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All that we know of Jesus’ life from the time he was an infant until the time he began his public ministry at about the age of 30, we learn from Luke in today’s reading. At first, it doesn’t seem like much – just one story from his childhood, when Jesus was twelve years old – and yet this story tells us a great deal.

At the very beginning of the story, we learn that Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem each year for the festival of the Passover. When Jesus was twelve years old, they went as usual. The Law of Moses required that good Jews make a pilgrimage to the temple three times a year – for Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacle. There were synagogues in many villages – places for weekly worship, and places for education. However, there was only one Temple and that was in Jerusalem.

The trip to Jerusalem might be very long and sometimes dangerous. The Law of Moses, recognizing this, made an exception for people who lived at a great distance – for them, the pilgrimage to the Temple was required only for Passover. Women and children were not required to make this journey. Only men and male children 12 or older, who were considered adults, were required to make the annual journey. Still many families would make the trip together and large groups from a village would travel together, providing safety and companionship.

So, Joseph would have been required to make the trip annually, but Mary would not have to go, and Jesus wouldn’t have been required to go until this year when he was twelve. Yet, Luke tells us that they went together every year. We see that they took the responsibilities of their faith seriously. Luke, the only non-Jew among the writers of the gospels, wants to be sure that we understand that Jesus and his family were extremely meticulous observant Jews. He wants us to know that Jesus was a true Israelite from birth, and that he was brought up in the moral and ritual life of Judaism. Home, temple, and synagogue formed him.

On this occasion, as in the past, Joseph, Mary and Jesus made the difficult trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem. The distance was about 60 miles, the terrain was difficult and it took several days to make the journey. As was the custom, they went with aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. Children played together as they walked along. Women discussed the things women discuss and men walking together talked about the things of interest to them. They watched out for each other’s children and they traveled as a large extended family. At night, the parents would set up their own sleeping area and the children would leave their friends and spend the night with their parents.

Their annual trek to Jerusalem was a community event. Luke doesn’t tell us anything about what happened while they were there. The events of the eight-day festival were pretty well laid out. Instead Luke focuses on what happened after the festival was over. The family began their return trip to Jerusalem. Children played together. Women walked together. Men walked together. They talked about what had taken place. In the evening, when they set up camp everyone scattered to their own families and Mary and Joseph discovered that Jesus was not there. A frantic search began. Mary might have thought he was with Joseph, since Jesus was now almost a man. Joseph may have thought he was with Mary since he was still a boy. As the oldest child in his family – almost an adult - he would have been expected to take care of himself. His friends hadn’t seen him. None of his brothers or sisters knew where he was. No one could account for his whereabouts – and no, nobody had seen him at anytime during the day. Slowly the reality dawned; Jesus was not with them. Somehow, their child had been left behind.

What a horrible night it must have been for Mary and Joseph! It may be hard for us to understand, but Mary and Joseph were not negligent parents. They were simply going about their lives in a normal way. They were making their way home, talking with their friends, paying attention to the younger children and the older relatives who needed assistance. They assumed Jesus was with them. He was supposed to be.

I think this story may be a parable of our own Christian experience. Sometimes we get so absorbed in their daily lives that we do not notice that we have drifted away from Jesus – that we have left him behind. How often have you gone a whole day without Jesus and didn’t realize at all that Jesus was missing? You may not have been doing anything wrong, you were just going about your daily life, enjoying pleasure … making a living … providing comfort … seeking security … appreciating home life. There is nothing wrong with any of these activities. They are normal events of our daily life and they are all good – but they are never to become the first priority of our lives.

In the Ten Commandments we are reminded, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3). In Matthew’s gospel, we read, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33)[i] It is easy to become so absorbed in life that our priorities get out of balance, and one day we discover that there is something missing in our lives.

That is when we start looking for something to give our lives meaning. Our search may take us in many different directions. We may experience that frantic concern and search that Mary and Joseph must have experienced. Can you imagine all the things that were going through their minds as they rushed back to Jerusalem? More than likely, they left the rest of the children with other family members so that they could travel more quickly, and they hurried back to Jerusalem searching for Jesus. It took the better portion of another day to get back to Jerusalem. It must have been the longest day of their lives.

When we are searching for meaning in life, it can be a long search. We may look to all the things that our culture tells us are important – success, possessions, security, family. It is a concern to me when I meet so many young people – and sometimes older people – who think that they have to find that one special person in order to make their lives complete. The reality is that it is not possible for another person to complete our lives and make us happy. That sense of completion and happiness comes from within us. We must first learn to love ourselves before we can love another person or really accept the love of another person.

At some point, we realize that possessions, success, and even people who love us cannot satisfy the deepest longing in our lives. The man who became Bishop Augustine, a powerful influence on the theology and spirituality of the Christian church reflecting upon his conversion wrote a prayer that has become famous, “You have made us for yourself, Lord. Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

When we discover this, it is a great day – the day of finding Jesus. Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem and found Jesus in the temple. When we realize what is missing in our lives and want to find Jesus – for the first time, or for the 50^th time – the place to go to find him is the church. It appears that the temple was not the first place that Mary and Joseph looked for Jesus. They may have gone to the homes of family or friends, or searched the market place or other places that would have appealed to a 12 year old. Finally, they ended up at the temple, where they found Jesus sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. He seemed surprised that his parents had not known where to find him. “Why were you searching for me?” Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Think about it. “When you want a haircut, you don’t go to a dentist. When you want medical attention, you don’t go to a mechanic. When you want legal advice, you don’t go to a nurse. Some people are trained to do certain things. When you want to find Jesus, where should you go? To those who know him, love him,”[ii] and serve him. You go to those who can help you find him.

Luke tells us that Jesus was in the temple sitting with the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. This is a scene in which Jesus makes even his exasperated parents burst with pride (after they get over their frustration and fright) because here Jesus reveals himself as a deeply faithful Jew. Here Jesus claims for himself a special relationship with God. Jesus is doing what faithful Jews have always done – ask questions, debate, argue the points of faith and in so doing demonstrate a deep desire to know and understand, to wrestle with the questions, and to grow in the faith.

This is a story that is important to our journey of faith. It is a story that reminds us as parents and grandparents of the need to have our children firmly grounded in the ritual, the liturgy, the fellowship, and the study of the church and the Scripture. Too often, I hear that parents don’t want to influence their children. They want to leave it to their children to decide for themselves. My rather simplistic response is that we don’t ask children if they want to go to school. We don’t ask them if they want to learn to read and write or learn arithmetic.

Yes, the final decision is left to each person – our children included – to decide whether or not to follow Jesus, but it is important for us to plant the seed, water the plant and to show by our example that we believe that having Jesus in our lives is of primary importance. We are to help weed out the distractions, cultivate the good soil, and pray for the strengthening of the root system in our children’s lives, but ultimately the decision belongs to each of us. In the temple on this day, we see Jesus declaring his decision.

We have heard also a small portion of the story of Samuel, another remarkable child who spent most of his childhood in the temple. It was in the temple that Samuel experienced his call from God that would lead him to become one of the great prophets. It was in the temple that Jesus made the declaration about being about his Father’s business. It is in the community of believers, gathered for worship and study, that we most often are open to God’s leading and guidance. It is when we study the Scripture, pray together, sing God’s praises, and greet one another in Christian love that we are fed spiritually, nourished and empowered to be about God’s business in the world.

Luke wants us - the non-Jews - to understand, that it is through Jesus who is a light to the Gentiles, that repentance and forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to all nations. It is through Jesus that we have become God’s chosen people, holy and beloved. It is because of Jesus that we come together to worship the God who loves us. It is because of Jesus that Paul wrote to the Christians in many cities giving them concrete instructions about how to live their lives.

On this - the first Sunday after Christmas, and the last day of the calendar year, we ought to pay particular attention to the passage Paul wrote to the Colossians, written, by the way when Luke, his beloved friend and physician, was with him. If you are inclined to make New Year’s Resolutions, this is a perfect one to take as a guide. Let me share with you the way the Contemporary English Version translates this passage.

“God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.

“Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful. Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.” (Col. 3:12-17 CEV)

This will be my prayer for each of you during the next six-weeks while we are separated from each other and while we continue to seek God’s guidance in our daily lives. This is the business of God that we are called to be about, that Jesus showed us by example - even his example as a child.

[i] The thought about this being a parable for our journey comes from R. Blaine Detrick, Favorite Children of the Bible, CSS Publishing Co. Lima OH 1993 pp.96-7.

[ii] Detrick, p.99

The time has come. Tonight is Christmas Eve. Tomorrow is Christmas Day the most joyous and celebrated of all holidays in our culture. Families and friends get together and gifts are exchanged. For some that’s all that Christmas is – a day for receiving gifts. It’s all about Santa Claus. But for many others, including those of us gathered here, Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus. However, even within the church most people think about Christmas as a singular event. We spend weeks getting ready for it but after December 25^th, it’s over until the same time next year.

No matter how we look at it, the birth of Jesus is not a singular event. “Jesus’ coming has deep roots in the religious and cultural tradition of the Jewish people, and the fact that he came has had ever widening ramifications that show no sign of abating even after two thousand years.”[ii]

The people of Jesus’ day would never have imagined that this Galilean peasant could have the impact he has had on our world. Most of what we know of Jesus’ life – primarily his adult life spans a period of only three years and yet no one has influenced the world as much as he has. Jesus’ birth, ministry, life, death and resurrection are all part of a divine web of intersecting scripture passages and traditions from the past that point to him as the fulfillment of prophecy and the fulfillment of long anticipated hope.

The Jewish people had been waiting for the Messiah - and waiting, and waiting. In fact, today, they still wait. This hope is especially intense during times and seasons when life has been so exceptionally difficult that it seems that only divine intervention can help. In the movie Fiddler on the Roof, there is a poignant scene near the end when all the families are being forced to leave their beloved village of Anatevka. Tevya almost prayerfully asks the Rabbi, “Rabbi, we have waited all our lives for the Messiah. Wouldn’t this be a good time for him to come?” The Rabbi with great understanding replies, “We shall have to wait for him someplace else.”

Throughout history there have been widely divergent concepts of what the Messiah would be like when he came. Generally those hopes and dreams tended toward a political and religious leader, generally a warrior, who would destroy the enemies of Israel and restore Israel to the power and splendor of the reign of David. Most people never expected the Messiah to come when he did, or the way he did. The prophet Isaiah came close when he talked about the “suffering servant” who would be a light to all nations.

Luke tells us the story that leads us to Bethlehem carefully weaving together all the strange and obscure events occurring in the lives of the most unlikely persons. His story takes us to Bethlehem “to a stable, and the manger in which the newborn Messiah was laid by a wide-eyed teenage mother as a puzzled, but faithful Joseph looked on.”[iii]

It started in this way. An old priest Zechariah drew the honored duty of burning incense to the Lord. While performing his duty, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and informed him that his wife Elizabeth, who had never born a child, would give birth to a son even though she and Zechariah were too old to have a child. They were to name their son John and he was to be the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Gabriel again appeared to a teenage girl named Mary and informed her that she would bear a son without the benefit of an earthly father. They were to name him Jesus. That is where our Gospel reading picked up this morning, Mary went to visit Elizabeth. When Mary arrived, the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth and she recognized the future mother of the Messiah. The two women shared a secret that the rest of the world had waited a long time to know. As they rejoice in seeing each other and sharing what is happening in their lives, Mary speaks a song of praise that has more to do with her unborn son than it does with her.

That song is what we just heard read. It is called “The Magnificat” from its Latin name. It is easy to miss this song in the midst of the Christmas gospel. It isn’t really very pleasant for most of us at first reading, but it really is very important. You may remember that in the gospels leading up to this week, we have been hearing John the Baptist call us to a radical transformation in the way we live our lives. Mary’s song continues that call. Steeped in the Old Testament, it is closely related to the song that Hannah sang when she discovered that she was going to have a child – Samuel. This song of Mary’s has been called the most revolutionary document in the world. It speaks of three revolutions – or radical changes that God is brining.

The first is a moral revolution. One reading of this verse says, “He has stretched out his mighty arm and scattered the proud with all their plans.” You may have heard the saying, “If you want God to laugh, tell Him your plans.” Christianity is the death of pride. Our focus is to be not on what we can do on our own, but what we can do with God’s help. Certainly, there is a good feeling in doing a job well, but when we focus only on our own skills and our own abilities we tend to miss the possibilities that God can bring.

The second revolution is a social revolution. “He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.” Christianity puts an end to the world’s labels and prestige. Muretus was a wandering scholar of the middle ages. “He was poor. In an Italian town, he became ill and was taken to a hospital for waifs and strays. The doctors were discussing his case in Latin, never dreaming he could understand. They suggested that since he was such a worthless wanderer they might use him for medical experiments. He looked up and answered them in their own learned tongue, `Call no man worthless for whom Christ died.’”[iv] When we realize what Christ did for each and every one of us, it is no longer possible to regard anyone as being beneath us. The social grades are gone.

The third revolution is an economic one. “He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands.” This is the piece I don’t like to hear. I understand enough of the world economics to know that in relation to the rest of the world; even the poorest among us is rich. That is not much consolation for who are part of a rapidly growing group of people in our society who have great difficulty finding affordable housing and paying the cost of heat, utilities, gas for their car, and the cost of food and health care. Much of society and much of society’s practices about Christmas are about getting as much as we can. The goal is to acquire the newest, the latest, the greatest. We watched with concern and disgust as people were shot or beaten while trying to acquire the newest latest X-box game system. A Christian approach is that no one dares to have too much while others have too little. The Christian approach is that we are blessed so that we may be a blessing to others; that we have, so that we may share with others who do not have; that it is more important for everyone to have their basic needs met than it is for us to have our wants satisfied.

Mary’s song, The Magnificat is lovely, but in that loveliness there is dynamite. Christianity is not just a feel good religion, it is about a revolutionary way of looking at and living life. We really should not be surprised. Luke’s account leading up to Jesus’ birth has been radical and revolutionary right from the beginning. God’s actions have not been predictable and polite.

An old woman is pregnant. A young unmarried girl is pregnant. The one who is to prepare the way for the Messiah will end up out in the wilderness dressed in camels hair and eating locusts and wild honey, jumping around calling those good religious people, “a brood of vipers”. The Messiah will not be born to an established religious family with status, wealth and power, but to a poor young girl who is not married. Zechariah, the head of the household, cannot even speak when Mary arrives. The encounter takes place between two women – both of whom are experiencing miraculous births. The most unlikely people are the ones who speak and who have the leading roles in this divine drama.

This radical revolutionary approach will continue. The first people to see the baby Jesus will be shepherds – smelly outsiders. And so it continues throughout the gospels – and especially throughout Luke’s gospel. It is a call to a radical relationship where the standards of the world are turned upside down and inside out and Jesus is right in the center of it all.

The time has come. The invitation has been issued. We are invited to be part of a divine dance in which God is leading the way. It is entirely up to us whether we will follow. In today’s readings we see Mary who decided to follow. “She does not have a sonogram, or a husband, or an affidavit from the Holy Spirit that says, `The child really is mine. Now leave the poor girl alone.’ All she has is her unreasonable willingness to believe that the God who has chosen her will be part of whatever happens next – and that, apparently, is enough to make her burst into song. She does not wait to see how things will turn out first.”[v]

If there are big changes going on with you right now, maybe you might try following Mary’s lead and be open to the unexpected. Trust that God will be with you wherever the circumstances take you.

If everything in your life seems just fine, then hold on; because exposing yourself to the Christian story and opening yourself to the presence of the One who came – and who continues to come into our hearts and lives - may bring new and radical ideas to you. You just might discover that everything you have learned about acquiring as much as possible, getting ahead, being successful or powerful will have a new definition and a new way of being understood.

If you have been seeking to walk faithfully daily with Christ, then you know that you are in for even more of an adventure.

“May your souls magnify the Lord, and your spirits rejoice in God your Savior. For God has looked with favor on you, and all generations will call you blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for you, and holy is God’s name.”[vi]

[i] Title and theme come from Mosser, David N The Abingdon Preaching Annual, 2006, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2005 pp.319-321

[ii] Mosser, p.319

[iii] Mosser, p.320

[iv] Barclay, William. The New Daily Bible Study, Gospel of Luke. 1975, 2001, Westminster, John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, p.19-20

[v] Brown Taylor, Barbara, Home By Another Way, “Singing Ahead of Time” Boston, MA, Cowley Publications, 1999, p.18

[vi] Brown Taylor, p.19

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I wonder what I would have heard had I been there that night. It is a question that annually haunts me. Would I have heard the choirs of angels singing or simply the sounds of barnyard animals shifting around? Would I have seen the star in the sky that night or simply two poor and very frightened kids? Would I have understood the hushed silence of the divine presence, or simply the chill of a cold east wind. Would I have understood the message of Emmanuel, God with us, or would the cosmic implications of that evening have passed me by?

I am convinced that had two people been there that night in Bethlehem it is quite possible that they could have heard and seen two entirely different scenes. I believe this because all of life is this way. God never presents himself in revelation in a manner in which we are forced to believe. We are always left with an option, for that is God's way. Thus, one person can say “Its a miracle, while another says “It’s coincidence."

