Moving Forward
Stories
Object:
Contents
"Moving Forward" by Keith Wagner
"Living Unafraid" by Keith Wagner
"So?" by C. David McKirachan
Moving Forward
by Keith Wagner
Hebrews 12:18-29
In the early 1920’s Philo Farnsworth was working on a farm, plowing a straight line on a potato farm. His mind was far away, thinking about the possibility of transmitting moving pictures through the air. He had no electronic or engineering background, nor was he a scientist. No one in the world of science would have considered him a serious contender in the chase to find the answer to photographic transmission without the aid of wires.
Scientists from all over the world had been struggling to solve this dilemma and although many had been aided by research grants, no one came up with the answer. So, what chance did Farnsworth, a potato farmer with no education, have?
While plowing, he imagined a different approach. He imagined dividing a screen into long rows just like the field he was plowing, using electricity to create areas of light and darkness at each point along the row. Then stacking the rows on top of each other, he imagined that they could bring to focus a picture. Bingo! The results were better than anything the world of science had ever conceived. It is the very system we still use today.
The world changed because Philo Farnsworth never looked back. He was totally focused on an idea, undaunted by people who would say, “That will never work.” He was determined and dedicated to his mission of transmitting a picture electronically through the air. At the same time he was a man of the earth, planting potatoes but constantly moving forward.
I believe that this message to the Hebrews is one that is encouraging them to keep moving forward. To return to the days of the old covenant would be a disaster. Instead they were to move forward, embracing the “heavenly kingdom” of the new covenant.
There are a variety of things that can hold us back, things like faulty perceptions, negative experiences or lamenting over the good old days. During our cruise in Europe in the summer of 2013 my wife and I had the opportunity to meet many of the workers on the ship. They come from all over the world. Many came from Romania and the Philippines. The cruise line offered them good jobs but unfortunately they were separated from their families for long periods of time. Nevertheless they became part of a diverse community that created much happiness for their lives.
This time of year many people, and especially families, are experiencing a bit of culture shock. It is a time of transition as children graduate from high school or college and re-locate to other places. It’s also a popular season for young adults to get married. That also means change and it can be painful.
When I talked with the workers on our cruise ship about being separated from their families they told me that seeing new countries and learning about other cultures was worth the sacrifice. Many of them met their future spouses and they made many new friends. Their experience with the cruise line also led to promotions and other job opportunities. Some of them have become tour guides or interpreters.
Moving forward does not always mean we have to change locations or leave our home towns. It can also mean changing the way we understand our mission in life
Since retiring from the active pastorate in January I have learned that ministry is everywhere. On our return trip from Grand Cayman Islands in March we had to spend a night in Washington D.C. since we missed our connecting flight to Columbus, Ohio.
The next morning we were on a bus that took us from the hotel to the Dulles Airport. People from many nations boarded the bus, including a woman with three small children. They were on route to Africa to visit their grandmother. I struck up a conversation with the 5 year old girl. She was tired of traveling and afraid of flying across the ocean. For some reason she seemed to trust me. I continued to talk with her and told her that my wife and I had just flown across the ocean from London to the United States. That seem to give her assurance. I learned in that situation that loving others and giving others assurance is needed everywhere, even on a 30 minute bus trip to the airport.
* * *
Living Unafraid
by Keith Wagner
Jeremiah 1:4-10
“I’m sorry, you don’t have any experience.” These are familiar words for someone who is searching for their very first job. How can one possibly have any experience if no one ever gave them a chance to work? It’s a dilemma that many graduates have to wrestle with. On the one hand they have their education, but on the other hand they have no experience in the work place. The only way for a young graduate to get that first job is for someone to give them a break.
I remember looking for a job my senior year in college. I majored in business and there were plenty of opportunities in corporate America. For me, however, there was one stumbling block. My draft status was 1-A. That meant the likelihood of me being called to military service would probably happen in six months. Fortunately the W.T. Grant Company took a chance on me and for one year I was gainfully employed. But, my luck ran out. Uncle Sam decided I was needed for military service. My business career was put on hold.
