Paul And Silas, Bound In Jail
Stories
Object:
Contents
"Paul and Silas, Bound in Jail" by Sandra Herrmann
"Through their Words" by Peter Andrew Smith
Paul and Silas, Bound in Jail
by Sandra Herrmann
Acts 16:16-34
We are very used to our freedoms here in the USA. We can go to whatever church we want to, believe as our conscience leads us, preach to others on street corners, hand out tracts if that’s our way of evangelizing. Or, we can skip church. We can be avowed atheists, agnostics, or followers of any number of religious persuasions: Buddhism, Hindu, Judaism or Islam, to name only the biggest world faiths. We take it for granted that no one can be thrown in jail just for being a Baptist rather than a Catholic (or vice versa).
But in other parts of the world, there is no such freedom. Christians living in China, even though granted freedom of religion in their constitution, did in fact wind up in jail, especially during the 20th Century Cultural Revolution. When I was in China in 1988, I had the privilege of meeting an old priest who had first been jailed and then was forced to do heavy labor in a factory. He told us about his time at forced labor, and his prayers to God, asking why he was in this situation, and wondering how he could survive, as he was in his 60’s at the time he was arrested, and was shifting 75-pound sacks of machine parts from the factory interior to the train platform, and then into box cars for shipping.
“All this time, I asked God, ‘Lord, they have taken away my Bible, my hymnal, my Bible study group! I am so alone, and I dare not say much, or they beat me. Can’t you help me, Lord?’ Then one day, my foreman comes to me and says, ‘You are free. Your time of service is over.’ I ask him, ‘What does this mean, I am free? Free to do what?’ And he say to me, ‘Free to worship as you wish. You are guaranteed this in the new constitution.’
“I was certain that this was not real. But he gives me my freedom papers, and I am allowed to leave the factory. Wonderful! So I come back here to Shanghai, and I find this church where we are now standing, and I come in and begin to look around.”
He went on to tell us that as he wandered through the church he found a few Bibles, a few hymnals and some Bible study guides. He found the pews down in the basement, covered in dust and mold, and because the heavy labor had made him very strong, he was able to pull them apart and clean them up. One day, three women walked in and asked what he was doing. He told them he intended that this church should offer services again, and was cleaning to get it ready. They went home and came back with brooms and mops, buckets and rags and detergent. As they told the priest’s story, others joined them in their cleaning task. They found chairs and even an organ, and so set up the sanctuary.
As they were putting the pews and chairs in place, one of the men asked the priest how many places he thought they would need for worship? The priest said, “Let’s count on 75 for our first Sunday.” They agreed that this was probably a reasonable expectation. But then, as they were praying over the pews, one of the cleaners said, “I think God will send us more. We need to set up more chairs.” So they set up 100.
The priest confided to us that he was afraid this might be too ambitious, but he didn’t want to undermine the faith of those who were getting ready for worship, so he said nothing. They printed up posters to announce the new church, and went out and posted them on kiosks and tacked them to trees, as was the custom there. The first thing that happened was that the very person who used to play the organ in this church walked back through the doors, and volunteered to play for worship again. A few people who remembered choir in this congregation came in to practice for Sunday. It seemed as though they might have everything they wanted and needed on Sunday. They printed up an order of worship and on Sunday they opened the doors and waited to see if they would have anyone showing up for church.
The first people through the doors that Sunday praised the beauty of the stained glass window, sparkling in the sunlight. They ran their hands over the freshly waxed pews. They found a place to sit, and they bowed their heads in prayer.
As the appointed hour, people were still coming through the door. Every pew was filled, every chair was taken, and those who arrived at the last minute leaned on the walls. One hundred and fifty people showed up that Sunday. They prayed, they sang, they had a sermon and Bible verses to memorize. They next week, nearly two hundred people showed up. They began every meeting with scripture study and prayer. Every choir rehearsal started with Bible study, since the people had a hard time coming more than one day a week.
At the time we visited this church, they had seven pastors, one for the children, one for the intermediate youth, one for secondary school youth, one for visiting the aged and infirm, and two for leading worship and study. Three of those pastors were women (and one of them led a women’s ministry). They had three worship services each Sunday. They took Communion once a month (but every time the choir met, they took Communion, because they had a special ministry and needed that extra help). Their congregation in 1988 was 750 members.