Tonight I would like to take a moment of personal privilege to share with you a fanciful view of how one participant might have seen the events that night. Many years ago my father wrote a story called “The Nameless Lamb”. I remember hearing it as a child and occasionally after that. This year when we cleaned out my parents’ home I came across his file of sermons and stories that he used during the many services he led as a Lay Speaker. Tonight I want to invite you to enter into the Christmas story in a different way. Try to place yourself in the stable as an observer, as I share with you the story of the Nameless Lamb.

A Christmas story written by Earl H. Briden and shared with children and adults for many years.

There isn’t much to tell about me, for I’m not very important, in fact so unimportant that they didn’t even give me a name. For I’m just a little shaver of a lamb.

I was born a couple of months ago and I live a rather drab life with nothing much to look forward to. Oh, they feed me, and they’re looking forward to next spring when they can sheer the white wool from my back, and then some day when I’m in the prime of my life, they’ll probably use me for a burnt offering. They tell me that’s the purpose of my life, but I’m not happy about it.

Everyday they take us out onto the hillside to graze and there we meet the grownups. You see, the shepherds stay out with the grown sheep all night long, when the weather is not stormy. But we little lambs have to be brought back in the evening and herded into the stable where it is a little warmer; for they tell us we can’t stand the night air. So, here I am back in the stable again tonight, and I’ve found a nice spot in the hay to snuggle down and sleep. There isn’t anything else to do in the barn, just sleep and try to keep warm until morning and then we start the old routine all over again.

There have been a lot of people around here today, for many of them have come long distances to register for the taxes. (That’s one thing we animals don’t have to worry about anyway.) The Inn is filled with tourists, and I guess we lambs are lucky we have this exclusive residence of our own.

I would like to fall asleep now, but things seem restless tonight; I keep hearing voices outside and now there seems to be quite a discussion going on between the Innkeeper and other people. He’s trying to convince them that there isn’t any more room, and they are telling him how important it is that they have a place to stay. OH! Oh! They’re coming in here. The nerve of that man, making us give up some of our space to humans! In fact, he has brought them right over to the spot where I am, and “ouch, you don’t’ have to use the stick, I’ll move.”

So, now I’ve had to move to another part of the stable and the man and the lady have moved into my cozy corner, with all their belongings and their very homely donkey.

Well, it will be alright, I guess, if they quiet down so we can get some sleep. But they continue to talk in low undertones. She calls him “Joseph” and he calls her “Mary.” I can’t see them from where I’m lying now, but there seems to be something unusual going on over there in that corner. It quiets down for a little while and I doze off, then they start talking again and I wake up a bit. Now there seems to be some commotion, and what was that I heard? Did I hear right? Was that the cry of a baby? I think I’d better investigate.

I’ll just sneak over there quietly and see what has happened. Well, what do you know! It is a baby. But it’s not just an ordinary baby, for there is a ring of light encircling his head. I think they call that a halo. And they’ve taken our feed trough, and have lined it with soft hay, and have wrapped the baby in strips of cloth and have laid him in the trough, they’ve made into a manger.

He is a beautiful baby, with lots of hair and the halo gives off a golden glow which brightens the spot where the baby is lying. He doesn’t cry now, and the mother is speaking to Joseph and saying, “He shall be called Jesus as the angel of God has told me.” The baby is only about an hour old, and already has a name.

It is becoming very light in her now, and that’s strange for it isn’t time for morning yet. There is a great star in the heavens right above this stable, and it is throwing its light directly down upon us. The whole place is lit up and there is a growing warmth around us.

Now there is a tapping on the door of the stable and voices from without. “This must be the place,” they are saying, and now they have come in. Boy, it’s getting crowded in here. They are the shepherds who have been tending the sheep out on the hillside and they are excited and they are saying to Joseph, “The angel of the Lord appeared to us and we were at first afraid. But the angel said to us, `Be not afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’ And he said that we will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and singing, `Glory to God in the Highest and on earth, peace among men of good will.’”

And while Joseph and the shepherds seem amazed at these things, the mother Mary has a twinkle in her eyes and says nothing, but her actions make me think she knew these things would happen and that she’s been keeping a secret in her heart.

The shepherds are kneeling before the Baby Jesus now and raising their faces toward heaven and are thanking God for this wonderful fulfillment of God’s promise to them. They seem to take on a new happiness and now they are telling Joseph, “His name shall be called Emmanuel, as was spoken by the prophets.”

Imagine, I haven’t even got a name, but this new baby, only a few hours old, already has two! I somehow feel that this new baby is interested even in me.

The shepherds have left now, and Mary and the Baby are sleeping again, and it is quiet once more. There seems to be such a wonderful peace that has come over everything since the coming of this baby.

I should return to my stall across the stable, but I don’t want to miss anything and now this morning there seem to be camels approaching. I can hear the rhythm of their hoof beats. Yes, again the door is opening and there are three men, dressed in clothes that make me think they are important men. They carry bags filed with strange things. They are saying to Mary and Joseph, “We have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship Him. The star has led us to this place.” When they saw the baby, they knelt down and worshipped Him.

Now they are opening their strange bags, and they are giving gifts for the new baby to Joseph. They are treasures: gold, frankincense and myrrh. “He shall be called the Son of the Most High, the Prince of Peace.” There they go with more names.

These wise men say that have seen the King Herod and that he sent them to find the baby that he too may worship him. But they are even wiser than the king thinks, for they have read his mind, and they know that he means harm to the child. So they are talking among themselves and one is saying that they should not return to the King but to their own country by another way. They have agreed and are bowing low as they leave.

Boy, this has sure been an exciting time and something tells me that I have witnessed the greatest event of all time. The birth of the Christ Child. I hope in the years to come when the writers tell the story and the artists paint the pictures of this, God’s greatest gift to the world, that they remember to put me in the front, for I was there.

I have always loved Christmas Eve services. There was something very special about being up very late and going to that very special service. Back in those days we used to take our lighted candles with us and I would try very hard to keep it lit as long as I could. Even today the sight of a sanctuary filled with lighted candles and voices raised in singing “Silent Night” brings tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat.

“Christmas Eve is the night for midnight blue skies, cloudless and serene; a night for stars dazzling and tantalizingly close to earth in all their silent glory.”[i] Christmas Eve is a night for mystery and wonder and hope. “When we look into this sacred nighttime sky we are to be reminded that there are something like a million billion billion planets in the universe.”[ii]

“The story is told of Teddy Roosevelt entertaining guests at his Sagamore Hill estate on Long Island. After a late dinner he invited his guests outside to walk beneath the brilliant nighttime sky. After a silent, reverent stroll Roosevelt said, “I guess we’ve been humbled enough now. Let’s go inside.

That’s what Christmas Eve is about – about stargazing toward the infinite to be humble in our finiteness. So in response to the angel chorus and the angel announcement, the simple, rustic stargazing shepherds said, “Let us go even now into Bethlehem to see this thing that has happened…..” And they went inside the stable.”[iii]

“For one thing, they experienced mystery. Luke tells us they returned “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen….” Whether it is Moses and the voice of God from the burning bush, or Isaiah caught up in a religious trance in the incense-filled Temple, or Jeremiah trembling with the inner Word of God, or the shepherds amazed in the presence of angels and Jesus, people through the ages have been awakened by mystery.”[iv]

I read somewhere a long time ago, that it is absurd to apologize for mystery. That thought has always stayed with me, at least in part because so much of what we believe and experience in our faith involves things that can only be described as mystery – things that are beyond our understanding and beyond our rational explanations – and yet they are real. There are many things we do not really understand. I do not understand how my computer works, how pictures fly into my television, or how my voice is transported from one place to another by use of my telephone allowing me to carry on conversations with people who are far away. I do not understand them, but I know that they are real and that they work. If we believe that God is beyond all of these things, then why do some of us think it so important to understand everything about God. It is absurd to apologize for mystery. Rather let us be open to God’s mystery.

“Tonight, let us with the shepherds bow our heads and bend our knees to mystery. Let us with poets and prophets, physicists and philosophers, theologians and hardened rationalists, humble ourselves with the shepherds to be open to mystery which transforms our lives.”[v]

The shepherds experienced mystery that magical night; but they also experienced hope – hope for peace on earth, good will toward all persons.

“The story is told of two farmers conversing in a nineteenth century general store in Kentucky. The general store was the place to exchange gossip and get caught up on the news. One farmer asked the other, `Anything new happening?’ `naw, not much,’ replied the other. `Except I hear Tom and Mary Lincoln had a baby boy. Named him Abraham. Not much going on.’”[vi]

Caesar Augustus of imperial Rome could have said the same thing of this night so long ago. Most of us don’t pay attention to the hundreds of births occurring every hour – not unless it is the birth of our child, or our grandchild, or someone very special to us. Today, we are more likely to be concerned about the large number of babies being born and we wonder about how all of them will be fed and cared for. There are so many people living without hope enduring the present but without any hope for the future.

On this night the shepherds experienced hope when they entered the stable. In Christ’s birth we too have that hope of the divine coming into our lives – not just at Christmas but every day. We have the promise that Christ gave to his disciples in Matthew 28, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” With the shepherds, we can have hope, because we have seen in Jesus more than we have ever yet been able to express.

Even more than mystery and hope, on this night, the shepherds experienced love. If anything can awaken love and admiration it is a baby. Just watch what happens when someone enters a room with a baby. Dignified serious adults suddenly start speaking in child like voices, cooing and smiling. Babies bring a smile to even the sourest face.

One of our Christmas hymns proclaims, “Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, love divine; Love was born at Christmas; star and angels gave the sign. Love shall be our token; love be yours and love be mine; love to God and all men, love for plea and gift and sign.”

The angel proclaimed, “I bring good news of great joy to all people.” In our own congregation, there are people battling cancer and other diseases. There are people who are struggling to put food on their tables and to pay rent, buy medication and put gas in their car. There are people who are grieving the death of someone they love. There are young mothers trying to raise children by themselves. There are couples who are experiencing the stress of life that is tearing at the fabric of their marriage. There are people who are coping with the changes that many years of living bring to our bodies and lives.

The angel says, “I bring good news of great joy to all people?” It is the news of a love that never gives up, news of a love that transforms lives and situations and causes a generous outpouring of money, talent and helpfulness to all in need.

This is the love that sets everything in motion. This is the love that reaches out to us across more than two thousand years. This love is the greatest gift that any of us can receive this Christmas – a free gift given to us because that is who God is.

Now it is for us on this holy night, to bow our heads and knees in adoration as the shepherds did. It is for us to open the door to our hearts wide. It is for us to be ready to receive the “mystery that waits to ignite a cold mind, the hope that beckons to a defeated spirit, and the love that would flood our inner beings with love for God and love for one another.

O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel.[vii]

[i] Fetty, Maurice A. How to Profit from Prophets, Sermons for Advent and Christmas, “The Inner Galaxy” Lima OH, CSS Publishing, 1998, p.69

[ii] Fetty, p.70

[iii] Fetty, p.71

[iv] Fetty p.71-2

[v] Fetty p.73

[vi] Fetty, p.73

[vii] Fetty, p.76

It’s the nightmare of every host and hostess, the guests are due at 6:00 p.m. You arrive home later than anticipated and rush around like crazy trying to get everything finished. At 5:10 the doorbell rings, and your first guests have arrived, thinking the party started at 5:00 not 6:00. Now here is a bit of irony: the house looks great! The tree is beautifully decorated, the table is absolutely gorgeous, the smell of scented candles fills the rooms, and the sounds of Christmas music echo throughout the house. And there you stand in your sweat suit! The house is ready, but you are not.

How many of us does that describe at about this point in Advent? The house is ready, but we are not! The presents are ready, we are not! The travel arrangements are ready, but we are not! Nevertheless, the Guest comes anyway!

John the Baptist urges people to get ready for the coming of the Savior. Not external preparation, but internal. Not the home.... but the heart! We have a week to prepare for Christ the Savior. We need to use the time wisely and prepare for his coming. Ready or not, here he comes!

At this point in Advent, we would like to be hearing heartwarming stories of Christmas, tales about a young girl on the way to Bethlehem, but the liturgical road map for Advent instead of leading us to Bethlehem leads us into the wilderness where we are confronted with John the Baptist.

“He’s not an easy person to fit into our cultural Christmas traditions. I can’t imagine him singing, “Jingle Bells” or trimming a tree.” With his camel’s hair clothing and leather belt and his diet of locusts and wild honey, he’s not the kind of guest you invite for Christmas dinner. Jumping around, shouting at the top of his lungs, “REPENT”, and calling us a “brood of snakes” his message is not the kind of thing quoted in greeting cards. John missed out on the gift of tact, and it is a wonder that the people who came to hear John stayed around to hear the rest of his message. “But the Gospel writers all agree that John is the one who came to prepare the way, to set things straight, to clear the road, to open up the highway for God. He comes like a spiritual bulldozer, pushing away the clutter and plowing through the trash that gets in the way of our coming to God and of God’s coming to us.”[i]

Luke tells us that John “went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Luke 3:3) Sin is the word the Bible uses for our running away from God. It is a universal human condition. In many ways large and small, we have ignored the will of God. In fact, in many ways, we have not only ignored God’s will, but have actively fought against it. At times, we have been defiant children who have denied the claim of God’s love on our lives. Sometimes we act like insolent children who have turned our backs and run away from home. John calls us to turn around and head back home toward God.

He calls us to repent. To repent is to turn around and go in a new direction. Repentance means that we turn from the rebellious path of putting ourselves or someone or something else at the center of our universe and begin walking in the direction of God’s self-giving love.

The Christmas gospel calls us to a radical transformation of human life. “We’re not talking about rearranging the furniture to make room for a Christmas tree. We’re not talking about dusting off the surface of the table so that none of the Christmas guests will notice the dust underneath. We’re talking about radical transformation that penetrates into the deepest part of our human personality and begins to shape and transform us into the likeness of God’s love revealed in Jesus. “[ii]

When that transformation takes place in our lives we will never again be the same. Our behavior will be changed. John says that we are to “bear fruits worthy of repentance“. Specifically he says that if you have two coats you should give one to someone who has none, and if you have food you should do the same. He gives instructions to tax collectors and to soldiers - telling them how they can show their repentance.

However, we mustn’t allow ourselves to be misled, here. John is talking about much more than a change in behavior. If that were all it involved then it would be no more than adding more rules to an already long list of laws to follow. John is talking about a radical change. This is the kind of change that Paul witnesses to in his letter to the Philippians when he tells them to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” True repentance leads to true rejoicing.

John was interested in the content of repentance. Not the package it was in, not what it looked like on the outside, but what it really was all about. John tells those listening to him that it is not about family ancestry or position in the church. God is not impressed with whether or not someone is a Bishop, a Pastor, a Lay Leader, or Custodian, but rather that we are the best Bishop, Pastor, Lay Leader, Custodian or whatever that we can be. People who rest on their laurels or pull rank to demonstrate their power or get their way have no sway in the kingdom of God.

Power and position don’t work and neither does family heritage. John was confronting people who believed that they were closer to God because they came from a people who had once been close to God. It doesn’t work that way. Once you come of age you cannot ride on the strength of a former generation. It doesn’t matter whether your father or grandmother was the pillar of the church; what matters is how you claim responsibility for your own words and actions. God’s mercy belongs to all people, and position or family heritage doesn’t give us an advantage or anyone else.

Once we understand that, then the question is what are we doing today? When the crowd finally understood that, they asked, “What then should we do?” John’s instruction to share a coat or food – isn’t just about coats and food. It is about a spirit of generosity, about caring and sharing and compassion. It is about looking around and being aware of the needs of others, looking at ourselves and seeing our blessings, and then sharing what we have. As I recall, that was the theme of our stewardship campaign this fall – We are blessed to be a blessing – and that is still the call in every area of our life.

“To the tax collectors, John said, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Of course, this isn’t only about tax collecting. This is for everyone. John was telling anyone who would listen that we are to be honest in all of our dealings. Honesty, trustworthiness, truthfulness are demanded by God. This is to be the way of God’s people.

“To the soldiers in the congregation, John said, `Do not exhort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’ Of course, this isnt just for soldiers. This is for everyone. We are to treat others fairly and we are to be content with what God has given us. We are not to envy what others have. Do not steal what belongs to others. Be fair; be content.”[iii]

John’s message is a message for people who think that they are religious. Do not rely on position. Do not rely on family ancestry. Do not rely on the past. Prepare yourself to greet the One who is coming by living in this present day, as God would have you live. Be generous, be honest, be fair, be content with what you have and with the role God has given you to play.

Therein lies the joy. The joy is the chance we have to turn around and become more of the people God calls us to be. The joy is in the arms of God stretched wide in order to let us move. The joy is in the grace of God that loves us enough to wait for us to come back.

Joy is very deep, it is much more than happiness or lightheartedness or some warm fuzzy feelings inside. That’s why Paul says that we can and should rejoice always. Joy is connected to faith and hope and peace. Joy means that we do not let fear take over. It doesn’t mean that we will never be afraid, but that when we do, it is not the driving force behind our actions. It means that we do not let fear take over and immobilize us.

