Proper 24
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle C
Object:
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 31:27-34 (C)
This passage, written after the depredations of the Babylonians, promises a new, deeper personal relationship between the Israelites and God. Heretofore, the relationship was based on laws reinforced by the various authorities -- judges, prophets, kings -- but henceforth, the people would know, each within himself or herself, what God desires of them. Sour grapes notwithstanding, they would henceforth know right from wrong.
Jeremiah's use of the word "husband" brings to mind the story of Hosea and his wife, Gomer. In that book, we see Hosea loving his wife with such forgiving, sacrificial love, that despite her unfaithful betrayal, he will receive her back as though nothing ever happened. Here too we find that kind of love on God's part. He loves his people much as completely loving spouses love their beloved. It is a love which nothing can break, and the terms of that love shall forever after be written on the human heart. This passage serves as the basis for the New Covenant, and advances the idea of a personal God.
Lesson 1: Exodus 17:8-13 (RC)
Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Lesson 1: Genesis 32:3-8, 22-30 (E)
This is a great story. Jacob, fearing encounter with Esau, as well he might considering the trick played on him earlier, meets Someone at the stream. That Someone is never quite identified. Jacob accepts him as agent of God. It may also be that Jacob was wrestling with himself. That intriguing possibility does suggest a sermon idea. Jacob became a new man after winning the battle. Injured, to be sure, yet deserving now of new self-respect, Jacob could now set forth with a new confidence. One author wrote that when a man begins to fight within himself he begins to amount to something. So with Jacob.
Lesson 2: 2 Timothy 3:14--4:5 (C, E); 2 Timothy 3:14--4:2 (RC)
I suppose this passage is primarily directed to preachers, people like us. It urges us to endure suffering -- implying that some suffering will be related to rejection by those not yet ready to hear -- but we are to persevere, to be faithful as a "servant of God." For sermonic possibilities, however, I was caught by that phrase: "... continue in the truths that you were taught and firmly believe." It made me think of my grandparents, and their unfailing kindness to everyone. And of my parents who never, so far as I know, told a lie or said a hurtful thing to me or anyone else in their entire lives. Both in word and in deed they taught me truths which, how ever much I may have forgotten them at times, I do recall and honor and aspire to emulate. My family wasn't Christian the way some people define that today, although Grampaw was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. We didn't evangelize each other or our friends. But if I know anything about Christian principles, it's from watching my family live them out every day. When Grampaw died -- he was Circuit Court judge in Portland, Indiana -- the funeral director said he had the largest attendance they had ever seen at a funeral in Jay County. Grampaw, when practicing law, often accepted a chicken in payment for his services from some farmer who otherwise didn't have a dime. People used to stop me on the street to ask, "Aren't you Mike McGriff's boy?" When I said I was, they regaled me with stories about my dad's integrity, and the local bank sometimes loaned him money without a signature. When Grampaw died leaving some debts, and that was at the end of the Depression, Dad paid those debts though he didn't owe them.
You probably have your valued history. We learn so much if we're lucky when we're children. Most of us can recall truisms our parents or grandparents spoke. "Always tell the truth, then you won't have to try to remember what you said." Or "God gave you two ears and one mouth so you'd remember to listen more than you talk." Or one of my dad's favorite remarks: "I'se just a poor cowboy and I knows I done wrong." (That from a man with a graduate degree. His point was really an apology.) Search out that little book, All I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. A sermon could be built simply on the basic truths: kindness, honesty, patience with others, forgiveness.
