I read a very heart warming
story about William and the life of a local church. William had recently moved
into town. Sadly, William's elderly mother had died the very day his family
moved into the community. William, knowing his mother loved sacred music, began
coming to a church composed of people from 40 different nations, people who
embodied diversity. Initially, he sat near the
front of the congregation, not far from Miss Ida, who sat straight-backed and
still near the front of the congregation, lips pursed, hands folded neatly in
her lap. William was clicking his recorder on and off, rewinding,
fast-forwarding, sometimes mumbling, and all the while rocking back and forth,
back and forth. After a few Sundays, someone told William he was making too
much noise. If he insisted on bringing the recorder and pushing the buttons, he
would need to sit in the lobby and listen to the service via the speakers. That
is what William did…for three Sundays.
On the fourth Sunday, Miss
Ida arrived uncharacteristically late and asked William why he was sitting in
the lobby instead of the sanctuary. William said, "The people in there said I
was making too much noise. I have to sit out here." In a quiet act of
compassionate dissent, she sat with him. He rocked, and she was still. The next
Sunday, five others joined them. On the following Sunday, 30 people sat in the
lobby.
Today, William sits with
the choir. He is the "assistant sound man." Every Sunday, he records the
service, clicking his buttons, mumbling and rocking. After each service,
William walks several miles to the cemetery and leaves the cassette on his
mother's grave with these simple words, "Here's church, Mama." William
understood communion. His ministry was to help others
understand.
Miss Ida proved to be a
person who was listening, watching, and waiting. She responded to God's call,
able to offer new life to a very barren situation. An act of faith that shone
God's light, His Presence…burst forth in new life for William and this
congregation! Miss Ida responded in obedience, which made all the
difference.
How might God be speaking
to us today, calling us to faithful obedience? What new thing is Jesus doing
that might make our ears tingle? The Lord has come and is standing, calling
each of us by name. Let us respond by saying, "Speak, Lord, for Your servants
are listening!"
In Christ,
Brown
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