Get Up And Go
Stories
Contents
What's Up This Week
"Get Up and Go" by Frank Ramirez
"Three Field Goals and a Touchdown" by John Smylie
What's Up This Week
It has been said that if we're not learning anything, we're dead. Indeed, our entire life is one big learning experience. Sometimes the lessons we learn come to us in unusual or even unpleasant circumstances. These lessons are often the ones that affect us the most. In "Get Up and Go," we follow the hardships of an eighteenth-century German emigrant, fleeing his native land to seek religious freedom in America. The hardships he faced gave him special insight into the character of Christ and our relationship with him. In "Three Field Goals and a Touchdown," we follow two high school football players as one is able to teach the other about the saving power of Christ through an extremely unusual circumstance.
* * * * * * * * *
Get Up and Go
Frank Ramirez
Genesis 12:1-4a
The pictures drawn by children of the wooden ships that crossed the ocean look so neat and tidy, but the reality was pretty grim for those who chose to come to the Colonies. Families would share tiny rooms with little or no ventilation in which the bunks were stacked like cordwood along every wall. All cooking took place in that space, leaving it smoky and nearly impossible to breathe. Thanks to the filth and the rats, illness with vomiting and diarrhea the common symptoms and death a regular result, spread throughout each cabin. Water was wormy. Those who traveled would try to mete out the food they brought along with a light hand, even as it rotted, because once they ran out they had to depend on the food provided by the crew, which was unpalatable to all but the desperately starving.
No one could guarantee the length of a voyage. Storms could cast the ships off course, and ships could become becalmed, so that promised weeks of passage turned into months, as starvation set in. Burials at sea were depressingly common, affecting the young and old alike. Captain and crew were unreliable and might plunder the meager belongings of the passengers.
Why would anyone risk such a journey, pulling up stakes to leave behind family and friends forever? For some it was economic, but for many, it was the desire to serve Jesus Christ as they found him in the Bible, and not as mandated, with the heavy fist of the government backing it, in the state churches.
Although most Americans are more familiar with the Christian refugees we call the Pilgrims, there were many other groups that sought our shores for sanctuary as well. William Penn specifically encouraged German speakers to come to his colony of Pennsylvania to practice their faith freely. Many, the ancestors of modern day Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren, having experienced persecution in Europe, made the difficult decision to brave the Atlantic Ocean and come to the new world, irrevocably breaking their ties with their homeland.
One of these was John Naas, born in 1669 in Nordheim, Germany. Because he chose to be baptized as an adult by a group known as the Dunkers (so called because their mode of baptism was to be dunked three times forward), his evangelistic activities soon got him in trouble with the religious and political authorities. In much of Europe, the state and church were intertwined. Baptism equaled citizenship, and merely forming a Bible study in one's own home could be a death sentence.
The story goes that John Naas was arrested by a press gang serving the king of Prussia. A tall man, this group recruited especially tall individuals to serve in the king's personal guard. When he refused to join, he was tortured with thumbscrews and other terrible devices, at one point hung by a big toe and a thumb. Finally, he was dragged before he king himself who asked him why he refused to serve.
He replied that he already served a king, and when asked for more details he answered, "Christ alone is my captain." The king released him.
Like Abram and Sarai, John Naas and his wife, Margaret, set out on their long journey when they boarded the Pennsylvania Merchant, leaving Rotterdam on June 24, 1733. He described many of the events of the voyage in a long letter to his son, still back in Germany. Almost immediately, he noted, "There began seasickness among the passengers, namely running and vomiting...".
A month into the voyage a small child died. Watching the burial at sea, John Naas said, "I noticed with great amazement that as the body fell into the water from the plank, a swarm of large fish shot ahead of the ship as though they were fleeing from the dead body."
Every day before dawn, Naas would climb to the deck and use his compass to see if the ship was still on course. On August 3, he tiptoed around those who were still wrapped in their bedrolls sleeping. It had rained during the night and the flooring below ship was a little slippery. As he climbed to the deck, one of the sleepers below rolled over, causing the ladder to slip and sending him plummeting below where he landed on his side and was temporarily paralyzed.
"I had to lie on my back for fourteen days," he wrote, "until I could get up again and walk a bit. I was at first afraid that I would become lame but the great God in His Son be praised, who allowed me to recover without herbs or bandages, so that I hardly feel it any more."
