Rev Bill

I have posted my sermon for today on my sermon blog. It’s the fourth in my series of sermons for Lent looking at: “What does Jesus mean to you?” — today based on John 11:1-7 and John 11:17-43 and entitled “Jesus Means We Can Have New Life”.

Here’s a portion of it:

There is a story in the book Chicken Soup For The Soul At Work told by Jeff McMullen.
He relates that a number of years ago he had the opportunity to play the character of Ronald McDonald for the McDonald’s Corporation. One of the standard events was “Ronald Day.” One day each month, he visited as many of the community hospitals as possible, bringing a little happiness into a place where no one ever looks forward to going.
He began the job being very proud to be able to make a difference for children and adults who were experiencing some “down time.”
But after awhile he let it get “routine” — and it was no longer “special”. After awhile, he began to dread it.
One day, he was heading down a hallway after a long day in grease paint and on his way home. As he was leaving, he heard a little voice.
“Ronald, Ronald.”
He stopped. The soft little voice was coming through a half-opened door. He pushed the door open and saw a young boy, about five years old, lying in his dad’s arms, hooked up to more medical equipment than he had ever seen. Mom was on the other side, along with Grandma, Grandpa and a nurse tending to the equipment.
He knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was grave. He asked the little boy his name – he told him it was Billy – and did a few simple magic tricks for him. As he stepped back to say good-bye, he asked Billy if there was anything else he could do for him.
“Ronald, would you hold me?”
Such a simple request. But Jeff was tired — and not wanting to get any more involved with this boy than he already had.
Billy again asked Jeff to hold him. By this time his heart was screaming “yes!”
Jeff picked up this little wonder of a human being. He was so frail and so scared. They laughed and cried for 45 minutes, and talked about the things that worried him.
Billy was afraid that his little brother might get lost coming home from kindergarten next year, without Billy to show him the way.
He worried that his dog wouldn’t get another bone because Billy had hidden the bones in the house before going back to the hospital, and now he couldn’t remember where he put them.
These are problems to a little boy who knows he is not going home.
On his way out of the room, Jeff gave Mom and Dad his real name and phone number, and said if there was anything the McDonald’s Corporation or he could do, to give him a call and consider it done.
Less than 48 hours later, Jeff received a phone call from Billy’s mom. She informed him that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank Jeff for making a difference in their little boy’s life — and that he had been a blessing from God for them.
Jeff says that he may have made a difference for Billy – and may have been a blessing from God for him and his family — but that Billy really made a difference for him — and was a much-needed blessing from God for him. No longer did he see his work as “just a job” — but it was special — a gift — a blessing. He was freed from seeing his life as boring to seeing it as meaningful.

You can read the sermon here.

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