Fortunately I was given a break. An officer from my home state of Ohio told me about a program where I could receive a commission. Since I had a degree in business the Navy accepted me in Officer’s Candidate School and I was selected to be in the US Navy Supply Corps. In other words, I continued in the business world but in a uniform.
There is no draft today but there are plenty of other problems that keep us from being hired. It could be no experience, or it could be that you’re either too old or too young. This was the case with Jeremiah. He was called to be a spokesperson for God. But, Jeremiah told God he was too young. “Sorry God, I can’t be your prophet, I don’t know how to speak and I am just a boy.”
God, however, did not agree. “Do not say you are only a boy for you shall go wherever I send you and you shall speak the words I give you. Do not be afraid,” God replied. I believe that Jeremiah protested the possibility of being a prophet because he was afraid. The mission God had for him would be a real challenge. People would refuse to listen to him. They would also not agree with his message. His message wouldn’t be popular. He would frequently find himself all alone. His task was monumental, “plucking up, pulling down, destroying and overthrowing, building and planting.”
I can relate to Jeremiah because I put off my call to ministry, not once, but twice. The first time I was too inexperienced, just like Jeremiah. The second time I was not ready. I lacked the confidence to be a pastor and preacher. I guess God knew more about me than I knew about myself, since “the call” came a third time and at that point I had grown in my faith and I finally gave in. I left the business world and enrolled in Seminary.
Did you ever get one of the calls from someone in the church who knows you and asks you to be an usher, or help with Sunday school? I can just hear your response: “Who me?” Or you may have said, “I’m too busy,” or “Let me think about it.” Those were the moments you were overcome with feelings of fear. Perhaps you also lacked confidence in yourself or didn’t feel like you were qualified.
Granted, church work is not always very appealing. Much of the work we do is not popular. It means we have to make sacrifices of time and energy. It means some of our friends might think we’re weird or we don’t have time for them anymore. But where would the church be if everyone who has ever been called to some task had said ‘No?”
Jeremiah was afraid because he believed he lacked the qualifications to be an agent for God. But God said, “Don’t worry, I am with you.” God chooses people because God knows they are up to the challenge. God has more faith in us then we have in ourselves. And God never abandons us. God is with us and will “deliver us,” meaning by accepting the call we will find fulfillment, freedom and faith.
One of the fears I had about ministry was officiating funerals. At the age of 32 I had never experienced death. Ironically, in the first 10 days of my ministry I had two funerals. Since then I have officiated at over 500 funeral services. And for 15 years I taught Death and Dying at Edison Community College. I was doing ministry out of my original comfort zone but answering that call had changed my life and enabled me to do things I never thought possible.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He has served churches in Southwest Ohio for over three decades. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and has an M.Div. from Methodist Theological School, Delaware, Ohio, and a D.Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has also been an adjunct professor at Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
* * *
So?
by C. David McKirachan
Luke 13:10-17
It’s hard to understand how people can see suffering and not be moved. It’s to our advantage. Empathy is one of the ways our evolutionary development has led us away from savagery, through the pack where all watch out for the other, to tribe, clan, city, state, to nation. We’ve made a few stabs at caring across borders, but flags get in the way. The ability to care allows us to support others and thus to lift us all. A high tide raises all boats. If we are unwilling to care, we cut ourselves off from the basis of civilization, reverting to ‘get them before they get us,’ or ‘might makes right.’
But beyond the practical, the political, the civilized benefits of empathy, it seems that it is foundational to Jesus, leading him into direct conflict with the religious big wigs of His day. Our Lord’s interpretation of the law took Him beyond correct or even virtuous to a willingness to see others with compassion as a rule. For Him the law was an instrument of compassion, given by God to bring us beyond mitigated savagery to a new identity.
I was speaking with a rather successful professional about mission giving. He couldn’t understand why we had to give so much money to people who lived in places on the other side of the world, like Africa. I said to him that there was such horrible famine there that mothers were carrying the bodies of their dead infants for days because they had no place to bury them. He very calmly looked at me and said “So?”
