He Was A Saint
Stories
Object:
Contents
A Story to Live By: "He Was a Saint"
Sharing Visions: "Startled" by Elaine Klemm-Grau
Good Stories: "Heaven Bound" by John Sumwalt
John's Scrap Pile: "The Power of Stories"
This week's StoryShare offers a powerful vision story by Elaine Klemm-Grau based on the Gospel text: "They were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost." Elaine writes: "Then I was startled by the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. 'Good morning,' she said. The voice, though truly indescribable, sounded as pure as the ringing of a lovely bell."
John spins a tale of heaven in a "Good Stories" selection called "Heaven Bound." The owner of a small-town shoe store has a vision of heaven as he is dying and is given one last chance to make things right with an old friend before he makes the final journey.
A Story to Live By
He Was a Saint
Once there were two evil brothers. They were very rich and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. And they were successful in fooling most of their friends and neighbors.
Then came the day when the older brother died. The younger brother went to speak to the pastor about the eulogy and handed him a check for $50,000. "I have only one condition," he told the pastor. "At the funeral you must say my brother was a saint." The pastor gave his word and deposited the check.
The next day at the funeral the pastor did not hold back. He lambasted the elder brother. This was an evil man! He cheated, he hustled, he used people! After going on like this for some time, the pastor concluded, but noted that compared to his brother, the dead man was a saint.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
Sharing Visions
Startled
by Elaine Klemm-Grau
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost.
Luke 24:36-37
Jackie was gone. My dear friend and neighbor, to whom I had ministered in the last six months of her dying, had finally been released from her pain and had been taken to her true home in heaven. At home, following the funeral Mass, my heart was heavy with grief. I laid down and closed my eyes, slipping into contemplative prayer.
Then, I was startled by the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. "Good morning," she said. The voice, though truly indescribable, sounded as pure as the ringing of a lovely bell.
"Who are you?" I replied in amazement. My eyes remained closed in prayer, and I saw a vision of the profile of a lovely woman with a flawless complexion and a head covering of blue and white. "Who are you?" I asked again. The vision faded and I saw two words: "Mother - Mother."
Talking with my spiritual director about it, I asked him what "Mother - Mother" meant. He assured me that it would be revealed to me. The next day in class at the seminary, the professor wrote "Mother - Mother" on the board, and followed it with the explanation "Mother of the Redeemer, Mother of Us." The whole experience gave me a great sense of peace. It helped me deal with my sadness over losing my friend, and helped me know she was truly with God.
A few days later, I dreamed of seeing a large, misty gray sheet, which appeared more like a very large scroll. Suddenly the lower corner was lifted up, and peeking around the edge of the scroll-sheet was Jackie, eyes sparkling and smiling. She said, "I'm here!" and the dream ended. I awoke, feeling faith-filled, peaceful, and happy for her arrival at her true home, with God.
Elaine H. Klemm-Grau is a retired Psychotherapist, MSSW, UWM, Spiritual Director, MA, Sacred Heart School of Theology, Hales Corners, Wisconsin, Sacred Heart Congregation, Racine, Wisconsin, Eucharistic Minister, Catechist, Lector, Communion Presider and President of Hickory Hollow Development.
Elaine's story appears in Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles [link to 0-7880-1896-5], edited by John E. Sumwalt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2002). Vision Stories is available from CSS through their website (www.csspub.com) or by calling 1-800-241-4056. Vision Stories is also available at Cokesbury, Family Christian Stores, and many local Christian bookstores.
Good Stories
Heaven Bound
by John Sumwalt
Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
1 John 3:2-3
There was once a successful businessman who was the bitter enemy of another successful businessman in the same town. They both sold shoes and their stores stood side by side on the main street. They went to the same church. They belonged to some of the same clubs, but they never spoke. They stayed away from each other as much as possible. This was somewhat ironic because they had been boyhood chums. Everyone said they were inseparable, more like brothers than good friends.
Their enmity began over a conflict of interest. They both fell in love with the same girl. Even so, everything would have been fine except she dated one first, became engaged to him, then jilted him to marry the other.
There was an ugly scene one day when they came together in front of one of the local watering holes. They shouted and raved, called each other loathsome names, and nearly came to blows.
