In Him All Things Hold Together
Stories
Object:
Contents
"In Him All Things Hold Together" by John Sumwalt
"A Fist and a Kiss" Dr. Kenneth Morgan
"The Super Cell Phone" by Timothy Merrill
* * * * * * * * *
In Him All Things Hold Together
John Sumwalt
Colossians 1:15-28
He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together...
-- Colossians 1:17
I officiated at a memorable wedding recently. Vanessa grew up in our congregation. Marwan is a native of Damascus and a Syrian Orthodox Christian. The Syrian Orthodox Church traces it's origin to the first Christian churches in Antioch. Its liturgy, the oldest in Christendom, is based on the Syriac language, a dialect of Aramaic that was spoken by Jesus.
Marwan and Vanessa are both physicians and a large number of their guests were colleagues, most of them also Syrian Christians, along with several Muslim friends from the local medical college and from the medical community around the country. I have never seen so many doctors together in one place. Marwan joked before the wedding that it took seven doctors to tie his tie. At the wedding reception the Syrian men carried Marwan around the Hyatt Ballroom on their shoulders as the Syrian women chanted ancient reminders about treating his bride kindly and declaring what they would do to him if he did not.
Vanessa's grandfather, Floyd, 98 years old, and a Presbyterian pastor for 68 years, co-officiated. The scriptures were read by Vanessa's stepfather, Jim, a long-time member and liturgist in our church, and by Nidal, one of Marwan's friends. They read one passage from the Hebrew scripture and two from the New Testament. First Jim read in English and then Nidal read the same words in Arabic, also a language derived from Aramaic. It gave me chills to think that it was likely the first time that something close to the language of Jesus had been heard at Our Lord's Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin.
Jim and Nidal read from the third chapter of Colossians, a passage that begins just after the reminder that those being renewed in Christ are "... no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!" (v.11)
As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, cloth yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
-- Colossians 3:12-14
I heard these sacred words in a new way that day. Looking out at the smiling faces of Vanessa and Marwan's Christian and Muslim friends it struck me that I could not tell which was which. In my homily I celebrated the fact that we are all children of Abraham and I told the story of an event that occurred in Damascus when Marwan was a child.
John Sumwalt is the pastor of Our Lord's United Methodist Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and a noted storyteller. He is the author of nine books, including the acclaimed Vision Stories series and How to Preach the Miracles: Why People Don't Believe Them and What You Can Do About It. John and his wife Jo Perry-Sumwalt served for three years as the co-editors of StoryShare. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (UDTS), Sumwalt received the Herbert Manning Jr. award for parish ministry from UDTS in 1997.
A Fist and a Kiss
Dr. Kenneth Morgan
Once in Damascus years ago, while strolling on a street called Straight -- wondering whether it is truly the most ancient street in the world that has served continuously as a marketplace -- I watched as a man who was riding slowly through the crowd on a bicycle with a basket of oranges precariously balanced on the handlebars was bumped by a porter so bent with a heavy burden that he had not seen him. The burden dropped, the oranges were scattered, and a bitter altercation broke out between the two men. After an angry exchange of shouted insults, as the bicyclist moved toward the porter with a clenched fist, a tattered little man slipped from the crowd, took the raised fist in his hand, and kissed it. A murmur of approval ran through the watchers, the antagonists relaxed; then people began picking up oranges and the little man drifted away. Professor Kenneth W. Morgan says, "I have remembered that as a caring act, an act of devotion by a man who might have been a Syrian Muslim, a Syrian Jew, or a Syrian Christian."
This personal story appeared in a letter to the editor in The New York Times on January 30, 1991, during the Persian Gulf War. In a letter giving me permission to reprint the story in 1992, Professor Morgan wrote: "My reaction some time later to the episode on the street called Straight was regret that I wasn't enough of a Christian to have thought of kissing the fist myself."
Kenneth W. Morgan is a Professor of Religion Emeritus at Colgate University. This story was first published on page 172 of his book Reaching for the Moon: On Asian Religious Paths, published by Anima Books, 1053 Wilson Avenue, Chambersburg, PA 17201.
The Super Cell Phone
Timothy Merrill
Luke 10:38-42
My youngest daughter and I traveled to Hong Kong not long ago. Neither one of us had been there before, and it had always appealed to me as an exotic location to visit. She felt the same way, so off we went.