A few days later one infant died and another was born during the same hour. A storm hit that continued for 48 hours, forcing the sailors to lash the sails and cover the portholes with boards. "We sat in darkness while the force of the waves broke through the glass into the beds," he said. Storms continue to lash the ship, followed at last by something worse: "... it was so still that we remained almost stationary for many days...."
Burials continued at a regular rate. On September 7, using bacon as a bait, the sailors landed a fish Naas described as "very broad and five feet long, with an exceptionally strong tail. ... Its mouth was so large it could have swallowed a two-year-old child. ... When they heaved him on the ship, they drove all of the passengers away, so that it could not injure anyone. It struck the deck with the tail with such force that if it had hit someone's legs, they would certainly have been crushed...".
The passengers welcomed the fresh food. By the middle of the month most of the passengers had eaten the food they'd brought along so they were forced to rely on the ship's provisions. Most of the passengers lost heart, but on September 17, a small bird that reminded Naas of the "yellow water wagtail of Germany" flew around the ship, and like Noah's dove, gave them hope. A couple days later, a ship that had set out from Rhode Island passed by and in addition to exchanging greetings donated apples that were distributed among the passengers.
Then, even as hopes were raised, came the worst storm of all. The ship listed heavily to one side and took on water. Only the one sailor tied to the rudder remained on deck. Everything was drenched. When this last storm passed at last the signs made it clear that they were close to shore. On September 29, 1733, they arrived in Philadelphia, where the passengers were greeted by other Dunkers with bread, fruit, and much singing and prayer. Though he described the rigors of the voyage in detail in his letter to his son, he also spoke of the great promise of life in America. Within a year-and-a-half, his son had followed.
John Naas went on to found churches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He was known as a reconciler, a great preacher, and a writer of great hymns, one of which, "Savior Of My Soul," begins this way:
Savior of my soul, Let me choose thy goal.
Self to thee I would surrender, Choose thy cross, be thy contender.
Let me choose thy goal, Savior of my soul.
Frank Ramirez is a native of Southern California and has served as a pastor for nearly thirty years in Church of the Brethren congregations. Frank has served congregations in Los Angeles, California; Elkhart, Indiana; and Everett, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Jennie share three adult children, all married, and three grandchildren. He enjoys writing, reading, exercise, and theater.
Three Field Goals and a Touchdown
John Smylie
John 3:1-17
There were only two minutes left in the game. The home team called a timeout -- they were behind by 16 points, but at this point it was a matter of pride. They knew they had very little chance of winning -- they had been outplayed through most of the game, but still they were fighting to score so as not to be shut out. The other team had already scored three field goals and a touchdown and an extra point. The team was not comfortable with 16-0 -- they wanted to get something on the board.
"Come on boys," the coach said as his voice broke huddle on the sidelines as the boys prepared to walk back on to the field, "Let's not get shut out." It was evening, the sun was already below the horizon, and the last glimmers of sunshine tickled the clouds with pink light. The crowd was cheering the boys on, the band was beating on their drums from the sideline, the cheerleaders were shaking their pom-poms, and the boys went out onto the field. They were already on the opposing team's 30-yard line with two minutes left in the game. Their field-goal kicker had a range of about 40 yards and so the boys needed to move the ball at least seven more yards.
The boys lined up in a passing formation, the ball was hiked, and the quarterback pretended to throw the ball out to the right side of the field to his wide receiver and then tucked the ball under his arm and ran straight ahead. There was a slight hole in the middle of the line and he picked up four yards. Second down, another run, and three more yards and only 45 seconds left on the clock. Third down brought a quarterback sneak moving the ball a bit closer to the center of the field, one more yard gained. Fourth down, six seconds left on the clock, and the last time out used. The ball was now on the 22-yard line and when you add ten yards for the end zone and seven yards for the snap the kicker was facing a 39-yard field goal right at the edge of his range.
Over in the stands there was a fan who had been holding up a sign all game long. The sign read -- 3:16. Now the kicker, his name was Fred, was a member of an organization that involved Christian athletes and he knew what 3:16 meant. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." The kicker smiled to himself thinking that he had an opportunity to make the score 3-16.