Each one swore that he would never speak to the other again. And they didn't. Even when their wives died, as it happened just a few months apart, they went to the services, each nodded to the other in a polite, public way, but they did not speak.
Now one of them was dying, and just before he died he had a vision. He saw an angel come to greet him and welcome him to heaven. He told the angel how delighted he was to be there. He had never been absolutely sure that heaven was the place where he was going to go. He had always been afraid that he might go to the other place. But here he was, and all was well. He asked the angel to show him around. The angel said he would be delighted. After all, that was his job.
He led the man down the main street of a small town. It was a very pleasant-looking town with trees and benches, clean-swept sidewalks and curbs, very much like the little town where he had lived all his life.
They came to a shoe store and the angel said, "This is where you are going to work."
They walked around inside and looked at the goods. The stock included all the latest styles, the very best shoes that could be had anywhere.
The businessman expressed his great pleasure. He said, "I always wondered what I would do in heaven. I am glad to see it will be what I do best."
When they walked outside he was surprised to discover that there was another shoe store right next door to his. "Whose store is that?" he asked the angel.
"Why, that will be your friend's store when he gets here in just a few years," the angel replied. "You will be working side by side, just as you always have."
The businessman awoke with a start. Immediately he sent for his boyhood friend. When his friend arrived, he embraced him and told him how sorry he was for all the wasted years. Then he said to his friend, "I want you to do me a favor. I want you to take over my store, and as neither of us have any children, when you come to the time when you can't take care of it any longer, I want you to sell it and give the money to our church."
Then he died in the arms of his friend, smiling, because he knew that their friendship would never end.
John's Scrap Pile
The Power of Stories
I believe in the power of stories. The right story told at the right time can make a saving difference in someone's life. Since I have begun to tell stories in my sermons I have discovered that I receive a different response than to more conventional kinds of preaching. People come up to me after the service and instead of saying "that was a good sermon" or "I appreciated what you had to say today," they tell me one of their own stories. Sometimes this occurs weeks or even months afterwards. Stories are remembered and pondered for a long time.
Stories work in our unconscious minds slowly over time, gradually mixing with our own ideas and memories, healing our spirits as we absorb their truths. They help us to know things about ourselves, our relationships with others, the nature of the universe and our creator that we could not discover in any other way. A story in which someone is redeemed, set free from some affliction or sin, will often function redemptively in the life of the hearer. Fred Craddock writes in Overhearing The Gospel that "a narrative tends to do what it tells, mediating suffering and healing and salvation." (Fred B. Craddock, Overhearing The Gospel [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1978], p. 140)
Stories, like other forms of art, can turn our whole world upside down and inside out. Movie director David Hare, upon the release of his 1988 film Paris By Night said, "People walk around thinking they know what they believe about things, but they rarely examine the reason for their beliefs. When they are confronted with a real work of art, then they discover that they don't believe what they thought they believed all along."
(Chicago Tribune, August 13, 1988)
Stories not only have transforming power, they are empowering; they transmit real power to the hearer. Eugene Lowry writes: "Powerful stories do something, effect something, in ways not captured by the response 'Oh yes, I now understand the point.'" (Eugene L. Lowry, How to Preach a Parable [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989], p. 22)
William White put it this way: "... the use of storytelling is not simply a matter of taste, but an issue of faith ... story evokes a more powerful faith response than doctrine and concept." (William R. White, Stories for Telling, [Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1986], p. 16)
Excerpted from the introduction to Lectionary Stories: Forty Tellable Tales For Cycle B, John E. Sumwalt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 1990), and from materials used in my storytelling seminars.
**********************************************
Our thanks to Dale Vogt for sending these bits of humor:
A certain little girl, when asked her name, would reply, "I'm Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter." Her mother told her this was wrong, that she must say, "I'm Jane Sugarbrown." The vicar spoke to her in Sunday school, and said, "Aren't you Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter?" She replied, "I thought I was, but Mother says I'm not."
A little girl asked her mother, "Can I go outside and play with the boys?" Her mother replied, "No, you can't play with the boys, they're too rough." The little girl thought about it for a few moments and asked, "If I can find a smooth one, can I play with him?"