Claim the joy that is yours, joy that can reside even in the midst of fear and sorrow and even grief. Joy is still there, as is strength, because of God. Paul knew that. When Paul wrote the words telling the Philippians to “Rejoice in the Lord always“, he knew the truth of which he was writing. Paul was not a Pollyanna or hopeless optimistic. Paul was a realist and he knew all about problems. When he said to “rejoice always, ... Do not worry about anything,“ Paul was writing from prison. How could he say that from a prison cell? Because he knew, and we know, that God loves us and is with us always. God always gives us a chance to turn around. But God doesn’t do the surface stuff. God is not looking just for outward changes that might fool someone else. God insists on transformation. God wants real content. God is waiting for a real turn-around.

This is the call to us today. To open our hearts, our lives, our very being to God and invite God to help us root out the things which separate us from each other and from God. To cut out the sins and throw them away; to bring healing to the places which are broken, to replace anger with understanding and forgiveness, to see and be open to the possibilities of new life in the middle of the places that feel dead.

Jesus’ birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection brought radical revolutionary changes to the world. At Advent we are reminded of those changes and asked to be willing to let ourselves be changed at the same time. In order to really prepare ourselves for Christmas, we have to follow the road to Bethlehem which goes through the wilderness where we examine our lives, repent of those things which need repenting and turn around to go toward God.

Around us everything is hustle and bustle preparing for Christmas. Within us, let us remember that Advent is really preparing for God’s coming into our lives not only as a child 2000 years ago, but about God’s coming into our lives each and every day.

[i] Harnish, James A. Come Home for Christmas Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1999, p.33

[ii] Harnish, p.34

[iii] Mosser, David N The Abingdon Preaching Annual, 2006, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2005, p.317

Today, on this Second Sunday of Advent, we continue in our preparation for Christmas. Sometimes we really have to work at keeping the core meaning of Christmas in focus. What we do between now and Christmas is shaped by the many spirits of the season that we have inherited. It is a time filled with nostalgia. Often there are bittersweet memories. Unpack the decorations gathered over the years and a flood of stories are also opened. Despite the fact that there are so many secular, cultural, even economic additions to modern celebrations, Christmas is still an event that is rooted in a sacred history. And, when one really looks at it closely, Christmas is a moral commentary on our life today.

Long ago ancient peoples waited for the coming of the Messiah and prepared for the fulfillment of their hope. It was in the context of these sacred remembrances and expectations that the Holy Spirit began to move in the lives of Elizabeth and Zechariah and Mary and Joseph. It would lead eventually to the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, whom we know as The Christ. In the midst of that lovely story of hope fulfilled in the birth of Jesus we run up against the story of the birth of John, who would one day be called The Baptist, one of the most foreboding characters of the New Testament. Those who followed him were the poor and wretched of the land, people for whom the culture afforded little hope. His words were like knives, cutting through falsehood and pretense. He was a voice from the wilderness; piercing to the heart of human reality, a messenger pointing beyond himself to one who would come. He saw himself as preparing the way for God's beloved, The Anointed One. When you look closely, this season of Christmas is like that - an advent of the holy, making comment on life as we know it.

The Biblical story is a sacred history - it is a narrative of the Presence of God in all of life. God speaks the Word of life at the very beginning and promises that we are destined for glory. God invites humanity to participate in the fulfillment of the divine hope. God refuses to abandon humanity because God sees the fulfillment, which comes at the end, already present in the beginning. Natalie Sleeth described that process in her wonderful "Hymn of Promise:" "In the bulb there is the flower; in the seed, an apple tree; in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free! In the snow and cold of winter there's a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see." Even today we are a part of that Biblical story as, in Christmas, we join ourselves to that sacred story. As individuals, and as communities, we live in the Presence of God. What we do will either help, or get in the way of what God seeks to do. That is why, in Advent, we prepare ourselves by listening to the dreams of the ancient prophets, and to those voices in the wilderness - they hold us to the direction of God.

In the Old Testament the prophets, and in the New Testament the angels were messengers - those whose purpose was to announce to the people what God was about to do. Sometimes we don't know who to listen to, and perhaps we only know the truth of what they are saying in retrospect. In any event an effective messenger is one who speaks with authority and authenticity, and one who lives the Message. In every event the authentic messenger is one who points beyond the self. In our day we are numbed by so many messages and promises, given by so many well paid people, and underwritten by those who expect something in return for their investment. It is hard to keep from being cynical. I, for one, have grown weary of all those voices who promise to save the nation, or save the economy, or save the family. As one who dares to take the name Christian, I say to all those competing voices, I know of only one Savior and his name is Jesus Christ. For me this season of Advent is a time of preparing for his coming.

Every properly discerned message from God informs us about what God is doing, or will do. Every properly discerned activity of God carries with it an implied warning. In the case of the prophet Malachi there is revealed a passion for God and a sympathy for humanity. Malachi is not bashful: the time is evil; God is coming to correct the inequity; the temple will be purified; all those who claim to be leaders will be held accountable, and cleansed. The message here is the God will not come until the house is in order. Malachi is saying: "When the temple is cleansed and when the home is prepared, then God will come and set the injustices right." I don't know about you, but I don't know if I ever would or even could be that ready!

Throughout history, in all great movements of faith, there have been three phases: an ethical, a theological, and an aesthetic. Let me explain. At first there is an acknowledgment that things aren't the way they ought to be. A prophet arises, saying the hard word, calling people to repentance, warning them of the effect of their disobedience, offering a hope to those who are faithful. When the people listen and see the need to reform their lives and the lives of their community, then an ethical revolution begins that reshapes the people, preparing them for a new advent of God. That's the first phase. Then, as people begin to reflect on where God is all this, the people come to a deeper understanding of Who God is. A language about God is formed, or reformed, to tell the story of God's sacred history. The people's practice of faith becomes rooted again in practicing the presence of God - their theology becomes their life and their life becomes their theology. That's the second phase. Typically, and at times with unfortunate side effects, this then leads to an aesthetic movement that involves buildings and the practices and the apparatuses of their worship. In this last phase there is enormous risk because concentrating on the beauty of buildings and the correctness of worship practices can lead to decay as people forget the call of God. It is rather like building a boat but forgetting why it was built in the first place and never sailing it.

Advent and Christmas are about the birth of Jesus, and the good news his life and ministry is to all who believe in his name. It is a story of how God gives power to us to become children of God. But sometimes we forget! That is why prophets, in every generation, are always calling us to prepare the way of the Lord. God is always reforming the people of faith, and needs to!

The scriptures of Advent invite us, perhaps even warn us to prepare the way of the Lord. The phrase `the way' is a common biblical metaphor for courses of nature, modes of human and divine conduct, attitude, habit custom, undertaking, plan, purpose. We refer to the ways of men and of nations; John the Baptist announces "Prepare ye the Way of the Lord"; Jesus refers to himself as "The Way, the Truth, and the Life.” It is a common image and most useful.

When Jesus refers to himself as The Way, he is saying that it is only in the course and direction that He will show to us that we will ever hope to come to God. When Jesus refers to himself as the Truth, he is saying that it is only by the words he has spoken that we will be able to see the fullest perspective of human living. When Jesus refers to himself as the Life, he is saying that it is as we become like him and do what he has done that we will discover the fullest meaning of life. Picture a guide in unfamiliar territory showing the way to what will be a new and blessed home. In the old American West it was the function of a scout to move far enough ahead to guide the main party to the ultimate goal. "Behold I send my messenger before me to prepare the way..."

Whatever wilderness we live in today, we have a word of hope. No matter how confused, or divided or discouraged we may be over the affairs of our nation, there is a way through this wilderness. No matter what losses we have suffered, or how abusive some people can be, or how disappointed we may feel over how things have turned out, there is a way through that wilderness. Even when familiar things come unstuck and the center does not seem to hold, there is a way through the wilderness. People of faith are assured that God abides with us still, Emmanuel! Because of that we can live in the expectation that one day we will hear the announcement that God is taking action to make things right. That is what the first Christmas was all about - people who lived long years in faith and expectation, prepared to hear good news! Suddenly God is with us in the birth of a holy child in Bethlehem. It hasn't changed in this year of our lord 2006!

I read once of the story of a teacher who had been assigned to visit and help hospitalized children so that they wouldn't get too far behind in their homework. She had received a call from a teacher about one of her boys. She took the boy's name and room number. She was told: “We're studying nouns and adverbs in his class now, I’d be grateful if you could help him with his homework so he doesn't fall too far behind the others.” It wasn't until the visiting teacher got outside the boy's room that she realized that it was located in the hospital's burn unit. No one had prepared her to find a boy horribly burned and in great pain. Since she was already there she knew that she couldn't just turn and walk out, so she awkwardly stammered, “I'm the hospital teacher, and your school teacher sent me to help you with your nouns and adverbs.” The next morning another nurse on the burn unit stopped her and asked her, “What did you do to that boy?” Before she could finish a profusion of apologies , the nurse interrupted her: “You don't understand. We've been very worried about him, but ever since you were here yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment... It's as though he's decided to live.” The boy later explained what had happened - he had completely given up hope, until he saw the teacher. It all changed when he had come to a simple realization. With joyful tears he expressed it this way: “They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they.”

When people who have lived in darkness and the shadow of death begin to live in hope and expectation, they begin to prepare the way of the Lord. To live that way means that life changes. When life changes, we begin to discover God in the process. That, dear friends, is what Christmas is all about. In the birth of the Christ child we have the announcement that God has not given up on the world and will not give up on the world. God has not given up on us and will not give up us! It is time to get ready again. God is sending a messenger of good news to us, planting the seed of hope that will bring forth the new life that is promised to those who change their ways and make ready for the coming of the Lord.

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and all people will see the salvation of our God.”

When I went shopping the other day I quickly and efficiently grabbed the items I had gone into the store to get. I knew what I wanted and where to find them. The store was familiar to me and I knew what to expect. All of that changed when I came to the cracker aisle. The crackers I was looking for weren’t there. I looked up and down the aisle. I went back to the place where they should be. I found the same brand but a different kind. Under my breath, I started to grumble about how once again the store had stopped carrying the specific item I wanted. I looked again, more carefully this time; willing them to be there. The crackers I wanted were right where they were supposed to be. I almost didn’t see them, because the packaging had changed. The color of the box was different and there were other changes to the outward appearance. I knew what I was looking for and expected to find it; but almost didn’t because my vision was clouded by my expectations.

Something similar happened when Jesus was born. The Jewish people had been waiting a long time for the Messiah to come. They knew what to expect. They knew what he was supposed to look like or be like. They were expecting a royal figure and a warrior. They were looking for someone like King David; someone who would lead them into battle, defeat the Roman government, take back the throne and restore Israel to her former glory.

God, of course, had other ideas. What they were being sent was a baby born to a young woman of humble and lowly estate. The child wouldn’t even have a proper place to be born; and certainly wouldn’t be born with the attendance and fanfare that one would expect for someone as long-awaited as the Messiah. What they would get was a man who would at first earn his living by working with his hands; a man who would walk among them, who would tell them stories and who would tell them that they were waiting for the wrong thing. What they would get was a man who would tell them that the Kingdom of God wasn’t coming by military might but was already present among them and in them.

What they needed was someone who would prepare the way for this Messiah; someone who would point out the differences between what they were expecting and what God was sending. What they needed was someone who would prepare them, who would correct their theology and show them a new way of looking at their expectations. What they would get was John; the man we know as John the Baptist or John the Baptizer.

Throughout Luke’s gospel, we will see time and again how Jesus acted differently than people would have expected, how the Messiah was a surprise, and the very first clue we have is Luke himself. Luke was a Gentile – not a Jew. Right at the beginning, Luke tells us that he has undertaken the task or writing down an orderly and well-researched account of what took place. Luke writes with the careful attention of an historian, telling us what was happening in the world at the time of the events he describes. Luke pays a lot of attention to the barriers that Jesus breaks down – to the ways that he is different than the Messiah that was anticipated. Both Matthew and Luke have a genealogy in their account, but Luke goes all the way back to Adam, the beginning of the human race, while Matthew goes back to Abraham, the beginning of the Jewish race. As a Gentile, as an outsider, it is important to Luke to show the inclusiveness that Jesus represents. Repeatedly in Luke’s gospel, we will see Jesus as the friend of outcasts and sinners, as including those who were the last, lost, and least in Jewish and Roman society.

Since this Messiah is so different than what was expected, and because Luke is setting forth an orderly and well-researched account, he starts with the preparation and that is the role of the season of Advent. Advent is to prepare us to recognize the One whom God is sending.

Who was John? How would today’s readers of the Scripture know that they should pay attention to John? How should the people of John’s day know that they should pay attention to him? The answers to these questions are all wrapped up in the story of John’s birth, and Luke wants us to know about it.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous people, both from priestly families. They had been married a long time but they did not have any children and they were beyond the age for childbearing. On the one occasion in his life, when Zechariah had the privilege of performing the evening sacrifice and burning the incense an angel appeared to him and told him that he and Elizabeth would have a son.

In the Bible, when an old and childless couple give birth, it is time to pay attention. In Genesis 12, we meet Abraham and Sarah, a childless couple advanced in years. In Chapter 21 they give birth to Isaac and the nation of Israel has its beginning. The book of First Samuel opens with Hannah and Elkanah, a childless couple advanced in years, giving birth to Samuel, who becomes the new prophet of the Lord God, the one who will anoint Saul and later David to be Israel’s first two kings. Luke begins his story with Zechariah and Elizabeth a childless couple advanced in years, giving birth to John, who would prepare the way of the Lord. Each time we find in the Scriptures a childless couple advanced in years giving birth, we can be sure God is at work. Pay attention, for God is breaking into history.

When Zechariah came out of the sanctuary, it was clear that something had happened to him. He was dazed and could not speak. When his duties in the temple were finished, he went home and soon enough, Elizabeth was with child. When their baby was born and it was time to name him, everyone assumed that the boy would be named after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No, His name is John.” Zechariah’s people argued with her, until Zechariah signaled for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” Then he was able to speak and he explained what the angel had said.

This is the second sign that should make us sit up and take notice. In Bible times, the first-born would often be given the father’s name and especially so when the child had been long awaited. When Abraham and Sarah had a child, one would not have expected the child to be named Isaac. When Elkanah and Hannah finally had a child, one would not have expected the child to be named Samuel. When Zechariah and Elizabeth had a child, one would not have expected the child to be named John. The introduction of a new name into the story line is a sign that God is at work and that we are to pay attention.

John bears watching. Pay attention to this one. God is breaking into history and John will have an important role in preparing the way for the One who is coming. In John, God is giving the people a “heads up” so they will recognize the Messiah whom God is sending. As we prepare, we will be looking some more at how John prepares the people. We will pay attention to what John says, so that perhaps we will recognize the One who is to come.

We know that Jesus came a long time ago. Yet when we gather and celebrate communion we also proclaim that Christ will come again. In the meanwhile, we try to pay attention to Jesus’ teaching that the Kingdom of God is here among us and in us. We try to understand what it is that Jesus taught and what it is that God expects from us. Because we have heard the story so many times, it is easy to think we know it well. We know what to expect. We know what Jesus is going to say – or rather, we know how we will hear what he is going to say. John’s job is to correct the theology of the people of his day, and prepare them to hear something different than what they were expecting.

“Advent is first of all about the future, about the Christian hope for a new heaven and a new earth as a gift from God. It is tied to Christmas because it is in the person and work of Jesus that we glimpse (as fully as humans are able) what God has in mind for the future. Jesus is in a true sense a picture of the future.

“For that future, we are to wait in hope. We are to pray for its coming, as The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to do. (The word “advent” means “coming”.) Above all we are to wrestle with this truth: Although we have in our minds ideas about what God’s final reign will be like, these may be as imperfect as the ancient hope that Messiah would come as a military leader to overthrow Rome. When Messiah came, his birth and life were so unlike what was expected that even many devout persons missed the point. So we also are in danger of doing the same if our understanding of God’s final reign of righteousness is so tightly closed that we give God no freedom to work in divinely appointed ways that may mystify us and that certainly will surprise us with their newness.”[ii]

[i] Most of the content of this sermon comes from a sermon by this title in The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2006, edited by David N. Mosser, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2005 pp. 303-305

[ii] Stookey, Laurence Hull This Day – A Wesleyan Way of Prayer, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2004 p.107

Do I need to tell you that today is “Pledge Sunday” or “Consecration Sunday”? You all know that. You all think you know what I’m going to say. “She’s going to ask me for money. But I’ve already made up my mind what I’m going to give.” Is that in your mind? You are not alone then.

Ben Franklin thought the same thing many years ago. In his autobiography, he tells of how we went to church one day, and these are his own words: “I perceived the pastor intended to finish with a collection and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had, in my pocket, a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, and five gold pieces. As he proceeded, I began to soften, and concluded to give the coppers. Another stroke of his oratory made me ashamed of that, and I determined to give the silver. And he finished so admirably, that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector’s dish, gold and all.”[i]

Well, I don’t pretend to be a great orator, and some of you are probably thinking, “She already preached a stewardship sermon last week. Do we really need to hear this again?” So, let me give you a brief theology of stewardship. A steward is someone who manages another’s property, finances or other affairs. So when we talk about stewardship, we are talking about our handling of that which belongs to God.

