04/09/2025
Jesus Hears A Who
Few people know that Horton Hears A Who comes from the 25th Chapter of Matthew. Few people know that it is the Jesus story in a nutshell.
Jesus hears the cries of the Whos, but no one else can. They were either too small, or too insignificant. In fact, no one really tried all that hard.
And when Jesus made a stand to protect the Whos--to insist that they were people, no matter how small or how different, Jesus is rejected, imprisoned, and threatened within an inch of his life. And then the tiniest Who in Whoville joined the other voices saying, “We’re here, we’re here,” and the people finally understood that they were in fact, here, and in need of care and protection.
Jesus says to us this morning, look around you and pause. If you open your ears to listen and tune your hearts to me—you will discover a whole group of people that everyone else has overlooked. They are my people, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. And if they are my people then it means that they are your people. In fact, they might as well be me.
Now that you have heard them, now that you know who they are, you have a chance to stitch back a little tiny corner of the cosmos. You have a chance to be like God and continue to set things right—one act of mercy at a time.
So may we all.
Archived Posts
Power Without Conscience?
I ran out of room for this vignette in Sunday’s sermon. Remember the quote that could be the headline for Ahab and Naboth: “All that’s needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” The following reinforces that truth.
The Cars Are Looking for A King
I don’t have a thing to add to Pastor Jessica’s excellent sermon this last Sunday. The fable/parable she shared has been one of my favorites for all the lessons she pulled from it in her message. I was playing around with my friend Chat GPT and after several abortive attempts, we came up with the following modernized version of Judges 9:7-15.
The Lost Benediction
Depending on the length of the sermon, I try to add a little something extra in my benedictions. This week I wrote up a benediction but then realized we’d be singing and waving our umbrellas to some New Orleans jazz.
Change of Focus This Week
Instead of sharing with you about yesterday’s sermon I’d like to invite you to do some background reading for next Sunday’s “Only Murders in the Bible.” Seeing that it is All Saints Day this Sunday, we are going to look at the very first Christian martyr, Stephen.
You Might Be Thinking It’s All About You If…
In working on Sunday’s sermon I asked my computer’s AI if she/he could come up with a few suggestions in answer to the above: "You Might be thinking it’s all about you, if…."
Prayer Changes Things
Here is a transcript of the prayer I prayed at the end of yesterday’s sermon.
Optimism, Faith, and Hope:
Practical Steps For Increasing All Three
Here are some practical, spiritual, and relational ways to grow faith, hope and optimism: