[Propertalk] Fw: Sermon resources for August 7 - Part 2

[Joe Parrish]

Humor: Missing the Rocks
 
There is a joke concerning this text that has gone around for years about three ministers out fishing together in a small boat. One of them, suddenly realizing that he had left his tackle box in the cabin, stepped out of the boat, and walked on the water over to shore. Just then, the second one said he had forgotten his faithful fishing hat on the front seat of the car. He too stepped out of the boat and walked on the water over to shore. When they had both returned, the third minister who had watched this remarkable demonstration with mouth open and eyes wide, reasoned to himself "My faith is as strong as theirs. I can do that too." 
 
So he stepped out of the boat and promptly sank to the bottom. His two companions dragged him out, but once they got him in the boat, he was determined not to be shown up. He stepped out once more, and immediately sank again. As his friends pulled him out, he sputtered, "My faith is as strong as yours. Why can't I walk on the water?"

The first two looked at each another and one finally said, "We'd better tell him where those rocks are before he drowns himself."

David E. Leininger, Mayday!
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Do Not Be Afraid
 
“Do not be afraid.”  The scriptures make this announcement over and over again.  These are usually the first words out of angel’s mouths.  Abraham, Moses, Mary, Joseph, shepherds tending their flocks, Paul sitting in a jail cell, the women looking for Christ’s body at Easter and disciples rowing a boat in the strong wind all hear these words.  In all, these words occur almost 100 times in the scriptures.  Apparently, humans are very fearful creatures and we are in need of faith to function properly in the world.
 
Todd Weir, Do Not Be Afraid
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Unbounded Faith 
 
This summer, I took part in a chaplaincy program at Crouse hospital, where one of my assigned units was the neonatal intensive care unit. There I watched babies born 1, 2, 3 months early, struggle for their lives, struggle to eat, to breathe, to gain even an ounce. The mothers there, whether they considered themselves religious or not, suddenly found themselves having to rely on faith, suddenly found themselves believing in, hoping for, depending on miracles. It was hard for an outsider, even a chaplain, to understand the kind of faith required in this special nursery. 
 
At first I would look at some of the tiniest babies, some of the 1 lb. babies, and try to be realistic. To prepare myself for the grief I might experience, I tried to expect the real possibility that the smallest babies might not make it. I hoped for the best, but I tried to balance my hopes with realism, with the reality confronting me, so that I wouldn't be disappointed if a miracle didn't happen, so that I wouldn't be hurt if I did have to confront sorrow and loss. But the mothers there would tell you that my attitude wasn't what was needed there - they would tell you that no matter what the odds, they had to hope for a miracle, with all their heart, with all the faith they could muster. There was nothing practical about their faith, no consideration for realism in what they dreamed of happening. Perhaps this was the kind of faith Jesus was asking of Peter out on the sea that day. Unbounded  faith,unrestrained, unmeasured, uncalculated. Perhaps this is the kind of faith Jesus is asking, demanding, expecting of us. 
 
Beth Quick, What Did You/do We Expect?
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Now I Know Why Jesus Walked!
 
This is a familiar story. Mark Twain refers to it in one of his books. He recalls a visit to the Holy Land and a stay in Capernaum. It was a moonlit night, so he decided to take his wife on a romantic boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Twain asked a man in a rowboat how much he would charge to take them out on the water. The man saw Twain's white suit, white shoes and white hat and supposed he was a rich Texan. So he said the cost would be twenty-five dollars. Twain walked away as he said, "Now I know why Jesus walked." 
David Leininger, Stay in the Boat!, www.eSermons.com
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Motorcycle Churches
 
Even churches can know what it is to walk on the water. Wes Seliger is an unconventional Episcopal clergyman who loves motorcycles. He tells about being in a motorcycle shop one day, drooling over a huge Honda 750 and wishing that he could buy it. A salesman came over and began to talk about his product. He talked about speed, acceleration, excitement, the attention-getting growl of the pipes, racing, risk. He talked about how the good-looking girls would be attracted to anyone riding on such a cycle.

Then he discovered that Wes was a minister. It always happens, doesn't it? Immediately the salesman changed his language and even the tone of his voice. He spoke quietly and talked about good mileage and visibility. It was indeed a "practical" vehicle.

Wes observed: "Lawnmower salespersons are not surprised to find clergypersons looking at their merchandise; motorcycle salespersons are. Why? Does this tell us something about clergypersons and about the church? Lawnmowers are slow, safe, sane, practical, and middle-class. Motorcycles are fast, dangerous, wild, thrilling." Then Wes asks a question: "Is being a Christian more like mowing a lawn or like riding a motorcycle? Is the Christian life safe and sound or dangerous and exciting?" He concludes, "The common image of the church is pure lawnmower--slow, deliberate, plodding. Our task is to take the church out on the open road, give it the gas, and see what the old baby will do!" 

Is our church a lawn mower church or a motorcycle church? Maybe it's time we took more risks for God.
 
King Duncan, Don’t Look Down, www.eSermons.com
 
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Augustine on Miracles
 
"Miracles are not a contradiction of nature. They are only in contradiction to what we know of nature."
 
St. Augustine
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Trust in the Father in the Midst of the Storm
 
One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters."
 
Traditional Story
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Staring at the Cross
 
Alexander Solzhenitsyn said that only once during his long imprisonment in a labor camp in the Soviet Union did he become so discouraged that he thought about suicide. He was outdoors, on a work detail, and he had reached a point where he no longer cared whether he lived or died. When he had a break, he sat down, and a stranger sat beside him, someone he had never seen before and would never see again. For no apparent reason, this stranger took a stick and drew a cross on the ground. Solzhenitsyn sat and stared at that cross for a long while. He later wrote, "Staring at that cross, I realized that therein lies freedom”…
 
The conclusion to this list and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Proper 14 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
 
 


 
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