This was the sermon from last Sunday. And …
Text: Luke 3:1-6 “Everything is S’posed to be Different from What it is Here”
Rev. Darryl M. Roste
In an old movie, Grand Canyon, a young urban professional man, breaks out of a traffic jam on a freeway and attempts to bypass it. His route takes him along side streets that are dark and foreboding. Then the predictable nightmare happens. His expensive luxury car stalls. He calls a tow truck. Before it arrives, five street toughs show up and surround him; they want to take his car. Just in time, the tow truck shows up and a young African American (played by Dennis Glover) begins to hook up to the car. The toughs protest, the driver is interrupting their meal.
The driver takes the leader of the group aside: “Man,” he says, ‘the world ain’t supposed to work like this. Maybe you don’t know that, but this ain’t the way that it’s supposed to be. I’m supposed to be able to do my job, without asking you if I can. And that dude is supposed to be able to wait in his car, without you ripping him off! Everything is supposed to be different from what it is here.”
“Everything is supposed to be different from what it is here”….
Ian Fraser related an experience from a visit to Costa Rica. He was the guest of a woman who lived in poor quarter of Costa Rica. This woman had little formal education, and her home, like all the houses around, was substandard in every way. Her husband left at 5 in the morning and came home at 7 at night selling vegetables to support the family. They both belonged to a neighborhood group which tried to see how changes which were needed in the area could be brought about.
One morning the Costa Rican woman was chatting with a friend. She said that the whole community needed to be roused to press for a fairer deal. Her friend protested that this was the responsibility of the government. The tone of the discussion sharpened.
The woman said; “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?”
“Yes”
“Do you think Jesus Christ came to change life so that it was more the kind of life God wanted to see, or to leave it as it is?”
“I suppose, to change it, yes to change it.”
“Do you think Jesus Christ meant to change life by himself, or did he mean us to share the work with him?”
The other lady- hesitantly, “I know he meant us to play a part.”
“Then how can you believe in Jesus Christ and let things stay as they are?” 1
1 Story by Ian M. Fraser, from This is the Day Readings and Meditations from the Iona Community.
If everything is supposed to be different from what it is ….
Then
how can we believe in Jesus Christ and let things stay as they are?
The boys should be able to play soccer, enjoying donuts from Tim’s brought by their father.
The children should be able to enjoy outings with their father. Though it’s winter, so we’d not head to the beach.