Witnesses
Stories
Contents
“Witnesses” by Peter Andrew Smith
“Take Two Aspirin and Call Me in the Morning” by Frank Ramirez
Witnesses
by Peter Andrew Smith
Luke 24:36b-48
Jerome sipped at his coffee and took in all the people with gray hair gathered in the church hall. He hadn’t expected the church to be filled with young people because he knew there weren’t many living in this small town but he had hoped to see at least a few. Jerome sighed.
“Coffee not to your taste?” Keith asked.
“No, the coffee’s fine.” Jerome put his cup down. “I think I’m ready to go.”
“Really? Is something wrong?”
Jerome shrugged. “I just don’t think this is the place for me.”
“Was it the service?”
“No, the service was pretty much what I expected.”
“Did you not like Pastor Steve’s message?”
“It was okay. He’s certainly easier to listen to than a lot of our profs from University.”
“I hear you.” Keith laughed. “So what did you think about the music?”
“A little traditional for my tastes.” Jerome held up his hand before Keith could interrupt him. “Yet I appreciate that it was well done and the singers had certainly practiced.”
“So what’s the matter?”
“I’m not sure,” Jerome said. “I guess I was expecting more when you invited me to come to church. You’re always so enthusiastic about this place. I guess I thought it might be something, well, more.”
“Ah. So the reality doesn’t match with your expectations?”
“I guess not.”
Keith smiled. “I thought I was clear that in a small town the quality of worship can’t match the big city churches with five pastors and music directors.”
“Yeah, I knew that. At least I thought I knew that. Yet you are so passionate about this place that I figured I would be too.”
“I think you misunderstand what I’m excited about each Sunday morning when we gather here at Main Street Church.”
Jerome looked at his friend. “I guess maybe I do. You told me that on a Sunday morning you always come away knowing the power of grace and the promise of the resurrection.”
“That’s very true. Sometimes I even find that through the preaching and the music.”
Jerome frowned. “I think I’m lost.”
“How many people did you get to meet at the last mega church you attended in the city?”
“No one really. I mean I knew some of the ushers to see them but I never really learned anyone’s name.”
“That was because you never took advantage of the small groups they offered.”
“That’s true.”
“If you take the time to get to know some of the people in the church you would see what I mean.”
Jerome tilted his head. “Huh?”
Keith nodded toward the two older men who were talking in the corner. “Paul and Vincent there both fought in Vietnam.”
“Uh-huh.”
“They fought on different sides. Twenty years later they were part of an online group of vets talking about experiences. Paul learned that Vincent had become a Christian and was finding it rough where they were living. Paul sponsored Vincent and his family to immigrate to this country.”
“Wow.”
“The woman next to them is Sarah. She’s an alcoholic whose story of recovery will bring you to tears. Over near the coffee urn is Karl who raised four kids after his wife was killed in a car accident.” Keith paused. “This whole church is filled with stories of faith and grace.”
“Huh.” Jerome tapped his chin. “So you’re saying that you’re learning and growing in your faith because of the people who come together to be the church as well as what the pastor preaches on Sunday morning.”
Keith nodded. “Every single person here has a story of faith. That’s actually why I invited you to come with me now that you’re working at the plant.”
“I get it. You think that hearing their stories will help me become a better Christian.”
“I know they will but more importantly I think your story will help them come to better know Jesus.”
“Huh? My story?” Jerome shook his head. “There’s nothing special about my story.”
“Are you kidding? The reason why you’re in church and following Jesus is as important as every other story here.”
“Do you really think so? How could growing up in a home with no religion and finding Jesus at a university chapel be of any interest to the people who have lived lives like you describe? Lives which so clearly demonstrate forgiveness and grace?”
“Don’t diminish what Jesus has done for you. Didn’t you tell me that your life now has meaning and direction and you’re a different person?”
“Yes.”
“Then I know your story will be important to them because it made an impact on me,” Keith said. “Face it Jerome, whether you realize it or not you’re a witness to what Jesus can do and has done.”
Jerome considered the other people in the church hall again. “You know what. I’d like to meet some of these other witnesses.”
Keith clasped him on the back. “Then let’s get to it.”