It was fourth down, the ball on the 22-yard line, the snap was good -- the hold was good -- the kick was good -- 3-16 was the final score. The crowd erupted even though their team had lost -- the band played the school fight song -- the cheerleaders screamed -- the players held their heads a little higher as they greeted the opposing team.
It was quiet in the locker room as the boys showered and changed into their civilian clothes. The coach commended the boys on their final effort and said that he would see them on Monday when they came to practice. One of the boys whose name was Joe came up to the kicker and asked, "Did you see that guy in the stands holding a sign that said 3:16?"
"Yeah, I did. In fact when I saw it, it gave me some courage and confidence as I was getting ready to kick the ball."
"What do you mean? I thought the guy was kind of a nut, but now I wonder if he was some sort of prophet. How did he know the score would be 3-16?"
The kicker smiled and wondered if this might be the deeper reason for the score being what it was. His teammate who was asking him about the gentleman in the stands and his 3:16 sign was a young man with a deeply troubled past. He'd been in one foster home after another. His parents had been drug addicts, caught up in the methamphetamine addiction pattern. It was amazing that he was doing as well as he was, but there was a very hard edge to him and he'd never been exposed to the gospel.
Fred the kicker said, "Let me tell you about that guy who was holding a sign, let me tell you where he got that score from. I'm heading over to a meeting now for the Fellowship of Christian athletes, why don't you come with me and I'll explain it to you."
"Sure, why not, I've got nothing else to do, sounds good," said Joe.
The boys got into a 1962 VW bug and headed over to the back of a coffee shop where the meeting was held. On the way, Fred explained to Joe what John 3:16 was. He described why it was so important to so many -- and why he figured the man in the stands was holding up a placard with those numbers in bold print. Then he explained how that verse fit into the whole story. He told Joe how there was a rather well-known man named Nicodemus who was a leader among his people who came to Jesus by night. That was a big risk, Fred told Joe, because if Nicodemus had been seen by his own people he would have likely been rejected -- seen as some sort of traitor to his faith.
Fred went on to tell Joe that it seemed like lots of folks even today were afraid to find out about Jesus. "You know Joe, you and I are kind of like Nicodemus tonight, we're going to a meeting in the back of a coffee shop, most everybody else on our team will be going out to parties, but you and I -- well maybe we'll learn something tonight that will have real value for us for the rest of our lives. I'm kind of glad the score was 3-16. It's given me an opportunity to do something that I'm usually too chicken to do. Joe I'm not sure anybody on the team knows that I come to these Fellowship of Christian athletes meetings, but I'm glad you know and I hope you find what I find in them."
"Joe," Fred said, "I've usually been too embarrassed to invite anybody to the meetings, especially my teammates. I find myself nervous that I will be rejected by the team -- you know we kickers often feel like we are on the edge of the whole team experience as it is -- and so while the team goes off and does its thing I tend to gravitate to my church and small group -- Joe thanks for coming with me tonight."
Joe was not used to being talked to this way. There was a deep hunger in him to be included somewhere, to be a part of something greater than himself. That was a big part of the reason of why he was on the football team, he wanted to be part of a group, part of something greater than himself, but he was disappointed that he hardly ever got to play. "Fred, I'd like to learn more about Nicodemus and I'm glad the score was 3-16, thanks for inviting me to the meeting tonight."
They drove in silence for a while and Fred thought to himself - I'm glad they made three field goals and a touchdown -- and I sure am glad I made that kick at the end of the game. He marveled a bit at how these things came together because he had wanted to invite someone to join him at the Fellowship of Christian athletes for a while. Perhaps more than ever before he believed, that God really did love the world, and that God cared about him and Joe and that God would do anything to open the door to lead them to eternal life. He was glad for the journey that Nicodemus made those many years ago and he was glad for their own journey. All because of three field goals, a touchdown, and a 39-yard field goal with time expiring at the end of the game, there was rejoicing in Heaven as well as on the sidelines and in the coffee shop!
John S. Smylie is the rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Casper, Wyoming. Previously he served as the dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane, Washington. He is a published author and storyteller as well as a singer-songwriter. Smylie recently completed Grace for Today, a collection of 25 stories that explores how grace, loss, and restoration are part of the same fabric.
