Hope For The New Year
Stories
Object:
Contents
"Hope for the New Year" by Keith Wagner
"The Gift of Grace" by Keith Wagner
"Showtime" by Frank Ramirez
* * * * * * *
Hope for the New Year
by Keith Wagner
Jeremiah 31:7-14
In the midst of the worst of times, Jeremiah gave the Israelites a glimpse of hope from God. They were wandering aimlessly, unorganized, lacking in resources and vision. In the past he has berated them for their sins and preached constantly about divine judgment. Now he was focusing on new abundance in agriculture, a time when poverty was clearly over. Grain and flocks were flourishing and wine and oil were flowing. He said, "I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow."
It has been my experience when people seek me for counseling they are not seeking advice or wanting me to fix their problems. They are in search of a glimmer of hope, some thread of light, a bit of sunshine in their world of darkness. Everything is not okay and the last thing people need is someone that discounts their despair. They need to be heard and go away with a glimpse of hope. But they also need to see the bigger picture.
What Jeremiah did for the Israelites that they couldn't do for themselves was help them to see the big picture. Jeremiah could see beyond the wrath of God to a time of divine grace. When folks are overwhelmed and desperate they have tunnel vision and clouds of pain and sadness hinder their ability to witness a piece of the kingdom in their midst. Just when it seems that every thing is going down the tubes, God breaks through and delivers a message of consolation. It too, is a gift.
Whenever we find ourselves experiencing some difficulty it can easily overwhelm us and make us feel hopeless. A troubled relationship, a conflict at work, a financial setback, virtually anything can add to our despair. We reach a point where we don't think and see clearly. We become very vulnerable and added pressures only add to our pain as we fall into an abyss of darkness.
One Christmas, my wife gave me a gift. She had been taking advantage of some post-Christmas sales. She found a rather inexpensive but unique item she thought I might appreciate. What she gave me was a porcelain winter scene complete with a sailboat. The boat is docked for the winter season and has greenery and wreaths hanging from it. It was perfect. It made my Christmas village complete.
When I gazed upon my Christmas village I am struck by the profound significance of this added feature. It reminds me of the bigger picture. Here in Ohio the boating season only lasts for six months. The rest of the year my boat is parked for the winter just like the scene in the Christmas village. It is idle but still part of the larger picture. What this means to me is that when we are able to see the larger picture we have hope. When spring came, I would once again be able to go boating.
There are times when we all find ourselves in the dark, where everything seems totally hopeless. Life becomes overwhelming and we can't seem to find our way. We forget that the Lord of Hosts is watching over us and provides the light we need to continue our life's journey.
In the movie, Apollo 13, following the explosion that almost destroyed the spacecraft, astronaut Jim Lovell was asked if he had ever been afraid. He recalled a time in WWII when he was flying a combat mission and was returning to the aircraft carrier on which he was supposed to land. Everything was totally dark and the carrier didn't have lights on due to combat conditions. His radio and navigation equipment weren't working so he had no way to contact the ship. He turned on a map light in the cockpit to try and calculate his position, but as he did that an electrical short caused the lights in his cockpit to go out. He found himself in total darkness and he was running out of fuel. It was at that moment that he looked down and saw a luminescent glow of sea plankton caused by the wake of the ship. All he had to do was follow the glow of light and then he safely landed on the ship.
I believe that hope is what keeps us going. Hope enables us to overcome the worst of circumstances and gives us comfort and courage to continue. God never ceases to amaze us with mysterious ways to give us hope.
The Gift of Grace
by Keith Wagner
Ephesians 1:3-14
One of the most famous phrases in the New Testament is "By grace you have been saved through faith." So what is grace? Grace is like a surprise gift. You have no idea it is coming or when you will receive it. But, it comes, and when it comes to you, your life changes.
One afternoon several years ago, Lin and I were sailing at Grand Lake St. Mary's. It was very breezy and without warning the wind gusted and turned us completely around. The sails were set right. My hand was on the rudder. I was doing what I was supposed to do. But the wind took us in a different direction. And that changed our plans for the rest of the day. We headed back in and to our dismay discovered that the motor malfunctioned. To make matters worse a storm appeared in the west. To avoid the storm we had to head back to the dock. We reached the dock just in time and quickly secured the boat. We jumped in our car and within minutes the storm hit.
There will be times when the wind of God takes us in a direction we do not want to go. God's grace is everywhere but instead of being thankful for what God does for us when things go right, we are quicker to blame God for the things that go wrong. Paul is reminding the Ephesians that when we live in God's grace we are living in faith. This passage is not about what we can do for ourselves but what God does for us.
