Something Worthy
Stories
Contents
“Something Worthy” by Peter Andrew Smith
“It's Not Your Fault” by Keith Wagner
“All In the Family” by Keith Wagner
Something Worthy
by Peter Andrew Smith
Isaiah 55:1-9
Stan shouted from his room. “What time is it?”
“Almost ten,” Fred answered from his desk on the other side in the common area between their residence rooms. “There is coffee on if you want it.”
“I need it.” Stan stumbled out of bed toward the small kitchenette. “Man, that was some night.”
“What time did you get in?” Fred asked.
“No idea.” Stan drank from his coffee mug. “You have anything for a headache?”
Fred pointed toward the bottle on the small shelf.
“Ugh.” Stan flopped down in an empty chair. “I don’t know why I do this to myself.”
Fred pushed back from his desk. “Then why do you?”
“Pardon?”
“Why do you go out until late, spend money you don’t have to spare, all so you can feel rotten the next day?”
Stan shrugged. “I like to go out with my friends and enjoy myself.”
“So who were you out with last night?”
“Kyle and Cindy were out to start but I think they went home before eleven.” He tapped his chin. “I saw some people I knew in the clubs.”
“Did you have a good time with them?”
“I didn’t really know them very well but I did hear some good music.” Stan frowned. “At least I think I did. Some of the night is fuzzy.”
Fred looked at him for a moment and went back to working on his laptop.
“Hey, don’t judge me,” Stan said.
Fred turned back. “Are you going to complain about how much your head hurts, how little money you now have, and how much class work you have to do?”
“That doesn’t matter. It’s my choice to go out.”
“It is. Just like it’s my choice to be sad when my friend ends up wasting his time and life on things that don’t matter.”
“Is this about me coming to church with you?” Stan sighed. “I told you I’d think about it.”
“You’re lonely, your hurting, you lack direction.” Fred held up a hand. “That’s all stuff you’ve told me in the past week. You’re trying to feel better by wasting your time and money and life on things that won’t help you or give you any meaning.”
Stan scowled. “I hate it when you use my own words against me.”
“Stan, honestly if something doesn’t change I’m going to have to find another room on campus because this is killing me. I can’t bear to watch you do this to yourself.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Fred, we’ve been friends since first grade. We’ve always been there for one another.”
“I know. That’s why it hurts me so much to see you slowly falling apart.”
Stan rubbed his chin. “What if I go to church with you this week?”
Fred sighed. “Is going to church what we are talking about?”
“No, but I’m not stupid.” Stan took another drink of his coffee. “I know church is important to you.”
“It is. Do you know why?”
Stan shook his head.
“Church is where I get my week centred. It is where I find help and hope and people like me who are trying to live and be their best by following Jesus.” Fred paused. “Sometimes when I think I’ve got nothing left I go to church and rediscover that because of grace I have everything. Worship gives me energy and strength along with meaning and purpose.”
“That sounds great.”
“It is and I want that for you, too.” Fred looked at his oldest and dearest friend.
Stan looked at the ground. “I know. You’ve always been there and have always looked out for me.”
There was silence for a few moments.
“How about I go to church with you this week.” Stan held up his hand before Fred could say anything. “Not because I think you want me to but because I would really like to know the things you talked to me about. I’m not blind. I see how you come back from church so certain and confident and well, peaceful. I want that in my life.”
“You know you’re always welcome to come with me.”
“I know. Next week we can talk about whether both of us need to find a new room mate.” Stan paused. “I have a feeling we won’t need to have that conversation.”
Fred tilted his head to one side. “Why?”
“Because if I find half of what you describe when I come to church and spend time with God then I know my life is only going to change for the better.”
Stan headed into his room to get dressed and Fred turned back to his laptop. He closed his eyes for a moment and offered a prayer of thanks to God for the strength and wisdom to not only confront his friend but also to invite him to know Christ.
* * *
It’s Not Your Fault!
by Keith Wagner
Luke 13:1-9
In the movie Good Will Hunting, the main character, Will, played by Matt Damon, was a genius. He kept getting into trouble with the law because of his outbursts of anger. Finally, he was released on parole with the condition that he should see a therapist. He ended up with a therapist, Sean, played by Robin Williams. Sean and Will had some stormy times in their client-therapist relationship. Sean could see that Will was an orphan without Will telling him. Will broke up with his girl-friend who loved him and Sean pointed out to him that he was always breaking up with people and leaving them because he was terrified that they might leave him first, just as his father had left him an orphan.