The Book of Genesis tells us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and planted a garden and put humans there to take care of the garden. Now, I know that there is a great debate about creation and evolution and how all of this fits together and I’m not going to get into that debate. However, for me the bottom line is that all that we have, and all that we are is a gift from God. That comes through clearly in our passage from Hebrews today.

I know that the style of writing in Hebrews is often convoluted and difficult to understand, so let me try to tell you in a nutshell what today’s passage says. It used to be that priests went to the temple everyday to offer sacrifices of animals that were supposed to take away sin. However, it didn’t really accomplish a great deal. Christ then came along and made one sacrifice. He gave his own life. It was a perfect sacrifice for imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that was needed. So now, we can, without hesitation – walk right up to God. Eugene Peterson, in The Message, finishes the passage this way, “So let’s do it. … Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worship together as some do, but spurring each other on.”

I love that last section, “Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love, and helping out. … spurring each other on.” I think that’s a big part of what we are about as a congregation. We have good news – great news! And this news has been entrusted to us. It is our job to share it with others.

When some people look at a church budget – or spending plan – they see all the bills that need to be paid. They see electricity and oil and salaries and repairs and numbers that can be depressing. Now, I understand budgets and numbers, and when I look at a church budget I see numbers; but I see more than numbers. I see people. I see ways of being in ministry, ways of being inventive about encouraging love and sharing the good news about what God has done for us and continues to do for us every day.

I see children learning about God’s love in an environment where they are loved. I see safe sanctuary policies that say that we care enough about all of God’s children to be sure that the people who teach our children, and who work with our youth, are people who are safe for our children and youth to be around. I see people sharing the love that they have experienced with those who most need to experience that love.

I see women who have experienced the death of their spouse and know that sorrow, reaching out to others who have more recently experienced that heartbreak. I see people at every stage of life sharing their stories and experiences with others who are dealing with similar issues. I see others praying – often for people they don’t even know. I see people offering gifts of music to help us worship God in a way that speaks to our souls. I see men and women gathered to study the Bible and to share their understandings with each other, as they try to learn more about the things that will help them in their journey of faith.

I see groups who may not know a lot about what goes on inside our sanctuary, but find something here that helps make their life more manageable. Sometimes it’s food to feed their hungry children. Sometimes others who understand the problems of addiction are there to help them stay sober one day at a time. For some young parents this may be where they learn about normal child development and how to develop parenting skills.

I see children who led adults in the efforts to provide surgery for a child of a different faith halfway around the world. I look at those big numbers that we call Mission Shares and that some people see as a tax by the conference and I see more children around the world receiving health care. I see new churches being started, curriculum being developed, and Lay speakers being trained. In New England I see 3 camps and a conference center and I think of the youth in our church who have experienced Methodism through the confirmation retreat and other camping experiences.

I see UMCOR – the United Methodist Committee on Relief that is undergirded by our mission shares. Our mission shares provide for all the administrative costs involved and provide a system where disaster relief can be delivered immediately where needed. Because of that, 100% of what we give for hurricane, earthquake, tsunami response or other disasters goes directly to relief and United Methodists are there even before we start bringing our contributions. Our Mission shares help send 1,812 missionaries around the world and support urban ministries in Boston, Lawrence, Worcester, Providence and other places. They also support rural ministries throughout New England. They help support covenants with the West Angola Conference and la Iglesia de Cristo en Nicaragua as well as supporting Africa University. Combined with offerings from Methodist churches throughout the country, we are active in advocating for a living wage, working to reduce racism, advocating for our environment and helping to fund 225 retirement homes, 70 hospitals, 8 2-year colleges, 82 4-year colleges and 13 seminaries.

When I look at our annual church budget, I see a bottom line number of close to $200,000 but I see ways of encouraging love and spurring each other on that are priceless. I see people who are part of our worshipping congregation week after week who work faithfully and responsibly to administer the funds that you provide to this congregation.

Let me share a story with you. “Two guys were going on a moose hunt and contacted a local bush pilot to take them to their favorite lake. The made the deal, loaded the plane with all the stuff they needed for a two-week stay, and off they went. As they approached the lake, the pilot said, `I can’t land on a lake that small.’ One of the hunters said, `Well, the pilot last year did.’ `Well, OK,’ said the pilot, and land he did – but it took most of the lake to do it. He unloaded the two hunters, all their gear, and said, `See you in two weeks.’

“In two weeks the plan came back, landed and there were the two hunters, their gear, and two moose. `Wait a minute,’ said the pilot, `I will not be able to take off with that load.’ `Well,’ said one of the hunters, `we did it last year.’ `Well, OK’. So the pilot took the plane to the far edge of the lake, revved up the engine to full speed, raced down the lake, and just as he was about to run out of lake, lifted off. He skimmed the trees at the edge of the lake, then crashed. The three of them crawled out of the wreck, and the pilot said, `I thought you said you did it last year – do you see where we are?’ `Yep, about a mile farther this year.’”[ii]

Friends, a mile better than last year is not enough. The scripture encourages us to be inventive in encouraging love and helping out our brothers and sisters in this world. It tells us not to avoid worshipping together but to spur each other on to love and good deeds. Christ expects us to share the good news, to be faithful disciples and faithful stewards of the resources with which we have been blessed. We have been blessed – and it is our responsibility to be a blessing to others.

O God, we have come before you this day in great anticipation of what you have done in our lives and what you will continue to do. Throughout the ages you have asked nothing but love from your people. We know that we must act out that love always giving our love first to you. God of love – pluck the world out of our hearts, loosen the chains of attachment. Hurl the world into our hearts - where we can carry it with you in infinite tender care to share what we have. So may our stewardship encompass our whole manner of living, the needs of others, the beauty, order, health, and peace of the entire universe. Help us to give of ourselves, our money, our intentions, and our love in the name of Jesus who has shown us your love. Amen.

I met Mary – not her real name – when she was about 19. She had been living on her own since she was about 15, when her mother threw her out. Mary flew below the radar of any social services or government programs. When I met her she was living in one rented room. She worked at a fast food restaurant, making minimum wage, and rode her bicycle the six miles each way to and from work. She tried to avoid the main roads, and of course, the highway. That meant that she rode back roads many of which were deserted, poorly lit and dangerous when she was returning home in the dark or in bad weather.

Mary started coming to church and found something she needed there. One morning Mary was sitting in the front pew of the sanctuary; that was the place she liked, she said she felt closer to God there. When it was time for the offering, the usher trying to be sensitive to Mary’s financial situation, and not wanting to embarrass her, didn’t come all the way to the front pew. After the offering had been collected and the ushers were bringing it forward for dedication, Mary stopped the usher as she reached the front pew and put her offering in the plate. As I stood there waiting to receive the offering plates, I couldn’t help but see that what Mary put in was two pennies. Immediately, the usher and I both had tears in our eyes and I found it hard to get past the lump in my throat to dedicate the offering that morning.

At the same time, it was a wonderfully sacred moment of worship. I thought immediately of the gospel reading that we heard this morning. Like the widow in the gospel, Mary gave her all. Two pennies were certainly not going to do much to help the church financially, but for at least two of us who saw what happened that morning, it did a great deal for the spiritual well-being of the church.

George, again not his real name, was out of work. He was not a member of the church, had not attended worship in any church for many years. Many difficult things had happened in his life. One day he wandered into the church and asked if he could sit quietly in the sanctuary. He came back periodically to do that. He didn’t want to talk to anyone; he wanted to sit and talk to God. As time went on, he started to talk a little. He didn’t need anything, he said. He refused any offer of any kind of assistance. All he wanted was to be able to sit quietly and talk to God. One day, he pressed some money into my hand and told me I should use it for someone who needed help. I thanked him. When he left, I looked at what he had given me. $2. For him, that was a huge gift that came from his heart.

Sitting in the temple, teaching his disciples and answering the questions posed to him, Jesus observed how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. In Jesus’ day the area of the temple popularly known as the treasury consisted of thirteen offering-receptacles, in the shape of a trumpet. They were placed under the colonnade in the Court of the Women where the widow in today’s Gospel would have come to worship. They were not unlike the large baskets at the toll booths on some of our highways and bridges. They were designed so that people could easily toss in their coins. However, there is one major difference, the temple treasury trumpets made a great clattering sound when coins were put in. The large the coin, the louder the sound. It would have been hard to drop a coin into one of those elaborate receptacles without making a distinctive sound and the sound would have given a pretty good idea of exactly what a person was putting in.

For many in the temple that day, their gifts were probably calculated gifts based on the law of the tithe – the giving of ten percent and the long tradition of how it was figured. When people today start talking about a tithe, the discussion might focus on whether this is based on pre-tax or post-tax income, whether other charitable donations are deducted and whether or not the tithe can be reduced because of government programs that care for the needs of citizens.

These discussions miss the whole point – and emphasize the two kinds of giving. One is represented by the calculated obligation of meeting requirements, doing one’s fair or expected share or giving out of obligation. For instance, I could tell you that if every person or family who currently pledges to this church’s ministry increased their pledge or giving by $4 a week we would have a balanced budget and a very happy Finance Committee. That’s talking about fair or equal share. That fits into the same category as the dues that are assessed by the various organizations to which we might belong. But the church doesn’t function that way.

The second kind of giving is very different. It’s the kind of giving demonstrated by the widow in the Gospel reading. It’s the kind of giving that I saw from both Mary and George. Neither of them could ever afford an extra $4 a week, but their giving had a different motive to it. Even though their gifts were very small in terms of actual amount, they were big in terms of motive.

Jesus turned to his disciples and said something like this, “All of these others have given out of their abundance. This woman has given all she had.” She has given out of her substance. The coins put into the containers by many of the people in the temple, created the sounds of abundance. The two small coins the widow put in, created the sounds of substance.

Why did the widow give the way she did? Why did Mary and George give the way they did? I believe it was because they believed in the work of God, and wanted to support it. In giving what they were able to give, they became part of something bigger than themselves. There is a certain dignity about being able to give to something in which we believe. It says that we are not simply takers, but givers. They gave out of their substance, out of who they were, not merely out of their abundance.

The amount of money we give to the ministry of the church, really has very little to do with the money itself. However, it has everything to do with the depth of our love, our faith, our discipleship. Mother Teresa once said, “It’s not how much we do, but how much love we put into doing it. It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.”

Jesus spoke about money and possessions more than any other subject. He wanted us to recognize that our money is an extension of who we are and what we value in life. What we do with our resources is important. Jesus made it very clear, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:21) Jesus watched the people in the temple with understanding and discernment. He knew not only their monetary contributions but more importantly, he knew their hearts. The awesome thought that Jesus is watching each of us with that same double discernment as we give our offerings week after week is certainly humbling![i]

Jesus is concerned about our hearts, our souls, and anything that affects the state of our heart and soul. Money and possessions certainly do that. Mark tells us that “Many rich people put in large sums.” (12:41b) Mark is not being judgmental or critical. He is simply pointing out a statement of fact. There were a significant number of wealthy people in Jesus’ day who were very generous to the temple; just as there are people today who are similarly generous to the church. Jesus says that the others gave out of their abundance. “What they gave would not be missed. They gave out of what was left over. They probably gave after all of their needs were already met. Some of them probably gave even after their desires had been met. Perhaps they gave as a kind of last obligation in their list of priorities. Their giving did not really cost anything.”[ii] Jesus set up a contrast between those who gave out of their abundance, who gave what they could well afford to give and often what they could spare, and the widow who gave out of her substance, who gave out of her love.

“Often fund-raisers advise us to `give until it hurts.’ Someone knowing that to be very bad advice, offered this alternation: `Give until it stops hurting.’ But even a further change is needed: `Give until it is fun, andthen continue to give because it is fun.’ How truly happy are those who discover that it is gret fun to give away money, and time and talent as well. In an ironic way, being generous may be the most self-serving style of life to be imagined. For the cheerful giver receives a joy from being generous that tightwads can never know. Such are the ways God has of surprising us.”[iii]

It is that kind of spirit of giving and loving that launches the dreams and visions of the church of Jesus Christ today. It is that kind of living that produces sounds of substance, rather than simply sounds of abundance. It was that kind of spirit and joy that I saw on Mary’s face that moved me to tears. It is that kind of joy that tightwads can never know.

Those of you who are my age or older, will remember probably remember the great comedian, Jack Benny. For those of you who don’t know who he is, Jack Benny made a career out of appearing to be the ultimate portrayal of a tightwad. “He repeated one sketch every season, year after year, without fail. He would be standing in a dark place somewhere and would be accosted by a would-be robber. The robber would poke a gun into his ribs and say, “Your money or your life.”

“There would be silence. The robber would say with greater forcefulness, `Your money or your life!’. Again, there would be silence. Finally, in exasperation, the robber would say, `Mister, did you not hear me? I said, `Your money or your life!’ And Jack Benny would reply, `I’m thinking. I’m thinking.’”[iv]

That’s the point of the many stories that Jesus tells about our money and possessions. Jesus knew that there is a fine line between owning our money and possessions and being owned by them. Jesus calls us to give our lives, to commit our lives to following him. When we follow Jesus first, then all of the other priorities, relationships, and plans fall into their rightful place and perspective. Jesus calls for our lives – the ultimate sounds of substance in the plan and priority of God.

“Ask yourself this day: Am I a cheerful giver or a reluctant one? When giving something away, do I ever quietly utter this prayer: `O Lord, help me to give away even more’? How often do I recall John Wesley’s rule: `Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give away all you can’? How can I increase both my gifts and my eagerness to give?”[v]

God of high heaven: By coming to earth to dwell among us, to die for us, you have demonstrated the greatest generosity possible. Enable us to see in the manger and the cross the joy of giving ourselves fully in your service. Snatch from us the fear that if we give away what we have, we will have less – or even nothing. Cause us to know that those who would save their lives, lose them, while those who lose their lives for the sake of the gospel truly find them. We pray through him who taught us this in both word and deed, Jesus Christ, the perfect offering. Amen.[vi]

[i] Bauknight, Brian K. Right on the Money, Discipleship Resources, Nashville, TN, 1995, p.33

[ii] Bauknight, p.33

[iii] Stookey, Laurence Hull, This Day, A Wesleyan Way of Prayer, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN 2004, p.49

[iv] Bauknight, p.35

[v] Stookey, p.49

[vi] Stookey, p.50

Happy Anniversary Church! This is a day of excitement and celebration. It is a day for looking back and remembering, and it is also a day for looking forward with excitement, hope, and anticipation. When the first service was held on October 30, 1966 the mood must have been one of excitement and anticipation. Those who gathered on that day did not know what the future would bring but they looked forward to it. It must have been much like our ancestor Abraham who was told to take his family and go to a new place. He did not know where that place would be but he went in the faith and the trust that God would lead him.

I was unable to discover what the Scripture readings were on that day of that first worship, but I did locate the Scriptures for the Chartering Service that was held in March 1967 at the Seventh Day Adventist Church. They were passages of promise and challenge and ones that would have spoken to a new congregation. They speak to us today also. On that day of chartering, becoming an official church, worshippers heard the words from Jeremiah, “I will make an everlasting covenant with them….I will plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.” There was also the promise that God would give “singleness of heart and action.” Four of the original members are still involved in this congregation and with us today. Sam & Vivian Flade, Eleanor Bourn and Ida Green. Today our joy and celebration is tempered with sadness that Ken Green another of the charter members is no longer with us here, but we draw comfort in the sure knowledge that he has joined the great company of Saints, the Cloud of Witnesses who are with us and join in our celebration as witnesses from Heaven.

The Jeremiah passage reminds us that God gives us the power – not to be all that we want to be – but to be all that God wants us to be. In its early days this congregation grew rapidly. There was a hunger and a desire for the church and the message of Christ. The young congregation purchased the land where we are now and construction began on a multi-purpose room that would serve as both sanctuary and meeting space. The first service on this property was held in what is now our Sunday School hall on December 20, 1970, just in time for Christmas.

The church was doing well when a couple of years later, sudden events challenged the seven year old church. The Quonset Point Navy Base closed and about 60% of the members of the church were forced to move away. Eleanor Bourn, in her history of this congregation, wrote, “The young church found itself adrift in very rough waters. … Its ranks depleted, the fledging congregation now faced a steep mortgage on a church building located in a suddenly depressed economic area. And they were losing their pastor.” The Rev. Bill Richards was being appointed to another church in Springfield Mass. By June 1974, church membership had dropped from more than 200 to about 55.

Jeremiah’s words may have spoken to the faithful group that remained. God had made a covenant, planted them, and given them a singleness of heart and action. God would continue to give them the power to be, not all that they wanted to be, but all that God wanted them to be. The people to whom Jeremiah spoke learned that trusting God meant radically realigning their purpose and desires toward God. The young church focused itself on trusting God and seeking God’s will and direction.