StoryShare, May 4, 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.
A Story to Live By: "He Was a Saint"
Sharing Visions: "Startled" by Elaine Klemm-Grau
Good Stories: "Heaven Bound" by John Sumwalt
John's Scrap Pile: "The Power of Stories"
This week's StoryShare offers a powerful vision story by Elaine Klemm-Grau based on the Gospel text: "They were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost." Elaine writes: "Then I was startled by the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. 'Good morning,' she said. The voice, though truly indescribable, sounded as pure as the ringing of a lovely bell."
John spins a tale of heaven in a "Good Stories" selection called "Heaven Bound." The owner of a small-town shoe store has a vision of heaven as he is dying and is given one last chance to make things right with an old friend before he makes the final journey.
A Story to Live By
He Was a Saint
Once there were two evil brothers. They were very rich and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. And they were successful in fooling most of their friends and neighbors.
Then came the day when the older brother died. The younger brother went to speak to the pastor about the eulogy and handed him a check for $50,000. "I have only one condition," he told the pastor. "At the funeral you must say my brother was a saint." The pastor gave his word and deposited the check.
The next day at the funeral the pastor did not hold back. He lambasted the elder brother. This was an evil man! He cheated, he hustled, he used people! After going on like this for some time, the pastor concluded, but noted that compared to his brother, the dead man was a saint.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
Sharing Visions
Startled
by Elaine Klemm-Grau
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost.
Luke 24:36-37
Jackie was gone. My dear friend and neighbor, to whom I had ministered in the last six months of her dying, had finally been released from her pain and had been taken to her true home in heaven. At home, following the funeral Mass, my heart was heavy with grief. I laid down and closed my eyes, slipping into contemplative prayer.
Then, I was startled by the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. "Good morning," she said. The voice, though truly indescribable, sounded as pure as the ringing of a lovely bell.
"Who are you?" I replied in amazement. My eyes remained closed in prayer, and I saw a vision of the profile of a lovely woman with a flawless complexion and a head covering of blue and white. "Who are you?" I asked again. The vision faded and I saw two words: "Mother - Mother."
Talking with my spiritual director about it, I asked him what "Mother - Mother" meant. He assured me that it would be revealed to me. The next day in class at the seminary, the professor wrote "Mother - Mother" on the board, and followed it with the explanation "Mother of the Redeemer, Mother of Us." The whole experience gave me a great sense of peace. It helped me deal with my sadness over losing my friend, and helped me know she was truly with God.
A few days later, I dreamed of seeing a large, misty gray sheet, which appeared more like a very large scroll. Suddenly the lower corner was lifted up, and peeking around the edge of the scroll-sheet was Jackie, eyes sparkling and smiling. She said, "I'm here!" and the dream ended. I awoke, feeling faith-filled, peaceful, and happy for her arrival at her true home, with God.
Elaine H. Klemm-Grau is a retired Psychotherapist, MSSW, UWM, Spiritual Director, MA, Sacred Heart School of Theology, Hales Corners, Wisconsin, Sacred Heart Congregation, Racine, Wisconsin, Eucharistic Minister, Catechist, Lector, Communion Presider and President of Hickory Hollow Development.
Elaine's story appears in Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles [link to 0-7880-1896-5], edited by John E. Sumwalt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2002). Vision Stories is available from CSS through their website (www.csspub.com) or by calling 1-800-241-4056. Vision Stories is also available at Cokesbury, Family Christian Stores, and many local Christian bookstores.
Good Stories
Heaven Bound
by John Sumwalt
Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
1 John 3:2-3
There was once a successful businessman who was the bitter enemy of another successful businessman in the same town. They both sold shoes and their stores stood side by side on the main street. They went to the same church. They belonged to some of the same clubs, but they never spoke. They stayed away from each other as much as possible. This was somewhat ironic because they had been boyhood chums. Everyone said they were inseparable, more like brothers than good friends.
Their enmity began over a conflict of interest. They both fell in love with the same girl. Even so, everything would have been fine except she dated one first, became engaged to him, then jilted him to marry the other.
There was an ugly scene one day when they came together in front of one of the local watering holes. They shouted and raved, called each other loathsome names, and nearly came to blows.
