Monthly Archives: May 2010

“Unexpected Grace”

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Seventh Sunday after Easter Yr C (Acts 16:16-34)  05-16-2010

Nearly 20 years ago, Steven Spielberg introduced many people to the story of Oskar Schindler in his dramatic and powerful movie, Schindler’s List. The movie tells the story of a businessman who saves hundreds of Polish Jews from the horror and almost certain death of the concentration camps of the Nazi regime. But the fact that Schindler saved hundreds of Jews is actually the end of the story and not how the story begins. In the beginning of the story, Oskar Schindler set out only to establish a factory that he hoped would be a successful business venture. He began hiring workers for his factory and in an effort to make the greatest profit he hired people who would accept the lowest wage…and the Jewish people of Krakow were paid the lowest wage. His factory was run and staffed by Jewish workers and throughout the difficult days of World War II, things began to change between Schindler and his workers. Unexpected events occurred and gifts of unexpected grace entered their lives and changed their futures. Unexpected grace would change the lives of hundreds of Jews. And unexpected grace would forever change Oskar Schindler. Unexpected events point us toward the grace that is present in our lives, but sometimes comes to us in unexpected ways. Continue reading →

“Following Christ beyond our boundaries”

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Fifth Sunday of Easter YR C (Acts 11:1-18)  05-02-2010

Boundaries. The order of our lives is often maintained by boundaries. We create boundaries by establishing laws, drawing lines, and setting limitations. Much of my recent vacation was defined by various boundaries, beginning with my airline boarding pass, which told me I had a seat on the Southwest plane and the order in which I was to stand in line. There were lines for the boundaries of the baggage check line; lines for the roller coaster rides at the amusement park, and nearly every restaurant required that you place your name on a list so they could establish the boundaries of when you would eat and the table that was most appropriate for the size of your party. Boundaries followed me throughout my vacation…and as we were ending our vacation, standing in the very long baggage check line at the Tampa airport, an employee of Southwest airlines came forward to pass along some news about the boundaries of the baggage check line. She told us that it is not permitted to check bags prior to 4 hours in advance of your flight time. She then requested anyone whose flight was more than 4 hours from the current time to please leave the baggage check line. For those people, their time had not yet come…and the established boundaries did not permit their participation. Continue reading →