Waiting In The Light
Stories
Object:
Contents
"Waiting in the Light" by Peter Andrew Smith
"How Soon Is Soon?" by John Sumwalt
* * * * * * * * *
In his story "Waiting in the Light," Peter Andrew Smith tells of an unlikely source of inspiration for a single father struggling to stay faithful to Jesus when surrounded by temptation.
Waiting in the Light
Peter Andrew Smith
Matthew 24:36-44
Carl set his bulging briefcase down just inside the entryway and shook the snow off his overcoat. Someone in head office should have known about the sloppy accounting before they purchased the small business. Come to think of it, they must have had an idea since they stuck him with the job of sorting through the mess before the lawyers finished. He rubbed his head and hoped the aspirin started to work soon.
Carl enjoyed the silence for a moment. Sally must have convinced Mary to let her watch a video upstairs since it was too quiet for bedtime already. Maybe he could slip downstairs and make some headway on the financial records before they even noticed he was home.
He stopped short before he reached the bottom step. The normally tidy room was a disaster. Wrapping paper, tinsel, coloured lights, and Christmas decorations were strewn over every inch of floor space and flat surface.
"No, it's not in here," Sally said pushing a box out of the way before noticing him. "Daddy, you're home!"
"What is going on?" he asked.
"Aunt Mary and I are getting us ready for Christmas." She pointed at the string of lights snaking their way along the mantle. Her fingers worked a switch and the room lit up in multiple colours. "We have the lights all over the house. Isn't everything pretty?"
"You've made a mess!" Carl pulled the extension cord out of the wall and everything went dark. "How am I supposed to get any work done?"
Sally went very quiet and still.
Mary appeared from the storage room with a large box in her arms. "I think this one might have the rest of the nativity set."
Sally let out a wail and ran up the stairs.
"What did you say?" Mary asked him.
"Nothing."
"She wanted to put up the decorations for you as a surprise," Mary said. "I didn't think it was that big a deal."
Carl hefted the briefcase. "Things are really busy at work, and I need to get this done."
"This week."
"What?"
"There is always some reason for you being upset."
"Things will get better soon," Carl said. "It's just not a good time right now."
"When will be a good time?"
"Look, I said I was sorry. I'm doing the best I can as a single father."
Mary paused at the bottom of the stairs. "It's not me you need to apologize to. I'll send Sally down before she goes to bed."
Carl swept aside the decorations on the middle of the desk and went back to work. The numbers in this ledger didn't add up. He noticed something strange as he turned the page back and forth. Of course, two pages were stuck together.
He pulled them apart and an envelope fell into his lap. Carl opened it and saw the $10,000 bearer bond. He scanned down the new pages of the ledger and saw there was no record of it. Ten thousand dollars the former owner had forgotten about. He looked at the cheque that anyone could cash without question. Ten thousand dollars that head office didn't know existed. He pushed his chair back. All he needed to do was forget to mention it in his final report. No one would be any wiser. All his problems would be over.
Carl flipped on the desk lamp to examine the cheque and a partially assembled nativity scene appeared from the shadows. Joseph was standing all alone beside the manger. Carl looked at the carefully painted features on the man who had raised Jesus as his son. He had never noticed before that Joseph was smiling.
"Can I come in Daddy?" a tiny voice asked from the doorway. Carl opened his arms and his daughter rushed into them.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Please don't be mad or Jesus can't come at Christmas."
"I'm not mad," he replied. "And who told you that silly thing?"
Her face brightened. "You mean Jesus comes at Christmas no matter what?"
"Absolutely. The Bible tells us that nothing can stop Jesus from being with us." He kissed the top of her head. "Have a good sleep and maybe tomorrow when I come home we can put up the Christmas tree."
As Sally's footsteps retreated up the stairs, Carl held the figure of Joseph closer to the light and saw that the smile touched the eyes and rest of the face. The artist had captured not merely Joseph's joy but something else as well. Carl caught a glimpse of his own reflection in a piece of shiny wrapping paper. A frown and furrowed brow distorted by the shadows.