Gospel: Luke 18:1-8 (C, RC); Luke 18:1-8a (E)
Jesus, of course, didn't mean to use that reprehensible judge as an analogy to God. He meant that just as that poor woman refused to give up in her pleading, neither must we. This suggests a sermon on prayer and the need to be patient. God, of course, doesn't give in to our beseeching out of irritation or impatience. But sometimes our timing is poor and God knows what's best. The grieving widow, for example. She might pray to be set free from her agonized sense of loss. God, on the other hand, might reason that there is growth in that pain, just as Paul said suffering produces character. Or perhaps a prayer to win at some seemingly important undertaking would, in fact, result in unhappiness later on. Best to fail and turn to something else. We may not realize this and God may. So, Jesus said, hang in there, keep praying. God will always answer but in a way better than what we request.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Doing What You Know Is Right"
Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Theme: It may not be too much of a stretch to read this as saying that God has implanted in the human psyche a sense of right and wrong. Societies of every kind throughout creation have shared a sense of values which prohibit lying, stealing, killing (excepting warfare), adultery, and other offenses. It's as though deep down, we know what is good and right. And God promises here that if we embrace those values, if we accept this agreement, this covenant, which calls us to be loyal to Him and to obey these instincts, then as we fall short, as we sin, which we all will do, He will forgive our sins. When we view this thought in the light of Jesus' life and teachings, we discover that to forgive us is not a light and easy undertaking on God's part. I know of one couple who struggled with the fact that the husband was unfaithful to his wife. He confessed, was repentant, and she forgave him. But that woman privately went through personal Hell for a long time, waiting to learn if her husband was truly faithful. He was, I'm glad to say, mainly I think because of his painful feelings of guilt. But eventually their marriage was restored and they are happy today. But forgiveness was exceedingly expensive for that wife. So with God. So how would God let us know His pain? By sending his own Son and allowing us to witness the living out of that pain on a level visible to us poor sinners.
Title: "Thanks, Mother"
Text: 2 Timothy 3:14
Theme: As suggested, families and mentors pass along to the next generation the truths by which we are well advised to live. Here's where Sunday school comes in. When I was a boy I didn't like Sunday school. Boring, it seemed to me, which tells more about me than about the program. But as I look back, how many little truisms have stuck. Take Joseph. He was a good guy who refused to hang on to his bitterness. He forgave. God blessed him for that, and he was able to find the love later on which he missed in the early years. What an example of the power of the forgiving heart. Or the Moses story, how a young man committed what was considered a crime, ran away, then met God, and how that changed his life, enabled him to be a savior of others. A good lesson for naughty little boys who daydream about doing something daring and important.
All those words of Mother (or Dad, or Grandmother, or Gramps, or whoever) which sounded a tad preachy at the time, yet which became embedded in little psyches to grow as worldly wisdom. We discover that trite sayings are, in fact, a distillation of all the world's wisdom.
1. Look backward for a bit. Try to recall those loving words of instruction. Aren't they, in fact, the rules of life?
2. Look at today. What is happening in your life now? Are you happy? Are those rules of life still guiding your daily conduct, your value system? A recent issue of Newsweek magazine was devoted to the theme that "Everyone's getting rich but me." It reported results of surveys which show that a growing number of people aren't content to make a good living by hard work and creative thinking. They die inside every time they hear of someone who hit it big in the stock market, or who thought up some new twist on computers and so made millions. The article discussed the slow demise of the work ethic in favor of the fast buck. Network television did a program on day trading, telling how certain people are now buying and selling on the internet, making thousands in a day (of course taking small note of the thousands who think that's really neat, so they try it too and lose their shirts.)
3. Look at tomorrow. What kind of children will you have raised as they observe your values, your life style? When some doctor informs you that you have some dread disease and your days are limited, what will you decide was really important? When you reach advanced years and have only each other as retirement looms, what kind of person will you then be living with? When the race has ended, when your life is now up for evaluation, what kind of man/woman are you, really? Is that what you really want to be?
Title: "Powerful Prayer"
Text: Luke 18:1-8
Theme: Prayer which changes lives. We must begin by reminding ourselves that God already knows what we need before we ask. Jesus made this point at the outset of Matthew's sixth chapter. Paul reminded us that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. In other words, our requests are child-level requests for things which aren't always in our best interests. When Mom says no more doughnuts, eat your brussel sprouts, that doesn't mean she doesn't love her child. It means she's asking of him what he would ask of himself if he had her wisdom. Same with God. That's why Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy will be done."
