Overture
Illustration
Stories
Object:
Contents
What's Up This Week
"Overture" by Keith Hewitt
"The Thief in the Night" by Alex Gondola
What's Up This Week
John the Baptist tells us to "prepare the way of the Lord" -- and in this edition of StoryShare, Keith Hewitt makes an apt analogy for John's role in the unfolding story of Christ. John is, he tells us, the overture that sets the mood and foreshadows in many ways much of what is to come. Yet what is to come can be very unexpected and even disturbing, and Alex Gondola relates. He shares his personal experience with a thief in the night, which Second Peter compares the coming Day of the Lord to, and asks us if we are watchful, vigilant, and prepared for Jesus when he invades our lives.
* * * * * * * * *
Overture
by Keith Hewitt
Mark 1:1-8
I am not a student of music or theatre. For me, the day the music died came at age 8, when a frustrated piano teacher told my parents to save their money -- and it died again a few years later when I tried out for glee club in fifth grade and was given the job of keeping attendance at the practices. Silently. My theatrical experience as a student was little better, consisting of one politically incorrect turn as "Silent Buffalo" in a play called The Girl and the Gold Mine, or something like that. I was in ninth grade and learned a valuable lesson about the durability of incorrectly applied makeup. (I had "copper colored" skin for days after the curtain went down on Silent Buffalo.)
I say all of the above to let you know that I am not writing out of any scholarly understanding of music or theatre, but from a layman's perspective. I believe what I say is correct... but am ready to stand corrected if it is not.
Apart from not wanting to be one of those clowns who is slipping in front of everybody after a show has started -- not to mention wanting to make sure you get your money's worth -- there is one excellent reason to be waiting in your seat before the curtain ever goes up: to hear the overture.
An overture can be beautiful and moving as a stand-alone piece of music, but it is more than that. It sets the tone for the show before the curtain ever rises. It contains, woven within it, many threads of music that you will hear throughout the show as distinctive melodies rise up, linger long enough to be identified, and then submerge back into it. In its progression of themes and rhythm, a well-written overture will foreshadow the rise and fall of the storyline. It is both a preview of the play to come and an encapsulation of the high points.
The audience, sitting in their seats waiting for the curtain to rise, are like the people of Israel thousands of years ago, waiting for the fulfillment of God's promise to them. After centuries of waiting, two thousand years ago the lights dimmed and then the overture began, in the form of John the Baptist.
No simple holy man, no mad prophet, but a foreshadowing of the Savior to come and his message. The ministry of John the Baptist was nothing less than an overture to the operatic passion of his cousin. The themes of rebirth and redemption would be played softly, to build anticipation for the words of Jesus. The call to turn away from the ways of the world would begin with John, and find its rhythm with the Messiah. His denial of self for the sake of service to a higher calling would be repeated and strengthened in the teachings of Jesus, and even his death would serve as a grim fore-echo of Jesus' death on Calvary.
The life and ministry of John the Baptist was overture to the main event, and I wonder now... what part is my life playing in the drama of God's promise?
And am I playing the right tune?
Keith Hewitt is the author of NaTiVity Dramas: Four Nontraditional Christmas Plays for All Ages (CSS). He is a lay speaker, co-youth leader, and former Sunday school teacher at Wilmot United Methodist Church in Wilmot, Wisconsin. He lives in southeastern Wisconsin with his wife and two children, and works in the IT department at a major public safety testing organization.