He put the smiling figure back under the light next to Jesus and picked up the envelope. No one would know if he kept the cheque for himself. He could give Sally the presents he always wanted to buy. He could hear her now excitedly telling her friends in Sunday school about Christmas morning. His heart sank. How could he go to church with Sally knowing what he had done? How could he raise her to follow Jesus if he turned away from God like this? How could he consider lying and cheating?
Carl set the envelope next to the nativity scene. He sent an email telling his boss about discovering the bearer bond along with an estimate of how many more days it was going to take to finish the audit.
On the way to the stairs, he stopped and plugged in the extension cord. The shriek of joy from Sally as all the Christmas decorations in the house lit up brought a smile to Carl's face. A smile very similar to the one an artist had been inspired to paint on the figure of Joseph for a nativity set.
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who currently serves at 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, as well as many stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
How Soon Is Soon?
John Sumwalt
Matthew 24:36-44
"... two will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left."
-- Matthew 24:40
Advent is both a time of remembering and a time of preparation. We remember what God has done in the past, in Moses, in the prophets, in Jesus, and in our own lives. And we try to prepare ourselves for what God will do in the future. We never know how or when God will break into our lives. The message of the gospel is be ready for anything at any moment.
I went down to the convenience store one day to rent some movies. When I came out with my movies I saw a man standing on the corner holding up a cross with the name "Jesus" printed on the crossbar. He was waving it at passing cars and shouting, "Jesus is coming soon! Heaven or hell forever!" I looked at the movies I had just rented and paused for a moment, wondering if I would have time to watch them or if I should take them back. I decided to risk it.
Jesus IS coming soon. The street-corner prophet got that right. But how soon is "soon"? This is part of the mystery of the faith we live. "Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again." It is not a question of heaven or hell forever, but of heaven or hell right now, for the kingdom of God is very near.
John Sumwalt is the pastor of Our Lord's United Methodist Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and a noted storyteller. He is the author of nine books, including the acclaimed Vision Stories series and How to Preach the Miracles: Why People Don't Believe Them and What You Can Do About It. John and his wife Jo Perry-Sumwalt served for three years as the co-editors of StoryShare. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (UDTS), Sumwalt received the Herbert Manning Jr. award for parish ministry from UDTS in 1997.
*****************************************
StoryShare, November 28, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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.
"Waiting in the Light" by Peter Andrew Smith
"How Soon Is Soon?" by John Sumwalt
* * * * * * * * *
In his story "Waiting in the Light," Peter Andrew Smith tells of an unlikely source of inspiration for a single father struggling to stay faithful to Jesus when surrounded by temptation.
Waiting in the Light
Peter Andrew Smith
Matthew 24:36-44
Carl set his bulging briefcase down just inside the entryway and shook the snow off his overcoat. Someone in head office should have known about the sloppy accounting before they purchased the small business. Come to think of it, they must have had an idea since they stuck him with the job of sorting through the mess before the lawyers finished. He rubbed his head and hoped the aspirin started to work soon.
Carl enjoyed the silence for a moment. Sally must have convinced Mary to let her watch a video upstairs since it was too quiet for bedtime already. Maybe he could slip downstairs and make some headway on the financial records before they even noticed he was home.
He stopped short before he reached the bottom step. The normally tidy room was a disaster. Wrapping paper, tinsel, coloured lights, and Christmas decorations were strewn over every inch of floor space and flat surface.
"No, it's not in here," Sally said pushing a box out of the way before noticing him. "Daddy, you're home!"
"What is going on?" he asked.
"Aunt Mary and I are getting us ready for Christmas." She pointed at the string of lights snaking their way along the mantle. Her fingers worked a switch and the room lit up in multiple colours. "We have the lights all over the house. Isn't everything pretty?"
"You've made a mess!" Carl pulled the extension cord out of the wall and everything went dark. "How am I supposed to get any work done?"
Sally went very quiet and still.
Mary appeared from the storage room with a large box in her arms. "I think this one might have the rest of the nativity set."
Sally let out a wail and ran up the stairs.
"What did you say?" Mary asked him.
"Nothing."
"She wanted to put up the decorations for you as a surprise," Mary said. "I didn't think it was that big a deal."
Carl hefted the briefcase. "Things are really busy at work, and I need to get this done."
"This week."
"What?"
"There is always some reason for you being upset."
"Things will get better soon," Carl said. "It's just not a good time right now."
