
John the Baptist, in the Gospel reading, tells the brood of vipers to repent and to celebrate because the "powerful one" is coming! The problem is that we fail to recognize God in our lives!
A minister was looking around the Rodin museum and spotted a piece of work that was just a hand. It seemed out of place amid the beautiful sculptures. Turning to the guide, he asked why it was on display. The guide replied, "Look closely. Have you observed the lettering underneath?" It read "The Hand of God." As he spent some time looking at the piece from every angle, and the story it told, the other statues paled in comparison.
We can rejoice because God is in our lives -- right now! We can see God: in a student who organized a walkathon to raise money for an injured Columbine High School student.
A minister who helped build a Habitat for Humanity house said, "Christ was not an abstract at this site where 20 homes were being built. I am sure that I have seen Jesus, though I am not sure just where. Did I see him in Celso and Esthella who, like Mary and Joseph, had a hard time finding a place to stay? Or in the people who came from Belfast, and Switzerland, and other states, to help build for people they hadn't met yet? Or in the people staffing the first aid stations? Did I see him in those who gave their days to serve food and keep the drink barrel filled? Did I see him on the list of major donors or in the supply trailer finding nails or caulking? I think the answer is yes!"
We see God in the love of one person for another. When asked, "What does love mean?" a group of 4- to 8-year-olds gave these answers:
* When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too.
* Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs!
* Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.
* Love is little old women and little old men who are still friends even after they know each other so well.
* Love is when you tell something bad about yourself and you're not scared they won't love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only do they still love you, they love you even more.
A chaplain tells about seeing a young man with a bald head, eyes to the ground, outside a cancer hospital. He thought the man was going in for a cancer treatment. Later, he saw the man in the hallway. This time his head was up and he was walking fast. When he came back to the desk, the chaplain was surprised to see the man again. This time he had a big smile on his face and his steps were light. He was not alone, either. High on his shoulder was his son, four years old, wearing a Winnie the Pooh bathrobe. And then the chaplain saw that it was the child who had cancer, who had lost his hair. This father had shaved his head out of love for his son.
If we have eyes sharp enough, we can see God:
in the clowns that share God's message with us;
in the people who cook and wash dishes on Wonderful Wednesday;
in the 190 members of the church who volunteer to be leaders;
in the choirs as they sing and ring and dance to God's glory;
even in those we can't see:
like the members of the counting committee;
or those who take flowers to sick and shut-ins;
or the Bereavement committee or Missions or Evangelism;
even in the staff, who do this job not because it pays well, but because they want to share how God touches their lives.
The truth is that some will only see God through you. They will know who God is, know whether or not they want to be a follower of God, because they see and recognize God in your life and they want to have God in their lives also.
Michael Card has a song entitled "Distressing Disguise":
In his distressing disguise, he hopes that we'll realize:
Every time a faithful servant serves another that's in need;
What happens at that moment is a miracle indeed.
As they look to one another in an instant it is clear.
Only Jesus is visible, for they both disappear.
A friend on the internet wrote: "The world will see Christ most clearly when we are able to lay 'self' aside and give, not of ME, but of Christ in me. That is the well that never runs dry and always offers a drink of cool, clear water. The Well-Spring of Life, Christ is always in our midst. The question for us is, can we get out of the way enough to realize it?"
We have reason to rejoice even in this season: God is with us -- around us and within, and if we will but open our eyes we will be able to celebrate him and share him with those who need a reason to rejoice.
Mark Whitaker is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Homosassa, Florida. He has been a pastor and member of the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church for 33 years. His hobby is building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Mark writes, "I love to get out there and swing a hammer. We are in an area called 'The Nature Coast' because a large area of the counties involved includes state and national forests, reserves, wetlands, river estuaries, and lakes. We are the winter home for a large number of manatees. You may have heard about the whooping cranes that are being trained to migrate from Canada to Florida by using an ultra light to lead them down. This is the area they are coming to each winter."
This sermon was preached at Homosassa United Methodist Church, December 17, 2000.