“The authorities wanted to stamp out Christianity as not being Chinese,” the priest said, “but God used our little bits of things to make a great ministry here.”
Like Paul and Silas, the priest was thrown in jail for what he believed. But also like Paul and Silas, his faithfulness was rewarded with a rich harvest.
Sandra Herrmann is pastor of Memorial United Methodist Church in Greenfield, Wisconsin. In 1980, she was in the first class ordained by Bishop Marjorie Matthews (the first female United Methodist bishop). Herrmann is the author of Ambassadors of Hope (CSS); her articles and sermons have also appeared in Emphasis and The Circuit Rider, and her poetry has been published in Alive Now and So's Your Old Lady. She has trained lay speakers and led workshops and Bible studies throughout Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana. Sandra's favorite pastime is reading with her two dogs piled on her.
* * *
Through their Words
by Peter Andrew Smith
John 17:20-26
William opened the church bulletin as he waited for the Sunday service to start. There were the usual notices, like the weekly choir practice and youth group, and a report from a recent mission conference. William read those carefully but ignored the announcement from the Sunday School.
“Lots happening in the church this week,” Josie held up her bulletin. “I see that they are looking for help with the Sunday School again.”
“Are they?”
“They are.” Josie brushed back a lock of grey hair from her eyes. “My boys went to Sunday School here.”
“How are Ollie and Sam doing?”
Josie smiled. “Ollie is still overseas with the Army but should be finished his deployment soon.”
“You must be proud of him.”
“I am. I’m also proud of Sam, he is working in a hospital on the coast and raising my grandchildren.” She pulled out a picture and William admired her family. “My children were blessed by the Sunday School. I wish I was younger.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, so I could help.” Josie put the picture back in her purse. “With my health being as it is I don’t dare commit to a class because some Sundays I’m barely able to get here much less stay after.”
“That makes it hard.”
Josie sighed. “I guess someone else will have to do it.”
“Someone usually steps forward.”
“You don’t have any children of your own, do you?” she asked.
“No. Mary and I hope to start our family in a couple of years.”
“Were you raised in the church?”
“I was. My Mom used to pack us all in the car and drive us each Sunday.” William smiled at the memory. “I wandered away in University but I think those days gave me the grounding to come back when I got older and discovered that I needed God in my life.”
“I am certainly glad that you are in our church.” Josie patted his hand. “You have a wonderful singing voice and I enjoy sitting next to you.”
William felt his face grow warm. “Thank you.”
He marked the hymns for the service in the book in front of him. He snuck a glance and saw that Josie was staring at him and tapping her chin.
“Something wrong?”
“What do you think about teaching Sunday school?”
William laughed. “I would worry about the future of the church.”
“No seriously,” Josie said. “You told me a few weeks ago that you do some training at your workplace.”
“I do but that’s material that I know like the back of my hand and its with adults.” William shrugged. “I have no experience with kids and honestly each week when the pastor preaches I realize how little I know about the Bible.”
“So you learn. They have lessons and guides that you plan with in advance,” Josie said. “Thinking back to my own Sunday School days, what I remember is the times people talked about their own faith. I mean I must have learned the prayers and stories too but when one of the adults would speak about how Jesus made a difference in their lives then I really listened. They were more than just people who gave my information- they were role models to me.”
William stroked his chin. “Josie, seriously I don’t know if I’m that good a role model.”
“Then how about learning to be one?” Josie said. “Both of us sit here on Sundays and say how great the pastor is when he challenges us to be better disciples of Jesus in the world. Maybe this is a chance for us to make those words a reality.”
“Us?”
“Sure. I’d love a chance to work with young people and if you shared teaching a class with me then it might just be possible.” She paused for a moment. “ What do you say?”
William was just about to say no when he thought about all the people who had shared their faith with him. His parents and grandparents, his neighbours and friends, the teachers and pastors who had helped him come to know Jesus and the love which was his through the cross. He realized that he had a witness to share with others just as it had been shared with him. He took a deep breath.
“Okay.”
“Wonderful! We can go and tell the organizers after the service ends.” Josie squeezed his hand. “Are you as nervous as I am right now?”
William squeezed her hand back. “I think so.”
As the service began and they stood to sing the first hymn, William realized that as well as being nervous he was also excited. Excited about the opportunity to share what he believed and the fact that his faith was going to grow in a new way.
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada currently serving St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things are Ready (CSS) a book of lectionary based communion prayers and a number of stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 8, 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.
"Paul and Silas, Bound in Jail" by Sandra Herrmann
"Through their Words" by Peter Andrew Smith
Paul and Silas, Bound in Jail
by Sandra Herrmann
Acts 16:16-34
We are very used to our freedoms here in the USA. We can go to whatever church we want to, believe as our conscience leads us, preach to others on street corners, hand out tracts if that’s our way of evangelizing. Or, we can skip church. We can be avowed atheists, agnostics, or followers of any number of religious persuasions: Buddhism, Hindu, Judaism or Islam, to name only the biggest world faiths. We take it for granted that no one can be thrown in jail just for being a Baptist rather than a Catholic (or vice versa).
But in other parts of the world, there is no such freedom. Christians living in China, even though granted freedom of religion in their constitution, did in fact wind up in jail, especially during the 20th Century Cultural Revolution. When I was in China in 1988, I had the privilege of meeting an old priest who had first been jailed and then was forced to do heavy labor in a factory. He told us about his time at forced labor, and his prayers to God, asking why he was in this situation, and wondering how he could survive, as he was in his 60’s at the time he was arrested, and was shifting 75-pound sacks of machine parts from the factory interior to the train platform, and then into box cars for shipping.
“All this time, I asked God, ‘Lord, they have taken away my Bible, my hymnal, my Bible study group! I am so alone, and I dare not say much, or they beat me. Can’t you help me, Lord?’ Then one day, my foreman comes to me and says, ‘You are free. Your time of service is over.’ I ask him, ‘What does this mean, I am free? Free to do what?’ And he say to me, ‘Free to worship as you wish. You are guaranteed this in the new constitution.’
“I was certain that this was not real. But he gives me my freedom papers, and I am allowed to leave the factory. Wonderful! So I come back here to Shanghai, and I find this church where we are now standing, and I come in and begin to look around.”
He went on to tell us that as he wandered through the church he found a few Bibles, a few hymnals and some Bible study guides. He found the pews down in the basement, covered in dust and mold, and because the heavy labor had made him very strong, he was able to pull them apart and clean them up. One day, three women walked in and asked what he was doing. He told them he intended that this church should offer services again, and was cleaning to get it ready. They went home and came back with brooms and mops, buckets and rags and detergent. As they told the priest’s story, others joined them in their cleaning task. They found chairs and even an organ, and so set up the sanctuary.
As they were putting the pews and chairs in place, one of the men asked the priest how many places he thought they would need for worship? The priest said, “Let’s count on 75 for our first Sunday.” They agreed that this was probably a reasonable expectation. But then, as they were praying over the pews, one of the cleaners said, “I think God will send us more. We need to set up more chairs.” So they set up 100.
The priest confided to us that he was afraid this might be too ambitious, but he didn’t want to undermine the faith of those who were getting ready for worship, so he said nothing. They printed up posters to announce the new church, and went out and posted them on kiosks and tacked them to trees, as was the custom there. The first thing that happened was that the very person who used to play the organ in this church walked back through the doors, and volunteered to play for worship again. A few people who remembered choir in this congregation came in to practice for Sunday. It seemed as though they might have everything they wanted and needed on Sunday. They printed up an order of worship and on Sunday they opened the doors and waited to see if they would have anyone showing up for church.
The first people through the doors that Sunday praised the beauty of the stained glass window, sparkling in the sunlight. They ran their hands over the freshly waxed pews. They found a place to sit, and they bowed their heads in prayer.
As the appointed hour, people were still coming through the door. Every pew was filled, every chair was taken, and those who arrived at the last minute leaned on the walls. One hundred and fifty people showed up that Sunday. They prayed, they sang, they had a sermon and Bible verses to memorize. They next week, nearly two hundred people showed up. They began every meeting with scripture study and prayer. Every choir rehearsal started with Bible study, since the people had a hard time coming more than one day a week.
At the time we visited this church, they had seven pastors, one for the children, one for the intermediate youth, one for secondary school youth, one for visiting the aged and infirm, and two for leading worship and study. Three of those pastors were women (and one of them led a women’s ministry). They had three worship services each Sunday. They took Communion once a month (but every time the choir met, they took Communion, because they had a special ministry and needed that extra help). Their congregation in 1988 was 750 members.
“The authorities wanted to stamp out Christianity as not being Chinese,” the priest said, “but God used our little bits of things to make a great ministry here.”
Like Paul and Silas, the priest was thrown in jail for what he believed. But also like Paul and Silas, his faithfulness was rewarded with a rich harvest.
Sandra Herrmann is pastor of Memorial United Methodist Church in Greenfield, Wisconsin. In 1980, she was in the first class ordained by Bishop Marjorie Matthews (the first female United Methodist bishop). Herrmann is the author of Ambassadors of Hope (CSS); her articles and sermons have also appeared in Emphasis and The Circuit Rider, and her poetry has been published in Alive Now and So's Your Old Lady. She has trained lay speakers and led workshops and Bible studies throughout Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana. Sandra's favorite pastime is reading with her two dogs piled on her.
* * *
Through their Words
by Peter Andrew Smith
John 17:20-26
William opened the church bulletin as he waited for the Sunday service to start. There were the usual notices, like the weekly choir practice and youth group, and a report from a recent mission conference. William read those carefully but ignored the announcement from the Sunday School.
“Lots happening in the church this week,” Josie held up her bulletin. “I see that they are looking for help with the Sunday School again.”
“Are they?”
“They are.” Josie brushed back a lock of grey hair from her eyes. “My boys went to Sunday School here.”
“How are Ollie and Sam doing?”
Josie smiled. “Ollie is still overseas with the Army but should be finished his deployment soon.”
“You must be proud of him.”
“I am. I’m also proud of Sam, he is working in a hospital on the coast and raising my grandchildren.” She pulled out a picture and William admired her family. “My children were blessed by the Sunday School. I wish I was younger.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, so I could help.” Josie put the picture back in her purse. “With my health being as it is I don’t dare commit to a class because some Sundays I’m barely able to get here much less stay after.”
“That makes it hard.”
Josie sighed. “I guess someone else will have to do it.”
“Someone usually steps forward.”
“You don’t have any children of your own, do you?” she asked.
“No. Mary and I hope to start our family in a couple of years.”
“Were you raised in the church?”
“I was. My Mom used to pack us all in the car and drive us each Sunday.” William smiled at the memory. “I wandered away in University but I think those days gave me the grounding to come back when I got older and discovered that I needed God in my life.”
“I am certainly glad that you are in our church.” Josie patted his hand. “You have a wonderful singing voice and I enjoy sitting next to you.”
William felt his face grow warm. “Thank you.”
He marked the hymns for the service in the book in front of him. He snuck a glance and saw that Josie was staring at him and tapping her chin.
“Something wrong?”
“What do you think about teaching Sunday school?”
William laughed. “I would worry about the future of the church.”
“No seriously,” Josie said. “You told me a few weeks ago that you do some training at your workplace.”
“I do but that’s material that I know like the back of my hand and its with adults.” William shrugged. “I have no experience with kids and honestly each week when the pastor preaches I realize how little I know about the Bible.”
“So you learn. They have lessons and guides that you plan with in advance,” Josie said. “Thinking back to my own Sunday School days, what I remember is the times people talked about their own faith. I mean I must have learned the prayers and stories too but when one of the adults would speak about how Jesus made a difference in their lives then I really listened. They were more than just people who gave my information- they were role models to me.”
William stroked his chin. “Josie, seriously I don’t know if I’m that good a role model.”
“Then how about learning to be one?” Josie said. “Both of us sit here on Sundays and say how great the pastor is when he challenges us to be better disciples of Jesus in the world. Maybe this is a chance for us to make those words a reality.”
“Us?”
“Sure. I’d love a chance to work with young people and if you shared teaching a class with me then it might just be possible.” She paused for a moment. “ What do you say?”
William was just about to say no when he thought about all the people who had shared their faith with him. His parents and grandparents, his neighbours and friends, the teachers and pastors who had helped him come to know Jesus and the love which was his through the cross. He realized that he had a witness to share with others just as it had been shared with him. He took a deep breath.
“Okay.”
“Wonderful! We can go and tell the organizers after the service ends.” Josie squeezed his hand. “Are you as nervous as I am right now?”
William squeezed her hand back. “I think so.”
As the service began and they stood to sing the first hymn, William realized that as well as being nervous he was also excited. Excited about the opportunity to share what he believed and the fact that his faith was going to grow in a new way.
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada currently serving St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things are Ready (CSS) a book of lectionary based communion prayers and a number of stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 8, 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.