Grace is all around us when we are willing to accept it. It can happen in a variety of ways. It might be some new person who appears in your life for the first time. It might be some resource that helps you through a time of struggle.
In the film, Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams, who plays Sean, is counseling a young man by the name of Will. He is filled with guilt, feeling responsible for his abuse. At one point in the session Sean says to Will, "It's not your fault, it's not your fault, it's not your fault." For the first time in his life, Will was able to receive the gift of grace and is forgiven. That one statement totally changed Will's outlook on life.
God is incredibly compassionate and generous. God forgives and sets us free so we can continue on without guilt and shame hanging over our heads. Grace abounds, it exceeds our expectations.
In the film, Forrest Gump, there is a scene early in the movie when no one on the school bus will give Forrest, played by Tom Hanks, a seat. His friend, Jenny, played by Robin Wright Penn, invited him to sit beside her. It was truly a moment where one person gave another person the gift of grace. When we receive God's grace we experience acceptance from God although others may reject us.
Grace is a gift which God wants us to receive with gratitude and thanksgiving. Grace can surprise us and come in ways we do not understand. Grace can liberate us from guilt, shame, and despair. Grace enables us to see our way more clearly.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
Showtime
by Frank Ramirez
John 1:(1-9) 10-18
And the Word became flesh and lived among us….
-- John 1:14
The great theatrical festivals of the ancient Greeks were part church, part spectacle, part history lesson, part Sunday school class, part Super Bowl, part scripture, and part musical festival, involving the entire community in song, dance, and remembrance.
Long before the drama festival the playwrights would submit their ideas to the authorities, who would pick which writers would present their plays that year. A tragedian would write three tragedies and a short comedy, the comedians a single play. Actors and a chorus of singers would then be assigned to each playwright, after which intense rehearsals would begin.
There was nothing amateurish about the productions. Although no one was a professional performer in the sense we think of these things, it was expected that everyone would develop their talents and skills for very important shows like this.
These outdoor theaters were acoustic marvels. Everyone had a great seat. They could hear everything. Actors wore large masks so that those far away could see and understand the emotions on display.
A festival might last several days. On the first day musical performances by various families would be presented, which would be judged afterward by all in attendance. Over the next few days tragedies and comedies would be performed and also judged. Victors were honored as much as any Olympian.
Tens of thousands would attend, pretty much the entire population of the local city-state. And what would they see? The comedies would mock their contemporaries, but the tragedies presented their core beliefs. Re-enactments and reinterpretations of the central stories of their faith, gods and goddesses, ancient heroes, figures out of legend, brought to life the stories closest to their hearts in a grand spectacle.
How close did these plays come to being "scripture" as we understand it? The greatest of the plays were memorized and quoted. And hundreds of years later, as Christianity spread through a Roman empire where the Greek plays were still honored, writers such as Justin Martyr tackled the problem of addressing people who knew nothing of Hebrew or Christian writings by quoting from the ancient tragedies to prove the truth of the Bible.
In The Sole Government of God, for instance, Justin Martyr quoted from the tragedian Sophocles to show that there is only one God, not many.
There is one God, in truth there is but one,
Who made the heavens and the broad earth beneath,
The glancing waves of ocean, and the winds;
But many of us mortals err in heart,
And set up, for a solace in our woes,
Images of the gods in stone and brass….
He turned to Euripides to demonstrate that those who sin will face punishment. He quoted from other playwrights to show that God desires righteousness more than sacrifices.
The backdrop in front of which the actors played was called the skene, from which we get the words "skin" (and indeed animal skins helped cover the backdrop) and "scene." The scene of each play was a single place. The action always took place in less than a single day.
The word skene is important in the New Testament as well. When John tells us that the word, Jesus, was made flesh and dwelt among us, he uses the word skene for dwelt. John was probably referring to a tent made of skins, calling to mind the tabernacle in the wilderness that was not tied to one place any more than God is tied to one spot. But the word is appropriate, because John's scenic backdrop, unlike the ancient Greeks, transcends space and time, stretching back all the way to the beginning of creation and taking place in front of many scenic backdrops throughout the Holy Land.
Frank Ramirez has served as a pastor for nearly 30 years in Church of the Brethren congregations in Los Angeles, California; Elkhart, Indiana; and Everett, Pennsylvania. A graduate of LaVerne College and Bethany Theological Seminary, Ramirez is the author of numerous books, articles, and short stories. His CSS titles include Partners in Healing, He Took a Towel, The Bee Attitudes, three volumes of Lectionary Worship Aids, and Breakdown on Bethlehem Street.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 4, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 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.