The Thief in the Night
by Alex Gondola
2 Peter 3:8-15a
The FBI reports that in 2006, Americans were victims of more than two million burglaries. That was up about 2% from the year before. Ironically, a disproportionate percentage of these break-ins occurred around Christmas, when families were out shopping, partying, or visiting and many homes were flush with easily disposed-of items like consumer electronics or cash. Property losses in 2006 were more than $4 billion. Not counted in that figure is the emotional cost to homeowners or renters whose homes were invaded. Many of us have had that experience. When I was a theological school intern in Binghamton, New York, working with inner-city youth, my apartment was targeted twice. On the first occasion I returned from an evening meeting to find the kitchen window wide open and my property scattered all over. Virtually everything I owned (which wasn't much) had been rifled. The intruder went through the medicine cabinet, searching for prescription drugs. The bureau drawers had been dumped out as the burglar looked for hidden jewelry or cash. My desk had been searched, and two of the few nice things I owned had been stolen: my brand-new clock-radio (my one splurge) and a nearly new electric typewriter (I didn't own a TV at the time and this was before personal computers, or they probably would have been taken, too). Also missing were personal letters and a paper I had written for a class! Possibly the thief thought the latter envelope addressed to my theological school contained a check or financial information. Since my essay was gone, I had to make excuses to my professor over the phone, and worried my story might sound like "the dog ate my paper." Of course, I called the police. When I asked the officers about the chances of catching the burglar and getting back my stuff, they shrugged their shoulders noncommittally. To try to prevent another incident, I nailed all of my windows shut. This was a sacrifice, since my apartment didn't have air conditioning. For days I felt mildly apprehensive, especially on hearing sounds at night. I also felt violated. Who knows who had gone through my stuff, including my toiletries, clothes, and underwear? A few weeks later, after a dark and drenching rainstorm, I awoke to discover my apartment door cracked open. Only the chain lock was securing it. This time the thief -- possibly the same one -- had broken through the lock on the front door of my building and then gotten through my apartment door lock. This home invasion only ended when the burglar realized the chain was engaged, meaning someone must be inside. Clearly this happened while I was sound asleep and utterly defenseless. It was a sobering thought. Happily, the landlord installed better locks and the break-ins stopped. Still, these incidents were warnings to me to be more careful and alert. If we need to be prepared to avoid robberies and the disruptions they cause, how much more important is it to be ready for the Second Coming of Christ? Second Peter reminds us, "the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed" (2 Peter 3:10). Scripture promises our Lord's return in many places. That great day is more certain than any burglary, which good security and vigilance might prevent. So the question at the end of this passage ought to be our question, especially in Advent: "Since all things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought (we) to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God...?" (2 Peter 3:11-12a). This season celebrates not only Christ's birth, but also his return. Let's be prepared, especially in the things that matter most!
Alex Gondola is the senior pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He is the author of four books, all published by CSS, and numerous articles in clergy journals.
**********************************************
How to Share Stories
You have good stories to share, probably more than you know: personal stories as well as stories from others that you have used over the years. If you have a story you like, whether fictional or "really happened," authored by you or a brief excerpt from a favorite book, send it to StoryShare for review. Simply email the story to us at storyshare@sermonsuite.com.
**************
StoryShare, December 7, 2008, issue.
Copyright 2008 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., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
What's Up This Week
"Overture" by Keith Hewitt
"The Thief in the Night" by Alex Gondola
What's Up This Week
John the Baptist tells us to "prepare the way of the Lord" -- and in this edition of StoryShare, Keith Hewitt makes an apt analogy for John's role in the unfolding story of Christ. John is, he tells us, the overture that sets the mood and foreshadows in many ways much of what is to come. Yet what is to come can be very unexpected and even disturbing, and Alex Gondola relates. He shares his personal experience with a thief in the night, which Second Peter compares the coming Day of the Lord to, and asks us if we are watchful, vigilant, and prepared for Jesus when he invades our lives.
* * * * * * * * *
Overture
by Keith Hewitt
Mark 1:1-8
I am not a student of music or theatre. For me, the day the music died came at age 8, when a frustrated piano teacher told my parents to save their money -- and it died again a few years later when I tried out for glee club in fifth grade and was given the job of keeping attendance at the practices. Silently. My theatrical experience as a student was little better, consisting of one politically incorrect turn as "Silent Buffalo" in a play called The Girl and the Gold Mine, or something like that. I was in ninth grade and learned a valuable lesson about the durability of incorrectly applied makeup. (I had "copper colored" skin for days after the curtain went down on Silent Buffalo.)
I say all of the above to let you know that I am not writing out of any scholarly understanding of music or theatre, but from a layman's perspective. I believe what I say is correct... but am ready to stand corrected if it is not.
Apart from not wanting to be one of those clowns who is slipping in front of everybody after a show has started -- not to mention wanting to make sure you get your money's worth -- there is one excellent reason to be waiting in your seat before the curtain ever goes up: to hear the overture.
An overture can be beautiful and moving as a stand-alone piece of music, but it is more than that. It sets the tone for the show before the curtain ever rises. It contains, woven within it, many threads of music that you will hear throughout the show as distinctive melodies rise up, linger long enough to be identified, and then submerge back into it. In its progression of themes and rhythm, a well-written overture will foreshadow the rise and fall of the storyline. It is both a preview of the play to come and an encapsulation of the high points.
