…Sanctuary…

  There once was a man named Charles who received a very
special telephone call.
"Hello!" said Charles.
"Hello, my son," said a warm and compelling voice on
the other side.
"Who is this?" Charles asked.
"Jesus."
"Jesus. Yeah, right," said Charles, skeptically.
"Prove it."
And, as he had done long ago with the Samaritan woman,
Jesus proceeded to tell the man everything he had ever
done. Convinced, Charles was beside himself in awe.

"My Lord! To what do I owe the honor of this phone
call?"
"My son, I want to visit you today."
"You want to visit me? Really?" Charles became very
excited. "How about tonight for dinner?"
"I cannot tell you the exact hour," said Jesus, "but
yes, tonight for dinner would be fine."
"Great! Do you need directions?" Charles immediately
felt foolish. "Oh, sorry, Lord. I’m sure you already
know where I live. See you tonight."
"Blessings, my son."
And with that, Charles hung up the phone. Jesus was
coming to visit him for dinner! He then looked around
his modest home in horror. The place was a mess and
his refrigerator was empty. There was so much to do!
It was already 1:00 in the afternoon. He barely had
enough time to clean up, go shopping, and cook.
Jesus was coming! Charles gathered the newspapers and
magazines that were scattered all over the house and
finally put them in recycling. He threw his dirty
clothes in the washing machine and started vacuuming
and dusting. He placed the finest linen on the table
and set out his best china.
Jesus was coming! The grocery store was overcrowded
and Charles was getting impatient while waiting in the
checkout line. He had already decided that Jesus might
enjoy a tasty lamb stew with potatoes and an
assortment of vegetables. He also took care to choose
the best bread and wine he could find.
Jesus was coming! Charles was ready to burst and tell
everyone in the market who his guest would be for
dinner, but then he thought, "No, I better not. I want
Jesus all to myself."

 
Jesus was coming! Nothing was too good for his Lord!
The lamb stew was simmering slowly and Charles was
rolling the dough for an apple pie when he heard a
knock on the door. "Who could that be?" Charles
thought as he looked at his watch, annoyed. When he
opened the door he was aghast to find a homeless man
at his doorstep, wearing tattered clothing and looking
quite unkempt.
"Please sir," said the homeless man. "I have not eaten
in several days and I smelled the delicious cooking
from your kitchen. May I trouble you for something to
eat?"
Charles could not believe the nerve of this total
stranger coming to his door and asking for food! "I’m
sorry, but I’m a little busy right now. I have in
important guest coming for dinner tonight. Why don’t
you go over to the mission downtown? They’ll have
something for you." And before the homeless man could
even respond, Charles closed the door on him. It was
almost four o’clock.
Jesus was coming! The dinner was cooking and Charles
was ironing his best shirt when he heard another knock
on the door. "Now what?" he thought as he looked at
his watch, annoyed. When he opened the door he was
surprised to find a little girl who must have been
four or five years old. She looked like she was going
to cry.
"Please, mister," said the little girl as she clutched
a tiny doll. "I’m lost. I can’t find my house or my
mommy."
Charles sighed deeply. Why was this happening to him?
He wasn’t comfortable around children and he didn’t
know what to do. "Look," said Charles to the girl. "I
don’t know how I can help you. Why don’t you go next
door and ask them?" And the little girl walked away
crying as Charles closed the door on her. It was
almost five o’clock.

Jesus was coming! The table was set, the delicious
food was on the table in covered warmers, the candles
were lit and the wine was uncorked. Everything was
perfect! It was six o’clock and Charles was ready for
a wonderful dinner with his Lord. Then he heard a
knock on the door. He practically ran over to greet
Jesus and was shocked to find that his brother was at
his doorstep! His brother, with whom he had not spoken
for over fifteen years!
"You!" said Charles, angrily. "I told you I never want
to see you again for as long as I live!" And he
slammed the door in his brother’s face!
The evening went on as Charles waited for Jesus. Seven
o’clock passed. Eight o’clock passed. The candles were
melting down and the food was getting cold. Nine
o’clock passed, as did ten o’clock. Charles couldn’t
believe it. After all his trouble to get ready, Jesus
had stood him up. Finally, the phone rang.
"My son," said the warm and compelling voice on the
other end.
"Oh, Jesus!" said Charles with a hurt tone. "Where
have you been? I spent all day getting ready for your
visit. I set out the finest meal for you. And you
didn’t even have the decency to show up!"
"My son," said Jesus. "I did visit you, three times!
But you never opened the door."
===
Advent! What are we waiting for? For whom do we wait?
What gets in the way?
—————————————————-

(http://www.spiritandsong.com/node/1130)

rewritten by : mr_ceria@yahoo.com   

Selamat mempersiapkan hati,jiwa,pikiran & seluruh
keberadaan kita dalam menyambut Advent & Natal..
Cerita di atas telah mengingatkan saya akan apa
sebenarnya arti dari masa Advent..
Semoga menjadi berkat!
Gbu,

Andi

Christmas NHKBP Tebet 2004

uploaded by NJ