* * *
Take Two Aspirin and Call Me in the Morning
by Frank Ramirez
Acts 3:12-19
And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers…(Acts 3:17).
When we think of the founding fathers who won the revolution against Great Britain and laid the foundations for a more perfect union, we think of them as politicians, but many of them were scientists as well.
It wasn’t just Ben Franklin and his experiments with electricity, and his many inventions including the lightning rod and the Franklin stove. There was also John Adams, for instance, who was willing to trust the new science of inoculation against small pox. And of course, Thomas Jefferson invented many devices, including a machine that allowed him to write two copies of a document at the same time.
This was an era when centuries-old misconceptions were being replaced by scientific experimentation, so perhaps it is no wonder that Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was willing to fly in the face of conventional wisdom and forgo the standard -- and flawed -- treatments for Yellow Fever during an epidemic, preferring to experiment with new medical regimens that he believed saved his and his family’s lives.
Hamilton, who saw action in the Revolutionary War, and before that was George Washington’s personal secretary, and later the first president’s Secretary of Treasury, has certainly vaulted from being one of the more obscure founders of our country to one of the most famous, thanks first to a groundbreaking biography by historian Ron Chernow, and then by the award winning musical “Hamilton,” by Lin-Manuel-Miranda.
But beyond his groundbreaking work to pay off the national debt and stabilize the financial footing of the new nation, he took advantage of a new controversial medical therapy, in distinct contrast to standard treatments.
In 1793 there was an epidemic of Yellow Fever in Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital. It is thought that five thousand people in that city of fifty thousand, one in ten, died of the disease. One of the most active fighting the disease was Benjamin Rush (1746-1813), who might just as easily be described as a founding doctor as well as a founding father. He was a humanitarian, an educator, a scientist, and the Surgeon General of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Later in life, during the War of 1812, he would be near at hand during the Battle of Fort McHenry on a mission to free a captive name Francis Scott Key who, as a prisoner of the British, would be inspired by the sight of Old Glory still waving over that fort, causing him to write “The Star Spangled Banner.” He would also help reconcile two former friends and vigorous enemies, the second and third Presidents of the United States, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
Rush worked tirelessly during the Yellow Fever epidemic. Because of many Philadelphians’ fears of coming into physical contact with the afflicted, Rush trained and employed many African Americans to help treat patients, taking advantage of the opportunity to overcome the prejudices of many white Americans.
However, his means of treating those patients was bleeding and purging the suffering, which probably caused a good many deaths.
Because of ignorance of germ theory, doctors believed that sick people had an imbalance between the four humours of the blood -- black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood -- and the best way to treat them was to bleed them, either by a series of cuts or through the use of leeches, or by purging their digestive systems, often violently through the use of powerful purgatives. This could lead to dehydration and death, but enough people got well despite the treatments that doctors swore by it.
By contrast the treatment employed by Edward Stevens (1755-1834) involved quinine, derived from tree bark, which was a lot like aspirin. Cold baths and the administration of a stiff drink of brandy, as well as small amounts of opium, as well as a good dose of fresh air, probably did a lot less harm than Rush’s treatments, and may have done some good. The fact that Stevens was a friend of Hamilton’s from their shared boyhood in the island of St. Croix (and it was whispered that the two were half-brothers) also played a part in the treasury secretary’s choice of treatment.
Though Hamilton credited Stevens’ treatments with curing him and his family, Dr. Rush ridiculed it. Soon their was a controversy. What should have been a scientific argument, with two opposing views of how the human body worked contending with each other, quickly turned into a political clash, with Rush’s treatments labeled “Republican,” and Stevens credited with a “Federalist” cure. People chose treatments on the basis of their politics.
Today we realize the solution did not lie in politics, but in science. Most doctors of the era acted in ignorance. Since now germ theory is clearly understood, it would be folly to follow the practices of a couple centuries ago. In today’s passage from Acts the apostle Peter also tells his listeners that people had responded to Jesus in ignorance, but now with new knowledge there was (and is) only one proper response to the Good News of the gospel -- repent and be saved!
(You can learn more in Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, pp 448-451)
*****************************************
StoryShare, April 15, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2017 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.
“Witnesses” by Peter Andrew Smith
“Take Two Aspirin and Call Me in the Morning” by Frank Ramirez
Witnesses
by Peter Andrew Smith
Luke 24:36b-48
Jerome sipped at his coffee and took in all the people with gray hair gathered in the church hall. He hadn’t expected the church to be filled with young people because he knew there weren’t many living in this small town but he had hoped to see at least a few. Jerome sighed.
“Coffee not to your taste?” Keith asked.
“No, the coffee’s fine.” Jerome put his cup down. “I think I’m ready to go.”
“Really? Is something wrong?”
Jerome shrugged. “I just don’t think this is the place for me.”
“Was it the service?”
“No, the service was pretty much what I expected.”
“Did you not like Pastor Steve’s message?”
“It was okay. He’s certainly easier to listen to than a lot of our profs from University.”
“I hear you.” Keith laughed. “So what did you think about the music?”
“A little traditional for my tastes.” Jerome held up his hand before Keith could interrupt him. “Yet I appreciate that it was well done and the singers had certainly practiced.”
“So what’s the matter?”
“I’m not sure,” Jerome said. “I guess I was expecting more when you invited me to come to church. You’re always so enthusiastic about this place. I guess I thought it might be something, well, more.”
“Ah. So the reality doesn’t match with your expectations?”
“I guess not.”
Keith smiled. “I thought I was clear that in a small town the quality of worship can’t match the big city churches with five pastors and music directors.”
“Yeah, I knew that. At least I thought I knew that. Yet you are so passionate about this place that I figured I would be too.”
“I think you misunderstand what I’m excited about each Sunday morning when we gather here at Main Street Church.”
Jerome looked at his friend. “I guess maybe I do. You told me that on a Sunday morning you always come away knowing the power of grace and the promise of the resurrection.”
“That’s very true. Sometimes I even find that through the preaching and the music.”
Jerome frowned. “I think I’m lost.”
“How many people did you get to meet at the last mega church you attended in the city?”
“No one really. I mean I knew some of the ushers to see them but I never really learned anyone’s name.”
“That was because you never took advantage of the small groups they offered.”
“That’s true.”
“If you take the time to get to know some of the people in the church you would see what I mean.”
Jerome tilted his head. “Huh?”
Keith nodded toward the two older men who were talking in the corner. “Paul and Vincent there both fought in Vietnam.”
“Uh-huh.”
“They fought on different sides. Twenty years later they were part of an online group of vets talking about experiences. Paul learned that Vincent had become a Christian and was finding it rough where they were living. Paul sponsored Vincent and his family to immigrate to this country.”
“Wow.”
“The woman next to them is Sarah. She’s an alcoholic whose story of recovery will bring you to tears. Over near the coffee urn is Karl who raised four kids after his wife was killed in a car accident.” Keith paused. “This whole church is filled with stories of faith and grace.”
“Huh.” Jerome tapped his chin. “So you’re saying that you’re learning and growing in your faith because of the people who come together to be the church as well as what the pastor preaches on Sunday morning.”
Keith nodded. “Every single person here has a story of faith. That’s actually why I invited you to come with me now that you’re working at the plant.”
“I get it. You think that hearing their stories will help me become a better Christian.”
“I know they will but more importantly I think your story will help them come to better know Jesus.”
“Huh? My story?” Jerome shook his head. “There’s nothing special about my story.”
“Are you kidding? The reason why you’re in church and following Jesus is as important as every other story here.”
“Do you really think so? How could growing up in a home with no religion and finding Jesus at a university chapel be of any interest to the people who have lived lives like you describe? Lives which so clearly demonstrate forgiveness and grace?”
“Don’t diminish what Jesus has done for you. Didn’t you tell me that your life now has meaning and direction and you’re a different person?”
“Yes.”
“Then I know your story will be important to them because it made an impact on me,” Keith said. “Face it Jerome, whether you realize it or not you’re a witness to what Jesus can do and has done.”
Jerome considered the other people in the church hall again. “You know what. I’d like to meet some of these other witnesses.”
Keith clasped him on the back. “Then let’s get to it.”
