Tag Archives: Faith

Faith in Jesus Christ which comes through the presence of the Holy Spirit

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on November 13, 2015
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Showing Mercy — Rev. David J. Schreffler

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November 13, 2015

“(Jesus said) “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:36-37

“Most of the time babies crying in church don’t bother me. Crying is what babies do. The only exception to this rule takes place when

1. the crying becomes regular and repetitive, and
2. the crying goes on so long I can see the people in the pews around that baby wincing to the rhythm of the crying.

No, I don’t mind babies crying in church, but in an airplane, that is a different matter. It’s different because the parents can’t take the baby out to deal with the problem, and it’s different because the people around the upset child can’t escape either. This is why I can be sort of sympathetic for two of the people on the 5:30 a.m. flight from Michigan to Alabama. They were already situated when Rebekka Garvison sat down with her four-month-old child, Rylee. When the plane revved up its engines, Rylee did the same. Seeing the discontent on the faces of those around her, Rebekka asked if she could move to another row where there was only one person whom her baby might bother. Rebekka and the still-crying Rylee moved to a new location. This time, rather than receiving a stare of disapproval, Rebekka got a smile. More than that, her new seat mate, Nyfesha Miller, asked if she could hold Rylee and try to calm her down. The switch of holders made all the difference in the world to Rylee. She began looking out the window and soon she fell asleep. Rylee stayed asleep for the rest of the flight and was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when she saw her father, a serviceman stationed in Alabama.

Now the reason I share that story is because it rang a bell. Many years ago, Pam took all three of our children to visit her parents in Arizona. She was traveling alone and our youngest, Kris, was a baby — a baby who got air sick. That day, a man, the embodiment of a Good Samaritan, asked if he might help. He took two-year-old Kirsten and entertained her so Pam could deal with Kris. Although the Bible doesn’t exactly say so, I think there must be a special place in heaven for people who step out of their comfort zones and do that which needs to be done. (“Showing Mercy”, October 14, 2015, Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries)

How can you ago forward today and be the good neighbor? It may be difficult. You may have neighbor’s who don’t wish to talk with anyone – yet there are always ways to do good deeds that do not require asking permission. Or, you may have neighbor’s who do not like you – there are ways to extend a courtesy or a kindness without them knowing it was you. With the advent of the Internet, and places like Face Book, we can see many examples of ordinary people doing random acts of kindness over and over again. Join the revolution of kindness, when you see someone who you know is being stretched to their limit, or you know your mean neighbor is in need, find a way that you might be able to do something simple and be a good neighbor.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on November 11, 2015
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Staring Into the Face of Death — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

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November 11, 2015

“Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favorably on his people!” Luke 7:11 – 16

“It is inevitable that we should be sad when those we love depart from us by dying. Although we know they are not leaving us for ever, that they have but gone a little ahead of us, that we who remain will follow them, nevertheless our nature shrinks from death, and when it takes a loved one we are filled with sorrow simply because of our love for that person. In the death of those who are close to us we experience both sadness at the necessity of losing them, and hope of getting them back.” Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, (354 – 430) Sermon 172, “For All The Saints”, volume II (p. 987)

I struggle with many different emotions when I meet with a family who does not want to hold a public service for someone who has passed away. Mostly I struggle with the reality that someone or perhaps the entire family is hoping to deny or delay the hurtful feeling that surrounds a death. Death hurts – it hurts to loose a loved one, it makes us sad, it gives us feelings and emotions we just do not like. But avoiding those feelings is not doing any of us any good. We cannot shrink from death, because death will not shrink from us. Death is all around us. We can try to run from death, but we cannot hide. One of the lessons we learn from the story of the Widow from Nain is how the community surrounded her in her grief. They did not shrink from her. They came together and allowed her to grieve personally, and she allowed the community to grieve as well.

There are so many ways that our society is trying to deny us a sense of community. We can drive home from our cubicles at work, sit in our cars to open the garage door, pull into the garage and close the same door, and never have to get out of the car or talk to any of our neighbors. We repeat the same actions when we leave in the morning. We are finding more and more ways to isolate ourselves – all to our own detriment. Funerals are one of the last ways that we can come together as a community and show our love for each other. Let us not deny this act of comfort, community, and caring simply because we would rather run away from death than face it head on.

As I write this devotion, a two year old child has been killed when struck by a car while attending a homecoming parade in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This young family will need the community to rally around them as they face this devastating loss. This is not a time to stick our heads in the sand, but a time to stand together as people of G*d and lament the brokenness of humanity and the fragility of life.

Of course, staring right into the face of death is just what so many of our Veterans have done, for so many years, protecting our country and rooting out evil in the world. Today we honor those Veterans who gave their life in service to this country, and those Veterans who struggle with moving on with life once they return home, and Veterans and families who have experienced a loss of brother, sister, father, mother, uncle, aunt, or comrade. On this day we stand together as grateful people and say thank you to all Veterans.

 

Pastor Dave