The Way To God
Illustration
Stories
Contents
"The Way to God" by Peter Andrew Smith
"Looking Up" by David O. Bales
* * * * * * * *
The Way to God
by Peter Andrew Smith
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
In his story "The Way to God," Peter Andrew Smith tells of a people seeking to know God in their lives who discover the answer is not about what they do but about how they live.
* * *
Once there were a people who built themselves a great nation. They established a land of law, opportunity, and peace. They enjoyed the good things of life as they unravelled the mysteries of the natural world and banished afflictions that their ancestors had faced.
Yet despite all their prosperity and accomplishments the people were still restless and unfulfilled. There was something missing. After a time of searching and wondering, they realized that in establishing their challenging yet comfortable lives, in their quest to know and comprehend, they had moved away from God.
"How do we return to God?" they asked each other. Through contemplation and careful consideration, they decided there were things that they needed to do in order to become spiritual people. They went about filling the void in their lives with great enthusiasm and energy.
Magnificent places of worship were designed and built, sacred writings were analysed and dissected for meaning, and spiritual activities became part of their everyday lives. They became quite proud of their great churches and loved to spout the wisdom that they read in books and made great productions of prayer and fasting. The best among them memorized and recited long prayers and the most devoted would publicly fast to show their piety.
Yet they came no closer to knowing or understanding God. No matter how much they worked and fasted, no matter how much they tried to be holy the restlessness and unfulfilled part within them remained. They were no closer to God.
"There must not be a God," some decided and they turned away from all things spiritual.
"We must not be doing enough," others concluded and redoubled their efforts to be holy.
Yet despite their efforts, both these groups were unhappy. Those who renounced spiritual things still found life empty, and those who tried to do more things to be spiritual discovered nothing satisfying no matter how hard they tried.
There were some among the people who knew there was a God and felt that they were doing something wrong. They began to believe that there was a key thing they were missing, some element that they were not understanding, something that they needed to connect with God.
"God," they wondered aloud. "What are we doing wrong?"
God led them to neighbours who were hungry and whispered "Fast." The people fed the hungry even as denied themselves worldly things and began to understand more the plight of those around them.
God showed them the injustices that existed even in their wonderful nation and whispered "Pray." The people prayed to know God's will and God's way and caught an idea on how to live out the kingdom of heaven here on earth. That vision motivated their work and efforts.
God set before them stories of faith and wisdom, the sacred writings of God's people, and whispered "Listen." The people quieted their busy lives, their work and activity. They considered what God had to say to them and committed themselves to growing in God's way.
They served as they worshiped, they learned as they taught, and they discovered that the way of faith was difficult, the path was not always certain, the struggles were sometimes tiring. Yet through all of those times they realized that God was with them even as they were with each other and the world. For they came to understand that to be people of faith it is not enough to want to come to God, you also need to let God come to you.
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.
Looking Up
by David O. Bales
Matthew 5:13-20
The rock rolled under Kelsey's boot and she slid backward. "Yipe," she yelled, more in surprise than pain, because she quickly caught herself and turned the fall into a fast sitting down in Israel's dust. Nate was waiting behind her on the trail. He hurried down, being careful not to slide on the pebbles that rolled under his boots like marbles. The rest of the students, having walked down from the ancient city of Susita, looked up to Nate and Kelsey.
Kelsey was always last off the bus and last to straggle back from each site. She sat at Nate's feet, frowning, "It's so hot," she said, although the temperature around Galilee's lake was cooler today than yesterday. "Why'd I come on this torture expedition?"
Kelsey was unhurt, but definitely disturbed. She stayed slumped in the trail and didn't move. Nate saw Dr. McCutcheon 40 meters below at the parking area talking with the bus driver. Nate caught his eye and gestured that Kelsey was okay. They'd have to wait for her, again.
"I've had enough," Kelsey said. "Nobody told us we'd walk through a mine field." Nate wasn't over-worried. Kelsey's rants always seemed more hurt than hurtful. He looked west. The night's rain had cleared the air. The view was amazing from the top of Susita. They saw all around the lake: Tiberias to the west, to the north, ancient Capernaum and Bethsaida where the group visited the day before. "What a place," he said, trying to raise Kelsey's spirits if not her body. "I think I spotted last night's hotel in Tiberias."
