Amusing story


I heard two amusing stories today at my study group. One pastor shared a story about a friend of his who had a member stop him after a sermon during Lent. She told him that things seemed a little sad during Lent and she had a solution for it. She thought that he should put a smiley face on the cross over the pulpit. While this brings all kinds of images and thoughts to mind, I doubt that putting a smiley face on the cross would really add much meaning to the season.

The second story concerns another minister who happened to visit the beach right before the Lenten season. He came upon some misshapen driftwood and he got a wonderful idea. He gathered some of the larger pieces and made a very rugged cross. When it came time for the acolyte to march in procession on the first Sunday of Lent, he gave the rugged cross to the youngster instead of the traditional golden cross that the church used. When the boy came down the aisle with the wooden cross instead of the gold cross, you could audible gasps. After the service, the minister was surrounded by people who demanded to know where the gold cross was. He told them that he had put it in storage and that the driftwood cross was much more in keeping with the season when you think about Jesus preparing to be crucified. Their only reply was a very angry, “Put our golden cross back!” The story reminds me of the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard who said that pastors of his day could wear clothes worth hundreds of dollars, walk into a church decorated with gold and silver, climb into a pulpit made of the most expensive wood, preach about the poor, and not see the innate contradictions.

I love stories that show how easily we are prone to talk one way and act another. I am extremely proud that we as a country have risen up to help Haiti in its hour of horrible need. At the same time, I wonder why we ignore the homeless in our own country. Why is it that we rush to have benefits for those who live in another land when we cannot spare some change for those who are hurting here in America? We are cutting the budget for those who are on the outer edges of our society and we don’t blink. I am not saying that we should not help in Haiti. No, no, no. We should help. But brother, can’t you spare a dime for those who hurt right here?

I guess what has me going this morning is what has happened in my church. We had three young children who were hanging around our church the summer I came. They were a nuisance, coming in to get water and running around the church. But we were nice to them.

Then they started to come around for things that had food and we fed them. Finally, we were able to get them to come to church.

Now they hug my wife and me when we see them and they are more faithful attendees than some of our members. The point is that we often cast our nets too far into the ocean when the fish come close to the dock.

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