Great trip. Let me say here, though, that I've never seen more people using cell phones than in Hong Kong. I suppose it's the same in Chicago, New York City, or Los Angeles. As people emerged from the office buildings in downtown Hong Kong, and they walked shoulder to shoulder down its busy streets, it seemed like everyone had their arms crooked to their ear, cell phone in hand.
Others were simply walking through the crowds quite normally, but -- on closer inspection -- they appeared to be talking to themselves. They had an earpiece connected to their cell, with the microphone patched into a hanging cord, almost invisible, and they, too, were conversing with someone about something no doubt extremely important.
At the time, I didn't own a cell phone. My daughter did. But I had not yet seen the need for one. But I realized then that the people of the world were wired and connected in a vast web that had shrunk the globe to the mere seconds it takes to punch out a few numbers or hit the speed dial function on the keypad.
Here's the interesting part: of the millions of people in the United States with cell phones, there are only 5,000 cells whose calls are always going to go through no matter what. Like, in times of emergency, for example. These 5,000 people are helping the government test a new system, the Wireless Priority Service in New York and Washington DC. The system is supposed to secure airtime in the event of a terrorist attack or some other emergency. The special cell people get a souped-up super phone, the Motorola P280 with a signal that goes right to the front of the line of incoming calls when an emergency strikes. Normal people, like us, just get a busy signal.
The issue of access is an important one. Important people cannot be accessed by just anyone. You just can't call the president and chat, or dial up Oprah for advice about a failing marriage.
I'm always amazed at how accessible Jesus was to the people -- everyday worker-types like you and me. Granted, his entourage (read disciples) sometimes tried to screen the people who got to speak to Jesus to beg for healing or to ask some questions. Jesus generally discouraged this practice.
You'd think that, with his close friends, there would be no problem of access. So why is Martha grumbling? It's not like Mary had a super cell phone and she didn't. Mary saw an opportunity to chat with Jesus, and she took it.
We should do the same.
(from Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit, Series IV, Cycle C [CSS Publishing Co., Inc.: Lima, Ohio], 2003)
**************
StoryShare, July 18, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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.
"In Him All Things Hold Together" by John Sumwalt
"A Fist and a Kiss" Dr. Kenneth Morgan
"The Super Cell Phone" by Timothy Merrill
* * * * * * * * *
In Him All Things Hold Together
John Sumwalt
Colossians 1:15-28
He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together...
-- Colossians 1:17
I officiated at a memorable wedding recently. Vanessa grew up in our congregation. Marwan is a native of Damascus and a Syrian Orthodox Christian. The Syrian Orthodox Church traces it's origin to the first Christian churches in Antioch. Its liturgy, the oldest in Christendom, is based on the Syriac language, a dialect of Aramaic that was spoken by Jesus.
Marwan and Vanessa are both physicians and a large number of their guests were colleagues, most of them also Syrian Christians, along with several Muslim friends from the local medical college and from the medical community around the country. I have never seen so many doctors together in one place. Marwan joked before the wedding that it took seven doctors to tie his tie. At the wedding reception the Syrian men carried Marwan around the Hyatt Ballroom on their shoulders as the Syrian women chanted ancient reminders about treating his bride kindly and declaring what they would do to him if he did not.
Vanessa's grandfather, Floyd, 98 years old, and a Presbyterian pastor for 68 years, co-officiated. The scriptures were read by Vanessa's stepfather, Jim, a long-time member and liturgist in our church, and by Nidal, one of Marwan's friends. They read one passage from the Hebrew scripture and two from the New Testament. First Jim read in English and then Nidal read the same words in Arabic, also a language derived from Aramaic. It gave me chills to think that it was likely the first time that something close to the language of Jesus had been heard at Our Lord's Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin.
Jim and Nidal read from the third chapter of Colossians, a passage that begins just after the reminder that those being renewed in Christ are "... no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!" (v.11)
As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, cloth yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
-- Colossians 3:12-14
I heard these sacred words in a new way that day. Looking out at the smiling faces of Vanessa and Marwan's Christian and Muslim friends it struck me that I could not tell which was which. In my homily I celebrated the fact that we are all children of Abraham and I told the story of an event that occurred in Damascus when Marwan was a child.
