“What
Is Your Story-Line?” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – December
24, 2016 Centenary United Methodist Church
Christmas Eve The theme that we are
going to explore this evening is the quality of the story-line that each of us
brings to the sudden, unexpected changes that show up in our lives.
Our story-line is the
orientation toward life that serves us with guidance and support. All of
us have some thread that helps
us to cope with detours.
Some of our story-lines are better than others.
My brother's
wife was recently diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.
She is a woman of enormous faith.
Her story-line would go something like this: God has been with me
every moment of my life, so what is facing me now is an opportunity for
me to practice my patience and trust that my life is in good hands. Compromising my
faith with sadness and fear will not
fix what I am facing. My trust
will support me until the time when
my train stops at my station.
When that time comes, I will get on board knowing that it has
come to take me home.
The Bethlehem
story has Mary and Joseph facing one adjustment after another.
Mary came to Joseph and said, "I am pregnant.
You see, there was this angel that told me that God is the
father. My son is going to
be a very special person." No doubt, Joseph was listening to a reason
for her pregnancy that no one had ever used.
No matter how it happened, he had to deal with Mary being
pregnant. After a long
journey of riding on a donkey for a Roman tax registration, Mary found
her contractions were getting closer together.
The baby was coming when she heard the inn keeper say: I'm sorry honey, I
honestly don't have any room.
Look around. I've got
people sleeping in the hallways and the rooms are overloaded with people
willing to sleep on the floor.
You will need privacy. I tell you what. . . I'll have my daughter
bring some warm water and towels.
She will also lay down a bed of fresh straw in the stable.
I'm sorry that is all I have. The need for
adjusting continued. Shepherds arrived because
angels had instructed them
that a Savior was just born.
To add to the confusing adjustments, three Astrologers from
Persia arrived some weeks later bringing the family gold, frankincense
and myrrh. Suddenly, word
came that Herod was sending soldiers to kill all of the male babies up
to the age of two. The family had to flee into Egypt.
Life was never normal for this young family. They had an evolving
story-line that God was with
them through all of their unique circumstances. Think of the
unexpected events that have happened to you this year.
Some of you have experienced losses.
Some of you have almost died.
Some of you have been inconvenienced by missed
flight-connections. Some of you have experienced disappointments. What
prevented, fear, frustration and disappointment from taking up residence
in your spirits? If you
navigated through your circumstances, you have a wonderful
story-line. Recently, our
son spent ten days with us.
We received a call from him after he landed in Baltimore that attempted
to shatter our peace. He had parked his car in Long Term B at
Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
His first words were these: "I got to my car and found that the
battery was dead. It is 16
degrees right now. I am dressed
for Bermuda. I have no warmer
clothing. There is no one else here. What should I do?" In the middle
of what little advice we could provide, Steve said, "I've got to go. I
am freezing. My hands no longer work." The conversation ended abruptly
and we had to endure a prolonged period of silence until we heard from
him again. The arrival of
another airport shuttle bus is what caused him to end his conversation
with us. The driver of that bus took immediate command of the situation.
She called headquarters and told Steve to sit down in the bus
until his core could warm up.
She made another loop with her bus and found the technician who
was helping another driver.
Steve sat in the technician's truck until his car was jump-started.
All ended well. When
we have a
story-line that empowers us during uncertain times,
we become sensitized to
an invisible presence that opens a door
within our senses that simply was not there before our circumstance
turned our lives upside down.
Steve
later commented that everyone that suddenly appeared was so kind,
compassionate, understanding and accommodating.
All of us have
these qualities within us.
When we express them, often we are the ones that become the
saving link in someone else's
chain of unexpected events. The time
arrived for the Christmas break for the students at Boston University.
The Dean of the School of Music was walking to his car when he noticed
one of his students becoming such
a link to an old man who was playing his violin while sitting under
a tree. He drew closer to watch what would unfold. The shivering
man had become totally invisible to the passing students and university
personnel as each was hurrying to get home for Christmas. His violin
case was open for possible contributions but it remained empty.
The student
listened for a while to his untutored playing and then she asked, “May I
play your violin for you?” With great hesitation and reluctance, he gave
her his instrument. She laid down her backpack, removed her
mittens and spent a few moments tuning the violin. As she began to play,
she transformed the entire world around her with a rendition of Ave
Maria. People stopped
and began to gather around the two of them. As the crowd grew
larger, she motioned with her head to fill the poor man’s violin case
with whatever they could give. They got the message and
immediately filled his offering
plate generously. Some
in the crowd had tears in their eyes when they realized what was taking
place.
The Dean later wrote the
following in the school's newsletter: The sight of one
of our students taking the time to be with this older gentleman touched
me in a way that a thousand sermons on goodwill could never have done.
I was very proud that Rebecca would take the time to bring joy to
someone who could not give her anything in return. Truly I have seen the
spirit of love in one of its purest forms touching all of us through
this episode of compassion. This afternoon many of us were drawn
closer to what makes Christmas a most unique observance even for those
of us who have no faith at all. Hopefully, all of us have a
story-line that guides and supports our living not only as we
navigate through a good number of unexpected changes but also a
story-line that allows us to be of assistance because we are at the
perfect place at the right time to do so.
Hopefully, we can remember the words of Jesus, "As you have done
it unto one of the least of these, you have done it unto me."
(Matthew 25:40) You could be part of a medical team supporting a woman with stage
four cancer, an inn keeper for a pregnant woman, a bus driver to a
person freezing in a vacant parking lot, or a musician helping an old
man to collect enough money to sustain his needs for another day. Christmas is a wonderful time to refine our
story-line that supports us
during moments of major changes, but such a refinement can also enable
us to become part of that
invisible presence that shows up when someone has a need that
requires our help. Merry Christmas! |