During the therapy Sean won the friendship of Will. Near the end of one session Sean said to Will, "Look into my eyes." Then he approached Will and said, "It's not your fault." Will became visibly upset as Sean came closer and kept repeating, "It's not your fault." Will cried out, "Don't use your games on me." Then he collapsed onto Sean’s shoulders in a soul-wracking fit of sobbing. Sean has finally uncovered for Will that he was a good person but he had been blaming himself all his life for being an orphan. He had been using his genius abilities to keep people away from him lest they come too close and find what he considered was his unworthiness as an orphan.
What Will experienced during that session was forgiveness. He had been blaming himself for his abandonment. He acted out his frustration with anger and was afraid to have a relationship fearing that anyone who came to close would not like him because of his past.
Jesus once told Peter that he should forgive his brother not seven times but, “seventy times seven.” This illustrates that there is no limit to the mercy of God. Jesus wants us to be in the business of forgiveness. The parable of the fig tree is a story of mercy. The tree didn’t yield fruit and the landlord was ready to cut it down. But the gardener intervened and asked that it be given a second chance. What the tree needed was a little manure. In other words, it needed nurture and love, not condemnation and judgment.
Unfortunately we like to judge. We all make attempts to rationalize tragedies by finding someone to blame. The point of the parable is that we yield fruit when we forgive. And, we also bear fruit when we withhold our judgment of others.
In my first parish there were two churches of the same denomination in a very small town. One of my parishioners was related to some members in the other church. Every year both churches sponsored events that were open to the community. But, my parishioner told me, she would never set foot in the other building. She was holding a grudge against one of its members who decided that the other church was better suited for her and her family. But several years after my parishioner died, the two churches merged into a single church, something they should have done years before.
My first pastorate was in the country. I will never forget the smell of manure, especially on the clothes of my church members when they came for a visit. The wheels on their pickup trucks were often caked with mud. The smells and sights of the country were new to me, in contrast to the sights and smells of the cities where I had always lived. At the same time, these were the folks that supported me while I was both their pastor and a seminary student.
I especially remember one farmer who filled my freezer with meat. There were also others who frequently dropped off fresh fruit and vegetables. Since leaving the country those acts of kindness have become far less frequent. Those country folks were also the ones who gave me my first chance to be in ministry. Had it not been for their nurturing, love and kindness I might not have succeeded.
I tell you this because the farmer who filled my freezer was someone who I had misjudged. I thought him to be a controlling individual who would be a real problem for me in the church. But, I was wrong. He became one of my most supportive parishioners.
God wants us to understand that nothing is our fault. We can’t possibly know the big picture. Besides, we are forgiven, we have a second chance just like the fig tree. Nevertheless, the sooner we let go of our feelings of judgment and blame the sooner we will discover inner peace.
* * *
All In The Family
by Keith Wagner
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
I’ve always liked the story of "Rudy." He was the young man who dreamed to play football at Notre Dame. He worked hard and followed all the rules. His pursuit of football was a constant struggle of missing cuts, bumping up against oppressive systems and being told by most everyone that he should give it up. But he persisted and finally made the team. Unfortunately, his small stature kept him out of the lineup until the very last game of his senior year. His teammates convinced the coach to let him in the game with only a few seconds left. Rudy made some great tackles and helped to win the game. It was a tremendous moment in his life as his teammates carried him off the field following the game.
Paul is saying to us here that when it comes to faith, everyone is Rudy. No one is excluded. All of the people of faith were together through a series of challenging and symbolic events.
I believe the reason we tend to exclude people who are different than ourselves or be excluded is due to fear. We don’t trust people we don’t know or we avoid those who beat to a different drum. We are comfortable with certain known standards, ways of dress, speech, commonality, cultural norms, etc. Therefore we avoid strangers and are reluctant to include people in our life (especially the church) whom we don’t know.
We are also connected to those who have shared the same experiences we have. Recently I was talking with a friend at the YMCA. We are both pastors. He was a chaplain in the Marines and through our sharing we learned we both served on the same ship, USS Saratoga, only at different times. Over the months we have known one another we have bonded because of our previous experiences.
Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.
One day, long after the war was over, Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant. A man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, You were shot down!" "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did, if your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."
Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said ‘Good morning, how are you?’ or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor."
Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know. Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?"
Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory. He needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, but most importantly his spiritual parachute.
We are all in the same family and each of us needs a spiritual parachute. It isn’t a particular organization that will save us. It isn’t a set of rules, or customs or traditions. It is our faith in God and our trust in others, many of whom we never see, and the realization that nothing less than faith makes us and all others children of God.
*****************************************
StoryShare, March 24, 2019, issue.