**********************************************
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, February 17, 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
"Get Up and Go" by Frank Ramirez
"Three Field Goals and a Touchdown" by John Smylie
What's Up This Week
It has been said that if we're not learning anything, we're dead. Indeed, our entire life is one big learning experience. Sometimes the lessons we learn come to us in unusual or even unpleasant circumstances. These lessons are often the ones that affect us the most. In "Get Up and Go," we follow the hardships of an eighteenth-century German emigrant, fleeing his native land to seek religious freedom in America. The hardships he faced gave him special insight into the character of Christ and our relationship with him. In "Three Field Goals and a Touchdown," we follow two high school football players as one is able to teach the other about the saving power of Christ through an extremely unusual circumstance.
* * * * * * * * *
Get Up and Go
Frank Ramirez
Genesis 12:1-4a
The pictures drawn by children of the wooden ships that crossed the ocean look so neat and tidy, but the reality was pretty grim for those who chose to come to the Colonies. Families would share tiny rooms with little or no ventilation in which the bunks were stacked like cordwood along every wall. All cooking took place in that space, leaving it smoky and nearly impossible to breathe. Thanks to the filth and the rats, illness with vomiting and diarrhea the common symptoms and death a regular result, spread throughout each cabin. Water was wormy. Those who traveled would try to mete out the food they brought along with a light hand, even as it rotted, because once they ran out they had to depend on the food provided by the crew, which was unpalatable to all but the desperately starving.
No one could guarantee the length of a voyage. Storms could cast the ships off course, and ships could become becalmed, so that promised weeks of passage turned into months, as starvation set in. Burials at sea were depressingly common, affecting the young and old alike. Captain and crew were unreliable and might plunder the meager belongings of the passengers.
Why would anyone risk such a journey, pulling up stakes to leave behind family and friends forever? For some it was economic, but for many, it was the desire to serve Jesus Christ as they found him in the Bible, and not as mandated, with the heavy fist of the government backing it, in the state churches.
Although most Americans are more familiar with the Christian refugees we call the Pilgrims, there were many other groups that sought our shores for sanctuary as well. William Penn specifically encouraged German speakers to come to his colony of Pennsylvania to practice their faith freely. Many, the ancestors of modern day Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren, having experienced persecution in Europe, made the difficult decision to brave the Atlantic Ocean and come to the new world, irrevocably breaking their ties with their homeland.
One of these was John Naas, born in 1669 in Nordheim, Germany. Because he chose to be baptized as an adult by a group known as the Dunkers (so called because their mode of baptism was to be dunked three times forward), his evangelistic activities soon got him in trouble with the religious and political authorities. In much of Europe, the state and church were intertwined. Baptism equaled citizenship, and merely forming a Bible study in one's own home could be a death sentence.
The story goes that John Naas was arrested by a press gang serving the king of Prussia. A tall man, this group recruited especially tall individuals to serve in the king's personal guard. When he refused to join, he was tortured with thumbscrews and other terrible devices, at one point hung by a big toe and a thumb. Finally, he was dragged before he king himself who asked him why he refused to serve.
He replied that he already served a king, and when asked for more details he answered, "Christ alone is my captain." The king released him.
Like Abram and Sarai, John Naas and his wife, Margaret, set out on their long journey when they boarded the Pennsylvania Merchant, leaving Rotterdam on June 24, 1733. He described many of the events of the voyage in a long letter to his son, still back in Germany. Almost immediately, he noted, "There began seasickness among the passengers, namely running and vomiting...".
A month into the voyage a small child died. Watching the burial at sea, John Naas said, "I noticed with great amazement that as the body fell into the water from the plank, a swarm of large fish shot ahead of the ship as though they were fleeing from the dead body."
Every day before dawn, Naas would climb to the deck and use his compass to see if the ship was still on course. On August 3, he tiptoed around those who were still wrapped in their bedrolls sleeping. It had rained during the night and the flooring below ship was a little slippery. As he climbed to the deck, one of the sleepers below rolled over, causing the ladder to slip and sending him plummeting below where he landed on his side and was temporarily paralyzed.
"I had to lie on my back for fourteen days," he wrote, "until I could get up again and walk a bit. I was at first afraid that I would become lame but the great God in His Son be praised, who allowed me to recover without herbs or bandages, so that I hardly feel it any more."
