First Lesson: 2 Samuel 11: 1-15 Responsive Reading: Psalm 14 Second Lesson: Ephesians 3: 14-21 Gospel Lesson: John 6: 1-21 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
This summer we’ve been having a good deal of Road Construction upon the North Shore. I’ve had trips from Two Harbors that have taken 1 ½ hours. We all can understand this frustration. Now picture a bigger city like Minneapolis where the cars aren’t just in the hundreds but the hundreds of thousands on the road at any given time. With road construction in mind, let me begin by telling a children’s story as told by Alice Schertle[1]. Once upon a time, there was a little, blue truck[2]. The truck was small. The truck was slow. The truck looked like it didn’t belong on the road with the other cars. One day the little blue truck dared to venture into the big city. As the little, blue truck drove around, everyone couldn’t help but see all the ways that it didn’t measure up to the other vehicles on the road. Other vehicles would shout out at the little, blue truck “Shove on, Shorty,” honk their horns, or yell “Get out of the way[3].” Finally, the little blue truck encounters the biggest limousine around. The limousine was the prettiest car around. It was obvious that someone important is inside. That person turned out to be the big city’s mayor. Pretty soon a traffic jam came to the big city. Cars were stuck with nowhere to go. Drivers were yelling and honking at each other. The little blue truck though had a realization; a little patience will help things move a lot faster. “One at a time is the way to go[4].” As the little blue truck encountered the limo once again, the limo started to go attempting to cut off the little blue truck, only to have its engine give out right in the middle of the city. The little blue truck then offered the mayor a ride. Everyone was shocked when the mayor took the little blue truck up on its offer. The mayor encourages all the cars to follow the little blue truck’s advice. Pretty soon, all the cars in line. Soon everyone around begins to cheer the little, blue truck for ultimately leading the way out of the traffic jam once and for all[5]. Now the little, blue truck showed something important about leadership how it's not always the biggest trucks on the road that are needed to get the job the done[6]. Sometimes all that’s needed to change the world is a simple servant who sees a much bigger purpose. Let me tell a second story; Once upon a time, there was a seminary professor on vacation[7]. He and his wife were having dinner when an old man they hadn’t seen before in their lives began to approach them. The old man asks what do you the professor “What do you do.” To which the professor replies “I work as a preacher.” Normally announcing he was a preacher would put a quick end to a lot of conversations, but the old man grew more excited. He said, let me tell you a story. The old man began to explain his life as a child[8]. He never knew who his father was. His mother was ostracized by nearly everyone around in their town in Tennessee. The young boy had never gone to church because of this. One day though a new preacher came to town. The young boy to the amazement of everyone showed up at the church. The boy left the service early before anyone could talk to him. He would keep coming back week after week. He would be the last one in and the first one out. He was skilled at never talking to anyone. One Sunday though the boy got caught up in the sermon and didn’t leave. As soon as the service was over, the aisles started to fill. The boy started scurrying for a side door, embarrassed that he had been caught at church. Pretty soon though he feels a giant hand come down upon his shoulder. The boy turns around sees the preacher staring right at him. “What’s your name, boy? Whose son are you?” The little boy was ashamed at the question; he didn’t want to dare tell this preacher the truth that he had no idea who his father was. He thought he’d be told to never come back to the church ever again. The preacher begins looking the boy up and down. Before the boy could answer, the preacher began to speak “know who you are. I know who your family is. There’s a distinct family resemblance. Why you’re the son, you’re the son; you’re the son of God!”. The old man described this encounter in the midst of a church traffic jam as forever changing his life, even years after it had taken place. The old man got up and left the preacher’s table then finally the restaurant. The waitress comes up to deliver the bill “Do you know who that was?” The preacher got confused, only to hear the waitress answer “That was Ben Hooper, the two-term governor of Tennessee.