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Sunday's Sermon
Nov 25, 2007

1090
"The THINKER"
The Rev. Dennis Posno

So, there he sits …
at the southeast corner of Collier and Mulcaster streets …
in front of the McLaren Art Centre.
There he sits.
The Thinker.

The Thinker is a replica, of course,
of an original sculpture by René François Auguste Rodin, a French sculptor,
whose naturalistic depiction of the human form
made him controversial in his day,
The original Thinker was created in 1880.
The Thinker at the corner is a much newer creation.

There he sits.
        Head resting in his hand.
                Looking up and down Collier Street.
                        I wonder what The Thinker thinks,
sitting as he sits, seeing what he sees.

Through the week, kitty-corner to where he sits,
he sees the comings and goings at City Hall
where the city goes about it’s business.
On the same corner, on Saturdays, during the better weather,
the outdoor Market is busy with people buying and selling.
And once the colder weather sets in,
the circle in the square will be prepared for skating
as kids and families enjoy Barrie’s winter.

Everyday, directly across the street,
people find their way to Foodland for grocery shopping.

Up the street from Foodland,
        the old Barrie jail still houses detainees awaiting trial.
                And just below the jail, he sees lawyers and clerks
                        and judges and defendants and witnesses
                                making their way into the courthouse for hearings and trials.

The Thinker sees all the construction taking place
        with the building of the new Scotiabank building and new parking garage
                while Collier street was torn up.

As he looks further down the street,
just beyond the new Scotiabank building,
he sees people gathered in front of the David Busby Street Centre.
      The city’s homeless and working poor.
         Huddled there on cold days  ~
            Monday to Friday from 10 am to 2 pm  ~
                    waiting for the help that is wonderfully given
                       by those who work at the center:
                               counselling… food … clothing …
                                  a listening ear … advice … a helping hand.

As The Thinker looks down Collier Street to his right,
across the street he sees a church.
It’s an old red-brick church that has stood there since 1864
and was built before the original Thinker was created.

The church’s spire, with a cross at its peak, rises into the skyline.
        It’s stained glass windows shine in the sunlight
                and at night, when the sanctuary lights are on,
                        their beauty shines through into the night darkness.
                                It’s doors, it seems, are always open.
                                        And into that building enter many from our city.

Sometimes it’s for a concert.
        Sometimes it’s to attend one of the support groups
                that have found a home there  ~  six days a week.
                        On Monday nights a group of special needs people,
                often overlooked by others,
        arrive and are welcomed by generous-hearted people
who have given them a place within the church to call home.

And on Monday nights throughout the fall,
        children and youth and adults come through its doors
                to be a part of Rainbows  ~
                        a wonderful program that offers to those who have been wounded
                                because of separation and divorce in their family
                                        a chance to move from hurt through healing to hope.

Little boys and bigger boys arrive on Tuesdays evenings,
all dressed up in their uniforms.
They are a part of the scouting groups that meet at Collier  ~
Beavers and Cubs and Sea Scouts.

On Wednesday nights, the doors are opened to welcome
the children and their leaders who are a part of our Youth Choir
and the teenagers who attend our Youth Groups.

And on Thursday nights, little girls and older girls
arrive at the doors to attend various guiding groups
from Sparks to Brownies to Girl Guides to Pathfinders.
And members of the Senior Choir find their way in
to sing the songs of faith as they rehearse for Sunday services.

On Saturdays, brides and grooms arrive,
and in the beauty of a sacred place, with family and friends as witnesses,
make their commitments to each other.

On Saturday and Sunday nights,
        from mid-November to April,
                the doors are opened to the homeless and working poor.
                        In that place, just across the street from where he sits,
                                The Thinker sees them arrive for a hot meal
                                        and a warm place to sleep during the cold winter months.

And he sees many of those same people in the church’s parking lot
on Monday and Wednesday and Friday mid-afternoons,
gathered around a van that has brought them another meal
to get them through the day.

And others come.
They come to attend meetings
                and bake pies
                        and enjoy church dinners
                                and take part in bazaars
                                        or meet with the ministers.
                               
But the day that The Thinker notices most is Sunday.
        People begin to arrive around 9:30 in the morning.
                Some are all dressed up … some are dressed more casually.
                        There are moms and dads with their kids.
                                Single adults and older couples.
                                        Babies and teenagers.
                                                The parking lot fills up … and the municipal lot …
                                                        and the Foodland lot … and the street …
                                                                as the people come through open doors.

