George Gershwin, one of the greatest 20th Century composers, discovered that to be truly human you must “feel” yourself into the life of others, you must share their humanity with your own. Oscar Levant once…
Sermon Illustrations
. . . All wars are civil wars, because all persons are brothers and sisters. . . . Each person owes infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in which he…
Years ago I began to recognize my kinship with all living beings. I said then, and I say now, that . . . while there is a lower class, I am in it, while there…
Samuel Bronfman, the magnate of Seagram Distillers, once arrived at an advertising conference and sat on the nearest available chair. “No, no, Mr. Sam,” blurted out one of the advertising men. “Sit here at the…
A roving columnist for a regional agricultural publication tells this story: I gather material by traveling with a saddle horse and a pack mule. Because my job is a bit unusual, my writings have attracted…
A mother wished to enter her five-year-old daughter in a kindergarten, but was told the minimum age was six. The mother insisted that the child’s superior intelligence would enable her to pass any test for…
In a New York City elementary school, a class of fifth graders were encouraged by their teacher to discuss their feelings about nuclear weapons. The class was called “General Studies” and some of the students…
The mayor met the principal of the toughest school in town. The principal was obviously downcast and the mayor asked him why. “School’s been open only a short time,” the educator explained, “and already we…
”...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death...” (Phil. 3:10).
He came singing love. He lived singing love. He died singing love. He rose in silence. (If the song is to continue, we must do the singing) ”O sing to the Lord a new song;…
Actress Arlene Francis was strolling in the park one day when she saw a very beautiful little girl at play — so beautiful, in fact, that Ms. Francis could not resist congratulating the child’s mother,…
A theologian who was retiring was reminiscing on his life as a scholar. “The longer I live,” he said, “the more value I put on God’s sheer Grace, which I take simply to be that…
One of the good things about Easter is that we can get in touch with some of the feelings we had when we were little children. And it’s not just a nostalgia trip. It’s important,…
The dying man was whispering earnestly to his wife: “My dear, be sure to put Tommy in charge of the business.” To which she replied: “Why not Joey? He’s the smartest of the boys.” The…
We all know that the daily, front-page doomsday reports can really begin to get to you. Like the man who bought a one-hundred-thousand-dollar flight insurance policy. Before boarding the airplane he saw one of those…
The father of an autistic boy explains that it is in the eyes of his son that he most fully recognizes the Presence of God: I think the whole quest for oneness, for spiritual connection…
When a young woman from Norway moved to America, she chose not to live in the largely Scandinavian area of rural Minnesota where her relatives had settled. Instead she chose New York City. Several years…
There is an amusing story about a college football game which turned out to be a terrible mismatch. One team outweighed the other by thirty pounds per player, was more experienced and better coached. The…
All of us have days when we wish that we had just stayed in bed. One comedian moaned, “I overslept this morning and in the rush to get started, I burned my toast, spilled coffee…
Almost everyone has had the experience as a child of riding on a Merry-Go-Round. The Merry-Go-Round is still a featured attraction on most carnival midways and seaside boardwalks. The interesting thing about the carrousel is…