Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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The Gatekeeper’s Question
I told this story in one of my books. But it’s worth repeating and retelling. The story is of a traveler who approached the gates of an ancient city. The gatekeeper sat quietly, and listened as the traveler announced that he had left his old city and was looking for…
The Shadow
An old cartoon features a fairyland that was tyrannized by a dark force called “The Shadow.” All the fairies, elves, and animals in the kingdom fled in terror of “The Shadow.” The residents lived in such fear and trembling that the entire kingdom was about to turn into one huge…
Go Gentile Into This Good Day
Every person you meet today is hurting deep inside from something. Go gentle into this good day. I wrote those words after reading a heart-wrenching short story by Raymond Carver called “A Small, Good Thing.” It’s a story two families . . . a baker and a couple who is…
All Saints’ Sunday
“Larry McMurtry probably qualifies as the Homer of Texas with the epic narratives with which he has blessed us. I like Lonesome Dove. Maybe you remember the episode where the young Irish boy is crossing a river and he comes across a nest of cotton mouth water moccasins. With 15 or 20 bites, he really had no chance. As they dragged him out to the banks, he quickly succumbed to the toxic poisons of those snakes. They held an impromptu service there, as our forebears were forced to do, as they encountered the harshness of nature.
His brother tried to sing a song, but broke down and began to sob, so Augustus steps forward and says, “I’ll say a few words. This young man is a fine, brave young man. He overcame his fear of riding. He had a fine tenor voice and we will miss him. But he came to a part of the world that was new to him, and he didn’t understand, and he had an accident, a bad one. You and I might do the same if we’re not careful.”
Then Augustus swung himself up onto his horse and said, “Now, dust to dust, and let’s the rest of us get on to Montana.”
It sounds harsh, doesn’t it? Yet that is our task, those of us who remain behind. As the poet Robert Frost said, “We have miles to go before we sleep. Miles to go before we sleep.”
–Dr. John Fiedler, “For All the Saints,” sermon at First United Methodist Church, Dallas, Texas.
What’s Your Starch?
Not long ago a member of the church gave me a magnet to put on our refrigerator. Now, this is not one of those nice sayings or cute little ornaments. No. This was a miniature ironing board, iron and can of spray starch. That may not be significant to you…
Who, Me?
A much-overweight, out-of-shape man decided to take up tennis. He took several lessons from a pro. He also read several self-help books which advised him to “think positively” and “develop a winning attitude.” A friend asked him how his tennis was going. He replied, “When my opponent hits the ball…
Calvin and Hobbes
Too many churches track their turnstiles more than their turnarounds, turnabouts and turning points: There is a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip: “I need to get a heart rate monitor.” The tiger asks “What for?” “To make sure I’m chewing at my aerobic threshold! Every day I want…
Bamboo
What is going on here? The root system is what grew that first four years. It was growing down and out, not up and up the first four years. The Apostle Paul’s ministry was a Chinese bamboo tree ministry. Because his mission to the Athenians resulted in only a few…
Tongues of Fire
Tongues of Fire Lectionary 13 September 2015 16th Sunday After Pentecost Proverbs 1:20-33 Psalm 19 James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38 Text to Life There could hardly be a more timely text than this week’s epistle reading, James 3:1-12. This year spells a late Labor Day weekend. This means for the majority…
Your Faith Has Made You Well
Your Faith Has Made You Well Story Lectionary 13 September 2015 Genesis: The In-Breathing of Adam by the Holy Spirit and God’s Calling Out of Adam and Eve Genesis: The Story of Noah — the Raising Up of New Life and God’s Salvific Power Genesis: The Story of Joseph (interrupted…