How many places are there, The Thinker wonders,
where the young and the old and singles and families can gather  ~  together?

And at 10:15 the clarion sounds of the steeple bell
        ring throughout the downtown to let people know
                that things are about to begin.
                        And when it’s over,
                                The Thinker see and hears the people leaving  ~
                                        often with laughter in their voices
                                                and a lighter step
                                                        as another week of living begins.

That’s what The Thinker sees and hears.
But what does The Thinker think about what he sees and hears?

Well, The Thinker sees the busyness of the place;
and if business, not cleanliness, were next to godliness,
he would certainly think that they were a godly people.
But he thinks  ~ 
What are they busy about?
Why all this coming and going?

If The Thinker were to stop one of us to ask the question,
how would we answer the question?
How would you answer the question?

There are some who might say  ~
“I was hungry, and they fed me.”

There are others who might say  ~
“I had nowhere to sleep, and they welcomed me in.”

There are some who might say  ~
“I was lost in the blur of addiction
and I found a group that helped me find my way.”

There are others who might say  ~
“I am a person with special needs.
I am often overlooked and set aside.
I found a place that has welcomed me and said
‘You are special because, like us, you are a child of God.’”

There are some who might say  ~
“I have a voice that loves to sing
and in that place they gave me a song to sing and people to sing with.”

There are others who might say  ~
“I have a heart that wants to love others
and hands that want to help others.
I found a place where my heart and hands could be used.”

There are some who might say  ~
“I was looking for friendship.
I found in that place a whole family of friends.”

There are others who might say  ~
“My life felt as though it was adrift in a sea of troubles and worries.
I found in that place a faith that has anchored me to God.”

There are those who might say  ~
“I needed a place, in this difficult world of ours,
where the crooked places could be made straight and the rough places smooth.
I found, as I walked through those doors,
the solid ground of faith to walk on.”

There are some who might say  ~
“I have faith in God through Jesus Christ.
But I have as many questions, it seems, as answers.
I found a place where, with others, I could simply talk about those things
and not be judged.”

There are others who might say  ~
“I wanted my children to find a place where they were lovingly welcomed …
where they could learn the stories of faith as I did many years ago …
where they would discover the friendship of Jesus.
I found a place where all of it could happen.”

There are some who might say  ~
“I was troubled and needed encouragement.
I was lonely and needed friendship.
I was hurting and needed healing.
I was grieving and needed comfort.
I found a place where the encouraging, healing, comforting friendship of God
was proclaimed.”

There are others who might say  ~
“I really can’t say.
I can’t put it into words.
But I do know that I am a better person
because I have walked through those doors.”

The Thinker sees the faces and hears the words
and thinks deeply about it all.
And his thinking leads him to some conclusions.
This is what The Thinker thinks …

“All sorts of people who come into that building have spoken to me.
The hurting … and the hopeful.
The weary … and the refreshed.
The joyful … and the sad.
The lost … and the found.
The troubled … and those who are at peace.
The young … and the old.
The able … and the disabled.
They have all spoken to me.

“And they all have their stories  ~  different stories.
But I have noticed a common thread.
The business of that place, in many ways, is next to godliness.
For in that place, whether people are giving or receiving,
whether they are silent or singing,
whether they are young or old, able or disabled,
they have all been welcomed as the children of God.
And as God’s children, they are all valued and loved.

“And I have seen something more.
I have seen people striving to me more than they thought they could be …
searching for a better way of living …
embracing the love of God for them
and giving that love away in the way they treat each other.

“I have seen in them  ~
as I have seen it through those stained glass windows  ~
a light shining through that brightens up the world around them.

“And I have seen something else.
Something fine and beautiful.
Something good and hopeful.
I have seen the effort that many of them are making
to live up to the words on the sign at the front of that church,
to live up to the call of Jesus: 
’ …to see the face of Christ in everyone they meet
and to let everyone they meet see the face of Christ in them.’”

So, there he sits …
at the southeast corner of Collier and Mulcaster streets …
in front of the McLaren Art Centre.
There he sits.
The Thinker.
Thinking …
 “It is a better street because that church is there.”

 

SOLI  DEO  GLORIA

 

SCRIPTURE

 

Psalm 100 (English Standard Version)