Listening to Jesus
Illustration
Stories
Keith sat at the back of the chapel enjoying the silence. Since he had come to the University he found that this was the one place he felt at home. He appreciated that the building was kept unlocked through the day so anyone could just stop and pray because as soon as he passed through the doors he felt a calm and a peace.
Sometimes Keith did pray, especially when he was upset or feeling lonely like when he was new to the area. Of course now he knew people, he was familiar with the routine, and the strangeness to the campus had worn off. Yet he still loved coming to the chapel to just sit and be at peace. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He heard the door of the chapel open and felt someone sit down in the pew next to him. Keith allowed himself a few moments and then opened his eye to look at the person he was pretty sure was sitting next to him.
“Hi Jerry,” Keith said to the young man. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m sorry to bother you while you were praying but you wanted me to let you know when the guests started to arrive for the lecture this afternoon.”
Keith nodded. “How much time before I have to be there?”
“You’ve still got a few minutes before we have to head to the lecture hall.” Jerry looked at his watch. “I can come back if you want.”
“No, that’s okay. I think I’ll wait here instead of going too early though. I’ve never been a big fan of the idle chit chat.” Keith held up his hand before Jerry could say anything. “I know the department is hoping this lecture series is the start of good things and I appreciate all the people coming to listen. I just find a few minutes here gets me centered to be able to go and do what I need to do before an audience.”
“Really?” Jerry tilted his head to one side. “You’re so dynamic a lecturer I just assumed it was easy for you.”
“In some ways it is.” Keith smiled. “I do enjoy sharing the knowledge and field I love but the truth is that it can be draining and that is why I end up here before anything big.”
“I haven’t been your teaching assistant for too long but I noticed you like it here.” Jerry looked around the chapel. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“I’ll answer anything as long as its not about the subject for this afternoon’s talk.”
“No, nothing about physics at all. The question is a bit more personal.”
“Now you’ve got me curious.” Keith turned to face the young man. “What do you want to know?”
“You’re an accomplished scientist and when I applied to work with you I figured I would have to be digging you out of the lab to give your lectures but more often than not you’re here just sitting.” Jerry took a deep breath.“How do you know to come here to find what you need? Why the chapel of all places do you come to renew and restore yourself?”
Keith considered the young man for a moment. “I come here because this is where I hear the voice of Jesus speaking to me. I hear it in the message the chaplain gives on Sunday, in the choir who sing, in the good works that the students and staff who come here do.”
Jerry looked around. “Yet the chapel is empty. No one is here speaking or singing or doing anything.”
Keith looked at the cross up front. “Do you go to church?”
“Sometimes.”
“Do you know where the church says Jesus is?”
“Everywhere?”
“Exactly.” Keith nodded. “I come here when it is quiet to pray or just quiet my life so that I can shut out the noise and activity which sometimes gets in the way of me following as a Christian in my life. I do that so I can better know the voice of Jesus speaking to me.”
“I’m not sure I understand. ”
“Could you ever mistake someone else for your mother on the telephone?”
“No,” Jerry shook his head. “I know her voice.”
“Why?”
“Because I have heard her voice for years and recognize it in an instant. I don’t even have to think about it, I just know it is her.”
“Exactly. In the same way I come here to listen in the quiet and pray so that I better know the voice of Jesus so I can follow him when he calls to me.”
Jerry sat back in the pew. “I never thought of it like that.”
“Neither did I for a long time but I find the more time I spend with Jesus in prayer and reading scripture the better I know his voice and the quiet helps me to do that.” Keith looked at Jerry’s watch. “I think we need to be going now.”
“Absolutely.” Jerry stood up. “Is the chapel always open?”
Keith nodded as he held open the door for the young man. “It is.”
Jerry turned toward the cross. “I think I might come back then.”
Keith smiled and the two of them headed toward their work for the afternoon.
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 8, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 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.
Sometimes Keith did pray, especially when he was upset or feeling lonely like when he was new to the area. Of course now he knew people, he was familiar with the routine, and the strangeness to the campus had worn off. Yet he still loved coming to the chapel to just sit and be at peace. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He heard the door of the chapel open and felt someone sit down in the pew next to him. Keith allowed himself a few moments and then opened his eye to look at the person he was pretty sure was sitting next to him.
“Hi Jerry,” Keith said to the young man. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m sorry to bother you while you were praying but you wanted me to let you know when the guests started to arrive for the lecture this afternoon.”
Keith nodded. “How much time before I have to be there?”
“You’ve still got a few minutes before we have to head to the lecture hall.” Jerry looked at his watch. “I can come back if you want.”
“No, that’s okay. I think I’ll wait here instead of going too early though. I’ve never been a big fan of the idle chit chat.” Keith held up his hand before Jerry could say anything. “I know the department is hoping this lecture series is the start of good things and I appreciate all the people coming to listen. I just find a few minutes here gets me centered to be able to go and do what I need to do before an audience.”
“Really?” Jerry tilted his head to one side. “You’re so dynamic a lecturer I just assumed it was easy for you.”
“In some ways it is.” Keith smiled. “I do enjoy sharing the knowledge and field I love but the truth is that it can be draining and that is why I end up here before anything big.”
“I haven’t been your teaching assistant for too long but I noticed you like it here.” Jerry looked around the chapel. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“I’ll answer anything as long as its not about the subject for this afternoon’s talk.”
“No, nothing about physics at all. The question is a bit more personal.”
“Now you’ve got me curious.” Keith turned to face the young man. “What do you want to know?”
“You’re an accomplished scientist and when I applied to work with you I figured I would have to be digging you out of the lab to give your lectures but more often than not you’re here just sitting.” Jerry took a deep breath.“How do you know to come here to find what you need? Why the chapel of all places do you come to renew and restore yourself?”
Keith considered the young man for a moment. “I come here because this is where I hear the voice of Jesus speaking to me. I hear it in the message the chaplain gives on Sunday, in the choir who sing, in the good works that the students and staff who come here do.”
Jerry looked around. “Yet the chapel is empty. No one is here speaking or singing or doing anything.”
Keith looked at the cross up front. “Do you go to church?”
“Sometimes.”
“Do you know where the church says Jesus is?”
“Everywhere?”
“Exactly.” Keith nodded. “I come here when it is quiet to pray or just quiet my life so that I can shut out the noise and activity which sometimes gets in the way of me following as a Christian in my life. I do that so I can better know the voice of Jesus speaking to me.”
“I’m not sure I understand. ”
“Could you ever mistake someone else for your mother on the telephone?”
“No,” Jerry shook his head. “I know her voice.”
“Why?”
“Because I have heard her voice for years and recognize it in an instant. I don’t even have to think about it, I just know it is her.”
“Exactly. In the same way I come here to listen in the quiet and pray so that I better know the voice of Jesus so I can follow him when he calls to me.”
Jerry sat back in the pew. “I never thought of it like that.”
“Neither did I for a long time but I find the more time I spend with Jesus in prayer and reading scripture the better I know his voice and the quiet helps me to do that.” Keith looked at Jerry’s watch. “I think we need to be going now.”
“Absolutely.” Jerry stood up. “Is the chapel always open?”
Keith nodded as he held open the door for the young man. “It is.”
Jerry turned toward the cross. “I think I might come back then.”
Keith smiled and the two of them headed toward their work for the afternoon.
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 8, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 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.