Each one swore that he would never speak to the other again. And they didn't. Even when their wives died, as it happened just a few months apart, they went to the services, each nodded to the other in a polite, public way, but they did not speak.
Now one of them was dying, and just before he died he had a vision. He saw an angel come to greet him and welcome him to heaven. He told the angel how delighted he was to be there. He had never been absolutely sure that heaven was the place where he was going to go. He had always been afraid that he might go to the other place. But here he was, and all was well. He asked the angel to show him around. The angel said he would be delighted. After all, that was his job.
He led the man down the main street of a small town. It was a very pleasant-looking town with trees and benches, clean-swept sidewalks and curbs, very much like the little town where he had lived all his life.
They came to a shoe store and the angel said, "This is where you are going to work."
They walked around inside and looked at the goods. The stock included all the latest styles, the very best shoes that could be had anywhere.
The businessman expressed his great pleasure. He said, "I always wondered what I would do in heaven. I am glad to see it will be what I do best."
When they walked outside he was surprised to discover that there was another shoe store right next door to his. "Whose store is that?" he asked the angel.
"Why, that will be your friend's store when he gets here in just a few years," the angel replied. "You will be working side by side, just as you always have."
The businessman awoke with a start. Immediately he sent for his boyhood friend. When his friend arrived, he embraced him and told him how sorry he was for all the wasted years. Then he said to his friend, "I want you to do me a favor. I want you to take over my store, and as neither of us have any children, when you come to the time when you can't take care of it any longer, I want you to sell it and give the money to our church."
Then he died in the arms of his friend, smiling, because he knew that their friendship would never end.
John's Scrap Pile
The Power of Stories
I believe in the power of stories. The right story told at the right time can make a saving difference in someone's life. Since I have begun to tell stories in my sermons I have discovered that I receive a different response than to more conventional kinds of preaching. People come up to me after the service and instead of saying "that was a good sermon" or "I appreciated what you had to say today," they tell me one of their own stories. Sometimes this occurs weeks or even months afterwards. Stories are remembered and pondered for a long time.
Stories work in our unconscious minds slowly over time, gradually mixing with our own ideas and memories, healing our spirits as we absorb their truths. They help us to know things about ourselves, our relationships with others, the nature of the universe and our creator that we could not discover in any other way. A story in which someone is redeemed, set free from some affliction or sin, will often function redemptively in the life of the hearer. Fred Craddock writes in Overhearing The Gospel that "a narrative tends to do what it tells, mediating suffering and healing and salvation." (Fred B. Craddock, Overhearing The Gospel [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1978], p. 140)
Stories, like other forms of art, can turn our whole world upside down and inside out. Movie director David Hare, upon the release of his 1988 film Paris By Night said, "People walk around thinking they know what they believe about things, but they rarely examine the reason for their beliefs. When they are confronted with a real work of art, then they discover that they don't believe what they thought they believed all along."
(Chicago Tribune, August 13, 1988)
Stories not only have transforming power, they are empowering; they transmit real power to the hearer. Eugene Lowry writes: "Powerful stories do something, effect something, in ways not captured by the response 'Oh yes, I now understand the point.'" (Eugene L. Lowry, How to Preach a Parable [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989], p. 22)
William White put it this way: "... the use of storytelling is not simply a matter of taste, but an issue of faith ... story evokes a more powerful faith response than doctrine and concept." (William R. White, Stories for Telling, [Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1986], p. 16)
Excerpted from the introduction to Lectionary Stories: Forty Tellable Tales For Cycle B, John E. Sumwalt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 1990), and from materials used in my storytelling seminars.
**********************************************
Our thanks to Dale Vogt for sending these bits of humor:
A certain little girl, when asked her name, would reply, "I'm Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter." Her mother told her this was wrong, that she must say, "I'm Jane Sugarbrown." The vicar spoke to her in Sunday school, and said, "Aren't you Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter?" She replied, "I thought I was, but Mother says I'm not."
A little girl asked her mother, "Can I go outside and play with the boys?" Her mother replied, "No, you can't play with the boys, they're too rough." The little girl thought about it for a few moments and asked, "If I can find a smooth one, can I play with him?"
StoryShare, May 4, 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.