"Hope for the New Year" by Keith Wagner
"The Gift of Grace" by Keith Wagner
"Showtime" by Frank Ramirez
* * * * * * *
Hope for the New Year
by Keith Wagner
Jeremiah 31:7-14
In the midst of the worst of times, Jeremiah gave the Israelites a glimpse of hope from God. They were wandering aimlessly, unorganized, lacking in resources and vision. In the past he has berated them for their sins and preached constantly about divine judgment. Now he was focusing on new abundance in agriculture, a time when poverty was clearly over. Grain and flocks were flourishing and wine and oil were flowing. He said, "I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow."
It has been my experience when people seek me for counseling they are not seeking advice or wanting me to fix their problems. They are in search of a glimmer of hope, some thread of light, a bit of sunshine in their world of darkness. Everything is not okay and the last thing people need is someone that discounts their despair. They need to be heard and go away with a glimpse of hope. But they also need to see the bigger picture.
What Jeremiah did for the Israelites that they couldn't do for themselves was help them to see the big picture. Jeremiah could see beyond the wrath of God to a time of divine grace. When folks are overwhelmed and desperate they have tunnel vision and clouds of pain and sadness hinder their ability to witness a piece of the kingdom in their midst. Just when it seems that every thing is going down the tubes, God breaks through and delivers a message of consolation. It too, is a gift.
Whenever we find ourselves experiencing some difficulty it can easily overwhelm us and make us feel hopeless. A troubled relationship, a conflict at work, a financial setback, virtually anything can add to our despair. We reach a point where we don't think and see clearly. We become very vulnerable and added pressures only add to our pain as we fall into an abyss of darkness.
One Christmas, my wife gave me a gift. She had been taking advantage of some post-Christmas sales. She found a rather inexpensive but unique item she thought I might appreciate. What she gave me was a porcelain winter scene complete with a sailboat. The boat is docked for the winter season and has greenery and wreaths hanging from it. It was perfect. It made my Christmas village complete.
When I gazed upon my Christmas village I am struck by the profound significance of this added feature. It reminds me of the bigger picture. Here in Ohio the boating season only lasts for six months. The rest of the year my boat is parked for the winter just like the scene in the Christmas village. It is idle but still part of the larger picture. What this means to me is that when we are able to see the larger picture we have hope. When spring came, I would once again be able to go boating.
There are times when we all find ourselves in the dark, where everything seems totally hopeless. Life becomes overwhelming and we can't seem to find our way. We forget that the Lord of Hosts is watching over us and provides the light we need to continue our life's journey.
In the movie, Apollo 13, following the explosion that almost destroyed the spacecraft, astronaut Jim Lovell was asked if he had ever been afraid. He recalled a time in WWII when he was flying a combat mission and was returning to the aircraft carrier on which he was supposed to land. Everything was totally dark and the carrier didn't have lights on due to combat conditions. His radio and navigation equipment weren't working so he had no way to contact the ship. He turned on a map light in the cockpit to try and calculate his position, but as he did that an electrical short caused the lights in his cockpit to go out. He found himself in total darkness and he was running out of fuel. It was at that moment that he looked down and saw a luminescent glow of sea plankton caused by the wake of the ship. All he had to do was follow the glow of light and then he safely landed on the ship.
I believe that hope is what keeps us going. Hope enables us to overcome the worst of circumstances and gives us comfort and courage to continue. God never ceases to amaze us with mysterious ways to give us hope.
The Gift of Grace
by Keith Wagner
Ephesians 1:3-14
One of the most famous phrases in the New Testament is "By grace you have been saved through faith." So what is grace? Grace is like a surprise gift. You have no idea it is coming or when you will receive it. But, it comes, and when it comes to you, your life changes.
One afternoon several years ago, Lin and I were sailing at Grand Lake St. Mary's. It was very breezy and without warning the wind gusted and turned us completely around. The sails were set right. My hand was on the rudder. I was doing what I was supposed to do. But the wind took us in a different direction. And that changed our plans for the rest of the day. We headed back in and to our dismay discovered that the motor malfunctioned. To make matters worse a storm appeared in the west. To avoid the storm we had to head back to the dock. We reached the dock just in time and quickly secured the boat. We jumped in our car and within minutes the storm hit.
There will be times when the wind of God takes us in a direction we do not want to go. God's grace is everywhere but instead of being thankful for what God does for us when things go right, we are quicker to blame God for the things that go wrong. Paul is reminding the Ephesians that when we live in God's grace we are living in faith. This passage is not about what we can do for ourselves but what God does for us.