The second Scripture read at the Chartering Service was another passage we heard this morning, 2 Peter 1:3-10. In that passage we hear that God’s power has given us everything we need for life and godliness; that God has given us very great and precious promises. Those who were here during the time of the Navy pullout learned again how to trust God. Within a couple of years, the church went out on a faith limb and committed to having a full time pastor, and purchased a prefabricated house. Eleanor wrote, “Worshippers gathered for an all-day picnic awaiting the arrival of the trailers bringing the two halves of the house. It was summer and spirits were high…. One parishioner reports, `We had relied on the Lord for strength to go on with our dream.’ And the dream survived. By 1980, membership had climbed back to 195 people and it was necessary to expand the church.

“On June 11, 1980, ground breaking ceremonies were held on phase two of the church. The building program would house a 230 seat sanctuary, kitchen, choir room, office and fellowship room. The members dedicated themselves to completing the work with the labor of their own hands.” Eleanor continues the story by writing, “Many church members believe the sanctuary of the newly remodeled church was furnished by divine intervention. The pews came from the Quonset Navy Chapel, purchased at auction and offering a rich heritage for many of our Navy families. Stained glass windows were found in a Catholic chapel in Wakefield. And amazingly, they fit exactly the dimensions of the window openings planned for the new sanctuary. The pipe organ was located in a Baptist Church in Newburgh, New York.”[i] It seems that God was, indeed, providing everything the new church needed for life.

With hearts and actions focused on doing God’s will and trusting God to show the way, the church has many times discovered just how true it is that God gives us the power to become what God wants us to be. We have learned that at times we have had to radically realign our purposes and desires so that what we want is indeed the same as what God desires. Through the years, great things have happened when there has been a singleness of heart and action focused on God’s will.

There have been many occasions when the congregation has gathered around to support someone who was in great need either financially, medically or emotionally. Meals or transportation have been provided. The church and community rallied to raise funds to provide resources for the supplemental needs related to a liver transplant for Fiona Hallstead. The results exceeded our wildest dreams. As you know the surgery was successful and Fiona is now a healthy young woman active in our church. This fund has been used to help fill the gap in a couple of other health related situations and more recently became the seed money to help us believe that we could respond positively to the call and dream to provide life saving heart surgery for Saffiatu Bah, a child half-way around the world. Marvelous things can happen when we have a singleness of heart and action.

One of the truly exciting parts of our work with Saffiatu is the realization that children were the motivators of much of the response. First there was a child, the same age as Saffiatu, who recognized the justice issues involved, “If she lived here, she would have already had the surgery and would be out playing with her friends.” Then there was an 8 year old motivated to organize a bike ride that raised over $1700.

Our Gospel today speaks to the story of this congregation and also to its future. Asked by a religious scholar which commandment was the most important, Eugene Peterson in The Message translates Jesus’ response this way, “`The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: `Love others as well as you love yourself.’ … The religion scholar said, … `Why that’s better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!’ When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, `You’re almost there, right on the border of God’s kingdom.’”[ii]

The actions of loving and helping Saffiatu and so many others help bring us closer to doing the work that God blesses and honors and to fulfilling the dreams that God has for us.

A little over a year ago we began the work of the Learning Team. This was a group designed to help us look at who we have been, who we are today, and who God is calling us to be in the future. After church wide “town meetings”, interviews with town leaders, some historical digging and the gathering of demographic information, the group published a report. One of the questions asked by the Learning Team was, “What should we do to be prepared to receive and welcome the next 50 people God wants to send to us.” This is an important question in any congregation because part of the concept of loving others as well as we love ourselves includes wanting to share with them what we have found and experienced as followers of Jesus the Christ.

It is a particularly significant question in this congregation because of the reality of our demographics. Nine years ago, I did some analysis of our membership and discovered that half of the members of the church had joined within the previous 8 years. From time to time, I have reviewed that study and, believe it or not, it is still true. While we have members who have been here for 40 years, and 30 years, 20 years and more, it is still true that half of the people who are members of this congregation at this point in time, have been members for 9 years or less. This is due to a variety of reasons, but the reality remains that God is constantly sending new people to worship with us and to be part of this body of Christ and we need to be prepared to welcome them as important members of this congregation. One of the real benefits to this, is that this congregation is not generally susceptible to the phrase that has been called “The Seven Last words of the church”, “We never did it that way before.” We have been open to the ideas that people bring and to the gifts of leadership and enthusiasm with which God has blessed them and us.

Through the years some of the ways of sharing the message has taken on different forms. We use translations of Scripture that can be easily understood by people for whom the message is new. It has taken the form of being open to new music, to hymns that have been written to help people deal with the changing circumstances of life. Some of the “favorite” hymns of this congregation and others were “new” hymns not many years ago. For the first time today, we are using a multi-media presentation in worship as a way to help interpret the story we have been trying to tell. A person in another church whose pastor had started using power point to help highlight points from the sermon told me that at first she had been opposed to the idea and thought that the older people especially would not like the idea. To her surprise, she discovered that the group she had been most concerned about turned out to like it the most, because seeing major points outlined helped them hear the sermon better and get more out of it.

As we celebrate the faithfulness of the saints of this congregation in the past, let us also celebrate the faithfulness of the saints who are here today and those who will be here in the future. Let us continue to seek to have a singleness of heart and action, to seek God’s will and God’s desire. Let us be willing to step out in faith in directions that may at first feel uncomfortable or somewhat scary. Let us remember that the God who called this congregation into existence and who is the foundation of this church is also the One who walks with us daily and calls us into a faith - filled future.

We have some wonderful texts this morning, full of positive messages. The psalm recounts the blessings the Lord has provided. We hear how Job’s faith has sustained him throughout the troubles we discussed last week, and how his faith has been rewarded by God’s favor. And we heard the story of how Jesus heals a blind man, right before I threw the trip to Sunday School into chaos by asking half the children to close their eyes. God’s blessings are truly too numerous to count, and we are blessed to be His people.

But there is also a pressing secular concern that I feel we must discuss. I feel a call to discuss something a bit touchy, the subject of politics. Election Day is coming up soon, and because of our celebration of this Church’s birthday next week, if we are going to discuss that topic, it will have to be this week. This is a complicated and difficult topic, but one that cries to be addressed. While I didn’t mention politics to the children, maybe the chaos I produced was a good introduction into this topic.

After the last election, there was much talk about the role of Christian voters, and about how voters with concerns over the issue of values influenced the results of the election. There was some talk about how that influence would be even greater in upcoming elections, and how issues such as abortion and gay marriage would be on the center stage. But as this election draws closer, the picture is not as clear. Christians do not appear to be ready to vote as a bloc, and those hot button issues that were so prominent in the last election are not as prominent this time around. What happened here?

Following the last election, a book called God’s Politics: How the Right Gets it Wrong, and the Left Doesn’t Get It by Jim Wallis, became a best seller. I read the book, and didn’t think it was especially well-written. I am pretty sure it was a fix-up, a trade term for a full length book that is stitched together from newspaper columns or stories that had already been published. But I found that it had a powerful message, which was probably why it ended up being a best seller. Mr. Wallis, a committed social liberal, pointed out that Christians are called not just to act on the specific moral issues that had been raised in the last election, he also made an excellent case that Christians were called to act on social issues such as caring for the poor, equality and civil rights, and preserving the environment. And while Mr. Wallis was among the first and loudest voices to raise these issues, he was certainly not the last. Since then, we have seen many books, articles and television shows dealing with the role of Christians in politics. And we have seen a wide diversity of opinions and even controversy regarding what issues should matter to Christians, and what positions they should take. I recently read that, during the last election, an organization circulated a pamphlet in some Catholic churches stating the positions a Catholic voter should take. I also read that this year, there are three organizations distributing pamphlets, all with differing options on how Catholics should address different issues. On a national level, I read that the Christian Coalition has added concern for the poor and the environment to the issues they believe Christian voters should address, while at the same time the article stated that Christian Coalition chapters in a number of states have left the national organization because they feel it has lost its focus. These are just some examples of the diversity of opinion within the Christian community.

Now, is this diversity a sign that Christians don’t all share the same values? Is this diversity a sign that we have lost our focus and direction? I don’t think so, because I feel there is a difference between basic values, and how you apply those values in the world. And where basic values can be very clear and simple, in application they can be pretty complicated.

As an example, let’s take just one of the Ten Commandments, the Commandment, Thou Shalt Not Kill. A pretty clear statement regarding the sanctity of life, one that I would argue that not just Jews and Christians, but most folks share in common. But applying this gets very complicated very fast, since many folks also start right off interpreting the word kill as murder, and argue that killing is sometimes justified, and then there is even argument about what constitutes killing. There are some people who think that contraception violates the sanctity of life, since it might prevent a new life from coming into being. The morning after and pills that prevent pregnancy after sex are seen by some as emergency contraception while others call it chemical abortion. The issue of when a separate human life begins is hotly contested, and is at the root of the ongoing debate about abortion. The promises of stem cell research are many, but so are the ethical concerns raised by experiments with human tissue. Having started reading my father’s science fiction magazines at an early age, I have seen a diversity of fictional illustrations about how dangerous tinkering with genetics and the stuff of life can be. Most people do not believe killing to prevent harm to yourselves and others is not murder, that idea lies at the heart of the principle of self defense. And many scholars have debated what constitute grounds for a war, a topic that was hotly debated by both politicians and religious leaders as our nation decided how to deal with the issue of Iraq. And end of life issues raise many questions, as was illustrated in the case of Terri Schaivo. From what I could see, the family members on both sides of that struggle all believed deeply that they were doing the right thing, which made the whole issue all the more tragic. The only thing I was sure of was that I would never want to be a husband of a wife in that situation, nor a parent of a child in that situation. It turns out that, while we all agree on the basic value of the sanctity of life, Christians can come to some very different opinions on how that value should be implemented in the world we live in. You can see from this one example how many complicated applications and issues, all with different ways of approaching them, can arise from a single, and simple, basic value. I could also draw similar lists from each of the other Nine Commandments, the other rules of the Old Testament, parables from the Gospels, and dictates from the epistles, but I do want to get you folks out of here before Election Day.

Now, as I have said, I myself don’t see this diversity of opinion as a bad thing. As has been said many times, if God didn’t want us to think for ourselves, He wouldn’t have given us a brain. Even people of faith and good will can come down on opposite sides of complex issues. The Methodist Church was founded by leaders who encouraged everyone to study and think for themselves. Pastor Beverly and I have both mentioned the Wesleyan Quadralateral in sermons. This concept was developed by John Wesley to help Methodists seek the best course of action, which includes balancing inputs from Scripture, Tradition, Reason and Experience. Methodists are called to approach the world with strength of their convictions, but also with an open mind, something our political system needs more of these days. And John Wesley was very concerned with our role in the world. Since its inception, the Methodist Church and its members have been vigorously engaged in society and in social issues.

Not all people see that religious followers approach the issues with an open mind. They argue that religion doesn’t belong in politics, and that religious people bring an intolerance to public discourse that has a negative affect. In Thursday’s New York Times, there was an article about a man named Sam Harris, who has written some books with titles like The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, and is getting a lot of attention with the opinion that religion is the root of all evil. He points to the many wars and all the suffering caused by religious fanatics both in the past and the world today. But then, instead of condemning religious fanaticism, he goes on to accuse religious moderates as enablers of these fanatics, and ends up condemning most people of faith. A couple of weeks ago, I uncomfortably watched a lawyer on the show Boston Legal making the case in the fictional court that given all the suffering caused by religious fanatics, that what this country needs is not freedom OF religion, but freedom FROM religion. There are a lot of people in the world who do not share our faith, and have doubts about us, doubts that are fueled by arguments like these. It is up to people like us to prove these arguments wrong, to show that religious beliefs do not erode a person’s ability to make good decisions, but instead make those decisions more sound. The diverse religious beliefs of our Founding Fathers were applied in a positive way to the consensus that laid the foundation for our laws, our freedoms, and our political system. The involvement of the religious faithful in politics builds on that fine tradition.

There are many in the political system who are unscrupulous enough to profess any message, as long as it gets them votes, who are willing to try to take advantage of our religious faith. In a new book Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction, a young man named David Kuo describes his experience working in the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. Mr. Kuo came to Washington very idealistic, but he left very cynical. While Mr. Kuo saw signs that many politicians believe what they say, he was appalled to hear some politicians speaking of Christian voters as if they were dupes whose only purpose was to pull the right lever in a voting booth. And from reading political commentary on a regular basis, I see signs that this contempt for people of faith can occur on both sides of the aisle. Unfortunately, the nature of politics causes the people involved in it to sometimes lose touch with the values that drew them to public service. While our political system is among the best ever created by mankind, we need to remember that nothing created by man is perfect, and retain a healthy skepticism of politicians and their statements. And the seduction of political power can even affect the actions of religious leaders. It is important for all of us not to follow anyone blindly, but to think for ourselves.

As I illustrated above with my discussion of the commandment Thou Shalt Not Kill, the issues we face are complex. For example, trying to figure out the positive and negative implications on a vote for or against the new casino in Rhode Island makes my head spin. It is not just about gambling, it is also about tribal rights, economic development, competition between entertainment venues, contracting issues, taxation and constitutional issues. There are many attractive bond issues on the ballot, but I always feel compelled to balance the good things we will buy against our ability to take on new debt. And there are great debates about the future direction of our nation, and even races for local representatives have taken on national implications. Despite the negative ads, I think we have two decent and honest men running for our Senate seat, but each has different positions they represent. As Christians, and as Methodists, we are called to engage in this process, and do our part to steer our government, on both the local and national level, in the direction of justice. We need to study the issues, learn what we need to make informed decisions, and act with restraint and wisdom.

The nation needs people with firm values to be involved in the political process---it needs people like the people I see in the pews before me, thoughtful, honest and faithful people. I see a lot of people in this congregation who spent many years in uniform, ensuring that you have the freedom to worship as you please, and the freedom to vote as your conscience dictates. Regardless of the positions you take on specific issues, your engagement in the political process will help our nation to steer a wise and prudent course. God has granted us many blessings, but he has also endowed us with many responsibilities, and it is up to us to do His work in the world. I urge you all to exercise your rights as citizens, and your duties as people of faith, and take advantage of the opportunity to vote.

Are you God? None of us would be bold enough to answer that question affirmatively. In fact, the very thought of saying yes would be blasphemous for religious people. We are often quick to affirm that we are not God, but it’s not unusual to encounter individuals who although they readily admit that they are not God, are quick to insist that they do understand God’s ways, actions and plans. There is a tendency to interpret the world through the lens of God’s will and way. Probably most of us have been guilty at one time or another of claiming to understand God’s ways. I know that I have many times told people that I don’t believe that something is God’s will. But I hope that I make the distinction that what I am saying is what I believe and that I do not speak for God. It is possible and certainly preferable for believers to seek understanding through God, but it is a delicate balancing act not to overstep our bounds and our possibility for understanding God. It was this difficult balancing act with which Job struggled in today’s reading.

People have debated forever whether the story of Job is real or whether it is symbolic, but either way, it is a familiar one and one filled with many truths. The beginning of the book tells about a man who has lived a favored life. He is a successful businessperson with a loving family. He worships God and lives a righteous life. The story says that God was boasting about how righteous a man Job was and that Satan insisted Job’s righteousness was only because Job lived such a favored and sheltered life.

As the story goes, God then allowed Satan to test Job by attacking Job and his family in order to see if Job would remain faithful. Okay, so here is one of my “I believe” statements. I believe that this is a story about the reality of what happens to a person when everything in life suddenly goes wrong. I also believe that this is a story that reflects the very early belief that whatever happened to a person or community happened because God caused it to happen. I do not believe that God causes these things to happen to people, but again that is a statement of my belief. I am not God.

Anyway, in the story, Job loses everything that is valuable to him, his livestock, his servants and children. Then he is stricken with a painful physical condition. His friends come to console him and counsel him. They seek to give him theological advice and they seem to think that they are God; or at least that they know enough about God to explain why all this has happened to Job.

Their intentions may be pure but their counsel and pat answers only serve to inflict more pain and suffering. The first one pleads with Job to repent of the evil in his life and then God will heal him. Job maintains that he is innocent of any evil. The second friend picks up on this debate and insists that there must be something dark and sinful in Job’s past and that he must repent. Again Job pleads his innocence. He asks them to show him where he has been evil, but they are not able to do so. The third friend flat out calls Job a liar. He insists that the world is orderly and that good is paid for good and evil for evil. At that point, Job loses his patience and tells his three friends that they do not speak for God.

Job wants to take his case directly to God and insists that he will defend himself to God. The only problem is that God seems to be silent. Job cries out to God but doesn’t seem to get any answer. As the old saying goes, be careful what you pray for, you may get it. Out of the whirlwind, God speaks to Job.

God doesn’t give Job any answers. In fact, God asks more questions. God asks the questions we heard in today’s Scripture reading. Questions like, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Can you send forth lightning? Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?” Our passage ends before God finishes his examination and before Job answers. It’s not that God is angry with Job for asking the questions. Throughout all of the scripture, God never gets angry with people for asking questions. God is big enough to handle our most difficult questions. But there still needs to be an understanding of who is who. Job is humbled and sees the absurdity of a person calling God accountable. Job accepts that there are certain things that are beyond his understanding. Job responds, “I have spoken what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. I am sorry. Human wisdom is nothing compared to God’s.”