1. God always answers prayer, but sometimes the answer is "No!" When I prayed for success in my business undertakings many years ago, had God answered "Yes!" I'd probably be a retailer somewhere in small town America. Now there's nothing wrong with that. It's worthy, and let me tell you, it's darn hard work. But it isn't what I was born to do. I didn't know that but God did. So he let me struggle along, learning some of life's lessons the hard way, but knowing that something quite different was my destiny. So: "No!"
2. Sometimes the answer is "Wait." Everything works a certain way. Most things happen by growth rather than by miracle. Lord, make me a good doctor is a worthy prayer. But if God spoke in words, I believe he would say "Sure, I'll help. But you have a ton of work to do before that happens. It will be, say, eight years, before you're a good doctor, my good man. But if you're serious, if you really want to be a good doctor, and if you'll work hard, and forsake unworthy shortcuts, and if you'll go in to this wanting to be a healer, not just to make good money and be highly regarded by society, then I'll certainly help."
3. Sometimes God says "Sure." I still remember my own daughter heading off to college quite a few years ago. I told her I'd be there for her whenever she needed me. But I had no intention of interfering. I trusted her. I knew there'd be dark hours, but I also knew we grow from those things, and we all have to learn to face tough times without asking for help. However, once or twice she got in too deep, and when she called, I was there, glad to help, wanting to help. I believe God is like that. If I've endured the heat of the day, done my darndest, been ethical all the way, given it my best shot and that's not enough, I believe God will always help. I believe there are some things we can't do, but God can. When I faced a serious surgery recently, I asked God to help and almost immediately I was surrounded by love and reassurance. That was a situation where I could do nothing. God could. I knew that, I asked Him, and He was there even as I prayed.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
When I first entered seminary I, along with several other first year students, had spent several years in "the real world" before deciding to become a clergyman. So, too, had a new classmate. Toward the end of our first quarter, our class in Church History gathered for our final exam. Those of us who had been away from the classroom for several years were quite apprehensive about the threat of final exams. Soon, the exam books were opened and we all began to write. Suddenly, we were appalled to see the professor walk over to the desk where my classmate was seated and roughly yank the exam booklet away from the poor fellow. For a moment he sat there, his face flaming red. Then quietly, he gathered his books and a briefcase and left the room. I never saw him again. He had cheated, and the professor had caught him.
I have often wondered about that man in the years since. What explanation did he give his wife and children for suddenly leaving seminary? Did he lie and make matters worse? Did he tell them what happened and forever lose their respect? What explanation did he give the members of the church which had proudly sent this second career member off to be a Methodist minister? How has he lived with himself? Where is he now? What is he doing? He never became a minister. What a tragedy, all because a man failed to think what his actions could cost.
____________
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken winged bird
That cannot fly.
____________
Several years ago, my next-door neighbor was mowing his lawn with a power mower as his little two-year-old son, Scotty, played nearby. A large dump truck filled with stone pulled up and stopped while the driver sought directions from my friend. He walked away from his running mower, gave the driver the directions, and that man slowly pulled away in his truck. But little Scotty had walked in front of the rear wheel. His mother saw what was happening and screamed a warning. But the mower made too much noise, no one heard, and the enormous dual wheels of the truck ran over Scotty and killed him instantly.
Any parent can quickly understand the devastating combination of grief and guilt which beset that young father. Many of us, friends of his, gathered in the home to see what we could do. The next day, I again went next door to see how Tom was doing. But Betty, his wife, explained that Tom was gone for a few minutes. It seems he had learned that the driver of that truck was beside himself with his own grief and guilt. He felt responsible. So Tom had gone to his home to comfort the man. Can you imagine such kindness, such compassion? It is to be noted that both Tom and Betty were devout Christians who unfailingly lived out their faith without comment or fanfare.
