A Message from Bob Henderson                        Friday, October 28, 2016

Dear friends:
 
Tom Long is a fine preacher and teacher of preaching. I was fortunate to take a number of his classes and will always be thankful for the investment he made in his students.
 
In a recent book, he tells the story of a remarkable woman, Mary Ann Bird, who has written a personal memoir entitled The Whisper Test. Bird was born with multiple birth defects: a cleft palate, disfigured face, crooked nose, lopsided feet, and deafness in one ear. As a child, she suffered not only her physical impairments but emotional damage inflicted by other children who either innocently inquired or mercilessly teased her, both serving to remind her of her difference.
 
Worst of all was the annual hearing test, when the teacher would call each child forward. The child covered one ear, then the other, and the teacher whispered a simple phrase: "The sky is blue," or "You have new shoes." Mary Ann could not hear in one ear and did everything possible, including cheating, to minimize attention to her disability. She hated the whisper test.
 
One year her teacher was Miss Leonard, whom every child loved. When the day came for the dreaded hearing test, Mary Ann cupped her ear and Miss Leonard leaned forward. She remembers,"I waited for those words which God must have put in her mouth, those seven words that changed my life. Miss Leonard did not say "the sky is blue" or "you have new shoes." What she whispered was, "I wish you were my little girl" (Testimony, pp. 85-86).
 
I wonder if the unnamed woman in this week's scripture passage experienced something similar with Jesus. We only see the aftermath, but certainly there was some encounter, some teaching or experience, that led her to respond so extravagantly. And, I wonder, if Simon the Pharisee longed for such an experience but just couldn't make himself vulnerable enough to receive it.
 
We'll explore the notions of identity, grace, and response this week in all services. The 11 a.m. Fellowship Hall service will take place outside in the Amphitheater and will feature excellent music and Jen Christianson's preaching. Jen will also preach in the Chapel. I'll be preaching in the Sanctuary services.
 
Come, and bring a friend,



 
 

 
Bob Henderson, senior minister 

Worship Services this Sunday
Traditional 
Contemporary
Jen Christianson preaching
  Bob Henderson preaching 
Bob Henderson preaching 
Jen Christianson preaching

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