“What Dogs Can Teach Us”

Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – December 4, 2016

Centenary United Methodist Church

Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:1-13

 

    One day an art teacher gave instructions to her class to draw anything that they wanted that had meaning to them. She explained that after they had completed the assignment, they would be given the opportunity to stand in front of the class and explain what they drew.  The teacher began to circulate among the rows of students, monitoring her young artists as they put their imaginations to work.

    She found a girl that had written the word GOD on top of her paper.  The teacher leaned over and gently whispered, "Honey, no one knows what God looks like."  The girl responded, "They will when I finish my drawing."  The teacher smiled and continued roaming among her students.

    When it came time for that student to deliver her report, she said,

This is my picture of what God looks like.  I hope it looks like my dog Rusty.  Rusty is always waiting for me when I come home from school.  Once, I accidentally stepped on Rusty's foot and he yelped and ran away from me, but he forgave me and came back.  When I am sick, Rusty comes up on my bed and stays with me all day unless he gets hungry. He stays with me day after day until I get better.  When I go outside, Rusty loves to go on walks with me.  He is my best friend.  He is just like God.  So that no one will recognize him, God appears as my dog which is God spelled backwards.

    Little Julie Farnsworth somehow had learned to associate God with the qualities of Rusty. Her drawing and her verbal report earned for her an A+ from her teacher.  Who could disagree with this child's perception of God?

    Last week Donna Amaral brought her award winning poodle to church with her.  While I was sitting next to Donna prior to our service starting, she warned me, "If you don't watch out, he will kiss you!'  During Joys & Concerns, I introduced the congregation to Donna's companion.  Donna explained that he is a healing dog.  She takes him to Agape House to visit the Hospice patients and makes other stops at Wind Reach where he entertains special needs children.

    Roy Furbert commented about how wonderful it was to learn how dogs are used with people as an agent of healing. Then Roy went on to say that dogs who engage in this unique practice do not discriminate between who they will help and who they will not help.  They sense that there is a need and they know what to do. 

    Last Tuesday, I brought the early arrivals to Bible Study into my office where I showed them a video that I had just received on my computer.  It showed three settings:  a preschool class, a senior center and a gym where people were exercising and lifting weights.  Each setting was interrupted by someone pulling into each group a wagon filled with little puppies.  (https://www.youtube.com/embed/ )

    The response of the people was the same in all three settings.  Everything each person had been thinking instantly vanished as these puppies played and frolicked among everyone as though they had found a long lost friend. What we found was, that even watching dogs share their loving nature with people in each setting, we smiled and laughed as our own thoughts were replaced by what we were seeing. What is it about dogs that make puppies so loving toward strangers? 

    This morning we are lighting our second candle on our Advent Wreath -- the candle of Love.  Both of our Scripture lessons this morning reflect this theme.  According to Eugene Peterson's translation of our Romans' passage, Paul wrote:

    Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?  That is exactly what Jesus did.  He did not make it easy on himself by avoiding people's troubles, but he waded right in and helped out.  (Romans 15:2f)

    Perhaps dogs are modeling for us how we could enthusiastically treat one another without our having to give much thought about it. As Roy reminded us, dogs do not discriminate between people -- who are worthy of loving and who should be avoided.  What is that quality in dogs that we admire and that Julie Farnsworth associated with God?   

    In his book, The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran provided some guidance toward  a possible answer.  This is the essence of what he wrote:

There are people who give and they do not hesitate in expressing their thoughtfulness, nor do they seek joy in their giving, nor do they give because it is a virtuous act of love.  They give in the same spirit as the myrtle, growing in the yonder valley, that sends its fragrance into the air without any thought about who might be noticing. Everything that you own shall some day be given away to others; therefore give now, so that the opportunity to give may be yours and not your inheritors.

    One winter's night close to Christmas a woman was standing outside of a department store in New Jersey waiting to hail a taxi.  She noticed a young boy standing on a sidewalk grate that was venting warm steam. She said to him, "Honey, where are your shoes?  Why aren't you wearing a coat? It is cold out here!" He said, "I don't have any."  She had never heard such a ridiculous, flimsy story in her life.  Everyone has shoes.  But it did not matter.  He was standing there wearing very little that would keep him warm. She said, "Let me see if we can fix that."

