The Best Sermons Are Lived!

anecdote [an-ik-doht]; noun 

1. a short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature.

2. a short, obscure historical or biographical account.

3. an account regarded as unreliable or hearsay.

Well, there should be no mystery as to where I'm going with this definition, so...

We can regard the Christian scripture, the Bible, and by this definition most of the Islamic Qur'an and the Hebrew Tanakh, as anecdotal.  Most of the accounts in all three works meet at least one of these criteria, if not all three, to be considered a collection of anecdotes.

Nope.  No mystery at all.

But the holy scriptures of Abrahamic religions, though largely anecdotal, provide a foundation for three of the largest religions in the world.  Foundations based on faith in one God, and a belief in the basic good of mankind.  The stories are largely anecdotal because this was the easiest way to convey a message, an idea, back in the time.  This method still holds true today as we constantly endure long, tedious sermons which our ministers strive to make meaningful and interesting.  Not an easy task for them, especially if they haven't gotten out amongst the people, to be a part of life.  Sermons are easier for those that have stumbled, fallen, and gotten back to their feet.  Lessons are easier to teach when you've actually experienced that of which you speak.

My friend Nyal sent me an email which I have attached below.  I think it has some meaning here.  One can try to make up a sermon, or one can draw from experience.  It has been my experience that interesting, humorous, and meaningful anecdotes occur in our lives constantly, we simply have to watch for them and understand what God is trying to tell us.

Understanding God's message is not the difficult part.  It is so easy all the Bible does is confuse and obfuscate the simplicity of it.  Slowing down your life, so you actually pay attention and see the message, which is a talent we all need to learn.  Once we can see it we can actually hear it.  God is literally a pain in the ass with messages.  Our spiritual phone is ringing constantly and we have, by choice or design, opted to selectively ignore the constant ringing.  Shame on us.

Put down your cell phone, your pad, or computer, and turn off the television and video game.  Go have a cup of coffee downtown, walk in the park, smile at a stranger, say hello and thank you, open the door for an elderly person or the handicapped.  Take a precious moment out of your day to practice being social, face to face, with the rest of humanity.  Socializing, it is a concept many of us are forgetting.  We were never meant to be alone.

THE BEST SERMONS ARE LIVED.... 

1. Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I'm working on for my Psychology class. When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, "Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile."

2. Today, I asked my mentor - a very successful business man in his 70's- what his top 3 tips are for success. He smiled and said, "Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do something no one else is doing." 

3. Today, after a 72 hour shift at the fire station, a woman ran up to me at the grocery store and gave me a hug. When I tensed up, she realized I didn't recognize her. She let go with tears of joy in her eyes and the most sincere smile and said, "On 9-11-2001, you carried me out of the World Trade Center." 

4. Today, after I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side of the road holding him and crying. And just before he died, he licked the tears off my face. 

5. Today at 7 AM, I woke up feeling ill, but decided I needed the money, so I went into work. At 3 PM I got laid off. On my drive home I got a flat tire. When I went into the trunk for the spare, it was flat too. A man in a BMW pulled over, gave me a ride, we chatted, and then he offered me a job. I start tomorrow.

6. Today, as my father, three brothers, and two sisters stood around my mother's hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died. She simply said, "I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often." 

7. Today, I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away in a small hospital bed. About 5 seconds after he passed, I realized it was the first time I had given him a kiss since I was a little boy.

8. Today, in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling. I chuckled and asked, "Why?" She replied, "So you can help me save the planet." I chuckled again and asked, "And why do you want to save the planet?"  "Because that's where I keep all my stuff," she said. 

9. Today, a boy in a wheelchair saw me desperately struggling on crutches with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me. He helped me all the way across campus to my class and as he was leaving he said, "I hope you feel better soon."

10. Today, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe. He said he hadn't eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy. Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating. The first thing the man said was, "We can share it….”

The best sermons are lived, not preached... 

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."