So what is the answer to the problem of evil? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do tsunamis, hurricanes or earthquakes destroy entire cities and thousands of people? Why do tornadoes strike down upon one home and leave the one next door untouched? This week shepherding was praying for a family where a woman died. Her son was serving in Iraq and was flown home to be here for her funeral. As they left the funeral, the son and his father were killed in an automobile accident. I imagine that the son’s wife must feel like Job. One sorrow multiplied by incredible tragedies. Why?

I don’t even begin to pretend that I have the answers. Suffering is part of the human condition and we will all experience it in some form of another. This text reminds us that even for the faithful, God is bigger than our understanding. Not one of us corners the market on understanding God. On the one hand, the idea that humans do not have the capacity to understand God’s will and ways is scary. If our understanding of God is limited, then we are vulnerable and out of control. On the other hand, as scary as this may seem, it is also liberating. We are not in control. We do not have to understand it all. We do not have to answer every question. There is mystery for which we are not responsible. Our responsibility is to follow God and not to lay out the plans.

This means that we should not try to answer for God. This is a wonderful reminder for us as Christians. So often we feel the need to defend God, by explaining God’s actions in every situation. We cannot do that. I know that I get furious when I have heard someone say things like, 9-11 was God’s punishment on the United States because of the actions of the ACLU, Women’s Liberation and the Gay Agenda, or that Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment on New Orleans because it is a corrupt city. I want to jump in and defend God and insist that God did not do these things. The reality is that this is a statement of faith for me, not something that I can deny with the absolute certainty of speaking for God. I speak of what I believe and what I believe that I know based on my experience of God. What I do know is that God is the only one who can truly provide any comfort during these horrible times. My eagerness to defend God is because I want people to be able to turn to God to seek God’s comfort. I don’t want them to turn away from God because someone else tries to tell them that God is responsible for the death of someone they love or that God is responsible for horrific tragedies.

I believe that the book of Job does give us an answer even if it is not the definitive answer we want. The answer is that healing begins when you get past the questions.

I learned something in preparing for today. I discovered that Job’s name means “He turns to God.”[ii] “In that name, the author wanted to cleverly reveal his main point. It was when Job put to rest those questions of How and Why and TURNED TO GOD in humility and respect that God sustained him, reassured him and comforted him. Not with answers but with God’s presence.”[iii] God gave Job something better than an answer. God gave God. It was when Job and his pain fell into the waiting arms of the almighty and all loving God that he found rest.

Like most of you I’ve been hearing a lot of political rhetoric lately. I’ve heard candidates try to give simple answers to complex questions. Now, I don’t really fault them for this, I understand that we have become a nation that functions on sound bites. We ask for a three word answer, or a simple “Yes or no” to a question that is not simple. We want to know whether or not a candidate will support a particular stance but we often don’t hang around long enough to find out the why behind the answer. No wonder we think we can’t get a straight answer.

There are no straight simple one or two word answers to why terrible things happen in our lives. I’m not sure why we think that there should be. All we have to do is think about Jesus – who turned all the simple answers upside down. All we have to do is think about Jesus who instead of being the conquering hero who overthrew the Roman government, suffered and died on a cross. “We would prefer the hero Jesus who comes in, stops the pain, rights the injustice, cures the cancer, stops the child from running into the street, gives just the right answer at the right time. But what we have is a suffering Jesus who gives us the promise of himself, `My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ What we have is the same thing that was offered to Job,”[iv] the gift of God’s presence, of God’s sustaining love, of God’s comfort and the peace that only God can give.

Job’s name means “He who turns to God.” It is the only answer we have that carries any weight against that age-long question of suffering. I am not God. You are not God. We are not God. But like Job we can turn to God and find comfort.

I am not God. You are not God. We are not God. But we can remember who God is – that God knows far more than we will ever know. We may probe the secrets of the atom, but we are still only discovering a minute piece of the greater mystery of God. Let us celebrate the liberating power of not needing to have all the answers. Instead of trying to be God, may we instead turn to God and become partners with God seeking to make our goals one with God’s.

[i] Mosser, David N The Abingdon Preaching Annual, 2006, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2005 pp.262-264

[ii] The Immediate Word. 10/22/06

[iii] The Immediate Word

[iv] The Immediate Word

There’s no way around it. Today’s gospel reading is not exactly a comforting passage. “A good man with a legitimate religious question approaches Jesus to talk about eternal destiny. The man knows and keeps the Commandments. He is faithful in his religious practices. The Bible says that he was a model of religious faithfulness and that Jesus loved him.

“But the response of Jesus is so intrusive! It is almost harsh. The man is told to sell what he has and give it to the poor and come follow Jesus… Does Jesus have the right to tell us what to do with our possessions? According to the New Testament, the answer is clearly yes… So here we are, at a time of the year when we think about financial stewardship and our support of the church’s ministry. Do we have to talk about this? Again, the Bible’s answer is an emphatic yes.”[i]

If I were to ask you what subject Jesus spoke about the most in the Bible what would you say? Would you say, “Prayer” or “The Kingdom of God”? The reality is that one out of every six verses in the New Testament attributed to Jesus has to do with money or possessions. Overall, there are 2,350 verses dealing with money and possessions and only 500 describing prayer. Why the great emphasis upon money and possessions?

When I was growing up I was taught that there were three things that a polite person didn’t discuss in public: money, religion, and politics. I guess that’s because these are all topics about which people feel strongly and around which many arguments have raged. Jesus, however, connected these three, weaving them together repeatedly. Jesus wasn’t busy trying to raise a church budget so his focus is not on how much it costs to keep the building open and functioning or how much it costs for Sunday School curriculum or how much it costs to pay the pastor or any of those things. Sometimes in our local churches stewardship campaigns that becomes the focus. We think that a logical approach is to tell everyone how much it costs to do all of these important things and that everyone should do their fair share to help support the church. As United Methodists, we are part of a connectional system in which we send a certain amount to our Annual Conference each year. Through the years what this amount is called has changed. Years ago it was “askings” and local churches could decide how much of the “askings” they would accept and pay. Later they were called “apportionments” after the way that they are calculated, with the budget of the Annual Conference divided and apportioned to each local church based upon an adopted formula. One of the effects of this was that local churches started to think about this as a kind of tax and resentment was high in many churches about needed to pay this amount. More recently, we have started to call them “mission shares” reminded us that our model of connectionalism allows us to do together many things that we are not able to do on our own. Our mission shares help us to be in mission throughout the world. Our mission shares remind us that even salaries and administrative costs are one of the tools that help us to be in mission not only locally, but throughout our conference in New England, and throughout the world. This concept of mission shares starts to get closer to Jesus’ concern about money and possessions, and the way he connects this with religion and politics.

Jesus’ concern about money and possessions was not focused on trying to raise a budget, it’s not a clever marketing ploy, it’s about our relationship with God. Nowhere does that come through clearer than in the gospel story for today. This is a story that is about money, but not exclusively. It is a story about idolatry – about that which stands between a person and God. Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell this story. In Mark, the man who comes to Jesus is rich, in Matthew he is young, and in Luke he is a ruler. Therefore, he is often described as the “rich young ruler”. He had it all. He had money, power, and youth – yet, he did not have it all.

There was something missing in his life and he knew it. He came to Jesus wanting to know what he should do to inherit eternal life. One of the stunning things about this passage is that Jesus is described as “looking at him and loving him.” One of the unsettling pieces of this encounter is that if we pay attention to this fact, that Jesus loved him, we have to realize that Jesus’ love is not always warm, fuzzy, comfortable or comforting. There are many times when Jesus’ love is all of those things – when that’s what is really needed. But in this case, love demands something more. Jesus’ love for this rich young powerful man required him to confront him about his irresponsible and destructive behavior.

He certainly doesn’t sound irresponsible or destructive, does he? Jesus reminds him of the Comandments – or of six of the ten commandments – and the man is able to sincerely respond, “I have kept all these since my youth.” He may be well on his way to thinking he’s getting an A+ on his report card for good behavior and well on his way to eternal life. Many of us would be tempted to say to him something like, “well then you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. God loves you, and you are a good man. Don’t worry.” We tend to think that Christian love means giving people what they want when they want it, whether it contributes to their spiritual wholeness or not. Jesus shows a more demanding but better way.

“Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, `You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” Remember that Jesus first held up to the man, six of the ten commandments – the ones that involved behavior toward others – and the man who was a good, honest, sincere man, the man who took his religion seriously could honestly say he had kept these commandments. What Jesus recognized was in the other four commandments – the ones that come first and focus on our relationship with God. If Jesus had quoted those commandments to him, quite likely he would have said the same thing with the same degree of honesty.

In stead, Jesus loving him, showed him where he was failing to keep those commandments. These commandments are the ones that begin by saying, “You shall have no other gods before me. Do not worship idols or images.” These are the commandments that the rich powerful young man was breaking without even realizing it. He did have a god that was more important that the God he thought he worshipped. He was worshipping an idol. His was the god of money and possessions. These were the idols that he worshipped. When Jesus pointed this out to him by telling him to give what he had to the poor and follow Jesus, the man went away sad because his money and possessions owned him. He did not own them. They were not his to do with as he wanted. They had gotten beneath his skin, into his soul and they had taken the place that belonged only to God.

Money and how we relate to it is important because behind money are very real spiritual forces that energize it and give it a life of its own. For the rich young man, money was a rival god seeking his complete devotion. Today’s text invites us to get in touch with that which stands between God and us. Many people trust money for their salvation. How we feel abut money governs the lives of some of us more than any other factor.

In this passage, Jesus is showing the man – and those around him, that whatever we trust to save us is truly our God, whether it be power, talents, beauty, intelligence or a host of other things. We can give our heart and soul to these. They easily become the “one thing” that we may need to let go of in order to truly trust the Lord’s grace.

The Bible says that Jesus loved the man. It is this love that Jesus feels for each of us that makes him intrude upon our carefully ordered ways of doing things. Jesus did not want the man to be poor; that is not the point here. Jesus wanted him to experience joy – the kind of joy that giving it all to God can bring to our lives. The man went away with deep sadness. He was being asked to move out of his carefully constructed world of security. He was being asked to re-define his sense of identity from a self-sufficient, self-made man – to a God dependent, God-made man. Jesus loved him enough to let him walk away. Jesus’ way is not one of coercion. He does not make us do what we do not want to do, what we are not ready to do. He loves us right where we are, and in that love points out to us where we need to make changes, where we are deceiving ourselves, and where we need to grow, but he does not walk away from us.

When the man left, Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” Right there, Jesus ties together money, religion, and politics. Right there Jesus reminds his disciples how interconnected everything is. Money, religion, and politics are all connected to what we do with what we have. In their best forms, they all carry an obligation to care for those who are most in need. When functioning as they should, they all involve responsible behavior that puts the needs of others ahead of our individual needs. A true statesman, rather than politician, may need to make decisions that are right for all of the people, or for the country, or community, even if it means inconvenience or difficulty for him or her personally or his or her family or neighborhood. Refusal or inability to do so, is an illustration of which god is being followed.

Jesus uses the image of a camel trying to go through the eye of a needle – a ridiculous image – to illustrate how hard it can be for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Not because they are rich, but because it is a reality of humanity that all too often, what we own possesses us, rather than we possessing it. The disciples want to know, “then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” He assures them that all that they think they have given up on earth will be more than replaced – not only in this life but also in the life to come.

We do not know what happened to the rich young man. I would like to believe that after he went away, he came to terms with how much he was being controlled by his possessions. I would like to believe that he realized what he was missing by not trusting God ahead of his money and possessions. I would like to believe that he came to experience the freedom of trusting God, of putting God first and discovering that all that was really important for life was taken care of, and that he had the joy of being able to truly help other people live into a fullness of life.

In a few weeks we will be asked to fill out our pledge cards indicating our estimate of how we will support the ministry and mission of this church and the wider church in the year to come. You will be hearing much more about that in the weeks to come, but please remember that the pledge card has as much to do with your needs and your relationship to God as it does with the needs of the church.

Let me close by giving a personal witness here. Many years ago, I was a single mom with two children to support. My lawyer looked at the financial sheets I had submitted to him and pounced upon the amount I had listed as my pledge to the church. He told me in no uncertain terms that I could not afford to give that much to the church, and in fact, could not afford to give anything. It was interesting to me that the form included lines for cigarettes and alcohol, both of which were blank. They were acceptable expenses, but my pledge to the church was not. I explained to him that this was what I would be giving to God and that it was not his concern. His concern was what my bottom line income would be – my responsibility would be to use that amount wisely. I knew that I could change my pledge or withhold it if it was a matter of needing food or medicine or anything else for my children but that never became necessary. What I learned during that time was that God was the one in whom I placed my trust, not in my lawyer or my checkbook, or anyplace else.

The American dream of stuff, status and success is not where happiness and completeness are found. Accumulating, collecting, hanging on only distances us from the deep and wide spirit of God. It is only through the giving up, letting go, and cleaning out that we make room for God to do something in our lives. Wherever we are in that process, Jesus loves us. God welcomes those who are seeking and trying to figure this out, and those who are hard-core believers who are serious about discipleship. God welcomes those who are curious and hesitant and those who are deeply committed. God welcomes and loves all of us and nourishes all of us wherever we are on our journey and wherever we are heading.

“In her book Jesus CEO, Laura Beth Jones tells about her friend Willy, a talented artist and potter, who was having her first art show. Friends and family were invited to the pre-opening reception. Willy’s five-year-old godchild, Megan, was led carefully through the gallery while her mother pointed out each piece, telling her not to touch anything, especially those that were marked, ‘Fragile. Do Not Touch.” At the end of the day, Willy asked Megan if she saw anything she wanted. Megan leaned forward and whispered, ‘I want to touch the fragile things.’”[ii]

I remember vividly one of my first Old Testament classes in seminary. The professor came in one day carrying a very large suitcase. He opened it to show us about a dozen lamps from Old Testament times carefully cushioned and displayed. He told us to come up and look at them. Obediently we moved to the front of the room and carefully stood with our hands by our sides or behind our backs. He told us to pick them up and handle them; to touch them and pass them around. Hesitantly we started to pick them up. It was an incredible feeling to hold a lamp in my hands that dated back to the time of King David. Suddenly King David, the time in which he lived, and all of the Old Testament seemed more real for me. Sometimes, it’s important to be able to touch the fragile things.

Today’s gospel reading comes from a time in his ministry when Jesus was popular. Crowds frequently gathered seeking healing, or wanted to hear what he had to say. In today’s reading, people were bringing little children to him so that he might touch them and bless them. The disciples, thinking that they were trying to be helpful and probably protective of Jesus’ time and energy, didn’t see any reason why children should be brought to Jesus – especially if they were not in need of healing. They spoke sternly to the parents and told them to go away.

Jesus, however, saw what was going on and objected to his disciples’ behavior. He said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” Then Jesus took the children in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Yesterday I received some pictures of my great nephew who is now 22 months old. My heart just melts when I look at him. I am so grateful that he has parents who love him and who are doing all that they can to care for him in the very best ways that parents can take care of their children. Little vulnerable children represent the most fragile among us.

We are becoming more aware daily of how vulnerable our children are – not only when they are very little and require our attention for their physical care but also as they get older and become more vulnerable to the dangers of predators. I watched a “Dateline” special on Friday night in which they were featuring a sting operation aimed at men who had made dates with someone posing as a 13 year old child. It raised many emotions in me, and certainly proclaimed to the world that even those people who look the most respectable and hold positions of respect and honor in society can be among those who prey upon our children. As churches we have all become aware of the need to protect both our children and adults by having child protection policies that protect the most vulnerable among us.

Jesus is a model of the kind of adult behavior that respects and honors our children as valuable children of God. Even in the midst of the adults who were coming with the needs that they thought were so very important, Jesus was eager to touch and embrace the fragile children with the touch of blessing. Throughout all of Jesus’ life and ministry, we see that he seems to have an almost uncanny way of recognizing and focusing on the fragile things and elevating them to things of importance. “Jesus noticed the lilies swaying fragrantly in the field. Jesus noticed the baby sparrow that had fallen to the ground and the number of fine gray hairs on an old man’s head.”[iii]

Jesus warned us about going through life and missing the fragile (and the most valuable) things. It’s a warning we need to heed. Many of you will remember a Harry Chapin song that was popular some years ago. “Cat’s in the cradle” tells the story of a father and son. Through out the song the son wants is looking for his father’s attention, but Dad is always too busy. Undeterred, the son’s refrain is, “I’m gonna be like him.” When the son grows up and the father has retired, he wants to spend time with his son, but his son is too busy. The father’s lament is “He’d grown up just like me. My boy was just like me.” How quickly our children grow and we discover we have missed many important and valuable moments that we cannot recapture.