A few days later one infant died and another was born during the same hour. A storm hit that continued for 48 hours, forcing the sailors to lash the sails and cover the portholes with boards. "We sat in darkness while the force of the waves broke through the glass into the beds," he said. Storms continue to lash the ship, followed at last by something worse: "... it was so still that we remained almost stationary for many days...."
Burials continued at a regular rate. On September 7, using bacon as a bait, the sailors landed a fish Naas described as "very broad and five feet long, with an exceptionally strong tail. ... Its mouth was so large it could have swallowed a two-year-old child. ... When they heaved him on the ship, they drove all of the passengers away, so that it could not injure anyone. It struck the deck with the tail with such force that if it had hit someone's legs, they would certainly have been crushed...".
The passengers welcomed the fresh food. By the middle of the month most of the passengers had eaten the food they'd brought along so they were forced to rely on the ship's provisions. Most of the passengers lost heart, but on September 17, a small bird that reminded Naas of the "yellow water wagtail of Germany" flew around the ship, and like Noah's dove, gave them hope. A couple days later, a ship that had set out from Rhode Island passed by and in addition to exchanging greetings donated apples that were distributed among the passengers.
Then, even as hopes were raised, came the worst storm of all. The ship listed heavily to one side and took on water. Only the one sailor tied to the rudder remained on deck. Everything was drenched. When this last storm passed at last the signs made it clear that they were close to shore. On September 29, 1733, they arrived in Philadelphia, where the passengers were greeted by other Dunkers with bread, fruit, and much singing and prayer. Though he described the rigors of the voyage in detail in his letter to his son, he also spoke of the great promise of life in America. Within a year-and-a-half, his son had followed.
John Naas went on to found churches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He was known as a reconciler, a great preacher, and a writer of great hymns, one of which, "Savior Of My Soul," begins this way:
Savior of my soul, Let me choose thy goal.
Self to thee I would surrender, Choose thy cross, be thy contender.
Let me choose thy goal, Savior of my soul.
Frank Ramirez is a native of Southern California and has served as a pastor for nearly thirty years in Church of the Brethren congregations. Frank has served congregations in Los Angeles, California; Elkhart, Indiana; and Everett, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Jennie share three adult children, all married, and three grandchildren. He enjoys writing, reading, exercise, and theater.
Three Field Goals and a Touchdown
John Smylie
John 3:1-17
There were only two minutes left in the game. The home team called a timeout -- they were behind by 16 points, but at this point it was a matter of pride. They knew they had very little chance of winning -- they had been outplayed through most of the game, but still they were fighting to score so as not to be shut out. The other team had already scored three field goals and a touchdown and an extra point. The team was not comfortable with 16-0 -- they wanted to get something on the board.
"Come on boys," the coach said as his voice broke huddle on the sidelines as the boys prepared to walk back on to the field, "Let's not get shut out." It was evening, the sun was already below the horizon, and the last glimmers of sunshine tickled the clouds with pink light. The crowd was cheering the boys on, the band was beating on their drums from the sideline, the cheerleaders were shaking their pom-poms, and the boys went out onto the field. They were already on the opposing team's 30-yard line with two minutes left in the game. Their field-goal kicker had a range of about 40 yards and so the boys needed to move the ball at least seven more yards.
The boys lined up in a passing formation, the ball was hiked, and the quarterback pretended to throw the ball out to the right side of the field to his wide receiver and then tucked the ball under his arm and ran straight ahead. There was a slight hole in the middle of the line and he picked up four yards. Second down, another run, and three more yards and only 45 seconds left on the clock. Third down brought a quarterback sneak moving the ball a bit closer to the center of the field, one more yard gained. Fourth down, six seconds left on the clock, and the last time out used. The ball was now on the 22-yard line and when you add ten yards for the end zone and seven yards for the snap the kicker was facing a 39-yard field goal right at the edge of his range.
Over in the stands there was a fan who had been holding up a sign all game long. The sign read -- 3:16. Now the kicker, his name was Fred, was a member of an organization that involved Christian athletes and he knew what 3:16 meant. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." The kicker smiled to himself thinking that he had an opportunity to make the score 3-16.