I was so stunned I didn’t know how to respond. I had known this man for a few years. I got along with him well. I knew he was, let’s say, a bit cheap. But this bordered on sociopathic. That is the lack of empathy.
I don’t know if he was. I do know that there is a stunning percentage of people in our culture who have that specific lack. They go through the motions of caring about others because to not care would make them pariahs. We don’t like to hang around with people for whom our suffering matters about the same as the barometric pressure. It’s creepy. It’s like being color blind to feelings. And that borders on inhuman.
But such a limitation is less common than a simple willingness to not care about others. Feelings may be there, but other things are more important, priorities that push our need to be moved beyond simple knowing to some sort of action based on caring. I would never call some of the people in my churches sociopathic, but their behavior, when they are confronted by the suffering of the world, has the same result.
So, does it really matter whether a person uses the law to defend their inaction, or their tight budget, or a world view that allows them to sit behind borders and ignore the suffering of the world?
I would hate to have a lack of empathy. Caring with others, caring about others has helped define my life. It has led me to be and do more of a person I respect. And the joy I have seen in the eyes of those I’ve managed to help has left me with a bit of glory, even in the midst of suffering or sadness. I grieve for those who are not blest with this capability.
And for those who make a conscious or habitual choice to walk away from the suffering of the world I offer a prayer. Consider the parable of the sheep and the goats. Can any of us afford to walk away from opportunities to do what the Lord has commanded? How can we answer when the question rises, “Where were you when I was hungry?”
C. David McKirachan is pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Shrewsbury in central New Jersey. He also teaches at Monmouth University. Two of his books, I Happened Upon a Miracle and A Year of Wonder, have been published by Westminster John Knox Press. McKirachan was raised in a pastor's home and he is the brother of a pastor, and he has discovered his name indicates that he has druid roots. Storytelling seems to be a congenital disorder. He lives with his 21-year-old son Ben and his dog Sam.
*****************************************
StoryShare, August 21, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 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.
"Moving Forward" by Keith Wagner
"Living Unafraid" by Keith Wagner
"So?" by C. David McKirachan
Moving Forward
by Keith Wagner
Hebrews 12:18-29
In the early 1920’s Philo Farnsworth was working on a farm, plowing a straight line on a potato farm. His mind was far away, thinking about the possibility of transmitting moving pictures through the air. He had no electronic or engineering background, nor was he a scientist. No one in the world of science would have considered him a serious contender in the chase to find the answer to photographic transmission without the aid of wires.
Scientists from all over the world had been struggling to solve this dilemma and although many had been aided by research grants, no one came up with the answer. So, what chance did Farnsworth, a potato farmer with no education, have?
While plowing, he imagined a different approach. He imagined dividing a screen into long rows just like the field he was plowing, using electricity to create areas of light and darkness at each point along the row. Then stacking the rows on top of each other, he imagined that they could bring to focus a picture. Bingo! The results were better than anything the world of science had ever conceived. It is the very system we still use today.
The world changed because Philo Farnsworth never looked back. He was totally focused on an idea, undaunted by people who would say, “That will never work.” He was determined and dedicated to his mission of transmitting a picture electronically through the air. At the same time he was a man of the earth, planting potatoes but constantly moving forward.
I believe that this message to the Hebrews is one that is encouraging them to keep moving forward. To return to the days of the old covenant would be a disaster. Instead they were to move forward, embracing the “heavenly kingdom” of the new covenant.
There are a variety of things that can hold us back, things like faulty perceptions, negative experiences or lamenting over the good old days. During our cruise in Europe in the summer of 2013 my wife and I had the opportunity to meet many of the workers on the ship. They come from all over the world. Many came from Romania and the Philippines. The cruise line offered them good jobs but unfortunately they were separated from their families for long periods of time. Nevertheless they became part of a diverse community that created much happiness for their lives.