“Jesus cautioned us about looking for signs, and missing the breezes; about being scrupulous over such matters as tithing, and neglecting the weightier matters of justice and mercy; about washing the outside of the cup, and leaving the inside filthy; about gloating over how many cheep we have in the fold, and neglecting the lost sheep in the wilderness; about arguing over who is the greatest, and missing the chance for servanthood; about passing up a golden opportunity for service on the road to Jericho; about looking to do some great deed while ignoring the “least” of Christ’s brethren.”[iv]

I think that these were examples of well meaning and believing people who were trying to do their best but were missing the bigger picture. They were focusing on small things and losing the real mission and ministry. I was in the car with a friend recently and we saw a billboard that proclaimed, “Vote family values.” We agreed that we will vote family values but that they are probably not the ones that this group has in mind. Our idea of family values had to do more with the wider issues of justice, caring for the poor, being a good steward and recognizing our responsibilities throughout the world rather than the very specific and narrow issues that are often promoted as the only things that should matter to Christians.

There were many fragile moments in Jesus’ ministry when the disciples missed the point. This experience with Jesus and the children was one of them. They failed to see the importance of the children. When the woman anointed Jesus with the expensive perfume, the disciples argued about the appropriateness of her devotion and the cost of the perfume. At the Last Supper when Jesus revealed that one of them would betray him, they began to argue among themselves. How much energy for mission and ministry is wasted in local churches by arguing about the kind of chairs to purchase, how many hymns we should sing in worship, or who was supposed to take care of a particular project. How easy it can be to miss the point, to get sidetracked from what is really important.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, in that fragile moment when Jesus cried out to the Father, the disciples were sound asleep. When Jesus was arrested, they were given the opportunity to stand with him, but instead they fled. When Peter was accused of being a follower, he shattered his opportunity for greatness by denying Jesus.

I heard a story of two men who worked together for 20 years. There were many problems in their place of employment and when it became apparent that they were likely to lose their jobs, one of them asked the other if they could get together on Sunday morning to talk about it. The other replied, “I can’t. I go to church on Sundays.” The other man said, “Well surely you can miss one week so that we can talk.” “No, I can’t. My faith is very important to me.” “It can’t be that important,” the first replied. “We are both facing great changes in our lives and you know how much I’ve been worried about this. In the years that we’ve known each other, we’ve shared many things and you know that there have been some horrible things happening in my life. If your faith were so important to you, don’t you think that sometime in the last 20 years, you would have invited me to go to church with you?”

“Why do we keep refusing to touch the fragile things and keep wasting the fragile moments? Is it because we are afraid of being fragile ourselves? Do we think we will break and shatter if we get too close to something or someone who is fragile and vulnerable?”[v]

Perhaps we are afraid that the way of Christ is a dangerous one, and we are too fragile to be exposed to genuine Christianity. Perhaps we are afraid that we will discover that God is calling us to take a stand for justice, or to give more than we want to give to help someone in need, or to give of our time in an already busy schedule. Perhaps we are afraid that we might need to touch or get “involved with the fragile people in this world, the fragile causes, and the fragile moments of life. We think we will shatter when they do. Yet Christ made it plain that the fragile ones, like the little children, are the stuff that the kingdom of God is made of.”[vi]

The disciples became irritated with the children and their pushy parents who kept interrupting Jesus. How many times have we heard or said, “Don’t interrupt” to children who are trying to be heard or seen? Certainly, there is a time and a need to teach children (and many adults) manners and the proper time to interrupt or to seek attention. However, we also need to be aware that interruptions often provide our most precious, although fragile, moments to minister and be ministered to. Often we fail to realize the importance of the gathering and scattering times at church events – it is often in those times that someone will share something of great importance, if we have the ears and heart to hear it. There are so many times, that I wish that I could talk longer with people as you come out of church because I know that there is so much more to be said than can be said in the few seconds we have as we shake hands at the door. The times of working together on a yard sale or harvest festival or other event are often the times when significant conversation takes place because people are feeling safe and relaxed enough to interact and really share with each other what they are feeling, or what is happening in their lives.

A young college professor was complaining one day that he couldn’t seem to get any work done because he was constantly being interrupted by students or other faculty and frequently what they wanted had nothing to do with the subject at hand. A wiser colleague advised him, “I used to feel the same way, until I realized that the interruptions are my work.” We could change college professor to pastor, teacher, secretary, janitor, parent, student or anything else and it would still be true. The reality is that the interruptions of our lives – the interruptions to our schedule – are often our real work. They are often opportunities for a significant interaction. They are often the fragile moments when we can minister to another, or discover that we have been ministered to by another.

I’d like to invite you now into a time of meditation or visualization. Relax and close your eyes for a moment. Let your mind focus on the picture of the children, the disciples, and Jesus. See the disciples trying to keep the children away from Jesus, ruining a fragile opportunity. “Do you see Jesus embracing these fragile children with love and security?

Now, with your eyes still closed, call up the pictures of other fragile people in our community: those who are homeless, abused, and addicted; those in nursing homes, prisons, and mental institutions; those who are terminally ill, unemployed, or socially rejected. Do you know some of these fragile ones? Have you been afraid to touch them, let alone embrace them?

Visualize now the fragile moments of your life, when you have wasted a golden opportunity to show the spirit of Christ. Let us pray that God will give us more such moments and not find us wanting next time.”[vii] Amen.

[i] Title and Theme of sermon comes from Mosser, David N. The Abingdon Preaching Annual, 2006, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2005 pp.251-253.

[ii] Jones, Laura Beth. Jesus CEO, Hyperion, New York, 1992, p.223

[iii] Austin, Bill. In Mosser, David. P.251

[iv] Austin, Bill.

[v] Austin, Bill.

[vi] Austin, Bill

[vii] Austin, Bill. P.253

Early this evening, as soon as the sun has set and the first star can be seen in the sky by the youngest member of the family, our Jewish neighbors will begin celebrating Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the entire Jewish calendar. They’ll be fasting from sunset today, till sunset tomorrow, thinking back over the year, searching their hearts and asking all those that they have wronged in any way, including the Lord, to forgive them. And they will be granting forgiveness to all those who come seeking forgiveness from them, and making amends for any problems they have caused.

Yom Kippur culminates a forty-day period of self-examination that began, near the end of August. A little over a week ago, on Friday evening at sunset, our Jewish brothers and sisters began celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The service this evening that will begin the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, will start by asking the Lord to wipe clean each person’s slate so that they may enter the great day with a clean conscience. After this 40 day period of self-examination and forgiveness, there can be no more going back to accusing or blaming or punishing anyone for something they did in the past. No offense that anyone committed in the past can ever be brought up again. This means that everyone begins the new year with a clean slate.[ii]

While our Jewish neighbors have been leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Islam is also observing Ramadan which began this year on last Sunday, September 24^thand continues until October 24^th. More than a billion Muslims around the world, including some 8 million in North America celebrate a “Month of blessing” that is marked by prayer, fasting and charity and a focus on self-sacrifice and devotion to Allah (God). From sun up until sun down, nothing is to be consumed by mouth. This period of fasting is a reminder of the suffering of the poor who are often hungry and thirsty without choice. It is a time to practice self-control and to cleanse the body and mind. In this most sacred month, fasting helps Muslims feel the peace that comes from spiritual devotion as well as kinship with fellow believers.

Although charity and good deeds are always important in Islam, they have a special significance at the end of Ramadan. As the month draws to a close, Muslims are obligated to share their blessings by feeding the poor and making contributions to a mosque.[iii]

It is appropriate that while our Jewish and Muslim cousins are celebrating these high holy days, we are today celebrating World Wide Communion Sunday. This is an ecumenical special Sunday which has taken on new relevancy and depth of meaning in a world where globalization often has undermined peace and justice, and in a time when fear divides the peoples of God’s earth. On this day we celebrate our oneness in Christ, the Price of Peace, in the midst of the world we are called to serve, a world ever more in need of peacemaking.[iv]

It is striking to remember that the three major religions around which much of the world has experienced violence in recent years all have a central focus on peace in this world. I know that there are radical people in all of these religions who have taught and acted in ways that do anything but promote peace, but the reality is that peace is a central focus of all three of these religions. “Islam contains peace in its name. Christians worship the Prince of Peace, and Shalom is a major vision of peace and wholeness in Judaism. Also all three of us consider Jerusalem, the city of peace, to be a major geographical location in our faiths, and it also happens to be a critical center for the violence that threatens to consume the world.

“Another feature of our three faiths that is germane to what is happening is the power of the word. Unlike some of the other major world religions, our three faiths are religions of words. In addition to our respective sacred texts, all three gather people to study and be inspired by the word spoken.”[v]

We live in a time when too many political leaders either fail to understand the powerful impact of religion in our world, or use it for their own ends. We live in a time when many church members consider the church as a nonessential add-on to the more important business of their lives. We live in a time when many consider religion to be either irrelevant or potentially dangerous bordering on crazy. In these days, the words of James are instructive. We have heard in the past weeks how James has described the dangerous power of the word misused – and we have seen it in current events.

Today we hear that the “church is the communal gathering of the people of faith that encourages and nurtures our life in faith. We live in a very individualistic society. According to a recent study by the National Science Foundation reported on in the Washington Post, we are rapidly becoming a socially isolated society in which everyone lives in their own cocoon. `Over the past 20 years, according to this study, the number of people who said they could count on a neighbor as a confidant fell by more than 50%.’ (I wonder how many people do not feel that they have anyone they can count on as a confidant.) It is too easy in such a fragmented and isolated world for individuals to allow their respective sufferings to throw them into despair. Because we are increasingly isolated from the sufferings of others, it is equally tempting in good times to forget the source of our blessings.[vi]

You have heard me say many times in one way or another that the church acts as a counter culture to this world. We worship a God whose values are different than those of much of the world. James reminds us that when we are suffering, we should pray. When we are cheerful, we should sing songs of praise. We have a tradition of expressing our distress and sorrow in music as well. When we are ill, we are not left alone. Many of us have stories that we cherish of the presence of a brother or sister in faith who showed up just when we most needed someone, or when we needed to feel God’s presence and found that in the presence of another person. Our Shepherding committee is one of the organized ways in which we try to be intentional about letting people know that they are not alone by sending cards and letting people know that they are being held in prayer. And that is a ministry that belongs to all of us as Christians.

What we are discovering in our tightly connected world is that the sense of isolation and hurt that needs attending to extends far beyond our local congregation. We have found part of that connection through our efforts to provide surgery for Saffiatu. Whether as individuals, or as single congregations, or around the world, we are discovering that when we do a good job of attending to the needs of others it is one of the most powerful testimonies to our faith. When this is done for people of other communities and even of other faiths, it is a powerful expression of the universal power of God to heal and to love. Our words are much more powerful when we “walk the walk” rather than just “talk the talk” – and we heard James remind us of this a couple of weeks ago, when he reminded us that “faith without deeds is dead.”

Wouldn’t this be a wonderful world if all Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived their lives focused on the acts of peace, charity, and compassion that are meant to witness to all that is best and life-giving in our faiths? Of course we know that that is not always the case. In fact, we know that despite our best intentions, we treat neighbors near and far as if they are strangers rather than one of God’s beloved. Judaism teaches that strangers are to be received in hospitality and that some have entertained angels without being aware. Christianity teaches that whatever we do to or for a stranger, or one of the least of these, it is as if we do it to or for Christ. I am not familiar enough with the teachings of Islam to elaborate on their teachings on this subject, but Islam does emphasize charity and good deeds, and I suspect that they have a similar teaching about how to treat a stranger.

Even when we fall short of God’s expectations for us, James instructs us to trust in the power of the community of faith. James assures us, “anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.” In a world in which people are always saying or doing the wrong things and offending others, what a powerful witness the church has to offer. When we are functioning as we should be, the church is a place where when you fail, as we all do, that you can come and be forgiven and healed.

It has become popular to dismiss the church by pointing out the failure of the church. While most churches and individuals provide plenty of evidence of our failure to demonstrate the faith that we proclaim, we also provide a place in which people can grow in the faith. Throughout his letter, James has pointed out many of our shortcomings, but sill it is to the church that he calls people. Despite our failings, it is the church that preserves the Scriptures, the rituals that nurture us and the opportunity for praise that points us to the giver of all that we have. It is the church that both invites and offers forgiveness as we grow in our understanding of the grace of God.

In the end, we are all dependent on the grace and forgiveness of God. As we experience that grace mediated from one person to the other, it contributes to the vitality and the witness of the community as a whole. We live in a divided world, but for the God we worship it is one world, and we have the capacity to offer healing to others and in the process to offer praise to the God who loves us and invites us to the table where Christians from around the world will gather today.

[i] Sermon title and some thoughts come from “The Immediate Word” www.sermonsuite.com Oct. 1, 2006.

[ii] Jurgensen, Barbara “Another View” from “The Immediate Word” found in www.sermonsuite.com

[iii] www.FactMonster.com

[iv] National Council of Churches www.nccusa.org/unity

[v] McCutchan, Stephen “One God, Many Faiths, And a Divided World” www.sermonsuite.com

[vi] McCutchan, Stephen

For three weeks now, we have been hearing James’ practical instruction about how to live our lives as followers of Jesus. We’ve heard him tell us that we can face anything that life dishes out to us because we know that we are not alone; that we have the promise of God’s steadfast love and presence in our lives. We’ve heard him tell us that we shouldn’t treat rich people better than we treat poor people. He’s talked about how crucially important it is for us to really “love our neighbor as ourselves” – in other words, to put our faith into action. We’ve heard him warn us that faith without actions is dead. He has cautioned us about the damage we can do when we are not careful about the way we speak to one another.

James writes to Christians who struggle day by day to live the faith. He writes to ordinary people who are a lot like us. He writes to people who try to be faithful. Today he tells us to submit ourselves to God; to draw near to God and God will draw near to us. We want to draw near to God, don’t we? We’ve tried. Sometimes we feel like we’ve succeeded, and other times it feels like no matter how hard we try, we just can’t seem to feel that we are getting close to God. What we sometimes fail to remember is that this process of drawing close to God; this process of submitting ourselves to God, is a lifelong endeavor. It involves a lifelong journey in which we turn wholeheartedly toward God. The sudden and dramatic conversions that some people experience often jump start the process, but it is really a gradual process that doesn’t happen overnight and we don’t have to accomplish it overnight.

“Nothing in this world grows overnight. Nothing. Not trees, not children, not love in a marriage, not friendship, not athletic skill or ability as a nurse or doctor or teacher or truck driver. None of it comes overnight. But it does come with practice, repetition, and discipline and by just showing up every day.

“It’s like that with our discipleship too. We must turn to God – every day, over and over again; from hour to hour, day to day, week to week. Only then will we settle into the simplicity of heart and singleness of purpose that God yearns for us to have.”[i]

It’s not a popular concept in our culture to talk about submission – whether to God or to someone else. In our own state, atop our state house is the statue of the “independent man” – that’s what we want to be. We want to be independent. We want to be our own person. There is something inside us that rebels at the idea of doing what someone else tells us to do. Those of you who are in or have served in the military may have learned better than many of us, how to submit to authority, but generally it’s not something we are eager to do.

Perhaps a big part of this has to do with the ways that people have been forced to submit to authorities throughout history – slaves to their masters, peasants to wealthy landowners, sweat shop workers to controlling employers, citizens to tyrannical governments. We all know multiple examples throughout history where submission was synonymous with oppression. But that’s not what James has in mind when he tells us to submit to God.

James is based on a long history of scripture that goes back to such stories as Moses leading the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt and through the desert for 40 years. During that time they had to learn to live as a free people, and as a community. The Ten Commandments, given to Moses by God, start with the very basics. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

James remembered that just before his death, Moses had once again laid it out clearly for the people, “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands …. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. … Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life ….” (Deuteronomy 30:15-16, 19b-20a)

Much later, Joshua would remind another generation, “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve … but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15).

These biblical stories make it clear that we are going to serve someone or something – and whatever we decide to serve will be our god. For some it may be the god of success, or the god of possessions, the god of intellect, the god of fashion, the god of health, the god of … you name it. Whatever it is that influences the decisions you make, your choices and your priorities – this is your god. However, as many of us find out all too often, these gods are nothing more than idols; they do not bring real meaning to life and they can disappear or be destroyed in a moment.

Even Jesus’ disciples had to learn that lesson. In today’s gospel, we find the disciples having recently experienced the failure to exorcise a demon and the revelation of their inability to pray. Now they are probably embarrassed to have Jesus realize that as they walked together to Capernaum the disciples had been arguing about, of all things, who was the greatest among them. It was not one of their shining moments. They know better and they don’t answer Jesus when he asks what they were arguing about. It’s the kind of question that parents ask when they want to give their children a chance to admit what’s going on. Jesus knew.

To their silence his response was, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he did something that might have even been a little frightening to them. He took a child and said, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me.” “A child? A child in Jesus’ time was a nonperson. For an esteemed male teacher to introduce a child to male disciples is outrageous. It offends their sensibilities.”[ii]

Once again they must learn that God has different standards than the world, and focusing on which of us is greater than another is not one of God’s standards. Further, to follow Jesus, we must accept not only little children – that’s pretty easy in our society, because we love to “ooh and ahh” over babies and we think toddlers are cute, and in many ways we value our children – but we must go further and accept what children symbolized in Jesus’ culture. We must accept the outsider, someone we don’t know, and someone we consider far beyond the bounds of our usual community.