At the bus everyone was getting on. They knew Nate was adequate to anything Kelsey truly needed. "Come on, Kel," he said, extending his hand. She didn't look up. She seemed to be thinking about something else, but finally said, "It's these stupid boots. Why can't we wear civilized shoes -- Adidas, Nikes, anything but logging boots."
"It's pretty obvious why we need strong boots," Nate said. "If you were wearing dancing slippers you'd have sprained your ankle pretty bad. Come on." He reached down to find her hand and pull her up. "Don't flair your nostrils."
Kelsey giggled. Nate knew how to throw in information their professor taught them about biblical idioms. She didn't resist. She looked up into his face. Nate was a good person who could make any situation better. She wondered if she could tell him about the pain she carried within. "Okay," she said, getting her feet under her. "If I sit on these rocks any longer, I'll flair my butt."
Theirs was a group of college students who'd taken a course on Jesus and the gospels from Dr. McCutcheon, concluding with a 10-day tour to see where Jesus lived, taught, died, and was resurrected. As they entered the bus, Dr. McCutcheon gave Kelsey a gentle fist to the shoulder and patted Nate on the back. The bus lurched down the hairpin curves then sped south, heading for Jerusalem. Dr. McCutcheon told the students to look up the hill to see how Susita appeared from lakeside. During the drive he spoke occasionally into the microphone, mentioning a location they passed and where the Bible referred to it. However, everyone found it hard to concentrate. Nate said that Israeli bus drivers must believe they're guarded by angels, because they drive like the devil.
They arrived in Jerusalem, checked into their hotel, and rested before assembling for the evening meal. Then, after the wait staff cleared the dishes from their large common table, Dr. McCutcheon rose to direct them to the subject of Jesus. "Today as we survived another Israeli bus ride, maybe you remembered that Jesus' last trip to Jerusalem was also filled with dread." Everyone boisterously agreed.
Then Doctor Mac got around to the evening's content: "Jesus told people to think about what they saw. To people who'd been baptized by John the Baptist he said, 'What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?' Other times, as we heard in his Sermon on the Mount yesterday, he told his disciples to 'notice.' I like it the way Luke records it, 'Consider,' or 'notice, observe, contemplate the lilies, how they grow.'
"Think about Susita. Did you enjoy the view?" Everyone agreed. Kelsey remembered that when she fell she wasn't looking at the scenery but thinking about her brother's suicide three months before. "I think Jesus switches the view around and asks you to look in a different direction. Jesus' world wasn't pretty, easy, or sweet. Jesus' world was, as some of you experienced today, treacherous. People walked miles in poor footwear. They were badly nourished. People died young, especially infants and women in childbirth. Don't get misty-eyed about Jesus' world." The students listened more intently than in the classroom.
"If we glimpse the difficulty of the physical world in which Jesus lived, let alone the opposition piled against him, we get a better idea of what he meant by, 'You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.' In his time, from all around Galilee Lake, people could see Susita on the hill, especially at night.
"Jesus' followers stand out. They're people of good news even in rotten circumstances. You are looked up to as Jesus' followers." Kelsey understood looking up to Nate. He might be the one to whom she could mention the terrible grief for her brother.
"I know you're tired, so get to bed early and, when you say your prayers, think about how people can look up to you as Jesus' follower. Wake up call is at six." Everyone groaned except Kelsey. She was thinking about something else.
David Bales was a Presbyterian pastor for 33 years, a graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary. In addition to his ministry he also has taught college: World Religions, Ethics, Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Greek (lately at College of Idaho, Caldwell). He has been a freelance writer for Stephen Ministries. His sermons and articles have appeared in Interpretation, Lectionary Homiletics, Preaching the Great Texts and other publications. For a year he wrote the online column "In The Original: Insights from Greek and Hebrew for the Lectionary Passages." His books include: Gospel Subplots: Story Sermons of God's Grace, Toward Easter and Beyond, Scenes of Glory: Subplots of God's Long Story, and To the Cross and Beyond and Beyond: Cycle A Sermons for Lent and Easter. Dave has been a writer for StoryShare for five years. He can be reached at dobales.com.
*****************************************
StoryShare, February 6, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 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.
