Joyful Disbelief (standard:Inspirational stories, 2844 words)
Author: Eutychus	Added: May 17 2008	Views/Reads: 3402/2293	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
An older couple returns to teaching Sunday school with some uncertainty and end up wondering why they ever left.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

moment's notice was much easier when I only had one lens to look 
through instead of three.” 

They double-checked the number of modified garbage bags and had made
sure earlier in the week that there was plenty of plastic tablecloth 
material at church. Elsbeth relabeled a crucial item from the pantry 
while Jerry broke into the stash of baby wipes they had been 
accumulating for the past six months in preparation for Maddie's baby 
shower. After placing the scones in a large freezer bag, they convinced 
themselves they were as prepared as they could be and went to bed. 

Prayer time always took up a large percentage of the class. Pets,
parents, friends and sniffles all received detailed consideration. And 
when it came time for the new worship song to be learned, each child 
sang in his or her own key, but each strove to make a joyful noise. 

When Elsbeth came to the front of the group to tell the latest story
from their missionary family, the girls became noticeably excited. One 
of the facts passed on to children by parents who had attended 
Elsbeth's class a score of years ago was that when Elsbeth told the 
missions story, she also chose girls to collect the offering. 

“Abbie and Grace, would you mind collecting our offering today?” Elsbeth
asked as Jerry began preparations for the morning lesson. As the girls 
came up to take the baskets, they looked at each other and held a 
silent conversation. By the time they reached the front, they had 
worked out who would pray. Elsbeth really enjoyed this moment and the 
simplicity of the prayers. 

“Lord, thank you for sending people to do your work. Now take this money
and use it to help them do your work. Amen,” Grace said softly. As the 
$3.17 was collected, Jerry moved his flannelgraph setup front and 
center. 

“Who can tell me what was special about last Sunday?” he asked as he
began placing figures on the board. 

“It was Easter. That was when Jesus rose from the dead and we got lots
of balloons,” four-year-old Tyler replied. 

Three years earlier, someone had the crazy idea that a celebration of
the resurrection of Christ needed something really special and had 
pumped forty dollars worth of helium into several hundred balloons that 
read, “He is risen indeed!” After shaking hands with the pastor, 
everyone received a handful of balloons and was asked to gather just 
outside. 

The pastor gave a very brief homily explaining the history of the “He is
risen/ He is risen, indeed” salutation early believers used to affirm 
the fact of the resurrection and identify themselves as Christians. He 
then spoke the first half of the greeting and as everyone replied, they 
all relaxed their grip on the ribbons tied to the balloons. 

This year he had waited for a break in the traffic before speaking the
greeting for the sake of safety because in previous years, brakes 
locking up at the sight of hundreds of balloons floating across the 
roadway had been a common event. 

“That's right. Last week you talked about the angel at the tomb and the
women who came to prepare Jesus' body for burial and how happy they 
were when they found out he was alive. This week we will talk about 
some other people Jesus appeared to.” 

He moved the kids through the “road to Emmaus” story and how the
travelers didn't recognize their companion until he broke bread with 
them. Then he hustled the flannel figures back to Jerusalem where they 
told the disciples of their experience on the road with Jesus. When 
Jesus suddenly arrived in the midst of the figures on the board, Jerry 
asked one of the home schooled kids with accelerated reading skills to 
read Luke 24:37-43, Bible verses he had written on the blackboard 
earlier that morning. 

“But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a
spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts 
arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. 
Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you 
see I have.' When He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 
And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, He said unto 
them, ‘Have you anything to eat?' So they gave Him a piece of broiled 
fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate it in their presence.” 

“Thank you, Lisa. So, they were frightened when they saw Jesus. They
weren't expecting to see him alive and they thought they were looking 
at a ghost. But when he spoke to them, showed them his feet and hands 
and then ate some fish and honey, they knew it was really him. Let's 
look at how they reacted. What does the Bible say they did? How do you 
‘disbelieve for joy'?” 

“Is that like when you come into the living room Christmas morning and
see all the presents, and you just can't believe it?” Abbie wondered. 

“Yes, it is very much like that,” Jerry said, impressed by her insight.
“Why do you think they were joyful to see Jesus?” 

“Because they thought he was dead?” 

“Yes, he wasn't with them anymore. Does anyone recognize this?” he asked
and placed the Ark of the Covenant on the board beneath the figure of 
Jesus. 

With surprisingly few reminders, the kids identified the ark. Jerry
reminded them that the ark had represented God's presence with the 
Jewish people. 

“There was one time when the ark was captured by the Philistines, and
that made the Israelites feel like God had left them. The priest Eli 
fell dead when he heard the ark had been taken; and his 
daughter-in-law, who was having a baby when the news of the capture of 
the Ark was received, named her son Ichabod, a name that means ‘the 
glory has departed'. But when the ark was returned seven months later, 
they had a great celebration. You always feel good when God is close 
by.” 

“But the ark wasn't God, was it?” 

“You're right, it wasn't,” Jerry said, fully anticipating the question.
“But just like there are some things that stand for our country and we 
would feel bad if people didn't treat them with respect, the Jews had 
some things that stood for their relationship with God, and the ark was 
one of them. Imagine how sad we would feel if someone stole the Statue 
of Liberty.” 

“Can they do that?” 

