Were you blessed by a parable recently?

The New Testament contains many passages related to telling and hearing of parables. These "faith images" gave valuable insights to early Christians and are still relevant. I believe God continues today to provide parables -- earthly stories with a heavenly meaning -- to give us insight to Christian behavior and beliefs. When I take the time to look, and listen, for them my life is enhanced. For example, I recently read on the back of one of our church bulletins ...............

"God works out salvation through a story that is unique in each of us. No one has seen what you have seen! No one sees God quite the way you do! So when you raise your own distinctive voice and add it to the chorus of praise, the complexity of the sound increases, but the music is beautiful because the song is one."

What an image to ponder -- especially following my recent participation in the choir festival at Ocean Grove. During the rehearsal, my Presbyterian and Methodist seat partners and I soon became friends. What a special treat it was to add my voice to the 1,600+ Christians praising God. That night when the 6,000 listeners in the congregation joined the choir to sing the hymns, it "raised the hair on the back of my neck." One of the speakers for the evening suggested the choir festival was a foretaste of heaven, a place where children of God from all faiths join together to sing and listen to praises of God.

Last Christmas season, I saw in the local paper a photo of clergy from multiple faiths cleaning the physical mess remaining in the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, after the release of the prisoners.

It was a vivid parable. That is, the "church" is always there to clean up "messes" -- no activity in doing so is beneath any of its members. There is no absence in the number of "messes" we daily encounter. When we do, what is our response? Are we, as professed Christians, involved in the necessary cleaning? In a recent sermon, Pastor Dan challenged us to make a list (on an 8-1/2 X 11 sheet of paper) of those Christian activities -- bringing Christ to others -- we do this summer. Our documented activities are not to be a boast list. Instead, the list is to be used to raise one's conscious level of personal Christian actions -- or lack of them. How does your sheet of paper look? There is plenty of time for you, and me, to run out of space on that one page before autumn arrives.

Lord God, push us to look for and listen to your parables so that bringing you to others can enrich our lives. Amen

Contributed by Nancy E.
Published Monday July 28, 2003
Week 35 of Liturgical Year B