It was fourth down, the ball on the 22-yard line, the snap was good -- the hold was good -- the kick was good -- 3-16 was the final score. The crowd erupted even though their team had lost -- the band played the school fight song -- the cheerleaders screamed -- the players held their heads a little higher as they greeted the opposing team.
It was quiet in the locker room as the boys showered and changed into their civilian clothes. The coach commended the boys on their final effort and said that he would see them on Monday when they came to practice. One of the boys whose name was Joe came up to the kicker and asked, "Did you see that guy in the stands holding a sign that said 3:16?"
"Yeah, I did. In fact when I saw it, it gave me some courage and confidence as I was getting ready to kick the ball."
"What do you mean? I thought the guy was kind of a nut, but now I wonder if he was some sort of prophet. How did he know the score would be 3-16?"
The kicker smiled and wondered if this might be the deeper reason for the score being what it was. His teammate who was asking him about the gentleman in the stands and his 3:16 sign was a young man with a deeply troubled past. He'd been in one foster home after another. His parents had been drug addicts, caught up in the methamphetamine addiction pattern. It was amazing that he was doing as well as he was, but there was a very hard edge to him and he'd never been exposed to the gospel.
Fred the kicker said, "Let me tell you about that guy who was holding a sign, let me tell you where he got that score from. I'm heading over to a meeting now for the Fellowship of Christian athletes, why don't you come with me and I'll explain it to you."
"Sure, why not, I've got nothing else to do, sounds good," said Joe.
The boys got into a 1962 VW bug and headed over to the back of a coffee shop where the meeting was held. On the way, Fred explained to Joe what John 3:16 was. He described why it was so important to so many -- and why he figured the man in the stands was holding up a placard with those numbers in bold print. Then he explained how that verse fit into the whole story. He told Joe how there was a rather well-known man named Nicodemus who was a leader among his people who came to Jesus by night. That was a big risk, Fred told Joe, because if Nicodemus had been seen by his own people he would have likely been rejected -- seen as some sort of traitor to his faith.
Fred went on to tell Joe that it seemed like lots of folks even today were afraid to find out about Jesus. "You know Joe, you and I are kind of like Nicodemus tonight, we're going to a meeting in the back of a coffee shop, most everybody else on our team will be going out to parties, but you and I -- well maybe we'll learn something tonight that will have real value for us for the rest of our lives. I'm kind of glad the score was 3-16. It's given me an opportunity to do something that I'm usually too chicken to do. Joe I'm not sure anybody on the team knows that I come to these Fellowship of Christian athletes meetings, but I'm glad you know and I hope you find what I find in them."
"Joe," Fred said, "I've usually been too embarrassed to invite anybody to the meetings, especially my teammates. I find myself nervous that I will be rejected by the team -- you know we kickers often feel like we are on the edge of the whole team experience as it is -- and so while the team goes off and does its thing I tend to gravitate to my church and small group -- Joe thanks for coming with me tonight."
Joe was not used to being talked to this way. There was a deep hunger in him to be included somewhere, to be a part of something greater than himself. That was a big part of the reason of why he was on the football team, he wanted to be part of a group, part of something greater than himself, but he was disappointed that he hardly ever got to play. "Fred, I'd like to learn more about Nicodemus and I'm glad the score was 3-16, thanks for inviting me to the meeting tonight."
They drove in silence for a while and Fred thought to himself - I'm glad they made three field goals and a touchdown -- and I sure am glad I made that kick at the end of the game. He marveled a bit at how these things came together because he had wanted to invite someone to join him at the Fellowship of Christian athletes for a while. Perhaps more than ever before he believed, that God really did love the world, and that God cared about him and Joe and that God would do anything to open the door to lead them to eternal life. He was glad for the journey that Nicodemus made those many years ago and he was glad for their own journey. All because of three field goals, a touchdown, and a 39-yard field goal with time expiring at the end of the game, there was rejoicing in Heaven as well as on the sidelines and in the coffee shop!
John S. Smylie is the rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Casper, Wyoming. Previously he served as the dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane, Washington. He is a published author and storyteller as well as a singer-songwriter. Smylie recently completed Grace for Today, a collection of 25 stories that explores how grace, loss, and restoration are part of the same fabric.
**********************************************
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, February 17, 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.