"The Way to God" by Peter Andrew Smith
"Looking Up" by David O. Bales
* * * * * * * *
The Way to God
by Peter Andrew Smith
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
In his story "The Way to God," Peter Andrew Smith tells of a people seeking to know God in their lives who discover the answer is not about what they do but about how they live.
* * *
Once there were a people who built themselves a great nation. They established a land of law, opportunity, and peace. They enjoyed the good things of life as they unravelled the mysteries of the natural world and banished afflictions that their ancestors had faced.
Yet despite all their prosperity and accomplishments the people were still restless and unfulfilled. There was something missing. After a time of searching and wondering, they realized that in establishing their challenging yet comfortable lives, in their quest to know and comprehend, they had moved away from God.
"How do we return to God?" they asked each other. Through contemplation and careful consideration, they decided there were things that they needed to do in order to become spiritual people. They went about filling the void in their lives with great enthusiasm and energy.
Magnificent places of worship were designed and built, sacred writings were analysed and dissected for meaning, and spiritual activities became part of their everyday lives. They became quite proud of their great churches and loved to spout the wisdom that they read in books and made great productions of prayer and fasting. The best among them memorized and recited long prayers and the most devoted would publicly fast to show their piety.
Yet they came no closer to knowing or understanding God. No matter how much they worked and fasted, no matter how much they tried to be holy the restlessness and unfulfilled part within them remained. They were no closer to God.
"There must not be a God," some decided and they turned away from all things spiritual.
"We must not be doing enough," others concluded and redoubled their efforts to be holy.
Yet despite their efforts, both these groups were unhappy. Those who renounced spiritual things still found life empty, and those who tried to do more things to be spiritual discovered nothing satisfying no matter how hard they tried.
There were some among the people who knew there was a God and felt that they were doing something wrong. They began to believe that there was a key thing they were missing, some element that they were not understanding, something that they needed to connect with God.
"God," they wondered aloud. "What are we doing wrong?"
God led them to neighbours who were hungry and whispered "Fast." The people fed the hungry even as denied themselves worldly things and began to understand more the plight of those around them.
God showed them the injustices that existed even in their wonderful nation and whispered "Pray." The people prayed to know God's will and God's way and caught an idea on how to live out the kingdom of heaven here on earth. That vision motivated their work and efforts.
God set before them stories of faith and wisdom, the sacred writings of God's people, and whispered "Listen." The people quieted their busy lives, their work and activity. They considered what God had to say to them and committed themselves to growing in God's way.
They served as they worshiped, they learned as they taught, and they discovered that the way of faith was difficult, the path was not always certain, the struggles were sometimes tiring. Yet through all of those times they realized that God was with them even as they were with each other and the world. For they came to understand that to be people of faith it is not enough to want to come to God, you also need to let God come to you.
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.
Looking Up
by David O. Bales
Matthew 5:13-20
The rock rolled under Kelsey's boot and she slid backward. "Yipe," she yelled, more in surprise than pain, because she quickly caught herself and turned the fall into a fast sitting down in Israel's dust. Nate was waiting behind her on the trail. He hurried down, being careful not to slide on the pebbles that rolled under his boots like marbles. The rest of the students, having walked down from the ancient city of Susita, looked up to Nate and Kelsey.
Kelsey was always last off the bus and last to straggle back from each site. She sat at Nate's feet, frowning, "It's so hot," she said, although the temperature around Galilee's lake was cooler today than yesterday. "Why'd I come on this torture expedition?"
Kelsey was unhurt, but definitely disturbed. She stayed slumped in the trail and didn't move. Nate saw Dr. McCutcheon 40 meters below at the parking area talking with the bus driver. Nate caught his eye and gestured that Kelsey was okay. They'd have to wait for her, again.
"I've had enough," Kelsey said. "Nobody told us we'd walk through a mine field." Nate wasn't over-worried. Kelsey's rants always seemed more hurt than hurtful. He looked west. The night's rain had cleared the air. The view was amazing from the top of Susita. They saw all around the lake: Tiberias to the west, to the north, ancient Capernaum and Bethsaida where the group visited the day before. "What a place," he said, trying to raise Kelsey's spirits if not her body. "I think I spotted last night's hotel in Tiberias."
