Ollie and the Pearl

First Lesson: Genesis 29: 15-28
Responsive Reading: Psalm 128
Second Lesson: Romans 8: 26-39
​Gospel Lesson: Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

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Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”-Romans 8:28

John Roberts is the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  In Roberts position, he would be considered one of the wisest people in the country.  Recently, Chief Justice Roberts was tabbed to be the commencement speaker at Cardigan Mountain School[1] in New Hampshire where his son Jack attends[2].  Cardigan Mountain School is a place where most of the boys come from a place of privilege in life.  They might have moms and dads who are rich, and grandmas and grandpas who are rich.  They might come from families of Senators or even the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  Many of these boys have been born with every conceivable advantage in this world.  They might seem destined to follow in their family’s very successful footsteps. 

Normally commencement speeches are dripping with optimism telling people to remember where you came from, work hard, follow your dreams, maybe smile now and then, and close with wishing the hearers good luck.  Chief Justice Roberts wasn’t going to give one of these speeches.  Chief Justice Roberts instead wished the boys “bad luck.”  He said he hoped the years ahead would, in fact, bring them trouble. 

What did Chief Justice Roberts wish the graduating class[3]:
He wished the boys experience injustice, so they may know what and who is just.  He wished the boys are betrayed, so they may know who is truly loyalty.  He wished boys experience loneliness’, so they don’t take their relationships for granted.  He wished the boys experience bad luck, so they are reminded that the line between success and failure in this world is often a thin line often brought about by the uncertainty of chance.  He wished the boys are ignored by others, so they learn the importance of listening. 

Chief Justice Roberts’ main point is to remember that there is often a great message behind all of our misfortune. 

Now let me tell you about a man who would have liked what Chief Justice Roberts had to say.  The guy’s name was the Apostle Paul.  Paul was maybe the wisest man in the Early Church.  The Book of Romans would be a collection of all the wisdom that Paul had collected within his ministry[4].  Paul wrote Romans probably thirty years after his famous conversion on the Road to Damascus.  Paul wanted his beliefs on record in the empire’s capital, so he wrote this letter.  Paul in our lesson for Today wanted to touch on where we can exactly find God’s presence in moments of injustice, betrayal, loneliness, bad luck, and those moments when we feel powerless.  Paul wants Christians to know to whom they can tune in the moments of our desperation[5].  Paul always wants them to know this.  That life will sometimes hit Christian people hard.

Joseph M. Stowell grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey just across the bridge from New York City[6].  Stowell’s school had its share of really rough kids.  One day, while roughhousing with some of his friends,  Stowell gets hit in the face.  One of Stowell’s front-teeth comes loose.  Stowell has a dental emergency which nearly everyone would dread.  Here’s the thing, Stowell’s tooth had previously been crooked, the Dentist because of the punch was able to make the tooth straight once again.  Today, Stowell is a Christian College President and Author[7]. 

What Paul is saying is that there will be times such as these when the enemy seems to be bearing down on us, yet God is still present[8].  The following is true, even if he might seem way too far behind the scenes for our liking. 

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? “-Romans 8:31

How exactly does this all work though in God using all things for good, even the bad and hideously ugly.  Marie Balter was born in the winter of 1931 in Gloucester, Massachusetts[9].  Her Mom was an alcoholic with barely a cent to her name, who soon gave her up for adoption.  Marie would spend the next few years of her life bouncing around the system living in various foster homes.  At the age of 6, Balter was adopted by an Italian couple who didn’t speak English.  These were strict parents when Marie did something wrong they would lock her in a cellar or a dark closet.  If Marie were home late, they would lock her out of the house.  Marie wasn’t allowed to have any English speaking friends.  Marie eventually runs away from home into a convent[10].  At age 16, Marie Balter was suffering from as nasty a depression as a woman can experience.  She just began to shut down and stop communicating.  Marie was then diagnosed with schizophrenia.  She was then sent to live at Danvers State Hospital where she would be mostly confined for the next 17 years of her life[11].  These years seemingly broke Marie. By the age of 33; she seemed destined to Danvers Hospital forever.  Her panic and anxiety disorders were such that she hadn’t been able to walk for nearly two years.  She would continually hear voices within her head and she saw demons whenever she looked in the mirror[12].  Marie Balter was as low as a human could be in this world.  Marie Balter turned to prayer.  She prayed for escape.  She vowed to dedicate herself to mental health if the opportunity ever presented itself.  She began by shuffling cards to regain feeling in her hands; she then started taking small steps and scrubbing floors[13].  She then started walking longer and longer.  When she requested her release, the hospital staff took bets on how many weeks before Marie Balter came back to Danvers Hospital. 
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Marie upon her release started working menial jobs; she eventually returned to community college, she then got a bachelor's degree from Salem State in psychology and a masters degree from Harvard in administrative planning[14].  Marie Balter would eventually return to Danvers State Hospital, seventeen years after her release, only this time Marie Balter returned as an administrator[15].  What changed Marie Balter’s life? She believed in setback after setback that God had a plan that would soon become known in her life.  Like Chief Justice Roberts, she believed there was a message in her all misfortunate.  She believed that her God could ultimately work all these things for a greater good.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”- Romans 8:35