John Sumwalt is the pastor of Our Lord's United Methodist Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and a noted storyteller. He is the author of nine books, including the acclaimed Vision Stories series and How to Preach the Miracles: Why People Don't Believe Them and What You Can Do About It. John and his wife Jo Perry-Sumwalt served for three years as the co-editors of StoryShare. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (UDTS), Sumwalt received the Herbert Manning Jr. award for parish ministry from UDTS in 1997.
A Fist and a Kiss
Dr. Kenneth Morgan
Once in Damascus years ago, while strolling on a street called Straight -- wondering whether it is truly the most ancient street in the world that has served continuously as a marketplace -- I watched as a man who was riding slowly through the crowd on a bicycle with a basket of oranges precariously balanced on the handlebars was bumped by a porter so bent with a heavy burden that he had not seen him. The burden dropped, the oranges were scattered, and a bitter altercation broke out between the two men. After an angry exchange of shouted insults, as the bicyclist moved toward the porter with a clenched fist, a tattered little man slipped from the crowd, took the raised fist in his hand, and kissed it. A murmur of approval ran through the watchers, the antagonists relaxed; then people began picking up oranges and the little man drifted away. Professor Kenneth W. Morgan says, "I have remembered that as a caring act, an act of devotion by a man who might have been a Syrian Muslim, a Syrian Jew, or a Syrian Christian."
This personal story appeared in a letter to the editor in The New York Times on January 30, 1991, during the Persian Gulf War. In a letter giving me permission to reprint the story in 1992, Professor Morgan wrote: "My reaction some time later to the episode on the street called Straight was regret that I wasn't enough of a Christian to have thought of kissing the fist myself."
Kenneth W. Morgan is a Professor of Religion Emeritus at Colgate University. This story was first published on page 172 of his book Reaching for the Moon: On Asian Religious Paths, published by Anima Books, 1053 Wilson Avenue, Chambersburg, PA 17201.
The Super Cell Phone
Timothy Merrill
Luke 10:38-42
My youngest daughter and I traveled to Hong Kong not long ago. Neither one of us had been there before, and it had always appealed to me as an exotic location to visit. She felt the same way, so off we went.
Great trip. Let me say here, though, that I've never seen more people using cell phones than in Hong Kong. I suppose it's the same in Chicago, New York City, or Los Angeles. As people emerged from the office buildings in downtown Hong Kong, and they walked shoulder to shoulder down its busy streets, it seemed like everyone had their arms crooked to their ear, cell phone in hand.
Others were simply walking through the crowds quite normally, but -- on closer inspection -- they appeared to be talking to themselves. They had an earpiece connected to their cell, with the microphone patched into a hanging cord, almost invisible, and they, too, were conversing with someone about something no doubt extremely important.
At the time, I didn't own a cell phone. My daughter did. But I had not yet seen the need for one. But I realized then that the people of the world were wired and connected in a vast web that had shrunk the globe to the mere seconds it takes to punch out a few numbers or hit the speed dial function on the keypad.
Here's the interesting part: of the millions of people in the United States with cell phones, there are only 5,000 cells whose calls are always going to go through no matter what. Like, in times of emergency, for example. These 5,000 people are helping the government test a new system, the Wireless Priority Service in New York and Washington DC. The system is supposed to secure airtime in the event of a terrorist attack or some other emergency. The special cell people get a souped-up super phone, the Motorola P280 with a signal that goes right to the front of the line of incoming calls when an emergency strikes. Normal people, like us, just get a busy signal.
The issue of access is an important one. Important people cannot be accessed by just anyone. You just can't call the president and chat, or dial up Oprah for advice about a failing marriage.
I'm always amazed at how accessible Jesus was to the people -- everyday worker-types like you and me. Granted, his entourage (read disciples) sometimes tried to screen the people who got to speak to Jesus to beg for healing or to ask some questions. Jesus generally discouraged this practice.
You'd think that, with his close friends, there would be no problem of access. So why is Martha grumbling? It's not like Mary had a super cell phone and she didn't. Mary saw an opportunity to chat with Jesus, and she took it.
We should do the same.
(from Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit, Series IV, Cycle C [CSS Publishing Co., Inc.: Lima, Ohio], 2003)
**************
StoryShare, July 18, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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.
