Trinity Lutheran Church | 200 East Main St. Cyrus, MN 56323 | Tel: (320)795-
Email: tlccyrus@runestone.net Web site questions or comments to webmaster@tlccyrus.com
Pastor’s Message
“GOOD THINGS!”
The story is told about the mother who took her children to the local restaurant one day for supper. As soon as they sat down, her six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. Mom agreed and they all bowed their heads as he said: “God is good. God is great, and we thank him for our food. By his hands we must be fed, give us, Lord, our daily bread. And God, I would thank you even more if mom lets us have ice cream for dessert. And liberty and justice for all. Amen.” Several nearby customers, having heard the boy’s prayer, started to laugh. But one old lady remarked, “Humph, that’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids today don’t even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!”
Hearing this, the boy burst into tears and buried his head on his mom’s shoulder. Then he asked, “Mom, did I do wrong? Is God mad at me for what I said?” Mom held him tight, and assured him that God was certainly not mad at him. Then an elderly gentleman approached them. He knelt down beside the boy and winked at him and said, “Son, I happen to know that God thought that was a really great prayer.” The boy said, “Really?” The man said, “Cross my heart.” Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added, nodding toward the old woman. “Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”
The mother and her children ordered their meal, including ice cream for them all. At the end of the meal, when the waitress brought the ice cream, the boy stared at his dish for a moment and then did something quite remarkable. He got up from the table, picked up his dish of ice cream, and walked over to where the old woman was sitting. He set the dish in front of her and said with a big smile, “Here, Ma’am, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes. My soul is good already.” Then he turned and went and sat down again, cuddling close to his mother.
In John 10:10, Jesus reminds us, “I have come that they (my sheep, my people) may have life and have it abundantly.” The good news of Easter says to us that there’s a party going on, a party centered on that new life that we have in the risen Christ, and you and I are invited: “Come to the party!” This life we have in Christ is worth celebrating. We celebrate with thanks and praise to God for all that he has given us and done for us. That life we have in Christ, like a good dish of ice cream, is good for the soul.
So, the next time you stop at the Dairy Queen, or whenever and wherever you may have that dish of ice cream, remember that God has lots of things, even some ONE, who is truly good for the soul. Have a blessed summer, filled with God’s abundant life and we’ll see you in church next Sunday giving thanks for all of his blessings.
Pastor John