**********************************************
StoryShare, December 14, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 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., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
StoryShare Archives
A Story to Live By: "Guilty!"
Shining Moments: "Christmas Tears" by Christinia Seibel
Good Stories: "Two in the Manger"
Scrap Pile: "In the Thick of It" by Mark Whitaker
StoryShare Archives
Check out Jo's powerful story "A Voice in the Wilderness," which you can find in the StoryShare archives under Advent 3, Cycle B. You can now access that story, as well as any of the more than 200 other stories, jokes, and sermons contained in the Cycle B editions of StoryShare. Just go to the CSS website at http://www.csspub.com and click on the StoryShare icon, or go directly to the StoryShare homepage at http://www.csspub.com/story.lasso. When you fill in your user ID (your e-mail address) and your password, you can view the current installment -- and you can also search the entire archive of previous StoryShare editions by day, scripture, and/or keyword. (Look for the "Search StoryShare Archives" menu in the left-hand column.) Click the "submit" button, and you will see a brief summary of the StoryShare edition that relates to your query. Be sure to click on "more" to view the entire installment.
Keep sending your stories. Your contributions have helped to make StoryShare one of the best preaching and teaching resources available. If your ministry has been blessed by these stories, we invite you to forward this section of StoryShare to all of your friends who appreciate a good story. Invite them to check out the sample editions of StoryShare that are now available by clicking on http://www.csspub.com/storysample1.lasso. (A password is not needed to view the sample editions.) New subscribers receive a year of StoryShare plus full access to the StoryShare archives for just $19.95. Subscribing online is convenient using our secure server -- or you can all CSS toll-free at (800) 537-1030 Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) or send an e-mail to orders@csspub.com, and our customer service team will be happy to assist you.
John's new book, Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincidences, is now available from CSS Publishing Company. More information about the book is available on the CSS website at http://www.csspub.com.
A Story to Live By
Guilty!
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance..."
Luke 3:7-8a
In the first chapter of his acclaimed 1973 book Whatever Became of Sin? Karl Menninger tells of a remarkable event that occurred on a sunny day in September of 1972:
...a stern-faced, plainly dressed man could be seen standing still on a street corner in the busy Chicago Loop. As pedestrians hurried by on their way to lunch or business, he would solemnly lift his right arm, and pointing to the person nearest him, intone loudly the single word "Guilty!"
Then, without any change of expression, he would resume his stiff stance for a few moments before repeating the gesture. Then, again, the inexorable raising of his arm, the pointing, and the solemn pronouncing of the one word, "Guilty!"
The effect of this strange j'accuse pantomime on the passing strangers was extraordinary, almost eerie. They would stare at him, hesitate, look away, look at each other, and then at him again; then hurriedly continue on their ways.
One man, turning to another who was my informant, exclaimed: "But how did he know?" No doubt many others had similar thoughts. How did he know, indeed?
(Karl Menninger, Whatever Became of Sin?, Bantam Books, pp. 1-2.)
Shining Moments
Christmas Tears
by Christinia Seibel
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.
Isaiah 12:3-4
I think nothing breaks our hearts as badly as does the broken hearts of our children. My daughter, Melissa, moved back in with my husband and me just before Thanksgiving. Her husband had left her and wanted nothing to do with the baby they were expecting.
In the early morning hours of Christmas Eve day, as the world prepared to celebrate the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem, I held my daughter's hand as she gave birth to a premature stillborn child due to a separated placenta. Baby Afton Long died and was born on Christmas Eve day.
As I held my stillborn grandchild, my daughter, with a broken heart and tear-filled eyes, looked up at me and said, "Mom, I know we can't baptize the baby -- but can you give my baby a blessing?" As she named her baby, we prayed together. Then she held her baby so tenderly, marveling at how perfectly formed the baby was: ten toes, ten fingers. Through it all, a song from the Christmas Eve cantata kept echoing in my mind: "Be Exalted, O God."
Yet, in the midst of great tragedy, there were tears of joy.