This time of year many people, and especially families, are experiencing a bit of culture shock. It is a time of transition as children graduate from high school or college and re-locate to other places. It’s also a popular season for young adults to get married. That also means change and it can be painful.
When I talked with the workers on our cruise ship about being separated from their families they told me that seeing new countries and learning about other cultures was worth the sacrifice. Many of them met their future spouses and they made many new friends. Their experience with the cruise line also led to promotions and other job opportunities. Some of them have become tour guides or interpreters.
Moving forward does not always mean we have to change locations or leave our home towns. It can also mean changing the way we understand our mission in life
Since retiring from the active pastorate in January I have learned that ministry is everywhere. On our return trip from Grand Cayman Islands in March we had to spend a night in Washington D.C. since we missed our connecting flight to Columbus, Ohio.
The next morning we were on a bus that took us from the hotel to the Dulles Airport. People from many nations boarded the bus, including a woman with three small children. They were on route to Africa to visit their grandmother. I struck up a conversation with the 5 year old girl. She was tired of traveling and afraid of flying across the ocean. For some reason she seemed to trust me. I continued to talk with her and told her that my wife and I had just flown across the ocean from London to the United States. That seem to give her assurance. I learned in that situation that loving others and giving others assurance is needed everywhere, even on a 30 minute bus trip to the airport.
* * *
Living Unafraid
by Keith Wagner
Jeremiah 1:4-10
“I’m sorry, you don’t have any experience.” These are familiar words for someone who is searching for their very first job. How can one possibly have any experience if no one ever gave them a chance to work? It’s a dilemma that many graduates have to wrestle with. On the one hand they have their education, but on the other hand they have no experience in the work place. The only way for a young graduate to get that first job is for someone to give them a break.
I remember looking for a job my senior year in college. I majored in business and there were plenty of opportunities in corporate America. For me, however, there was one stumbling block. My draft status was 1-A. That meant the likelihood of me being called to military service would probably happen in six months. Fortunately the W.T. Grant Company took a chance on me and for one year I was gainfully employed. But, my luck ran out. Uncle Sam decided I was needed for military service. My business career was put on hold.
Fortunately I was given a break. An officer from my home state of Ohio told me about a program where I could receive a commission. Since I had a degree in business the Navy accepted me in Officer’s Candidate School and I was selected to be in the US Navy Supply Corps. In other words, I continued in the business world but in a uniform.
There is no draft today but there are plenty of other problems that keep us from being hired. It could be no experience, or it could be that you’re either too old or too young. This was the case with Jeremiah. He was called to be a spokesperson for God. But, Jeremiah told God he was too young. “Sorry God, I can’t be your prophet, I don’t know how to speak and I am just a boy.”
God, however, did not agree. “Do not say you are only a boy for you shall go wherever I send you and you shall speak the words I give you. Do not be afraid,” God replied. I believe that Jeremiah protested the possibility of being a prophet because he was afraid. The mission God had for him would be a real challenge. People would refuse to listen to him. They would also not agree with his message. His message wouldn’t be popular. He would frequently find himself all alone. His task was monumental, “plucking up, pulling down, destroying and overthrowing, building and planting.”
I can relate to Jeremiah because I put off my call to ministry, not once, but twice. The first time I was too inexperienced, just like Jeremiah. The second time I was not ready. I lacked the confidence to be a pastor and preacher. I guess God knew more about me than I knew about myself, since “the call” came a third time and at that point I had grown in my faith and I finally gave in. I left the business world and enrolled in Seminary.
Did you ever get one of the calls from someone in the church who knows you and asks you to be an usher, or help with Sunday school? I can just hear your response: “Who me?” Or you may have said, “I’m too busy,” or “Let me think about it.” Those were the moments you were overcome with feelings of fear. Perhaps you also lacked confidence in yourself or didn’t feel like you were qualified.
Granted, church work is not always very appealing. Much of the work we do is not popular. It means we have to make sacrifices of time and energy. It means some of our friends might think we’re weird or we don’t have time for them anymore. But where would the church be if everyone who has ever been called to some task had said ‘No?”