Grace is all around us when we are willing to accept it. It can happen in a variety of ways. It might be some new person who appears in your life for the first time. It might be some resource that helps you through a time of struggle.
In the film, Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams, who plays Sean, is counseling a young man by the name of Will. He is filled with guilt, feeling responsible for his abuse. At one point in the session Sean says to Will, "It's not your fault, it's not your fault, it's not your fault." For the first time in his life, Will was able to receive the gift of grace and is forgiven. That one statement totally changed Will's outlook on life.
God is incredibly compassionate and generous. God forgives and sets us free so we can continue on without guilt and shame hanging over our heads. Grace abounds, it exceeds our expectations.
In the film, Forrest Gump, there is a scene early in the movie when no one on the school bus will give Forrest, played by Tom Hanks, a seat. His friend, Jenny, played by Robin Wright Penn, invited him to sit beside her. It was truly a moment where one person gave another person the gift of grace. When we receive God's grace we experience acceptance from God although others may reject us.
Grace is a gift which God wants us to receive with gratitude and thanksgiving. Grace can surprise us and come in ways we do not understand. Grace can liberate us from guilt, shame, and despair. Grace enables us to see our way more clearly.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
Showtime
by Frank Ramirez
John 1:(1-9) 10-18
And the Word became flesh and lived among us….
-- John 1:14
The great theatrical festivals of the ancient Greeks were part church, part spectacle, part history lesson, part Sunday school class, part Super Bowl, part scripture, and part musical festival, involving the entire community in song, dance, and remembrance.
Long before the drama festival the playwrights would submit their ideas to the authorities, who would pick which writers would present their plays that year. A tragedian would write three tragedies and a short comedy, the comedians a single play. Actors and a chorus of singers would then be assigned to each playwright, after which intense rehearsals would begin.
There was nothing amateurish about the productions. Although no one was a professional performer in the sense we think of these things, it was expected that everyone would develop their talents and skills for very important shows like this.
These outdoor theaters were acoustic marvels. Everyone had a great seat. They could hear everything. Actors wore large masks so that those far away could see and understand the emotions on display.
A festival might last several days. On the first day musical performances by various families would be presented, which would be judged afterward by all in attendance. Over the next few days tragedies and comedies would be performed and also judged. Victors were honored as much as any Olympian.
Tens of thousands would attend, pretty much the entire population of the local city-state. And what would they see? The comedies would mock their contemporaries, but the tragedies presented their core beliefs. Re-enactments and reinterpretations of the central stories of their faith, gods and goddesses, ancient heroes, figures out of legend, brought to life the stories closest to their hearts in a grand spectacle.
How close did these plays come to being "scripture" as we understand it? The greatest of the plays were memorized and quoted. And hundreds of years later, as Christianity spread through a Roman empire where the Greek plays were still honored, writers such as Justin Martyr tackled the problem of addressing people who knew nothing of Hebrew or Christian writings by quoting from the ancient tragedies to prove the truth of the Bible.
In The Sole Government of God, for instance, Justin Martyr quoted from the tragedian Sophocles to show that there is only one God, not many.
There is one God, in truth there is but one,
Who made the heavens and the broad earth beneath,
The glancing waves of ocean, and the winds;
But many of us mortals err in heart,
And set up, for a solace in our woes,
Images of the gods in stone and brass….
He turned to Euripides to demonstrate that those who sin will face punishment. He quoted from other playwrights to show that God desires righteousness more than sacrifices.
The backdrop in front of which the actors played was called the skene, from which we get the words "skin" (and indeed animal skins helped cover the backdrop) and "scene." The scene of each play was a single place. The action always took place in less than a single day.
The word skene is important in the New Testament as well. When John tells us that the word, Jesus, was made flesh and dwelt among us, he uses the word skene for dwelt. John was probably referring to a tent made of skins, calling to mind the tabernacle in the wilderness that was not tied to one place any more than God is tied to one spot. But the word is appropriate, because John's scenic backdrop, unlike the ancient Greeks, transcends space and time, stretching back all the way to the beginning of creation and taking place in front of many scenic backdrops throughout the Holy Land.
Frank Ramirez has served as a pastor for nearly 30 years in Church of the Brethren congregations in Los Angeles, California; Elkhart, Indiana; and Everett, Pennsylvania. A graduate of LaVerne College and Bethany Theological Seminary, Ramirez is the author of numerous books, articles, and short stories. His CSS titles include Partners in Healing, He Took a Towel, The Bee Attitudes, three volumes of Lectionary Worship Aids, and Breakdown on Bethlehem Street.
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 4, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 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.