“Probably not. Now Jesus didn't just represent God. He was God's son. So
the disciples were very sad when Jesus died, but when he came back, 
they were joyful. Abbie said joy is like what you feel on Christmas 
morning. Is that more than just being happy?” Jerry asked and nodded to 
Elsbeth, who moved into the kitchen to warm up scones. The group split 
pretty evenly on whether or not joy was the same as being happy. 

“Alright Grace, when you were chosen to take up the offering, you felt
happy. Correct?” 

“Oh yes I did.” 

“Did anyone else feel happy because you did?” 

She looked at the boys who had seemed disappointed over not being asked
and said, “No.” 

“That's because happiness is an emotion. Any emotion is limited to the
person who is feeling it. But joy comes from somewhere else. The 
apostle Paul listed it as a fruit of the Spirit. That makes it 
something that comes from God. Joy spills outside its container and no 
matter how hard you try to control it, covers whatever is nearby. Let 
me tell you all a story about what joy does.” 

Elsbeth moved to the two foot by three foot rectangular opening in the
wall between the kitchen and the room the kids were in and relived the 
story Jerry was telling. Though it was necessary for him to leave out 
many of the facts, Elsbeth vividly remembered every detail. 

Grace's parents had been the oldest kids in the first collection of
children Elsbeth and Jerry had in Sunday school two decades earlier. 
They had grown up together in church and school and no one was 
surprised when their good friendship blossomed into a lifelong 
commitment. They married young and tried for years to have children. 
When it became obvious there were problems that fertility specialists 
couldn't successfully address, Elsbeth in particular and the church as 
a body had grieved with them and prayed that the Lord would bless their 
desire to be parents. 

Nearly a year later those prayers were answered. A representative from
Gift of God Ministries let them know that they had a baby. Six days 
after Grace was born and the birth mother signed the papers, the young 
family entered the church and all ‘disbelieved for joy'. As they made 
the rounds and introduced everyone to their daughter, the joy 
multiplied. The pastor made a point of changing the order of the 
worship music and had the congregation sing only the second verse of 
the Gaither tune Because He Lives. On that occasion, it went: How sweet 
to hold a newborn baby, and feel the pride and joy she gives. But 
greater still the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain days 
because He lives. 

And there wasn't a dry eye in the sanctuary. 

“So joy always reflects a fullness of life as only God can give it. But
joy always goes beyond its starting point. Just as each of you gave joy 
to your parents when you were born, someday your children will give you 
joy. And the joy the disciples got from knowing Jesus was alive and 
that their sins had been forgiven has traveled from person to person 
until it got to us two thousand years later. Let's pray. Lord, we thank 
you for the joy that comes from knowing you. Help us to share this joy 
with others. Thank you for our snack. Bless this food and go with us 
every day this week. In Jesus' name, amen.” 

As the group moved to the round table, Jerry carefully slipped a garbage
bag with head and arm holes over each of them. After everyone was 
seated and slightly confused, Jerry moved to the kitchen opening and 
grabbed the tray of milk. Elsbeth walked in with the warm pre-split 
scones and placed a plate with one scone and one plastic spoon in front 
of each child. 

“What kind of biscuits are these? And they don't taste like fish, do
they?” they all wondered but only Tyler asked. 

“No, Tyler, they just look like fish. These are scones. They are a
sourdough biscuit that my mother made all the time when I was a little 
girl in England,” Elsbeth offered. “And this is the proper spread for 
eating with a scone.” 

She had placed a wrap of duct tape around the outside of the honey jar
and labeled it JOY. 

“I would like you all to remember what Jerry told you about joy when you
put the honey on your scone.” 

A panicked look crossed the faces of the younger children, who knew what
was likely to happen, but were instructed not to worry. 

As the golden design formed on the plastic tablecloth, Jerry and Elsbeth
watched with interest and sipped tea. What began as concern on the part 
of the kids turned into laughter once they understood the point of the 
snack. Soon they were trying to identify shapes in the honey streams on 
the table. 

Jerry checked his watch and broke open the package of baby wipes. As he
and Elsbeth methodically cleaned faces and hands, footsteps and voices 
were heard outside the door. All the kids knew that sound was a 
reliable signal that Sunday school time was over and it was time to 
move to the sanctuary. And because they were still occupied with 
cleanup, Jerry and Elsbeth didn't notice the door open and close once. 

“Grace, how did you get all sticky?” mom asked with surprise immediately
after Grace placed a hand on either of her mother's cheeks. “Did you 
leave class without getting cleaned up?” 

“Mommy, I'm not sticky. I'm joyful!” 

Her mother, always prepared for such surprises, removed a plastic bag
containing several damp paper towels from her purse. She quickly and 
effectively dealt with the sticky situation as Grace explained the 
reason she was sharing her joy. 

When Elsbeth arrived in the foyer with baby wipes in hand, she found
Grace's parents laughing by the coat rack and Grace pouting next to the 
literature table. 

“What's the matter, sweetie?” she asked as she inspected the escapee. 

“I tried to share my joy with Mommy, but she wiped it off.” 

“Grace, I'm sure she wasn't wiping it off. I think she was rubbing it
in.” 

“Oh,” Grace said thoughtfully. “Okay. Daddy, pick me up?” 

Elsbeth caught sight of her husband's loafers amidst the crowd of legs
moving toward the sanctuary, stood and turned to face him. 

“I heard that, Beth,” he said, cupped one of her cheeks in his hand and
gave her a kiss. 

“And what was that for?” 

“That was for showing me what a great grandma you're going to be.” 


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