Copyright 2018 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.
“Something Worthy” by Peter Andrew Smith
“It's Not Your Fault” by Keith Wagner
“All In the Family” by Keith Wagner
Something Worthy
by Peter Andrew Smith
Isaiah 55:1-9
Stan shouted from his room. “What time is it?”
“Almost ten,” Fred answered from his desk on the other side in the common area between their residence rooms. “There is coffee on if you want it.”
“I need it.” Stan stumbled out of bed toward the small kitchenette. “Man, that was some night.”
“What time did you get in?” Fred asked.
“No idea.” Stan drank from his coffee mug. “You have anything for a headache?”
Fred pointed toward the bottle on the small shelf.
“Ugh.” Stan flopped down in an empty chair. “I don’t know why I do this to myself.”
Fred pushed back from his desk. “Then why do you?”
“Pardon?”
“Why do you go out until late, spend money you don’t have to spare, all so you can feel rotten the next day?”
Stan shrugged. “I like to go out with my friends and enjoy myself.”
“So who were you out with last night?”
“Kyle and Cindy were out to start but I think they went home before eleven.” He tapped his chin. “I saw some people I knew in the clubs.”
“Did you have a good time with them?”
“I didn’t really know them very well but I did hear some good music.” Stan frowned. “At least I think I did. Some of the night is fuzzy.”
Fred looked at him for a moment and went back to working on his laptop.
“Hey, don’t judge me,” Stan said.
Fred turned back. “Are you going to complain about how much your head hurts, how little money you now have, and how much class work you have to do?”
“That doesn’t matter. It’s my choice to go out.”
“It is. Just like it’s my choice to be sad when my friend ends up wasting his time and life on things that don’t matter.”
“Is this about me coming to church with you?” Stan sighed. “I told you I’d think about it.”
“You’re lonely, your hurting, you lack direction.” Fred held up a hand. “That’s all stuff you’ve told me in the past week. You’re trying to feel better by wasting your time and money and life on things that won’t help you or give you any meaning.”
Stan scowled. “I hate it when you use my own words against me.”
“Stan, honestly if something doesn’t change I’m going to have to find another room on campus because this is killing me. I can’t bear to watch you do this to yourself.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Fred, we’ve been friends since first grade. We’ve always been there for one another.”
“I know. That’s why it hurts me so much to see you slowly falling apart.”
Stan rubbed his chin. “What if I go to church with you this week?”
Fred sighed. “Is going to church what we are talking about?”
“No, but I’m not stupid.” Stan took another drink of his coffee. “I know church is important to you.”
“It is. Do you know why?”
Stan shook his head.
“Church is where I get my week centred. It is where I find help and hope and people like me who are trying to live and be their best by following Jesus.” Fred paused. “Sometimes when I think I’ve got nothing left I go to church and rediscover that because of grace I have everything. Worship gives me energy and strength along with meaning and purpose.”
“That sounds great.”
“It is and I want that for you, too.” Fred looked at his oldest and dearest friend.
Stan looked at the ground. “I know. You’ve always been there and have always looked out for me.”
There was silence for a few moments.
“How about I go to church with you this week.” Stan held up his hand before Fred could say anything. “Not because I think you want me to but because I would really like to know the things you talked to me about. I’m not blind. I see how you come back from church so certain and confident and well, peaceful. I want that in my life.”
“You know you’re always welcome to come with me.”
“I know. Next week we can talk about whether both of us need to find a new room mate.” Stan paused. “I have a feeling we won’t need to have that conversation.”
Fred tilted his head to one side. “Why?”
“Because if I find half of what you describe when I come to church and spend time with God then I know my life is only going to change for the better.”
Stan headed into his room to get dressed and Fred turned back to his laptop. He closed his eyes for a moment and offered a prayer of thanks to God for the strength and wisdom to not only confront his friend but also to invite him to know Christ.
* * *
It’s Not Your Fault!
by Keith Wagner
Luke 13:1-9
In the movie Good Will Hunting, the main character, Will, played by Matt Damon, was a genius. He kept getting into trouble with the law because of his outbursts of anger. Finally, he was released on parole with the condition that he should see a therapist. He ended up with a therapist, Sean, played by Robin Williams. Sean and Will had some stormy times in their client-therapist relationship. Sean could see that Will was an orphan without Will telling him. Will broke up with his girl-friend who loved him and Sean pointed out to him that he was always breaking up with people and leaving them because he was terrified that they might leave him first, just as his father had left him an orphan.