"When will be a good time?"
"Look, I said I was sorry. I'm doing the best I can as a single father."
Mary paused at the bottom of the stairs. "It's not me you need to apologize to. I'll send Sally down before she goes to bed."
Carl swept aside the decorations on the middle of the desk and went back to work. The numbers in this ledger didn't add up. He noticed something strange as he turned the page back and forth. Of course, two pages were stuck together.
He pulled them apart and an envelope fell into his lap. Carl opened it and saw the $10,000 bearer bond. He scanned down the new pages of the ledger and saw there was no record of it. Ten thousand dollars the former owner had forgotten about. He looked at the cheque that anyone could cash without question. Ten thousand dollars that head office didn't know existed. He pushed his chair back. All he needed to do was forget to mention it in his final report. No one would be any wiser. All his problems would be over.
Carl flipped on the desk lamp to examine the cheque and a partially assembled nativity scene appeared from the shadows. Joseph was standing all alone beside the manger. Carl looked at the carefully painted features on the man who had raised Jesus as his son. He had never noticed before that Joseph was smiling.
"Can I come in Daddy?" a tiny voice asked from the doorway. Carl opened his arms and his daughter rushed into them.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Please don't be mad or Jesus can't come at Christmas."
"I'm not mad," he replied. "And who told you that silly thing?"
Her face brightened. "You mean Jesus comes at Christmas no matter what?"
"Absolutely. The Bible tells us that nothing can stop Jesus from being with us." He kissed the top of her head. "Have a good sleep and maybe tomorrow when I come home we can put up the Christmas tree."
As Sally's footsteps retreated up the stairs, Carl held the figure of Joseph closer to the light and saw that the smile touched the eyes and rest of the face. The artist had captured not merely Joseph's joy but something else as well. Carl caught a glimpse of his own reflection in a piece of shiny wrapping paper. A frown and furrowed brow distorted by the shadows.
He put the smiling figure back under the light next to Jesus and picked up the envelope. No one would know if he kept the cheque for himself. He could give Sally the presents he always wanted to buy. He could hear her now excitedly telling her friends in Sunday school about Christmas morning. His heart sank. How could he go to church with Sally knowing what he had done? How could he raise her to follow Jesus if he turned away from God like this? How could he consider lying and cheating?
Carl set the envelope next to the nativity scene. He sent an email telling his boss about discovering the bearer bond along with an estimate of how many more days it was going to take to finish the audit.
On the way to the stairs, he stopped and plugged in the extension cord. The shriek of joy from Sally as all the Christmas decorations in the house lit up brought a smile to Carl's face. A smile very similar to the one an artist had been inspired to paint on the figure of Joseph for a nativity set.
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who currently serves at 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, as well as many stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
How Soon Is Soon?
John Sumwalt
Matthew 24:36-44
"... two will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left."
-- Matthew 24:40
Advent is both a time of remembering and a time of preparation. We remember what God has done in the past, in Moses, in the prophets, in Jesus, and in our own lives. And we try to prepare ourselves for what God will do in the future. We never know how or when God will break into our lives. The message of the gospel is be ready for anything at any moment.
I went down to the convenience store one day to rent some movies. When I came out with my movies I saw a man standing on the corner holding up a cross with the name "Jesus" printed on the crossbar. He was waving it at passing cars and shouting, "Jesus is coming soon! Heaven or hell forever!" I looked at the movies I had just rented and paused for a moment, wondering if I would have time to watch them or if I should take them back. I decided to risk it.
Jesus IS coming soon. The street-corner prophet got that right. But how soon is "soon"? This is part of the mystery of the faith we live. "Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again." It is not a question of heaven or hell forever, but of heaven or hell right now, for the kingdom of God is very near.
John Sumwalt is the pastor of Our Lord's United Methodist Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and a noted storyteller. He is the author of nine books, including the acclaimed Vision Stories series and How to Preach the Miracles: Why People Don't Believe Them and What You Can Do About It. John and his wife Jo Perry-Sumwalt served for three years as the co-editors of StoryShare. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (UDTS), Sumwalt received the Herbert Manning Jr. award for parish ministry from UDTS in 1997.
*****************************************
StoryShare, November 28, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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.
