Getting Some Batteries
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV, Cycle B
Object:
Getting Some Batteries
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. (vv. 35-39)
One Sunday afternoon when my daughter, Bridget, was three, we returned from lunch at Mazzio's Pizza. As we were settling in for the afternoon, my wife and I helped Bridget change out of her church clothes and into play clothes. However, she expressed a reluctance to take off her dress. We asked her why, and she explained, "I want to go back to church!" We explained that church was over for the day and that her pre-school aged friends were no longer there.
She still insisted that she wanted to return to church. Curiosity drove us to inquire why she was so insistent. When we asked why she wanted to go back to church, she answered, "I have to get some batteries!"
I'm not sure what she was learning in Sunday school, but it must have been good! Somehow, Bridget was intercepting and dispensing some divine wisdom. At the tender age of three, she had already learned a key for life that is often overlooked or forgotten by adults. Church is a place to get energized.
There are many places we could choose to spend our time on Sundays and other days for that matter. However, only one place has the power to give us energy when life has drained everything out of us. Of course, at her age, there is an outside chance she wasn't intending to be quite so deep with her response, but nonetheless, we were pleased that she thought so highly of church that she wanted to go back. Something about church was magnetizing to her. She knew in her heart that she wanted to be there.
Mark tells us that Peter and the other disciples found Jesus praying in a deserted place. They were shocked to say the least. The day before Jesus was preaching with authority, casting out evil spirits, and healing the sick. They were ready for more of the same. They had a taste of the life-changing ways of Christ and found it electrifying. Jesus, too, was ready to minister, but only because he had recharged his batteries by spending time with God in that deserted place. He was drawn to the deserted place.
Somehow, Bridget knew what Jesus knew: Spiritual energy comes from God. Adults have often commented that they wish they had Bridget's energy. Well, now her secret is out. If you want the energy of a three-year-old, go to church and get your batteries. Jesus did.
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. (vv. 35-39)
One Sunday afternoon when my daughter, Bridget, was three, we returned from lunch at Mazzio's Pizza. As we were settling in for the afternoon, my wife and I helped Bridget change out of her church clothes and into play clothes. However, she expressed a reluctance to take off her dress. We asked her why, and she explained, "I want to go back to church!" We explained that church was over for the day and that her pre-school aged friends were no longer there.
She still insisted that she wanted to return to church. Curiosity drove us to inquire why she was so insistent. When we asked why she wanted to go back to church, she answered, "I have to get some batteries!"
I'm not sure what she was learning in Sunday school, but it must have been good! Somehow, Bridget was intercepting and dispensing some divine wisdom. At the tender age of three, she had already learned a key for life that is often overlooked or forgotten by adults. Church is a place to get energized.
There are many places we could choose to spend our time on Sundays and other days for that matter. However, only one place has the power to give us energy when life has drained everything out of us. Of course, at her age, there is an outside chance she wasn't intending to be quite so deep with her response, but nonetheless, we were pleased that she thought so highly of church that she wanted to go back. Something about church was magnetizing to her. She knew in her heart that she wanted to be there.
Mark tells us that Peter and the other disciples found Jesus praying in a deserted place. They were shocked to say the least. The day before Jesus was preaching with authority, casting out evil spirits, and healing the sick. They were ready for more of the same. They had a taste of the life-changing ways of Christ and found it electrifying. Jesus, too, was ready to minister, but only because he had recharged his batteries by spending time with God in that deserted place. He was drawn to the deserted place.
Somehow, Bridget knew what Jesus knew: Spiritual energy comes from God. Adults have often commented that they wish they had Bridget's energy. Well, now her secret is out. If you want the energy of a three-year-old, go to church and get your batteries. Jesus did.