At the bus everyone was getting on. They knew Nate was adequate to anything Kelsey truly needed. "Come on, Kel," he said, extending his hand. She didn't look up. She seemed to be thinking about something else, but finally said, "It's these stupid boots. Why can't we wear civilized shoes -- Adidas, Nikes, anything but logging boots."
"It's pretty obvious why we need strong boots," Nate said. "If you were wearing dancing slippers you'd have sprained your ankle pretty bad. Come on." He reached down to find her hand and pull her up. "Don't flair your nostrils."
Kelsey giggled. Nate knew how to throw in information their professor taught them about biblical idioms. She didn't resist. She looked up into his face. Nate was a good person who could make any situation better. She wondered if she could tell him about the pain she carried within. "Okay," she said, getting her feet under her. "If I sit on these rocks any longer, I'll flair my butt."
Theirs was a group of college students who'd taken a course on Jesus and the gospels from Dr. McCutcheon, concluding with a 10-day tour to see where Jesus lived, taught, died, and was resurrected. As they entered the bus, Dr. McCutcheon gave Kelsey a gentle fist to the shoulder and patted Nate on the back. The bus lurched down the hairpin curves then sped south, heading for Jerusalem. Dr. McCutcheon told the students to look up the hill to see how Susita appeared from lakeside. During the drive he spoke occasionally into the microphone, mentioning a location they passed and where the Bible referred to it. However, everyone found it hard to concentrate. Nate said that Israeli bus drivers must believe they're guarded by angels, because they drive like the devil.
They arrived in Jerusalem, checked into their hotel, and rested before assembling for the evening meal. Then, after the wait staff cleared the dishes from their large common table, Dr. McCutcheon rose to direct them to the subject of Jesus. "Today as we survived another Israeli bus ride, maybe you remembered that Jesus' last trip to Jerusalem was also filled with dread." Everyone boisterously agreed.
Then Doctor Mac got around to the evening's content: "Jesus told people to think about what they saw. To people who'd been baptized by John the Baptist he said, 'What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?' Other times, as we heard in his Sermon on the Mount yesterday, he told his disciples to 'notice.' I like it the way Luke records it, 'Consider,' or 'notice, observe, contemplate the lilies, how they grow.'
"Think about Susita. Did you enjoy the view?" Everyone agreed. Kelsey remembered that when she fell she wasn't looking at the scenery but thinking about her brother's suicide three months before. "I think Jesus switches the view around and asks you to look in a different direction. Jesus' world wasn't pretty, easy, or sweet. Jesus' world was, as some of you experienced today, treacherous. People walked miles in poor footwear. They were badly nourished. People died young, especially infants and women in childbirth. Don't get misty-eyed about Jesus' world." The students listened more intently than in the classroom.
"If we glimpse the difficulty of the physical world in which Jesus lived, let alone the opposition piled against him, we get a better idea of what he meant by, 'You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.' In his time, from all around Galilee Lake, people could see Susita on the hill, especially at night.
"Jesus' followers stand out. They're people of good news even in rotten circumstances. You are looked up to as Jesus' followers." Kelsey understood looking up to Nate. He might be the one to whom she could mention the terrible grief for her brother.
"I know you're tired, so get to bed early and, when you say your prayers, think about how people can look up to you as Jesus' follower. Wake up call is at six." Everyone groaned except Kelsey. She was thinking about something else.
David Bales was a Presbyterian pastor for 33 years, a graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary. In addition to his ministry he also has taught college: World Religions, Ethics, Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Greek (lately at College of Idaho, Caldwell). He has been a freelance writer for Stephen Ministries. His sermons and articles have appeared in Interpretation, Lectionary Homiletics, Preaching the Great Texts and other publications. For a year he wrote the online column "In The Original: Insights from Greek and Hebrew for the Lectionary Passages." His books include: Gospel Subplots: Story Sermons of God's Grace, Toward Easter and Beyond, Scenes of Glory: Subplots of God's Long Story, and To the Cross and Beyond and Beyond: Cycle A Sermons for Lent and Easter. Dave has been a writer for StoryShare for five years. He can be reached at dobales.com.
*****************************************
StoryShare, February 6, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 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.