After notifying family members by phone, my father's closing words to me were, "Remember, Christmas still happens. Christ still comes." He was so right. God's abundant grace has indeed been with us.
The hospital staff and Melissa's obstetrician were truly God's hands of compassion that night. They were wonderful. The senior pastor at the church where my husband (who is my daughter's stepfather, as her dad died six years ago) serves as associate pastor offered to let my husband preach at my Christmas Eve services, so that I could continue to be with my daughter. It gave us precious time together to cry, to pray, and for me to just sit and hold her while she cried and slept. So many people -- friends, family, church members -- have offered their prayers and condolences. It got us through the first night. Then, Christmas morning, my council president and his fiancÈ called to say that Christmas dinner was being provided. Later on, a homemade "with all the trimmings" Christmas dinner was delivered to our door.
And then Christmas night as I helped my daughter get into bed, she hugged me and said through her tears, "Mom, it's so much harder at night. I love you so much! Thanks for everything. I don't know what I would have done without you." Then she looked up at me and said, "I don't mean this to sound weird, but I have really been feeling God's presence in this." The cantata hymn rang out in my mind once again, "Be Exalted, O God!"
Christinia Seibel is pastor of St. Luke's Lutheran Church (ELCA), in Curtice, Ohio. She is a second-career pastor who was ordained three years ago, her first career having been as a wife and mother while working in the social services field. This story first appeared in Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincidences, edited by John E. Sumwalt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2003), pg. 26.
Good Stories
Two in The Manger
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
Isaiah 12:2
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were also invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments, and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They related the following story in their own words:
It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger. Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me (no colored paper was available in the city).
Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States. The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat -- he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project.
As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately, until he came to the part where Mary and Joseph put the baby Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha started to ad lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mama and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did.
"But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, 'If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?' And Jesus told me, 'If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.' So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and told me I could stay with him -- for always."
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed.
The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him FOR ALWAYS.
(Author Unknown)
Scrap Pile
In the Thick of It
by Mark Whitaker
At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord.
Zephaniah 3:20
The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:5b-6
You would think that, with all the presents and decorations, Christmas would be a time of joy and laughter: that with all the "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmases," everyone would be filled with holiday cheer and anticipation about the gifts under the tree! But unfortunately, that's not the case. Christmas is, in fact, the most likely time for suicides. It is a sad and dangerous time for many people who don't have what the world says they should have, and so become depressed.
For many people God is like a character in Cool Hand Luke. Luke is a prisoner in an Alabama chain gang. God is symbolized in Godfry the boss, who wears silvered sunglasses. He is indifferent, remote, and detached from the prisoners, communicating through his underlings. When he speaks, someone suffers. He arbitrarily sets limits and punishes at a whim. They feel that God somehow doesn't understand their life.
There is a story about how all the people gathered around the throne of heaven. But instead of being a worshiping throng, they are an angry, seething mob. They are mad about the injustice they had to live with while on the earth, while God gets to sit up in heaven enjoying the heavenly city and the angels. They demand that before God can judge them, he experience the same things they had to experience. Their lists include that he be born into a poor family and have the legitimacy of his birth questioned. That he be homeless and in fear of his life. That he have to work hard all his life, and pay most of what he earns to the government in taxes. That he be deserted by his followers, persecuted by the government, and betrayed by his friends. They want him to be falsely accused of phony crimes, tried in a kangaroo court, convicted, and finally, be put to death. When the list is finished, there is this silence, and then the crowd disperses... for they realize that God has already done just exactly this when he sent Jesus.
But in the Scripture this morning Zephaniah is telling the people of Israel to rejoice. In spite of his warnings of the coming exile, of the punishment that God has visited upon them, God will restore them to a place of honor and safety. The enemy will be turned back; God is watching out for us. We will be abundantly blessed; we will be able to go home because God is with us!
In the Epistle lesson, Paul tells us to rejoice -- twice. We don't need to be pushy or anxious, but just rejoice, because "The Lord is near."