* * *
Take Two Aspirin and Call Me in the Morning
by Frank Ramirez
Acts 3:12-19
And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers…(Acts 3:17).
When we think of the founding fathers who won the revolution against Great Britain and laid the foundations for a more perfect union, we think of them as politicians, but many of them were scientists as well.
It wasn’t just Ben Franklin and his experiments with electricity, and his many inventions including the lightning rod and the Franklin stove. There was also John Adams, for instance, who was willing to trust the new science of inoculation against small pox. And of course, Thomas Jefferson invented many devices, including a machine that allowed him to write two copies of a document at the same time.
This was an era when centuries-old misconceptions were being replaced by scientific experimentation, so perhaps it is no wonder that Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was willing to fly in the face of conventional wisdom and forgo the standard -- and flawed -- treatments for Yellow Fever during an epidemic, preferring to experiment with new medical regimens that he believed saved his and his family’s lives.
Hamilton, who saw action in the Revolutionary War, and before that was George Washington’s personal secretary, and later the first president’s Secretary of Treasury, has certainly vaulted from being one of the more obscure founders of our country to one of the most famous, thanks first to a groundbreaking biography by historian Ron Chernow, and then by the award winning musical “Hamilton,” by Lin-Manuel-Miranda.
But beyond his groundbreaking work to pay off the national debt and stabilize the financial footing of the new nation, he took advantage of a new controversial medical therapy, in distinct contrast to standard treatments.
In 1793 there was an epidemic of Yellow Fever in Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital. It is thought that five thousand people in that city of fifty thousand, one in ten, died of the disease. One of the most active fighting the disease was Benjamin Rush (1746-1813), who might just as easily be described as a founding doctor as well as a founding father. He was a humanitarian, an educator, a scientist, and the Surgeon General of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Later in life, during the War of 1812, he would be near at hand during the Battle of Fort McHenry on a mission to free a captive name Francis Scott Key who, as a prisoner of the British, would be inspired by the sight of Old Glory still waving over that fort, causing him to write “The Star Spangled Banner.” He would also help reconcile two former friends and vigorous enemies, the second and third Presidents of the United States, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
Rush worked tirelessly during the Yellow Fever epidemic. Because of many Philadelphians’ fears of coming into physical contact with the afflicted, Rush trained and employed many African Americans to help treat patients, taking advantage of the opportunity to overcome the prejudices of many white Americans.
However, his means of treating those patients was bleeding and purging the suffering, which probably caused a good many deaths.
Because of ignorance of germ theory, doctors believed that sick people had an imbalance between the four humours of the blood -- black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood -- and the best way to treat them was to bleed them, either by a series of cuts or through the use of leeches, or by purging their digestive systems, often violently through the use of powerful purgatives. This could lead to dehydration and death, but enough people got well despite the treatments that doctors swore by it.
By contrast the treatment employed by Edward Stevens (1755-1834) involved quinine, derived from tree bark, which was a lot like aspirin. Cold baths and the administration of a stiff drink of brandy, as well as small amounts of opium, as well as a good dose of fresh air, probably did a lot less harm than Rush’s treatments, and may have done some good. The fact that Stevens was a friend of Hamilton’s from their shared boyhood in the island of St. Croix (and it was whispered that the two were half-brothers) also played a part in the treasury secretary’s choice of treatment.
Though Hamilton credited Stevens’ treatments with curing him and his family, Dr. Rush ridiculed it. Soon their was a controversy. What should have been a scientific argument, with two opposing views of how the human body worked contending with each other, quickly turned into a political clash, with Rush’s treatments labeled “Republican,” and Stevens credited with a “Federalist” cure. People chose treatments on the basis of their politics.
Today we realize the solution did not lie in politics, but in science. Most doctors of the era acted in ignorance. Since now germ theory is clearly understood, it would be folly to follow the practices of a couple centuries ago. In today’s passage from Acts the apostle Peter also tells his listeners that people had responded to Jesus in ignorance, but now with new knowledge there was (and is) only one proper response to the Good News of the gospel -- repent and be saved!
(You can learn more in Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, pp 448-451)
*****************************************
StoryShare, April 15, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2017 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.