____________
I have a friend whom you would take to be a conservative businessman were the two of you to meet. He is, in fact. But he's also a clown. He's a literal clown, dressing up as a hobby, looking for all the world like those fellows in the circus. He loves to take part in parades and parties. But his favorite activity is to go to the hospitals and entertain the children. I asked him once if he gets paid for his clowning. He replied that, indeed, he did get paid. "Every time I see a sad-faced little lad look up from his hospital bed and smile, I get paid. Well paid." (re: using what talents we have for the good of others)
____________
Unless one has been living on Mars, we all know the name and reputation of Harry Emerson Fosdick. The preacher at the great Riverside Church in New York during the height of its fame, preacher to millions on the radio before the advent of television, author of numerous fine books on the Christian faith, the man who influenced the Christian directions of the major denominations during their growth through the Depression and World War II. One of today's premier preachers shared with me not long ago that he had read and reread everything Fosdick wrote. So one could assume that here was a man who had it all, a man who, unlike most of us, had found the answers to life's deepest secrets and knew inner tranquility like very few people indeed. Not true.
When he was a young minister, Harry Emerson Fosdick had a complete nervous breakdown. The stress of his early years was too much. Like many a preacher, the demands he set upon himself, and the demands he believed his parishioners to have of him, became too much. Only after a lengthy season of prayer and inner struggle did Fosdick regain himself. The day would come when he would explain that his understanding and sensitivity to the people in his life and to whom he spoke came, not in spite of his own trauma, but precisely because he himself had first walked down that lonely road.
____________
One of the great Christian stories is that of a young man named Telemachus who lived just outside Rome in about the year 400 A.D. One day he journeyed into Rome. Amazed and awed by the great city, Telemachus found himself caught up in a crowd, and following them, found himself in front of a great arena, the coliseum. He had heard about this place, and about the exciting events which took place there all his life. Fascinated, Telemachus followed the crowd. The scene which confronted him was one of unimaginable spectacle to a small-town boy. Thousands of people had thronged into the place, many of them attired in the expensive regalia of the rich. To his disbelief, he saw across the great arena an especially impressive group of people set off from the clamoring throng. He was able to guess that sitting in the midst of that group, more august than all the rest, was the emperor of Rome.
Soon, to the sounds of trumpets, fearsome animals emerged from the cavernous environs of the hidden pits beneath the stadium. Then men wearing armor, carrying tridents and nets, and wearing swords emerged and began to attack the wild beasts. In a frightening display of bloody massacre, the men proceeded to kill the beasts, though one or two of the men were badly mauled in the process.
Then, another group of men emerged. Some of them wore armor, carried swords, some even had spears and shields. But other men carried only short swords, and wore no protective armor at all. Then, one by one they began to engage in unequal combat. Finally, one of the lightly armed men fell to his knees, blood streaming from a wound in his chest. As Telemachus looked in horror, the people in the stadium held their hands outward in a fist, their thumbs turned down, and the victorious gladiator stabbed the wounded man to death. As Telemachus watched in disbelief, this happened again and again, innocent men virtually defenseless, murdered as the people screamed their pleasure and approval.
Telemachus could no longer stand to watch. In a sudden burst of outraged fury, he ran to the low fence which surrounded the arena, vaulted in among the dead and the victors, ran across to stand directly before the emperor, and began to shout a protest.
Silence settled over the vast crowd. No one had ever dared to speak thus to the emperor. The armed men stood in wonder. And in that moment of silence, young Telemachus cried out so that everyone was able to hear, "In the name of God, stop this slaughter." One gladiator, thinking to win favor from the emperor, plunged his sword into the side of Telemachus. Badly hurt, amazed, Telemachus fell to his knees. Then another gladiator hurled his spear which pierced the chest of the brave young man. Once more silence settled over the arena, the silence of shock at what they had just seen.
Some people stood up and quietly began to leave. They were joined by others. Then still others, and finally, in embarrassed groups, the people departed until the arena was emptied. A day or so later, a group of Christians went to the emperor. They implored him to cease the atrocious custom of the coliseum games. With political acumen, they pointed out that a growing number of citizens were offended by the practice. A few days later, the emperor issued an edict: the games in the coliseum were henceforth suspended -- forever. History records that never again was anyone put to death by this inhuman custom in the coliseum of Rome. One man had given his life. Untold thousands had been saved.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 119:97-104 -- "Oh, how I love the law."
