THE RIVER

Walking through the forest, a seasoned hiker came upon a broad, slowly moving river. He stopped to gaze over the waters, appreciating the beauty, when suddenly he heard a faint cry coming from upstream.

Looking in the direction of the noise, he saw an obviously drowning man floundering in the river and drifting slowly toward him.

The hiker was stunned momentarily, but he sprang into action when he saw the man disappear beneath the waters. Throwing off all of his cumbersome gear, he dove into the river and swam like a madman toward the spot where the man went under.

Upon reaching the spot he plunged below the surface and frantically hauled up the helpless man. He then laboriously towed the victim to shore. Heaving the lifeless body up on the riverbank, the hiker attempted to revive the man, who eventually spit up water and began to breathe.

Relieved, the hiker paused to catch his breath. But no sooner had he done so than he heard another voice out on the water. Another drowning person!

Once again he swam out and pulled the person to shore, a little more slowly this time. As the hiker-turned-lifeguard revived the second victim, he heard yet another cry for help.

All day long the hiker worked, rescuing one person after another as they came drifting down the river. There seemed to be no end of drowning victims, and the hiker didn't think he could keep it up.

Just when he was about to collapse from exhaustion, he spotted another man walking rapidly beside the river, headed upstream. "Hey mister!"  He cried out. "Please help me! These poor people are drowning!"

Amazingly, the man kept walking upstream. The astonished hiker called out again. Without even acknowledging the cry, the man kept going.

Indignant and angry, the hiker leapt to his feet, ran toward the uncompassionate man, stood directly in his path, and in a loud voice demanded, "Sir! How can you possibly walk past all these drowning people? Have you no conscience? Must I force you to help me save these people?"

The stranger stopped, looked at him for the first time and said with a calm, focused voice, "Sir, please get out of my way. I am headed upstream to stop the guy who is pushing all these people in."

Each of us has a role to play in rescuing those who are drowning in sin. Some of us pull people from the water and resuscitate them with counseling, food and shelter, a rehabilitation program, a support group, or financial aid. Affirm those doing these important ministries.

Others of us find our place of ministry upstream, opposing the one pushing people into the river. We do this by introducing those people to Jesus Christ. Knowing Christ sets a person free from sin and releases them from Satan's power over them.

By itself, pulling people from the water isn't enough.

We need to help people deal with the problem of sin at its source.

-- Author Unknown 

Submitted by:

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of 

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

HE WAS ONE OF US

HEBREWS 2: 5-18

 2:17  FOR THIS REASON HE HAD TO BE MADE LIKE HIS BROTHERS IN EVERY WAY.

O

ne way to approach this marvelous text is by opening a book on baby and child care and reading the index. Try reading the list of childhood diseases and behavior issues…prefacing each reference with something like, "Jesus was susceptible to…" and read whooping cough, colic, measles, mumps, colds; or, "Jesus may very well have…" sucked his thumb, been anxious when separated from his mother at eighteen months, or contrary when two years old. The purpose of this suggestion is not to be irreverent but to open up the rich meaning in the phrase. "He had to be made like his brothers in every way" (2:17). True, the writer is speaking of much more than childhood issues. He has in mind the whole range of things that make up what it means to be human being. Jesus was one of us.

The point is, if we find it difficult to pray because of shame or fear of judgment, this passage is good news for us. Jesus is our brother. He knows what it means to be a human being (see verse 14). He knows what it’s like to be afraid and tempted and weak. Because he was made like us in every way, he is inclined toward mercy, not censure.

Jesus is also our high priest. In Old Testament times, the high priest was the one who went into the Most Holy Place, stood before God on behalf of the people, and interceded for them. As a priest, Jesus was divinely sanctioned for the purpose: as a human he was emotionally suited for the purpose, for he was one of the people he represented. Jesus was, quite literally a "bridge" between the people and God, one who could pray for humanity with great sympathy. 

This is Jesus, but there’s more! As God’s Son, he is divinely sanctioned to speak to God on our behalf as no earthly high priest could ever be. As a human, he understands our humanity as one who was human, from the inside out.

We can put away shame and fear when we come to Jesus. He knows all there is to know about us, from the inside; and he will be merciful.

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

OF SPARROWS and STUFFED ANIMALS

I

 REGRETTED praying the prayer the moment I prayed it; but it seemed to jump out of my mouth. After tucking in my eight-year-old son Andy, I said a goodnight prayer at his bedside. He had been disconsolate for a week over the loss of his little stuffed animal a gray wolf he named "Wolfie." His grief would escalate at bedtime since Wolfie was his sleeping companion. Seeing his furrowed little brow and moist eyes every night broke my heart.

I had prayed for God to comfort him, and I had prayed that we would find Wolfie; but tonight my spontaneous, non-premeditated bedside prayer was, "Father, please show us where Wolfie is so that Andy will know ow much you love him," My first thought after the "Amen" was What if I just wrote a check God won’t sign? I resisted the urge to throw in a caveat and add to the prayer, "But if we don’t find Wolfie, help Andy to know you still love him anyway."

I got up from my knees and walked out Andy’s bedroom door. At that moment a pictured popped into my mind: It was Wolfie in a sleeping bag in a box in our attic.  Andy had been invited to a sleepover at a friend’s house last week; it was possible that Andy left Wolfie in his sleeping bag. I climbed up into the attic and crawled through the dust to the box with the sleeping bags. I pulled one out, opened it, and there was Wolfie! I scrambled out of the attic and ran to Andy’s room with the proof of God’s love in my hand. Though he didn’t appear to be in the mood for theological reflection on the event, Andy was very grateful and held Wolfie to his chest as we thanked God for his goodness.

Actually, had I engaged in a little theological reflection before my prayer, I probably wouldn’t have dismissed it as trivial and narcissistic. I would have wanted to hedge my bets and not put God on trial, lest the Almighty come up short in Andy’s eyes. But having prayed the prayer, quite by accident – no, not by accident – I have engaged in theological reflection of this sort: If the Father notices sparrows and counts hairs, he knows where the "Wolfies" of our lives can be found. If God became a human to show us his face, he certainly must care about a child’s face creased with sadness. Nothing is too hard, too big, or too small for his love. 

~Ben Patterson~

Submitted by:

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org