Brian preached on the Good Samartan parable. His main point was taken from his experience going on a medical missions trip to Nigeria. At first he was interested but then there was political and dangerous unrest in the country. Many were encouraging him to minister at home.
He read the poem from e e cummings
a man who had fallen among thieves
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lay by the roadside on his back
dressed in fifteenthrate ideas
wearing a round jeer for a hat
fate per a somewhat more than less
emancipated evening
had in return for consciousness
endowed him with a changeless grin
whereon a dozen staunch and Meal
citizens did graze at pause
then fired by hypercivic zeal
sought newer pastures or because
swaddled with a frozen brook
of pinkest vomit out of eyes
which noticed nobody he looked
as if he did not care to rise
one hand did nothing on the vest
its wideflung friend clenched weakly dirt
while the mute trouserfly confessed
a button solemnly inert.
Brushing from whom the stiffened puke
i put him all into my arms
and staggered banged with terror through
a million billion trillion stars
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He was struck bu that last phrase of a million billion trillion stars.
Ultimately he went and was overwhelmed by the need. God worked on his heart and taught him about compassion and faith. Seeing the million billion trillion stars one night while hearing thankful Nigerians singing changed his heart.
Poems have a focal point
Parabola's have a focal point
Parables have a focal point.
Where does everything come together in your life?
As public speaking, this was excellent. I certainly took notes on his delivery. The way he introduced and then came back to motifs was very engaging. This experience obviously was transformative for Brian and that came through. As a report after a short-term team experience it was lyrical and reflective.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if this talk was meant as a sermon per se, so I'll give my thoughts below on the talk as a sermon with the caveat that I don't want to confuse categories and critique a report as a sermon if it was not intended as such, because that would be unfair (like judging a perfectly good apple to be a poor orange).
As a sermon, the take-away was the hard part for me to pin down. I walked away not sure if the message was about discerning God's will, the rewards and difficulties of getting out of our comfort zone, the difficulties of compassion, the common elements that bind humanity together, experiencing God, seeing God in the world around us, or a kind of collage of all of those elements.
The climax of the message seemed to be Brian's colleague looking into the stars and really believing the creeds and the sunday school lessons for the first time. One could easily walk away from that with a sense that true religion is a matter of feelings and at its truest when we sense our deep connection with God and other people. I don't think that was the point that Brian was intending to make! But all this is to say I was left wanting more specific information on the lessons about God Brian had learned and how I could apply those lessons in my own life.
So take all that with a grain of category confusion salt.
In any case, an engaging journey along with a deep thinker on a life-changing experience.
I am in agreement with a lot of what you are saying. I think that testimonial/mission report styles for the sermon time is okay on occasion but I would have problems if we did this as a steady diet. That said, this was much more than a testimonial or a mission report. I felt that there was a very clear message and that was:
ReplyDeleteI responded to a call from God that was outside my comfort zone. I took a risk against the advice of my friends. I was changed. You can too.
Look forward to others thoughts