Prayer Of The Day
Guide us in the way of Jesus, we pray. Open us to the needs of other people. Stifle, if you must, our urgent desires for our own satisfaction to the degree that we may place alongside our own best interests those of the people in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 31:27-34 (C)
This passage, written after the depredations of the Babylonians, promises a new, deeper personal relationship between the Israelites and God. Heretofore, the relationship was based on laws reinforced by the various authorities -- judges, prophets, kings -- but henceforth, the people would know, each within himself or herself, what God desires of them. Sour grapes notwithstanding, they would henceforth know right from wrong.
Jeremiah's use of the word "husband" brings to mind the story of Hosea and his wife, Gomer. In that book, we see Hosea loving his wife with such forgiving, sacrificial love, that despite her unfaithful betrayal, he will receive her back as though nothing ever happened. Here too we find that kind of love on God's part. He loves his people much as completely loving spouses love their beloved. It is a love which nothing can break, and the terms of that love shall forever after be written on the human heart. This passage serves as the basis for the New Covenant, and advances the idea of a personal God.
Lesson 1: Exodus 17:8-13 (RC)
Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Lesson 1: Genesis 32:3-8, 22-30 (E)
This is a great story. Jacob, fearing encounter with Esau, as well he might considering the trick played on him earlier, meets Someone at the stream. That Someone is never quite identified. Jacob accepts him as agent of God. It may also be that Jacob was wrestling with himself. That intriguing possibility does suggest a sermon idea. Jacob became a new man after winning the battle. Injured, to be sure, yet deserving now of new self-respect, Jacob could now set forth with a new confidence. One author wrote that when a man begins to fight within himself he begins to amount to something. So with Jacob.
Lesson 2: 2 Timothy 3:14--4:5 (C, E); 2 Timothy 3:14--4:2 (RC)
I suppose this passage is primarily directed to preachers, people like us. It urges us to endure suffering -- implying that some suffering will be related to rejection by those not yet ready to hear -- but we are to persevere, to be faithful as a "servant of God." For sermonic possibilities, however, I was caught by that phrase: "... continue in the truths that you were taught and firmly believe." It made me think of my grandparents, and their unfailing kindness to everyone. And of my parents who never, so far as I know, told a lie or said a hurtful thing to me or anyone else in their entire lives. Both in word and in deed they taught me truths which, how ever much I may have forgotten them at times, I do recall and honor and aspire to emulate. My family wasn't Christian the way some people define that today, although Grampaw was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. We didn't evangelize each other or our friends. But if I know anything about Christian principles, it's from watching my family live them out every day. When Grampaw died -- he was Circuit Court judge in Portland, Indiana -- the funeral director said he had the largest attendance they had ever seen at a funeral in Jay County. Grampaw, when practicing law, often accepted a chicken in payment for his services from some farmer who otherwise didn't have a dime. People used to stop me on the street to ask, "Aren't you Mike McGriff's boy?" When I said I was, they regaled me with stories about my dad's integrity, and the local bank sometimes loaned him money without a signature. When Grampaw died leaving some debts, and that was at the end of the Depression, Dad paid those debts though he didn't owe them.
You probably have your valued history. We learn so much if we're lucky when we're children. Most of us can recall truisms our parents or grandparents spoke. "Always tell the truth, then you won't have to try to remember what you said." Or "God gave you two ears and one mouth so you'd remember to listen more than you talk." Or one of my dad's favorite remarks: "I'se just a poor cowboy and I knows I done wrong." (That from a man with a graduate degree. His point was really an apology.) Search out that little book, All I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. A sermon could be built simply on the basic truths: kindness, honesty, patience with others, forgiveness.
Gospel: Luke 18:1-8 (C, RC); Luke 18:1-8a (E)
Jesus, of course, didn't mean to use that reprehensible judge as an analogy to God. He meant that just as that poor woman refused to give up in her pleading, neither must we. This suggests a sermon on prayer and the need to be patient. God, of course, doesn't give in to our beseeching out of irritation or impatience. But sometimes our timing is poor and God knows what's best. The grieving widow, for example. She might pray to be set free from her agonized sense of loss. God, on the other hand, might reason that there is growth in that pain, just as Paul said suffering produces character. Or perhaps a prayer to win at some seemingly important undertaking would, in fact, result in unhappiness later on. Best to fail and turn to something else. We may not realize this and God may. So, Jesus said, hang in there, keep praying. God will always answer but in a way better than what we request.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Doing What You Know Is Right"
Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Theme: It may not be too much of a stretch to read this as saying that God has implanted in the human psyche a sense of right and wrong. Societies of every kind throughout creation have shared a sense of values which prohibit lying, stealing, killing (excepting warfare), adultery, and other offenses. It's as though deep down, we know what is good and right. And God promises here that if we embrace those values, if we accept this agreement, this covenant, which calls us to be loyal to Him and to obey these instincts, then as we fall short, as we sin, which we all will do, He will forgive our sins. When we view this thought in the light of Jesus' life and teachings, we discover that to forgive us is not a light and easy undertaking on God's part. I know of one couple who struggled with the fact that the husband was unfaithful to his wife. He confessed, was repentant, and she forgave him. But that woman privately went through personal Hell for a long time, waiting to learn if her husband was truly faithful. He was, I'm glad to say, mainly I think because of his painful feelings of guilt. But eventually their marriage was restored and they are happy today. But forgiveness was exceedingly expensive for that wife. So with God. So how would God let us know His pain? By sending his own Son and allowing us to witness the living out of that pain on a level visible to us poor sinners.
Title: "Thanks, Mother"
Text: 2 Timothy 3:14
Theme: As suggested, families and mentors pass along to the next generation the truths by which we are well advised to live. Here's where Sunday school comes in. When I was a boy I didn't like Sunday school. Boring, it seemed to me, which tells more about me than about the program. But as I look back, how many little truisms have stuck. Take Joseph. He was a good guy who refused to hang on to his bitterness. He forgave. God blessed him for that, and he was able to find the love later on which he missed in the early years. What an example of the power of the forgiving heart. Or the Moses story, how a young man committed what was considered a crime, ran away, then met God, and how that changed his life, enabled him to be a savior of others. A good lesson for naughty little boys who daydream about doing something daring and important.
All those words of Mother (or Dad, or Grandmother, or Gramps, or whoever) which sounded a tad preachy at the time, yet which became embedded in little psyches to grow as worldly wisdom. We discover that trite sayings are, in fact, a distillation of all the world's wisdom.
1. Look backward for a bit. Try to recall those loving words of instruction. Aren't they, in fact, the rules of life?
2. Look at today. What is happening in your life now? Are you happy? Are those rules of life still guiding your daily conduct, your value system? A recent issue of Newsweek magazine was devoted to the theme that "Everyone's getting rich but me." It reported results of surveys which show that a growing number of people aren't content to make a good living by hard work and creative thinking. They die inside every time they hear of someone who hit it big in the stock market, or who thought up some new twist on computers and so made millions. The article discussed the slow demise of the work ethic in favor of the fast buck. Network television did a program on day trading, telling how certain people are now buying and selling on the internet, making thousands in a day (of course taking small note of the thousands who think that's really neat, so they try it too and lose their shirts.)
3. Look at tomorrow. What kind of children will you have raised as they observe your values, your life style? When some doctor informs you that you have some dread disease and your days are limited, what will you decide was really important? When you reach advanced years and have only each other as retirement looms, what kind of person will you then be living with? When the race has ended, when your life is now up for evaluation, what kind of man/woman are you, really? Is that what you really want to be?
Title: "Powerful Prayer"
Text: Luke 18:1-8
Theme: Prayer which changes lives. We must begin by reminding ourselves that God already knows what we need before we ask. Jesus made this point at the outset of Matthew's sixth chapter. Paul reminded us that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. In other words, our requests are child-level requests for things which aren't always in our best interests. When Mom says no more doughnuts, eat your brussel sprouts, that doesn't mean she doesn't love her child. It means she's asking of him what he would ask of himself if he had her wisdom. Same with God. That's why Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy will be done."