John the Baptist, in the Gospel reading, tells the brood of vipers to repent and to celebrate because the "powerful one" is coming! The problem is that we fail to recognize God in our lives!
A minister was looking around the Rodin museum and spotted a piece of work that was just a hand. It seemed out of place amid the beautiful sculptures. Turning to the guide, he asked why it was on display. The guide replied, "Look closely. Have you observed the lettering underneath?" It read "The Hand of God." As he spent some time looking at the piece from every angle, and the story it told, the other statues paled in comparison.
We can rejoice because God is in our lives -- right now! We can see God: in a student who organized a walkathon to raise money for an injured Columbine High School student.
A minister who helped build a Habitat for Humanity house said, "Christ was not an abstract at this site where 20 homes were being built. I am sure that I have seen Jesus, though I am not sure just where. Did I see him in Celso and Esthella who, like Mary and Joseph, had a hard time finding a place to stay? Or in the people who came from Belfast, and Switzerland, and other states, to help build for people they hadn't met yet? Or in the people staffing the first aid stations? Did I see him in those who gave their days to serve food and keep the drink barrel filled? Did I see him on the list of major donors or in the supply trailer finding nails or caulking? I think the answer is yes!"
We see God in the love of one person for another. When asked, "What does love mean?" a group of 4- to 8-year-olds gave these answers:
* When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too.
* Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs!
* Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.
* Love is little old women and little old men who are still friends even after they know each other so well.
* Love is when you tell something bad about yourself and you're not scared they won't love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only do they still love you, they love you even more.
A chaplain tells about seeing a young man with a bald head, eyes to the ground, outside a cancer hospital. He thought the man was going in for a cancer treatment. Later, he saw the man in the hallway. This time his head was up and he was walking fast. When he came back to the desk, the chaplain was surprised to see the man again. This time he had a big smile on his face and his steps were light. He was not alone, either. High on his shoulder was his son, four years old, wearing a Winnie the Pooh bathrobe. And then the chaplain saw that it was the child who had cancer, who had lost his hair. This father had shaved his head out of love for his son.
If we have eyes sharp enough, we can see God:
in the clowns that share God's message with us;
in the people who cook and wash dishes on Wonderful Wednesday;
in the 190 members of the church who volunteer to be leaders;
in the choirs as they sing and ring and dance to God's glory;
even in those we can't see:
like the members of the counting committee;
or those who take flowers to sick and shut-ins;
or the Bereavement committee or Missions or Evangelism;
even in the staff, who do this job not because it pays well, but because they want to share how God touches their lives.
The truth is that some will only see God through you. They will know who God is, know whether or not they want to be a follower of God, because they see and recognize God in your life and they want to have God in their lives also.
Michael Card has a song entitled "Distressing Disguise":
In his distressing disguise, he hopes that we'll realize:
Every time a faithful servant serves another that's in need;
What happens at that moment is a miracle indeed.
As they look to one another in an instant it is clear.
Only Jesus is visible, for they both disappear.
A friend on the internet wrote: "The world will see Christ most clearly when we are able to lay 'self' aside and give, not of ME, but of Christ in me. That is the well that never runs dry and always offers a drink of cool, clear water. The Well-Spring of Life, Christ is always in our midst. The question for us is, can we get out of the way enough to realize it?"
We have reason to rejoice even in this season: God is with us -- around us and within, and if we will but open our eyes we will be able to celebrate him and share him with those who need a reason to rejoice.
Mark Whitaker is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Homosassa, Florida. He has been a pastor and member of the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church for 33 years. His hobby is building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Mark writes, "I love to get out there and swing a hammer. We are in an area called 'The Nature Coast' because a large area of the counties involved includes state and national forests, reserves, wetlands, river estuaries, and lakes. We are the winter home for a large number of manatees. You may have heard about the whooping cranes that are being trained to migrate from Canada to Florida by using an ultra light to lead them down. This is the area they are coming to each winter."
This sermon was preached at Homosassa United Methodist Church, December 17, 2000.
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StoryShare, December 14, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 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., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
