Sermonette: Nov. 8, 2021

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father. Amen.

It is getting to be about that time of year. Halloween is over and retail outfits, big and small alike, are skimming over Thanksgiving and marching right into the Christmas season. It seems a shame, but if I were in retail, it is likely I would be doing the same thing. After all, how hard it must be to put a really big sales push into a season in which we are to be thankful for what we already have.

Along with this season comes the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the Christmas season. Let us take some time and remember some of the things Jesus did when most of us would have been totally exhausted.

Jesus’ reputation was growing, as were the crowds following Him. One particular day, a large crowd had gathered, and He taught them until late in the day. The disciples wondered what could be done as it was soon meal time and there was no place to get food. As the familiar story goes, 5,000 were fed from a little bit of bread and a couple of fish.

Shortly after feeding the 5,000, and again having to deal with crowds, Jesus wants some down time. We read in the seventh chapter of Mark that even though He wanted to be alone, a gentile woman came to Him asking for her daughter to be healed. The disciples tried to chase her away, but she continued to call upon Jesus. Again in Mark, this time in the 10th chapter, people are bringing children to Him and the disciples wanted to chase them away, and not very politely.

My last example is about Jesus coming to Jerusalem, again from Mark, chapter 10. He is already being followed by a large crowd. He knows that He will be greeted in Jerusalem with great joy by a multitude of people. They will be singing His praises. He also knows that within a very few days, He will have been arrested, beaten, and hung on a cross to die.

What is my point to these three examples? All deal with a reaction to interruptions on a busy day. We’ve all had those days. We would love to scream NO. I’M TOO BUSY. LEAVE ME ALONE! But, in the first example I gave, Jesus let the woman approach Him and He granted her wish. He healed her daughter.

In the second example, although Jesus was busy teaching in the temple, He told the disciples to not keep the children from Him. He took the children into His arms and blessed them.

My last example was about a blind man. Jesus and the crowd were just leaving Jericho, a small town a few miles out from Jerusalem. Even knowing what was in store for Him, even though there was a great crowd following Him, He stopped. He had heard a man calling out to Him; a blind man who wanted Jesus to restore his sight. In spite of everything that Jesus knew was about to happen, He stopped and did what the man asked.

My point in all this? We are about to get involved in some hectic times. We may be trying to get ready for a house full of relatives for Thanksgiving dinner, or perhaps trying to get everything ready if we are the ones doing the traveling. In either case, what we consider hustle and bustle and a time in which we can’t make time to deal with or help anybody else, just remember, yes we can. We should never be so busy that we can’t help a friend, or neighbor, or a stranger for that matter. These holiday times are not for us. They are for us to serve others. God bless you in these hectic times. Amen.