1. God always answers prayer, but sometimes the answer is "No!" When I prayed for success in my business undertakings many years ago, had God answered "Yes!" I'd probably be a retailer somewhere in small town America. Now there's nothing wrong with that. It's worthy, and let me tell you, it's darn hard work. But it isn't what I was born to do. I didn't know that but God did. So he let me struggle along, learning some of life's lessons the hard way, but knowing that something quite different was my destiny. So: "No!"
2. Sometimes the answer is "Wait." Everything works a certain way. Most things happen by growth rather than by miracle. Lord, make me a good doctor is a worthy prayer. But if God spoke in words, I believe he would say "Sure, I'll help. But you have a ton of work to do before that happens. It will be, say, eight years, before you're a good doctor, my good man. But if you're serious, if you really want to be a good doctor, and if you'll work hard, and forsake unworthy shortcuts, and if you'll go in to this wanting to be a healer, not just to make good money and be highly regarded by society, then I'll certainly help."
3. Sometimes God says "Sure." I still remember my own daughter heading off to college quite a few years ago. I told her I'd be there for her whenever she needed me. But I had no intention of interfering. I trusted her. I knew there'd be dark hours, but I also knew we grow from those things, and we all have to learn to face tough times without asking for help. However, once or twice she got in too deep, and when she called, I was there, glad to help, wanting to help. I believe God is like that. If I've endured the heat of the day, done my darndest, been ethical all the way, given it my best shot and that's not enough, I believe God will always help. I believe there are some things we can't do, but God can. When I faced a serious surgery recently, I asked God to help and almost immediately I was surrounded by love and reassurance. That was a situation where I could do nothing. God could. I knew that, I asked Him, and He was there even as I prayed.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
When I first entered seminary I, along with several other first year students, had spent several years in "the real world" before deciding to become a clergyman. So, too, had a new classmate. Toward the end of our first quarter, our class in Church History gathered for our final exam. Those of us who had been away from the classroom for several years were quite apprehensive about the threat of final exams. Soon, the exam books were opened and we all began to write. Suddenly, we were appalled to see the professor walk over to the desk where my classmate was seated and roughly yank the exam booklet away from the poor fellow. For a moment he sat there, his face flaming red. Then quietly, he gathered his books and a briefcase and left the room. I never saw him again. He had cheated, and the professor had caught him.
I have often wondered about that man in the years since. What explanation did he give his wife and children for suddenly leaving seminary? Did he lie and make matters worse? Did he tell them what happened and forever lose their respect? What explanation did he give the members of the church which had proudly sent this second career member off to be a Methodist minister? How has he lived with himself? Where is he now? What is he doing? He never became a minister. What a tragedy, all because a man failed to think what his actions could cost.
____________
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken winged bird
That cannot fly.
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Several years ago, my next-door neighbor was mowing his lawn with a power mower as his little two-year-old son, Scotty, played nearby. A large dump truck filled with stone pulled up and stopped while the driver sought directions from my friend. He walked away from his running mower, gave the driver the directions, and that man slowly pulled away in his truck. But little Scotty had walked in front of the rear wheel. His mother saw what was happening and screamed a warning. But the mower made too much noise, no one heard, and the enormous dual wheels of the truck ran over Scotty and killed him instantly.
Any parent can quickly understand the devastating combination of grief and guilt which beset that young father. Many of us, friends of his, gathered in the home to see what we could do. The next day, I again went next door to see how Tom was doing. But Betty, his wife, explained that Tom was gone for a few minutes. It seems he had learned that the driver of that truck was beside himself with his own grief and guilt. He felt responsible. So Tom had gone to his home to comfort the man. Can you imagine such kindness, such compassion? It is to be noted that both Tom and Betty were devout Christians who unfailingly lived out their faith without comment or fanfare.