The audience, sitting in their seats waiting for the curtain to rise, are like the people of Israel thousands of years ago, waiting for the fulfillment of God's promise to them. After centuries of waiting, two thousand years ago the lights dimmed and then the overture began, in the form of John the Baptist.
No simple holy man, no mad prophet, but a foreshadowing of the Savior to come and his message. The ministry of John the Baptist was nothing less than an overture to the operatic passion of his cousin. The themes of rebirth and redemption would be played softly, to build anticipation for the words of Jesus. The call to turn away from the ways of the world would begin with John, and find its rhythm with the Messiah. His denial of self for the sake of service to a higher calling would be repeated and strengthened in the teachings of Jesus, and even his death would serve as a grim fore-echo of Jesus' death on Calvary.
The life and ministry of John the Baptist was overture to the main event, and I wonder now... what part is my life playing in the drama of God's promise?
And am I playing the right tune?
Keith Hewitt is the author of NaTiVity Dramas: Four Nontraditional Christmas Plays for All Ages (CSS). He is a lay speaker, co-youth leader, and former Sunday school teacher at Wilmot United Methodist Church in Wilmot, Wisconsin. He lives in southeastern Wisconsin with his wife and two children, and works in the IT department at a major public safety testing organization.
The Thief in the Night
by Alex Gondola
2 Peter 3:8-15a
The FBI reports that in 2006, Americans were victims of more than two million burglaries. That was up about 2% from the year before. Ironically, a disproportionate percentage of these break-ins occurred around Christmas, when families were out shopping, partying, or visiting and many homes were flush with easily disposed-of items like consumer electronics or cash. Property losses in 2006 were more than $4 billion. Not counted in that figure is the emotional cost to homeowners or renters whose homes were invaded. Many of us have had that experience. When I was a theological school intern in Binghamton, New York, working with inner-city youth, my apartment was targeted twice. On the first occasion I returned from an evening meeting to find the kitchen window wide open and my property scattered all over. Virtually everything I owned (which wasn't much) had been rifled. The intruder went through the medicine cabinet, searching for prescription drugs. The bureau drawers had been dumped out as the burglar looked for hidden jewelry or cash. My desk had been searched, and two of the few nice things I owned had been stolen: my brand-new clock-radio (my one splurge) and a nearly new electric typewriter (I didn't own a TV at the time and this was before personal computers, or they probably would have been taken, too). Also missing were personal letters and a paper I had written for a class! Possibly the thief thought the latter envelope addressed to my theological school contained a check or financial information. Since my essay was gone, I had to make excuses to my professor over the phone, and worried my story might sound like "the dog ate my paper." Of course, I called the police. When I asked the officers about the chances of catching the burglar and getting back my stuff, they shrugged their shoulders noncommittally. To try to prevent another incident, I nailed all of my windows shut. This was a sacrifice, since my apartment didn't have air conditioning. For days I felt mildly apprehensive, especially on hearing sounds at night. I also felt violated. Who knows who had gone through my stuff, including my toiletries, clothes, and underwear? A few weeks later, after a dark and drenching rainstorm, I awoke to discover my apartment door cracked open. Only the chain lock was securing it. This time the thief -- possibly the same one -- had broken through the lock on the front door of my building and then gotten through my apartment door lock. This home invasion only ended when the burglar realized the chain was engaged, meaning someone must be inside. Clearly this happened while I was sound asleep and utterly defenseless. It was a sobering thought. Happily, the landlord installed better locks and the break-ins stopped. Still, these incidents were warnings to me to be more careful and alert. If we need to be prepared to avoid robberies and the disruptions they cause, how much more important is it to be ready for the Second Coming of Christ? Second Peter reminds us, "the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed" (2 Peter 3:10). Scripture promises our Lord's return in many places. That great day is more certain than any burglary, which good security and vigilance might prevent. So the question at the end of this passage ought to be our question, especially in Advent: "Since all things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought (we) to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God...?" (2 Peter 3:11-12a). This season celebrates not only Christ's birth, but also his return. Let's be prepared, especially in the things that matter most!
Alex Gondola is the senior pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He is the author of four books, all published by CSS, and numerous articles in clergy journals.
**********************************************
How to Share Stories
You have good stories to share, probably more than you know: personal stories as well as stories from others that you have used over the years. If you have a story you like, whether fictional or "really happened," authored by you or a brief excerpt from a favorite book, send it to StoryShare for review. Simply email the story to us at storyshare@sermonsuite.com.
**************
StoryShare, December 7, 2008, issue.
Copyright 2008 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., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
