Pastor’s Column. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, told a story on himself. He was waiting for a taxi outside the railway station in Paris. When the taxi pulled up, he put his suitcase in it and then got in himself. As he was about to tell the taxi-driver where he wanted to go, the driver asked, "Where can I take you, Mr. Doyle?"
Doyle was astounded. He asked the driver if he knew him by sight. The driver said, "No Sir, I have never seen you before." Doyle was puzzled and asked him how he knew he was Arthur Conan Doyle.
The driver replied: "This morning's paper had a story that you were on vacation in Marseilles. This is the taxi-stand where people who return from Marseilles always wait. Your skin color tells me you have been on vacation. The ink-spot on your right index finger suggests to me that you are a writer. Your clothing is very English and not French. Adding up all these pieces of information, I deduce that you are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."
Doyle exclaimed, "This is truly amazing. You are a real-life counter-part to my fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes."
"There is one other thing," the driver said.
"What is that?" Doyle asked.
"Your name is on the front of your suitcase."
It wasn't the powers of deduction. It was the power of observation. Jesus taught us, “Observe the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?... And why do you worry about clothing? Observe the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
“Do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat or drink or wear?’…Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Mt6: 26-33
It would seem that we don’t have to be a smart as Sherlock Holmes to see God at work behind the scenes. All we have to do is observe. -DJ
Monday, October 29, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Pastor's Column - Oct. 14, 2012
PASTOR’S COLUMN. At Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, a ten-year-old boy walked into Rev. Sarah Jo Sarchet’s office. “I’d like to be baptized,” he said. “We were learning about Jesus’ baptism in Sunday School. The teacher asked the class who had been baptized, and all the other kids raised their hands. I want to be baptized too.”
“Cameron, do you really want to be baptized just because everyone else is?” the pastor asked. “No. I want to be baptized because it means I belong to God.”
Rev. Sarchet was impressed by his understanding. “Well, then, how about this Sunday?” The boy’s smile turned to concern. “You mean in front of all those people in the church? Can’t I just have a friend baptize me in the river?”
The pastor asked where he ever came up with such an idea. “Jesus was baptized by his cousin John in a river, wasn’t he?”
Caught off guard, she conceded. “You’re right, but if a friend baptized you in the river, how would the church recognize it?” And then to teach him about what Presbyterians believe about baptism, she climbed up on a footstool to reach her Presbyterian Book of Order on the top shelf.
But before she could reach the book, Cameron said, “I guess by my new way of living.” The pastor nearly fell off the footstool and left her Book of Order on the shelf. Cameron’s understanding was neither childish nor simple. It was profound. Baptism calls us to a new way of living. - DJ
“Cameron, do you really want to be baptized just because everyone else is?” the pastor asked. “No. I want to be baptized because it means I belong to God.”
Rev. Sarchet was impressed by his understanding. “Well, then, how about this Sunday?” The boy’s smile turned to concern. “You mean in front of all those people in the church? Can’t I just have a friend baptize me in the river?”
The pastor asked where he ever came up with such an idea. “Jesus was baptized by his cousin John in a river, wasn’t he?”
Caught off guard, she conceded. “You’re right, but if a friend baptized you in the river, how would the church recognize it?” And then to teach him about what Presbyterians believe about baptism, she climbed up on a footstool to reach her Presbyterian Book of Order on the top shelf.
But before she could reach the book, Cameron said, “I guess by my new way of living.” The pastor nearly fell off the footstool and left her Book of Order on the shelf. Cameron’s understanding was neither childish nor simple. It was profound. Baptism calls us to a new way of living. - DJ
Monday, October 8, 2012
Pastor's Column - Oct. 7, 2012
PASTOR’S COLUMN. On “Oldies” radio stations you constantly hear the following sort of promo, “Bringing Back the Memories!” Or you hear testimonials like, “I just discovered your station, and I love the music! I haven’t heard those songs in years, and oh my, they’re bringing back so many memories!”
Does hearing an old favorite song bring back memories for you or not? People break both ways on this. For some it does, for others they get nothing more than the pleasure of hearing it again. And by the way, most people say that if a song was a dog back then, it’s still a dog. Unlike wine, age doesn’t improve it.
The mind is one of God’s most mysterious gifts, and memories seem to be provoked in a variety of ways. But sometimes we can’t leave remembering to chance melodies. There are thing we need to remember, and the only way is to sit down and actually search through our experiences. For ex., we may need to remember what God has done in our past because it can give us confidence as to how God will act in the present and in the future. In terms of frequency of use, “Remember” is one of the most used words in the Bible. The prophets of Israel would exhort their people, “Remember, O Israel!” referring to the covenant that God had made through Moses with the people at Mt Sinai. In that covenant the people agreed to obey God’s laws, and God agreed to take care of them. This covenant is not to be forgotten even for a moment.
All of us have experienced memorable instances of God’s intervention in our lives. These experiences of God’s help, as well as what Christ requires of us, are something to keep in mind constantly. Not something to be left to chance memory. -DJ
Does hearing an old favorite song bring back memories for you or not? People break both ways on this. For some it does, for others they get nothing more than the pleasure of hearing it again. And by the way, most people say that if a song was a dog back then, it’s still a dog. Unlike wine, age doesn’t improve it.
The mind is one of God’s most mysterious gifts, and memories seem to be provoked in a variety of ways. But sometimes we can’t leave remembering to chance melodies. There are thing we need to remember, and the only way is to sit down and actually search through our experiences. For ex., we may need to remember what God has done in our past because it can give us confidence as to how God will act in the present and in the future. In terms of frequency of use, “Remember” is one of the most used words in the Bible. The prophets of Israel would exhort their people, “Remember, O Israel!” referring to the covenant that God had made through Moses with the people at Mt Sinai. In that covenant the people agreed to obey God’s laws, and God agreed to take care of them. This covenant is not to be forgotten even for a moment.
All of us have experienced memorable instances of God’s intervention in our lives. These experiences of God’s help, as well as what Christ requires of us, are something to keep in mind constantly. Not something to be left to chance memory. -DJ
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