    She took him by the hand and the two went into the store where she bought him a pair of warm socks, shoes and a good warm coat.   When they went outside, the boy ran away.  Before she could think to herself, "I'm been had.  I am such a soft-hearted person that I fall for these things all the time." Suddenly, he came running back and said:

I was so excited to have my first new coat that I wanted to show my Mom.  I remembered that I had not said, 'Thank you!' to you.  My mother would have asked me, 'Did you say 'Thank you to that kind lady?' Well, I have come back to thank you for your kindness.   Are you a relative of God? 

    The woman was so startled by his question, she said, "No darling, I am not." Then, after thinking about the boy's question, she said, "Let me take that back. Yes, honey, I am. I am a distant relative. I want you to enjoy your new shoes and coat."  He said, "Oh, I will, I will, I promise I will." Then, he scampered home to show his Mom. 

    The woman could not get the young man's question out of her mind.  Giving as an automatic response is what God does for everyone.  Her buying those socks, shoes and coat for the boy had transformed her. Her overwhelming feeling was like giving herself a fabulous, priceless Christmas gift.

    This is the transforming energy that Jesus was introducing to the world. We have lighted the second Advent candle to celebrate his coming. All of us are relatives of God but countless citizens of the world have never made that association.  In our giving without thinking, something wonderful takes place within us.

    Originally, the woman in New Jersey thought, "What a ridiculous, flimsy reason to be standing on an exhaust grate in the winter with no shoes.  Everyone has shoes!"  Well, as it turns out, some people do not. 

    There are many reasons why some people choose to remain on the sidelines rather than being directly involved in mission work.  Many of these people, however, still find ways to make a difference. You be the judge. 

  • "I can't go outside and pick up trash anymore, but I can buy the bags for those who do."
  •  "I can no longer be the "go to" guy that I used to be, but I can help with the project by writing a check for the material that the rest of you will be needing." 
  • "I don't have the discretionary money that I used to have, but I can drive others to meetings who no longer choose to drive at night."
  •  "I am in a wheelchair now but I can knit lap robes for someone at Westmeath." 
  • "I can call seniors who live alone and check on them."      

    The other day Laverne Tucker came by our home to pick up the food that we had collected during November.  She reported that our call came just in time for several hungry families that had just run out of everything.  When Laverne comes to collect the food for distribution she tells us about the families we are helping. 

    This time she told us about a call that she received from the Women's Resource Center. She was told that eight families are absolutely desperate for food that people can give.  Their extended families and friends no longer are willing to help them because they saw no resolution to their need.  They could not continue to add them to their weekly grocery list.  The circumstances of these families differ widely but they are all left facing the same challenge -- empty cupboards.

     We were happy to tell Laverne that Suzanne Dunkerley is going to have a festive Christmas gathering in our hall for her Kindermusik parents and their children.  They want to support the mission of our church and they will be bringing food for our program.  Also, the Cub Scouts will be joining our effort.  She smiled.  It does not require much to let love show up in our lives no matter how humble our thoughtfulness may appear.  (Matthew 10:42)

    Have you ever thought of what it must have been like for Jesus to sit on a hill overlooking Jerusalem while knowing the sanctimonious practices of his religious leaders, the criminal elements operating within his city and the Roman occupation by soldiers that often fed their sensual appetites by consorting with women of his culture? 

    Yet, knowing everything that he knew about his world, he still concluded:

I love all of you just as you are.  I love you so much that if a day comes when you will want to kill me, I will love you anyway.  Every one of you is one of my Father's sons or daughters.  I wish that more of you could realize that.

    Jesus knew the real identity of all his people.  He also understood that none of them considered themselves as being a relative of God. What brings joy to those of us who know this is that it does not require any beliefs for this to be true. This is who we are.  When we watch how puppies transform people, these small creatures seem to understand that they can make a difference by enthusiastically expressing their loving energy.  So can we.