Jeremy L. Berg

A rabbinic tale tells of a rabbi standing on the street corner with the great prophet Elijah, and he asked the prophet: “Is there anyone in this marketplace who is assured of the world to come?”

Elijah: “No.”

Suddenly two others passed by, of whom Elijah said: “These two are assured of the world to come.”

The rabbi went to them and asked them: “What do you do?”

They answered: “We are jesters. When we see a man who looks sad, we make him smile.”

This story celebrates the powerful yet casual day to day ministry of everyday people who make a coworker laugh, crack a dad joke with one’s kids, tickle a toddler’s tummy, share a silly meme in a text group, or sing a happy song that brings a surge of joy to a suffering soul.

I’m no standup comedian and my sermon’s aren’t sprinkled with jokes and funny stories. But bringing music into senior homes and entertaining old folks does bring a lot of smiles and joy to weary souls. Especially when my kids join me on stage.

I received a voicemail last Saturday from an elderly lady saying that her friend, Betty, just LOVES when the kids and I come to lead the chapel service. Her voice cracked a bit as she informed me:

“Betty just went into hospice care in the care center, but she is determined to make it to your services the next two weeks. Will you go out of your way to shake her hand and bring her some encouragement?”

After singing several songs on the theme of “wind” and giving a sermon on the God who breathes fresh breath into weary bones and brings the dead back to life, I spent some precious minutes with Betty. Tears filled her eyes as I held her hand and talked about meeting Jesus soon. I told her to “say hello to Jesus for me.”

It wasn’t the role of the jester; more of the role of Jesus. I brought a few happy tears to Betty, and I felt God’s smile and Elijah’s approval over this outreach ministry MainStreet Covenant enables me to do.

As we move into the last quarter of the calendar year, I will be taking stock of the growing number of people we are touching through my expanding music outreach as “The Roaming Reverend”, as well as the funding we need for me to keep doing it. (See a list of my 2025 performance dates on the right.)

Please consider becoming a monthly donor to help me continue doing this full-time ministry at MainStreet Covenant and around the Twin Cities. Learn more here.

Grace and peace!