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I have a friend whom you would take to be a conservative businessman were the two of you to meet. He is, in fact. But he's also a clown. He's a literal clown, dressing up as a hobby, looking for all the world like those fellows in the circus. He loves to take part in parades and parties. But his favorite activity is to go to the hospitals and entertain the children. I asked him once if he gets paid for his clowning. He replied that, indeed, he did get paid. "Every time I see a sad-faced little lad look up from his hospital bed and smile, I get paid. Well paid." (re: using what talents we have for the good of others)
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Unless one has been living on Mars, we all know the name and reputation of Harry Emerson Fosdick. The preacher at the great Riverside Church in New York during the height of its fame, preacher to millions on the radio before the advent of television, author of numerous fine books on the Christian faith, the man who influenced the Christian directions of the major denominations during their growth through the Depression and World War II. One of today's premier preachers shared with me not long ago that he had read and reread everything Fosdick wrote. So one could assume that here was a man who had it all, a man who, unlike most of us, had found the answers to life's deepest secrets and knew inner tranquility like very few people indeed. Not true.
When he was a young minister, Harry Emerson Fosdick had a complete nervous breakdown. The stress of his early years was too much. Like many a preacher, the demands he set upon himself, and the demands he believed his parishioners to have of him, became too much. Only after a lengthy season of prayer and inner struggle did Fosdick regain himself. The day would come when he would explain that his understanding and sensitivity to the people in his life and to whom he spoke came, not in spite of his own trauma, but precisely because he himself had first walked down that lonely road.
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One of the great Christian stories is that of a young man named Telemachus who lived just outside Rome in about the year 400 A.D. One day he journeyed into Rome. Amazed and awed by the great city, Telemachus found himself caught up in a crowd, and following them, found himself in front of a great arena, the coliseum. He had heard about this place, and about the exciting events which took place there all his life. Fascinated, Telemachus followed the crowd. The scene which confronted him was one of unimaginable spectacle to a small-town boy. Thousands of people had thronged into the place, many of them attired in the expensive regalia of the rich. To his disbelief, he saw across the great arena an especially impressive group of people set off from the clamoring throng. He was able to guess that sitting in the midst of that group, more august than all the rest, was the emperor of Rome.
Soon, to the sounds of trumpets, fearsome animals emerged from the cavernous environs of the hidden pits beneath the stadium. Then men wearing armor, carrying tridents and nets, and wearing swords emerged and began to attack the wild beasts. In a frightening display of bloody massacre, the men proceeded to kill the beasts, though one or two of the men were badly mauled in the process.
Then, another group of men emerged. Some of them wore armor, carried swords, some even had spears and shields. But other men carried only short swords, and wore no protective armor at all. Then, one by one they began to engage in unequal combat. Finally, one of the lightly armed men fell to his knees, blood streaming from a wound in his chest. As Telemachus looked in horror, the people in the stadium held their hands outward in a fist, their thumbs turned down, and the victorious gladiator stabbed the wounded man to death. As Telemachus watched in disbelief, this happened again and again, innocent men virtually defenseless, murdered as the people screamed their pleasure and approval.
Telemachus could no longer stand to watch. In a sudden burst of outraged fury, he ran to the low fence which surrounded the arena, vaulted in among the dead and the victors, ran across to stand directly before the emperor, and began to shout a protest.
Silence settled over the vast crowd. No one had ever dared to speak thus to the emperor. The armed men stood in wonder. And in that moment of silence, young Telemachus cried out so that everyone was able to hear, "In the name of God, stop this slaughter." One gladiator, thinking to win favor from the emperor, plunged his sword into the side of Telemachus. Badly hurt, amazed, Telemachus fell to his knees. Then another gladiator hurled his spear which pierced the chest of the brave young man. Once more silence settled over the arena, the silence of shock at what they had just seen.
Some people stood up and quietly began to leave. They were joined by others. Then still others, and finally, in embarrassed groups, the people departed until the arena was emptied. A day or so later, a group of Christians went to the emperor. They implored him to cease the atrocious custom of the coliseum games. With political acumen, they pointed out that a growing number of citizens were offended by the practice. A few days later, the emperor issued an edict: the games in the coliseum were henceforth suspended -- forever. History records that never again was anyone put to death by this inhuman custom in the coliseum of Rome. One man had given his life. Untold thousands had been saved.
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Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 119:97-104 -- "Oh, how I love the law."
Prayer Of The Day
Guide us in the way of Jesus, we pray. Open us to the needs of other people. Stifle, if you must, our urgent desires for our own satisfaction to the degree that we may place alongside our own best interests those of the people in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
