by Anne Robertson | Aug 15, 2021 | Sermons
“What’s wrong with calling God ‘Father?’” My response is nuanced, so I invite you to read and think about this old Indian folktale (below), told in verse by John Godfrey Saxe.
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The Blind Man and the Elephant, by John Godfrey Saxe
It was six men of Indostan, to learning much inclined,
who went to see the elephant (Though all of them were blind),
that each by observation, might satisfy his mind.
The first approached the elephant, and, happening to fall,
against his broad and sturdy side, at once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the elephant, is nothing but a wall!”
The second feeling of the tusk, cried: “Ho! what have we here,
so very round and smooth and sharp? To me tis mighty clear,
this wonder of an elephant, is very like a spear!”
The third approached the animal, and, happening to take,
the squirming trunk within his hands, “I see,” quoth he,
the elephant is very like a snake!”
The fourth reached out his eager hand, and felt about the knee:
“What most this wondrous beast is like, is mighty plain,” quoth he;
“Tis clear enough the elephant is very like a tree.”
The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said; “E’en the blindest man
can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant, is very like a fan!”
The sixth no sooner had begun, about the beast to grope,
than, seizing on the swinging tail, that fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the elephant is very like a rope!”
And so these men of Indostan, disputed loud and long,
each in his own opinion, exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong!
So, oft in theologic wars, the disputants, I ween,
tread on in utter ignorance, of what each other mean,
and prate about the elephant, not one of them has seen!
by Anne Robertson | Aug 8, 2021 | Sermons
Did you know that the Sabbath commandment is not only the longest of the ten, but also the only one that is unique among ancient law codes? Why would resting for one day a week rise to the level of the top ten laws of the God of Israel? And what does it mean to rest anyway? What can and can’t we do on the Sabbath?
To answer that, we’ll look at what the Bible tells us about the nature of work, look at the direct connection of the Sabbath commandment to both Creation and the liberation from slavery, and see how keeping just this one commandment can ensure that we keep what Jesus calls the greatest commandment: To love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
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by Anne Robertson | Aug 1, 2021 | Sermons
This Sunday we celebrated Holy Communion as we normally would, but we also talked about a Bible passage about Communion that I think is frequently misunderstood and why fixing that issue might provide us with an anchor in these destabilizing times. The Scripture passage we’ll be talking about is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 if you want to read before you watch.
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by Anne Robertson | Jun 27, 2021 | Sermons
Knowing the struggle I have, and knowing the struggles we all have around issues of money, I decided to do some teaching this morning on what the offering is and does. Its roots go way back in the Old Testament to the time when Israel was formed as a nation…
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by Anne Robertson | Jun 20, 2021 | Sermons
When tragedy strikes and someone we know is grieving, many of us feel stuck. We want to be supportive, but we don’t know what to say or do. It’s easy to become so fearful of saying or doing the wrong thing that we end up doing nothing at all, leaving us with regret and depriving our grieving friends and loved ones from knowing how much we care.
With enormous grief hitting one of our own this past week, I have heard some version of “I don’t know what to say” from a number of people. So, on Sunday we’re going to talk about what to say, what not to say, and generally how we can feel more confident in helping our friends who suffer. We’ll look a bit more at the book of Job, but also turn to both Paul and Jesus to help guide us through those difficult times.
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by Crawford UMC | Jun 13, 2021 | Sermons
Most of the characters in the book of Job, including Job himself, are questioning why bad things happen to good people. As a result, we tend to read it thinking that’s the question the book is trying to answer. We then come away mad that it doesn’t answer the question, and frequently upset at the nature of God it presents.
And what is Satan doing at God’s staff meeting anyway? I think we have misunderstood the question behind the story of Job’s misfortune as well as the type of literature we’re dealing with. Join us Sunday for a different take on both the question and the book.
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