When Fred Rogers of children’s television fame died in early 2003, the news was filled for several weeks afterward with fond stories and fitting tributes to this kind and gentle man. One such tribute came from a reporter who remembered the day that Fred Rogers was invited to address the prestigious National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The National Press Club, of course, is accustomed to hearing speeches from diplomats, top administration officials, and key opinion makers. And so, some members of the press privately joked that with “Mister Rogers” at the podium, they were probably in store for a “light lunch.”
However, according to this reporter, when Fred Rogers stood up to speak, he said that he knew the room was filled with many of the nation’s best reporters—men and women who had achieved much in their lives. Rogers then took out a pocket watch and announced that he was going to keep two minutes of silence. He invited everybody in the room to remember the people from their past—parents, teachers, coaches, friends, and others—who had made it possible for them to reach this point.
And then Mister Rogers just stood there, looking at his watch and saying nothing. The room grew quiet as the seconds ticked away, but the reporter said that before Fred tucked away his watch, one could hear, all around the room, people sniffling as they were moved by the memories of those who had made sacrifices on their behalf and who had given them countless gifts.
Obviously, the same is true for our Christian journeys. Few us would say that we got our faith from a book, and none of us would claim that we thought it up all on our own. The faith we have—whether large or small, whether born of struggle or comfort, whether richly textured or barely patched together, whether grasped firmly or held onto by our fingernails—is part of our lives because somebody along the way had the courage and the conviction to tell us the old, old story of Jesus and his love.
Simply put, we didn’t find Christ … Christ found us! And throughout our lives, God continued to guide us to right people, in the right situations, and just at the right time. I invite you at some point today to spend a few moments in quiet meditation, thanking God for all the people who have been instrumental in your own faith journey. And then ask God to help you be instrumental in someone else’s journey.
However, according to this reporter, when Fred Rogers stood up to speak, he said that he knew the room was filled with many of the nation’s best reporters—men and women who had achieved much in their lives. Rogers then took out a pocket watch and announced that he was going to keep two minutes of silence. He invited everybody in the room to remember the people from their past—parents, teachers, coaches, friends, and others—who had made it possible for them to reach this point.
And then Mister Rogers just stood there, looking at his watch and saying nothing. The room grew quiet as the seconds ticked away, but the reporter said that before Fred tucked away his watch, one could hear, all around the room, people sniffling as they were moved by the memories of those who had made sacrifices on their behalf and who had given them countless gifts.
Obviously, the same is true for our Christian journeys. Few us would say that we got our faith from a book, and none of us would claim that we thought it up all on our own. The faith we have—whether large or small, whether born of struggle or comfort, whether richly textured or barely patched together, whether grasped firmly or held onto by our fingernails—is part of our lives because somebody along the way had the courage and the conviction to tell us the old, old story of Jesus and his love.
Simply put, we didn’t find Christ … Christ found us! And throughout our lives, God continued to guide us to right people, in the right situations, and just at the right time. I invite you at some point today to spend a few moments in quiet meditation, thanking God for all the people who have been instrumental in your own faith journey. And then ask God to help you be instrumental in someone else’s journey.
posted by Dr. Robert Crilley at
2:39 PM
2 Comments:
I LIVED IN A GARAGE APARTMENT BEHIND MY GRANDFATHER'S HOUSE AND ABOVE HIS GARAGE SHOP. HE SLEPT UP THERE TOO. AS HE SAID, THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN LIVED DOWN STAIRS. OUR AIR-CONDITIONING WAS THE OPEN WINDOWS IN THE APARTMENT.
EVERY NIGHT BEFORE GOING TO BED HE READ ORALLY FROM THE BIBLE. MY DAD HAD DIED WHEN I WAS 12 OR 13. I LIVED THERE UNTIL I WAS 18. HE READ THE BIBLE FROM COVER TO COVER. SOMETIMES I WOULD ASK QUESTIONS. HE NEVER FAILED TO ANSWER THEM.
AS SIMI-RECLUSE, HE DID NOT LIKE GOING TO CHURCH. EVEN THOUGHT HE TAUGHT ME MUCH ABOUT FAITH AND BELIEF. HE FELT THAT THE SINNERS AND HYPOCRITES IN CHURCH. I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT HE MEANT. HE WAS STEAD FAST IN THIS BELIEF. HE ONLY WENT TO WEDDINGS, WAKES AND FUNERALS. MY ANSWER TO THIS BELIEF NOW WOULD BE: GRANDPA, WHAT BETTER PLACE FOR THEM? IN FACT, I BELIEVE I DID DO SO.
IN RETROSPECT, I KNOW HE IS THE MAIN REASON I CHOSE TO FOLLOW CHRIST. FROM MY VERY EARLIEST DAY I SOUGHT OUT THE COMMUNION OF THE SAINTS. AT FIVE OR SEVEN, I WALKED TO CHURCH ABOUT EIGHT BLOCKS AWAY, SUMMER AND WINTER. THE FIVE OR SO YEARS WITH ED POLISHED OFF THE JOB. NAILED TO THE ROCK OF SALVATION, THE LIVING WORD: JESUS THE CHRIST.
MAYBE GRAND PA GRADUATED TO A DIFFERENT PLAIN OF FAITH. COULD BE HE HAD ALL THE COURSES AVAILABLE ON EARTH AND THEN WENT HOME AS THEY SAID DEATH IN HIS DAY.
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Anonymous, at 9:19 PM
I think most people do think of their heros, — parents, teachers, coaches, friends, and others — the people they looked up to when remembering those who guided them to where they are now. I too have a long list of influencial people in my life.
But when I consider all the people who have been instrumental in my faith journey, I can not, nor do I wish to, forget the not so righteous people who were my family while I was making the transition from teenager to adulthood. The alcoholics, dopers, hippies, whores, tramps, rockers, and even the pentacostal evangelicals who tried their damdest to save us.
I believe Christ allowed me to experience that transitional lifestyle for a reason, for I wouldn't be here or the person I am today had he not. The right influences in our lives may not be the best and the best influences may not be right for the path Jesus wants us to walk.
An explorer once said that you don't take a journey, a journey takes you. Christ is our journey.
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Anonymous, at 12:18 PM
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