“Calm Assurance”

Pastor-author Will Willimon tells a story of when he was a young pastor of a small Methodist church in the south. One night, after an unusually difficult meeting, Will Willimon was out in front of the church changing the lettering on the church bulletin board. The other people had all gone home, and as he stood there alone and frustrated, he spelled out the title of the sermon for the following Sunday. He was startled when he looked up to see a strange looking man standing next to him. The man appeared to be one of those homeless people often found wandering big city streets, but whom you seldom find on the back roads in the country.

This particular man, wearing a worn-out old hat and a tattered suit, asked Will Willimon, “Are you the pastor here?” He replied, “Yes, I am.” The strange visitor then said, “I just stopped by to tell you not to be discouraged. You’re doing a good job and I’m proud of you.” Will Willimon asked the man who he was, and he was taken aback when the man answered, “I’m Jesus.” Then the strange visitor walked on down the road, and disappeared, without any visible means of transportation.

Well, Will Willimon went into the parsonage next to the church where he lived and said to his wife, “The strangest thing happened to me just a few minutes ago. A shabby old man came up to me and told me not to be discouraged and that I was doing a good job. And then, to top it off, he told me that he was Jesus!” His wife, being very serious, asked him, “And how do you know it wasn’t Jesus?”

What are we supposed to make of a story like that? I am not sure, but I would like to think that if any of us suddenly found Jesus Christ standing next to us, telling us not to be discouraged, that we were doing a good job, and that he was proud of us, -- it would certainly startle us, if not rattle us! I also believe it would make a difference in our lives. And I believe it would provide us with a calm assurance to carry on.  In other words, to hold on even more tightly, -- to the One who holds the key. And, to the One who promises that he’s also holding onto us.

This Sunday, February 13, I am continuing my sermon series, “Letters from Heaven,” from the book of Revelation. We will be looking at the sixth of the letters to the churches, Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, whom Jesus was holding onto with tender loving care. Please join us in the sanctuary at either 8:00 am or 10:30 am. For the 10:30 service, we will also be broadcasting on Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube.    

    

Blessings,

Pastor John