During the therapy Sean won the friendship of Will. Near the end of one session Sean said to Will, "Look into my eyes." Then he approached Will and said, "It's not your fault." Will became visibly upset as Sean came closer and kept repeating, "It's not your fault." Will cried out, "Don't use your games on me." Then he collapsed onto Sean’s shoulders in a soul-wracking fit of sobbing. Sean has finally uncovered for Will that he was a good person but he had been blaming himself all his life for being an orphan. He had been using his genius abilities to keep people away from him lest they come too close and find what he considered was his unworthiness as an orphan.
What Will experienced during that session was forgiveness. He had been blaming himself for his abandonment. He acted out his frustration with anger and was afraid to have a relationship fearing that anyone who came to close would not like him because of his past.
Jesus once told Peter that he should forgive his brother not seven times but, “seventy times seven.” This illustrates that there is no limit to the mercy of God. Jesus wants us to be in the business of forgiveness. The parable of the fig tree is a story of mercy. The tree didn’t yield fruit and the landlord was ready to cut it down. But the gardener intervened and asked that it be given a second chance. What the tree needed was a little manure. In other words, it needed nurture and love, not condemnation and judgment.
Unfortunately we like to judge. We all make attempts to rationalize tragedies by finding someone to blame. The point of the parable is that we yield fruit when we forgive. And, we also bear fruit when we withhold our judgment of others.
In my first parish there were two churches of the same denomination in a very small town. One of my parishioners was related to some members in the other church. Every year both churches sponsored events that were open to the community. But, my parishioner told me, she would never set foot in the other building. She was holding a grudge against one of its members who decided that the other church was better suited for her and her family. But several years after my parishioner died, the two churches merged into a single church, something they should have done years before.
My first pastorate was in the country. I will never forget the smell of manure, especially on the clothes of my church members when they came for a visit. The wheels on their pickup trucks were often caked with mud. The smells and sights of the country were new to me, in contrast to the sights and smells of the cities where I had always lived. At the same time, these were the folks that supported me while I was both their pastor and a seminary student.
I especially remember one farmer who filled my freezer with meat. There were also others who frequently dropped off fresh fruit and vegetables. Since leaving the country those acts of kindness have become far less frequent. Those country folks were also the ones who gave me my first chance to be in ministry. Had it not been for their nurturing, love and kindness I might not have succeeded.
I tell you this because the farmer who filled my freezer was someone who I had misjudged. I thought him to be a controlling individual who would be a real problem for me in the church. But, I was wrong. He became one of my most supportive parishioners.
God wants us to understand that nothing is our fault. We can’t possibly know the big picture. Besides, we are forgiven, we have a second chance just like the fig tree. Nevertheless, the sooner we let go of our feelings of judgment and blame the sooner we will discover inner peace.
* * *
All In The Family
by Keith Wagner
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
I’ve always liked the story of "Rudy." He was the young man who dreamed to play football at Notre Dame. He worked hard and followed all the rules. His pursuit of football was a constant struggle of missing cuts, bumping up against oppressive systems and being told by most everyone that he should give it up. But he persisted and finally made the team. Unfortunately, his small stature kept him out of the lineup until the very last game of his senior year. His teammates convinced the coach to let him in the game with only a few seconds left. Rudy made some great tackles and helped to win the game. It was a tremendous moment in his life as his teammates carried him off the field following the game.
Paul is saying to us here that when it comes to faith, everyone is Rudy. No one is excluded. All of the people of faith were together through a series of challenging and symbolic events.
I believe the reason we tend to exclude people who are different than ourselves or be excluded is due to fear. We don’t trust people we don’t know or we avoid those who beat to a different drum. We are comfortable with certain known standards, ways of dress, speech, commonality, cultural norms, etc. Therefore we avoid strangers and are reluctant to include people in our life (especially the church) whom we don’t know.
We are also connected to those who have shared the same experiences we have. Recently I was talking with a friend at the YMCA. We are both pastors. He was a chaplain in the Marines and through our sharing we learned we both served on the same ship, USS Saratoga, only at different times. Over the months we have known one another we have bonded because of our previous experiences.
Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.
One day, long after the war was over, Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant. A man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, You were shot down!" "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did, if your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."
Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said ‘Good morning, how are you?’ or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor."
Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know. Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?"
Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory. He needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, but most importantly his spiritual parachute.
We are all in the same family and each of us needs a spiritual parachute. It isn’t a particular organization that will save us. It isn’t a set of rules, or customs or traditions. It is our faith in God and our trust in others, many of whom we never see, and the realization that nothing less than faith makes us and all others children of God.
*****************************************
StoryShare, March 24, 2019, issue.
Copyright 2018 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.
