Inspiration

I'm preaching on Monday, in the chapel here at Seabury. We are celebrating the feast of Phillip the Deacon and Evangelist - as in, Phillip who baptized the Ethiopian eunuch in the book of Acts. I love this story, and always have. Maybe that is why I'm having an awful time collecting my thoughts into something that resembles a sermon. Floating in my head are several thoughts, including a line from Into the Woods- "Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor"- and this story about story-telling from Martin Buber (via Elizabeth Johson's Consder Jesus, p. 61-62):
A rabbi related the following: "My grandfather was paralyzed. One day he was asked to tell about something that happened with his teacher, the great Balshem. then he told how this saintly Balshem used to leap about and dacne while he was at his prayers. As he went on with the story my grandfather stood up: he was so carried away that he had to show how the master had done it and he started to caper about dancing. From that moment he was cured." Says Buber, that is how stores should be told."

Somewhere between opportunity and stories lies my sermon. Please do pray that it finds me before Monday! In the meantime, I'll leave with this quote from theology class to chew on for a bit: Dialogue means being gracious enough to say who you really are.

Have a good weekend!