I want to close with another story this morning as told by Ed Markquart[16].  Ollie the Oyster was one day out for a swim.  Ollie’s side was quickly struck by a grain of sand which got stuck.  Ollie had never felt so much pain in his entire life.  Ollie let out as much inappropriate Oyster language as one can imagine.  Ollie’s ranting though could not remove this painful piece of sand stuck to Ollie’s side.  Ollie cried and cried, Ollie cried until tears couldn’t come from his eyes anymore.  Ollie then tried to live with the pain, yet no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, Ollie’s pain could not go away.  Here’s the thing about Oysters though they respond a bit different to pain then You and I.  Ollie started producing within his body a fine oil to heal his wound[17].  No different than our scabs began to heal our wounds.  Over time, Ollie’s oil grew harder and harder, pretty soon all that oil mixed with Ollie’s wound produced the most beautiful pearl any of you can imagine. 

What Paul is getting at in our lesson for Today is this it is often our wounds as in the case of Joseph Stowell with his loose tooth, Marie Balter or Ollie the Oyster which transform the brokenness of our lives into eventual pearls.  We probably don’t believe this when the pain is leaving us unable to move.  Rest assured, God’s whole ways in the world involve taking our problems of sin and death and bringing forth pearly gates instead.   

Paul’s message for Today is God sees our problems.  Your problems are not too big for God.  God promises that no matter how dark a place you might be in life, pearls can be made.  Our problems can never separate us from God’s grace.  We can always find a message in misfortune.  We can always find this message in the work of our messiah.   

I close this morning with Paul’s closing words from our lesson:
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord[18].”  Amen


[1] Steir, Pastor Leon. “Wishing You Bad Luck.” Email Mediatations. 17.July.2017. Web. July.24.2017. 
[2]John Roberts”. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 13.June.2017. Web. July.24.2017. 
[3] Steir, Pastor Leon. “Wishing You Bad Luck.”
[4] Markquart, Ed. “Books of the Bible-Romans: Christ’s Spirit and Eternal Bonding.” Sermons from Seattle. Web. July.24.2017. 
[5] Kamudzandu, Israel. “Commentary on Romans 8:26-39.” Working Preacher. 30.July.2017. Web. July.24.2017. 
[6] Anselmi, Jeffrey. “God is Bigger.” Sermon Central. 12.June.2003. Web. July.24.2017. 
[7] “Joseph Stowell.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 27. Apr.2017. Web. July.24.2017. 
[8] Berge, Paul. S. “Commentary on Romans 8:26-39.” Working Preacher. 27.July.2008. Web. July.24.2017. 
[9] Brennan, Patricia. “Nobody’s Child.” Washingston Post. 6. Apr.1986. Web. July.24.2017. 
[10] Brennan, Patricia. “Nobody’s Child.”
[11] Lane Butts, Rev. Dr. Thomas. “On Winning the Biggest Battle of Life.” Day 1. 13.Jan.2002. Web. July.24.2017. 
[12] Brennan, Patricia. “Nobody’s Child.”
[13] Brennan, Patricia. “Nobody’s Child.”
[14] Brennan, Patricia. “Nobody’s Child.”
[15] AP. “Ex-Patient is State Hospital Administrator.” New York Times. 27.Nov.1988. New York Times. July.24.2017. 
[16] Markquart, Ed. “Books of the Bible: Christ’s Spirit and Eternal Bonding.”
[17] Markquart, Ed. “Books of the Bible: Christ’s Spirit and Eternal Bonding.”
[18] Romans 8:38-39.