Wednesday’s thoughts for the sermon for Sunday October 15th
In looking at some of the biographical information about J.S. Bach I have come to appreciate some of the struggles that defined his life. His mother died when he was 9. He never acquired much of a salary and was barely able to pay his rent. He had to work with the fact that there were many mouths to feed. his wife Anna Magdalena went through no less than twelve nine-month pregnancies. Eight of the twelve children died at ages varying from an hour to five years. Of the remaining four children, one was seriously mentally-handicapped. Their last child was born when Anna was 41 and Sebastian was 57.
In one of his job assignments they required that he teach Latin in the school as well as perform in the church and lead several choirs. He disliked teaching Latin so much that he paid someone else to teach it and paid out of his own pocket.
He died in relative obscurity at age 65 and his body was placed in an unmarked grave.
Here is a man who work hard all his life and rarely received the recognition he deserved. The sermon Sunday addresses the issue of what it means to expect abundant living only to realize much less. What do we do when our expectations are not matched with life’s realities?
Have you ever felt that you were cheated by life? Have you ever found yourself thinking you should have been treated more respectfully than you were? If so, then you can identify with Moses, Hosea, Sarah, Isaiah, and Jesus. This sermon deals with what it means to be overlooked, neglected, and dismissed.
If you have thoughts to share publically, please leave a comment with this post. For personal thoughts write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net I look forward to your ideas.
Charles