Jeremiah was afraid because he believed he lacked the qualifications to be an agent for God. But God said, “Don’t worry, I am with you.” God chooses people because God knows they are up to the challenge. God has more faith in us then we have in ourselves. And God never abandons us. God is with us and will “deliver us,” meaning by accepting the call we will find fulfillment, freedom and faith.
One of the fears I had about ministry was officiating funerals. At the age of 32 I had never experienced death. Ironically, in the first 10 days of my ministry I had two funerals. Since then I have officiated at over 500 funeral services. And for 15 years I taught Death and Dying at Edison Community College. I was doing ministry out of my original comfort zone but answering that call had changed my life and enabled me to do things I never thought possible.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He has served churches in Southwest Ohio for over three decades. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and has an M.Div. from Methodist Theological School, Delaware, Ohio, and a D.Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has also been an adjunct professor at Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
* * *
So?
by C. David McKirachan
Luke 13:10-17
It’s hard to understand how people can see suffering and not be moved. It’s to our advantage. Empathy is one of the ways our evolutionary development has led us away from savagery, through the pack where all watch out for the other, to tribe, clan, city, state, to nation. We’ve made a few stabs at caring across borders, but flags get in the way. The ability to care allows us to support others and thus to lift us all. A high tide raises all boats. If we are unwilling to care, we cut ourselves off from the basis of civilization, reverting to ‘get them before they get us,’ or ‘might makes right.’
But beyond the practical, the political, the civilized benefits of empathy, it seems that it is foundational to Jesus, leading him into direct conflict with the religious big wigs of His day. Our Lord’s interpretation of the law took Him beyond correct or even virtuous to a willingness to see others with compassion as a rule. For Him the law was an instrument of compassion, given by God to bring us beyond mitigated savagery to a new identity.
I was speaking with a rather successful professional about mission giving. He couldn’t understand why we had to give so much money to people who lived in places on the other side of the world, like Africa. I said to him that there was such horrible famine there that mothers were carrying the bodies of their dead infants for days because they had no place to bury them. He very calmly looked at me and said “So?”
I was so stunned I didn’t know how to respond. I had known this man for a few years. I got along with him well. I knew he was, let’s say, a bit cheap. But this bordered on sociopathic. That is the lack of empathy.
I don’t know if he was. I do know that there is a stunning percentage of people in our culture who have that specific lack. They go through the motions of caring about others because to not care would make them pariahs. We don’t like to hang around with people for whom our suffering matters about the same as the barometric pressure. It’s creepy. It’s like being color blind to feelings. And that borders on inhuman.
But such a limitation is less common than a simple willingness to not care about others. Feelings may be there, but other things are more important, priorities that push our need to be moved beyond simple knowing to some sort of action based on caring. I would never call some of the people in my churches sociopathic, but their behavior, when they are confronted by the suffering of the world, has the same result.
So, does it really matter whether a person uses the law to defend their inaction, or their tight budget, or a world view that allows them to sit behind borders and ignore the suffering of the world?
I would hate to have a lack of empathy. Caring with others, caring about others has helped define my life. It has led me to be and do more of a person I respect. And the joy I have seen in the eyes of those I’ve managed to help has left me with a bit of glory, even in the midst of suffering or sadness. I grieve for those who are not blest with this capability.
And for those who make a conscious or habitual choice to walk away from the suffering of the world I offer a prayer. Consider the parable of the sheep and the goats. Can any of us afford to walk away from opportunities to do what the Lord has commanded? How can we answer when the question rises, “Where were you when I was hungry?”
C. David McKirachan is pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Shrewsbury in central New Jersey. He also teaches at Monmouth University. Two of his books, I Happened Upon a Miracle and A Year of Wonder, have been published by Westminster John Knox Press. McKirachan was raised in a pastor's home and he is the brother of a pastor, and he has discovered his name indicates that he has druid roots. Storytelling seems to be a congenital disorder. He lives with his 21-year-old son Ben and his dog Sam.
*****************************************
StoryShare, August 21, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 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.