[9]” On that day the preacher was merely a simple servant who saw a much bigger purpose at work in the life of this fatherless child. These two stories lead us into our lesson for Today from Ephesians 3[10]. In this chapter, Paul begins to pray for the Ephesian church. Ephesians was one of Paul’s last letters. Paul probably wrote Ephesians while sitting in prison[11]. Paul though in these days saw a much bigger purpose for the Ephesian church. Paul’s prayer goes as such: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God[12].” Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church is that they comprehend the vastness of God’s love. The vastness of God’s grace in all kinds of life’s situations. The reality that this grace does not end even when you’re an outcast child trying to escape a church in Tennessee. Rev. Dr. Guy Sayles sums this passage up best when he says[13]: ‘ Thankfully, as Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians reminds us, we don’t have a small and distant god. The real God revealed to us in the history of Israel and in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is magnificent, mysterious, and mighty.” The type of God that Paul prays can take the smallest of acts and use them for much, much bigger purposes. Let me close with one final story; Once upon a time in Romania, there was a pastor named Laszlo Tokes[14] who was continually harassed by the secret police of the communist government. Pastor Tokes refused to back down, so the government set out to arrest him and deported to his native Hungary. Yet all the members of his church gathered to protect him and form a blockade around him[15]. Just like the little blue truck or the small boy in the church, the communist forces were flummoxed. Pretty soon people from all over the Romanian countryside came out to join Pastor Tokes cause. Nine days later, the Romanian government fell. The reign of the Iron Curtain over Eastern Europe was soon to come to an end. All these things took place because one Pastor saw a much bigger purpose that his current oppression. In the wake of Pastor Tokes’ victory and the fall of the Communists, a sign went up declaring “The Lamb Wins[16].” The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians had come true. God’s spirit filled the land, and the church was assured of their eventual, final victory in Christ Jesus. God’s purposes are often bigger their own. The following reality is why we often struggle to see God’s purposes on any given day. Within the Kingdom of God eventually, the tiny, little blue truck becomes the most admired car in the city. The little-ashamed boy in the back of the church becomes the Governor of Tennessee, or the simple country Pastor changes the whole wide world. The one theme all these stories have in common is they all took place in the midst of various traffic jams. Remember this the next time you encounter a little bit of road construction. Amen [1] Landes, Elizabeth Boulware. “Little Blue Truck: Leads the Way.” Storypath. William Smith Morton Library, Union Presbyterian Seminary. 19.Jun.2015. Web. July.12.2018. [2] Miss Becky. “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle.” You Tube. 12. May.2017. Web. July.12.2018. [3] Miss Becky. “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle.” You Tube [4] Miss Becky. “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle.” You Tube. [5] Miss Becky. “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle.” You Tube [6] Landes, Elizabeth Boulware. “Little Blue Truck: Leads the Way.” Storypath. [7] Higgins, Scott. “You’re the Son of God.” Stories of Preaching. Web. July.12.2018 taken from Tony Campolo’s It’s Friday but Sunday’s Comin. Word Books. 1985. [8] Higgins, Scott. “You’re the Son of God.” Stories of Preaching. [9] Higgins, Scott. “You’re the Son of God.” Stories of Preaching. [10] Ephesians 3:14-21. [11] Markquardt, Edward. “Fill Er’ Up: Books of the Bible: Ephesians.” Sermons from Seattle. Web. July.12.2018. [12] Ephesians 3:16-19. [13] Sayles, Rev.Dr. Guy. “Our Vast and Loving God.” Day 1. 29. July.2012. Web. July.12.2018. [14] “László Tőkés.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 25.June.2018. Web. July.12.2018. [15] Buchanan, Rodney. “I Believe In The Holy Catholic Church.” Sermon Central. 10.Jun.2012. Web. July.12.2018. [16] Buchanan, Rodney. “I Believe In The Holy Catholic Church.” Sermon Central. 12/21/2018 10:38:20 am
Your struggles in life will always have its reward at the end, and all your sufferings will be gone. I guess, it's about time for you to change your perspective in life. It's just natural for a particular person to face some problems in life because that can eventually be solved. What you need to think of is the fact that everything will get better at the end. You just have to trust the process ,and everything will be alright! That is what God has taught us, and that is something that we should learn! Comments are closed.
|
Categories
All
|