That’s part of what James has been writing about with his talk about not treating the rich as better than the poor. When we do that, we are showing that we are continuing to act out the prejudices of our society. We have not traded in the worldly views of power and importance for God’s viewpoint. The Christian community should not provide another forum for human jealousy and ambition to work themselves out. Our treatment of these outsiders indicates the discipleship we claim and now must live. First to last. Outsiders welcomed inside. That’s the Christ we are called to follow.

Following this Christ, submitting ourselves to God, is not a submission to a dictator or a tyrant. Submitting to God is not to submit to oppression; it is to admit that there is One who knows far more than we do about life, One who can give real meaning to our lives, One who can free us for joyful obedience because following Christ, submitting to God, is a freeing experience. It strips away the power of the many gods that our culture tries to promote as being of top priority.

James says that a symptom of the failure to really submit to God is the conflict that is often so prevalent. Conflict, as James speaks of it, most often involves a disordered relationship between the believer and God. According to James there are two basic kinds of conflict. The first is an internal form that results from the selfish ambitions that drive a person’s actions. The second is seen when covetousness leads to open conflict. We find a warning against that back in the Ten Commandments, where we are told, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

To covet is to wish to have the possessions of others. It goes beyond simply admiring someone else’s possessions or thinking, “I’d like to have one of those.” Coveting includes envy – resenting the fact that others have what you don’t. It is this coveting that, when it gets out of control, can lead to open conflicts between humans. When coveting extends to oil or another item of national importance it can lead to wars between nations.

James tells us that there is a difference between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom that comes from God. The wisdom that comes from God is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. It is shown in works that are done with gentleness. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Although the whole list of virtues that flow from heavenly wisdom might seem impossible to attain, peacemaking is not so farfetched. All Christians can take the initiative in promoting peace by helping to mediate conflicts and standing up against a culture that glamorizes violence.

You have probably seen the ads on television about parental controls. They generally show an adult talking to a television persona and telling the persona that what they are doing on television is just too violent for the children and so, “I’m sorry, but I will have to block you.”

There are many ways that we can work toward peace right where we are. Conflict resolution requires openness to reason, mercy, impartiality and sincerity. Without these virtues, the resolution of a conflict will be loss or humiliation for one side, which sows its own seeds of destruction. Both sides to a dispute have to feel that the solution is a fair one – or there really is no peace.

We cannot pursue peace if we are driven by personal ambition. Personal, corporate, or national ambition causes us to do only the things that are in our best interest – even if the benefits are only short term and ultimately lead to more resentment or conflict. You have heard it said, that you should be nice to the people you meet on the ladder going up, because you will meet them again on the way down.

James maintains that if we submit ourselves to God, if we draw near to God then God will draw near to us and empower us to live the way God wants us to live. God will teach us how to become more like Christ changing our perspective from a worldly viewpoint to a Christ-like one. This life long process will have the benefit of freeing us from the tyranny of the gods of society. It will produce good fruit in our lives and give us the wisdom that is pure, peaceable, and gentle. Submission to the will of God is the ultimate way to freedom and true meaning in life. The words of an old hymn say it well. “When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way! While we do his good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

[i] Upper Room Disciplines 2006, September 19, Upper Room Books, Nashville, TN 2005, p.275

[ii] Upper Room Disciplines 2006, Sept. 18, p.274

Do you remember the childhood comeback to name calling, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me”? As most of us know, all too well, it is not really true, because names can hurt. Words can cause a different kind of hurt than broken bones but a hurt that may take even longer to heal. Many adults walk around severely injured by words that were spoken to them or shouted at them when they were children or teenagers.

Today is the third week that we have been looking at the short letter to James in the Bible. Early on, James made it clear that he believed that there were two conditions for true piety or practice of our faith. One was proper speech and the other was concern for the poor and afflicted. In our first week we focused on the confident stand we have as Christians because of God’s steadfast promises – What a Christian has. Last week we focused on compassionate service, or What a Christian does - the imperative to “Love our neighbor as ourselves” and how this is not optional for those who follow Jesus; without this component, faith is not alive. Now in the third chapter, James goes back to pick up his concern for proper or careful speech – What a Christian says.

He has previously given us examples of how speech can be misused. He talked about words that honor the rich and dishonor the poor, about greeting a poor brother or sister and wishing them well without providing assistance, and finally claiming to have faith without the works to show for it. We might have called those examples “empty words” because they contradict the reality of faith. But now, he shifts his focus and turns speech itself into a “work” and action. In today’s passage he focuses on the need to control our speech.

In some ways this may strike people today as strange because we are quick to point out that one of the essential elements in a democracy is “freedom of speech.” We become cautious when someone tries to limit that freedom. Many people also live with the idea that it’s better to get it out and say what’s on your mind when you’re angry with someone. Yet as a society we have come to wonder whether all forms of speech should be permitted in public, on rap records, in the media etc. Speech that expresses hatred toward or demeans others because of their racial origins, sexual preference, gender or religion is being restricted. Courts are recognizing some forms of speech as sexual or racial harassment. So there are many reasons for us, as Christians to reflect upon the advice in this section of James’ letter.

There’s nothing I’d like better than to eliminate the first sentence in today’s reading, especially today – the first day of Sunday School. Ouch! I don’t really want potential teachers to hear “Not many of you should become teachers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” We have a current event example of how this happens. Yesterday’s newspaper carried articles about the Muslim rage over Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks about Islam and how his comments could leave deeper scars than the anti-Western backlash that followed the publication of caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. An analyst in Cairo who studies Islamic militancy said, “The declarations from the pope are more dangerous than the cartoons, because they come from the most important Christian authority in the world – the cartoons just came from an artist.”[i]

If we were to read on beyond today’s passage we would discover that James is speaking of teachers as those who are teaching Christian wisdom and understanding. It has been suggested that the community was experiencing conflict among persons who claimed the authority to teach. I will tell you that generally I am more comfortable with those people who enter into teaching with a serious degree of hesitation. Generally these are the people who are aware of what they don’t know. Generally, these are the people who are aware that teaching at any level is what I would call a “sacred trust” because we do tend to look at teachers as people having some level of authority or more knowledge than the students in the class. Among adults I think it’s wonderful when groups rotate leadership or use a facilitator to keep the conversation on track.

Among those who are persecuted, teachers are often the ones who enable or empower people to remain faithful during persecution and turmoil. James might have been thinking also of the human courts that would single out teachers in the community hoping that if they are silenced then their followers will be intimidated. I can think back to the profound effect that various teachers had upon my life – and I imagine that you can do that too. Teaching is a serious responsibility, but as I said it is also a “sacred trust” and often it can be a great blessing for those who take their teaching seriously. Churches should pay attention to those who are going to teach, and it is true that teachers whose lives do not benefit from their own instruction should be avoided. For many of us, we discover that what we teach comes back to remind us that we need to act upon what we have said.

You may recognize that what I have just said is true also for parents who are charged with the awesome responsibility of teaching and raising children in a world where there are many different voices trying to tell them what they should be doing and what is important.

When James speaks about teachers he quickly reminds us that all of us make mistakes. It has become common for us to follow up that concept with the thought that “we all make mistakes so that’s okay.” It’s okay in that the reality is that we do all make mistakes, but it is not okay if by that we mean that we should simply accept mistakes and not do anything about them, not try to learn from them, not accept the consequences of our mistakes. James expects us to draw two conclusions form the observation that “all of us make mistakes.” First, we should not rush to claim the ability to teach others a wisdom that we cannot yet practice. Secondly, we should look at the example of those who are wiser than we and may do a better job of living out their faith and attempt to make the actions of our lives more in line with what we claim to believe.

James then jumps with both feet into his concern about proper and careful speech. He uses several images to speak about the power of speech – the power of the tongue. He uses the image of the bit in the mouth of a horse or the rudder on a boat to show that those small things control the direction of the entire horse or ship. On one hand, God has created humankind to be in charge of creation. In some ways we have demonstrated our abilities to master nature by taming animals. On the other hand, we have been unable to control the poisonous effects of the tongue.

Herman Otto Hoyer’s painting of Adolf Hitler firing the passions of a late 1930’s German beer hall crowd makes a powerful illustration of James’ message here. In unfortunate idolatry, Hoyer titled his work – “In the beginning was the Word”. This is sadly true.[ii] How poisonous and what far reaching effect his words had on our world and the actions that he and others took based on those words.

Aside from such an extreme example, words are still powerful and often damaging. In 1996, US News & World Report carried an article about how Americans are no longer civil to each other. The article dealt with how most people today treat each other rudely, showing very little respect for one another. The article reported a survey in which 90% of all Americans said that the loss of civility was a serious problem in our country. But that same survey found that 99% of all Americans say that they themselves are civil. In other words, almost everyone agreed that people in this country are too rude and mean, but only about one person in a hundred is willing to admit that he or she is part of the problem. We can often easily recognize the mean spirited speech that others utter, yet we are deaf to our own words.[iii]

While the initial account of how powerful the tongue is might make the task of controlling our speech seem impossible, James insists that a “double-tongued” Christian is unthinkable. This is linked to the two uses of speech: cursing and praising God. How can we praise God in one breath and in the next curse the very men and women that God made. Eugene Peterson puts it this way, “My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?”[iv]

Someone has said that there are only five basic responses we can make to others when they direct conversation, good or ill, toward us. We can evaluate, instruct, support, probe, or understand. When we evaluate the other person’s speech or actions, we set ourselves up as judge. When we instruct, we lift our position to that of teacher. When we express support, we approach the other person as friend. When we probe we seek further engagement and bring the person into our hearts. And when we summarize and repeat what has been said, we show that we understand.

Evaluative and instructional responses in conversation tend to shut down communication and throw barbs into the other person’s soul. While none of us believes we ever use those rejoinders unless truly called for, the fact of research is that typical North American conversation includes around 80% of evaluative or instructional statements! In other words, we are almost constantly blowing spurs right back at the people we spend most of our time with. More tragically, we often don’t even know it.[v]

In our homes and churches it is often the same thing. I read somewhere a comment that the very best conversations were the ones with silence between the responses, because it might indicate that the people involved may have been really listening to what was being said and thinking about it rather than thinking about what their response would be.

Tony Campolo, in an article in Sojourner magazine in 1995 talked about “Civility in Conflict”. He raised the extremely important question of whether or not Christians could learn how to disagree without being disagreeable. He pointed out something that we are all unfortunately too aware of, that politicians can trash their opponents in their election campaigns, but pointed out that this kind of tactic doesn’t work for us. He warned that if we lose our civility and imitate the negative campaign tactics of politicians, we will end up turning off people to the church and to the gospel. He ends by asking if we Christians can engage in the discussion on abortion and homosexuality without calling each other names and warns that if we don’t, we may end up destroying our church, our witness, and our very souls.[vi]

As Christians we can either process life or death. Those who are disciples or Jesus wish to bring life. Therefore, we must choose our words well, tame our tempers, and engage in dialogue that promotes righteousness rather than rifts.

“Palmer Ofuoku, a Nigerian pastor, remembers when the first missionaries came to his village. Some few became Christians, but not many, because those pale ones spoke many words of judgment (evaluation) and demand (instruction). It wasn’t until another missionary came that Ofuoku began to listen and respond with faith and care. Why? Because, said Pastor Ofuoku, this man stayed near ot me when I was sick (support). He asked me about my family (probing), and let me know that he genuinely cared about me (understanding). Said Palmer Ofuoku, “He build a bridge of friendship to me, an Jesus walked across.”[vii]

[i] Rashwan, Diaa, cited in Associated Press article by Benjamin Harvey, printed in Providence Journal, Sept. 16, 2006

[ii] cited in Emphasis from Sermon Suite for 9/17/06

[iii] cited in Emphasis from Sermon Suite for 9/17/06

[iv] Peterson, Eugene The Message

[v] cited in Emphasis

[vi] Campolo, Tony. “Civility in Conflict” Sojourner’s Magazine May-June 1995.

[vii] cited in Emphasis

He was dressed in black, including a black leather vest and his head was shaved. There were tattoos on his arms and an earring in his ear. The spiked collar around his neck was hard to miss. He stood alone near the doors of the sanctuary. The worship service was over and the rest of the worshipping congregation stood around having their coffee and enjoying each others company, but the young man was alone and no one spoke to him. Whether it was intentional or not, he got the message that he was not welcome in that church.

Yes, that is a true story. The young man is my son. It’s a real life illustration of what James speaks to us about this morning in describing the different reactions that a congregation might have to two visitors: one a person dressed in fine clothes and the other an obviously poor person in dirty clothes. I know that we’d all like to believe that we wouldn’t treat those two people differently if they came into our sanctuary, but is that really so? Search your heart and think about the different kinds of people who might walk through our doors and how you might respond.

Now, I’ll be the first one to admit that there are many of us who find it very difficult to approach a stranger – even one in the church. Some of us are so busy greeting our friends whom we haven’t seen for a week or more that it’s easy to overlook the stranger. Some of us are so busy conducting church work that it’s easy to miss the opportunity to be hospitable. Some of us are shy, or unsure of ourselves, or not sure if someone is a visitor or a church member that we don’t know and so a smile and a quick good morning might be all that we manage to offer. These are not excuses, but they are often the realities out of which we operate. Realities that James reminds us are not acceptable behavior for those who profess to believe in God.

It’s sections like today’s passage from James, that cause Max Lucado to say that the five short chapters of the book of James remind us in a “bare-knuckled, bare-boned” way that Christianity is much more than words and Sunday worship.[i] Last week we focused on the confident stand that a Christian has in life because of the promise of God’s steadfastness. Today we look at part of the second chapter and our call to compassionate service, or “what a Christian does.”

James deals here with systemic issues, not just the difference between one person with material wealth and one person without. James reminded his readers that it is the rich who have the resources to get what they want in whatever way it takes to get it – and often it is at the expense of the poor. I suspect that many of us do not often stop to realize, or perhaps do not know, how much we benefit from systems that give preference to the rich and take advantage of the poor of the world.

I admit to being woefully ignorant of much of this and had my eyes opened recently. I learned a little bit about the Free Trade Area of the Americas which was been negotiated in private since 1994. Theoretically it attempts to eliminate trade barriers to the free flow of money, goods and services across borders in the Western Hemisphere, excluding Cuba. Many of the effects have been extremely negative.

Like the North American Free Trade Agreement it operates under the assumption that everything functions better if privatized. This has extended to include resources that are essential for life – air, land, and most importantly water. We are all aware of how much we depend upon oil and how we suspect that many major political decisions are based upon oil supplies. We may not be aware of a growing concern that the Next World War will not be about oil, but about water. In short sighted economies, many large corporations are buying up water rights in poor countries and causing community wells to dry up while water sources are being used to produce products for our consumption.[ii] The whole situation is incredibly complex and there are no easy answers. However, these are issues that we need to learn more about and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Why is it so important for us to learn about these things? What difference does it make in our lives? The reality is that we are more than ever living in a global world where what happens in one area has an effect throughout the world. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us of this many years ago. He wrote, “We have inherited a large house, a great ‘world house’ in which we have to live together – black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Moslem and Hindu – a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.”[iii]

Tomorrow is the 5^th anniversary of the day that we now simply call 9-11. We were shocked and horrified at what happened on that day – and we should be. It has led us into a “War on Terrorism” but I don’t think it has led us into a time of trying to reflect on or understand why some very radical people would think that we somehow deserved this. The actions of that day, and our responses have not led to an end to terrorism – and indeed, there are many throughout the world who now think that we are also terrorists. It’s all very complicated but it’s critically important to our lives - and especially to our lives as Christians. Walter Brueggemann noted that “The blessings of shalom are either shared by all or enjoyed by none. Security is either enjoyed by all or it will eventually be enjoyed by none.”[iv]

James reminds us that we do well if we really fulfill the law of Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Someone once asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” He didn’t like the answer. I have heard this very important passage of Scripture frequently cited to remind us to take care of the people here in North Kingstown, to donate food to the food pantry and to work with other needs in town – to take care of our own. Yes, it is important for us to take care of the needs in North Kingstown – however, it is not enough.

The people of North Kingstown may have the resources to provide charity to people in North Kingstown but that is not true in other places like Providence where Project Outreach acts as God’s hands reaching out. It is most definitely not true in places like Sierra Leone or Nicaragua. The resources available in those areas cannot even begin to touch the level of need. Beyond the question of charity, is the bigger question of justice required to address the systemic issues that create and perpetuate such incredible need.

We became attached to Saffiatu Bah, we rejoiced when she had the surgery that saved her life and we feel good that we were able to be part of that – and we should. But how many more children are there like Saffiatu? I received a letter from Saffiatu’s mother yesterday. In part it read, “As I’m writing this note in informing you all that Saffiatu is doing fine, but she has already run out of her drugs and other basic necessities especially her food. Honestly speaking, things are really hard with us here and we barely survive by asking our good neighbors for food.” How many more people need basic medical attention and do not receive it because it simply does not exist in that area? Nar Sarah clinic is making a crucial impact, but it is a drop in the huge bucket of need.

Rabbi Art Waskow of the Shalom Center in Philadelphia after 9/11 wrote, “The planet is in fact one interwoven web of life. The command to love my neighbor as I do myself is not an admonition to be nice: it is a statement of truth like the law of gravity. For my neighbor and myself are interwoven. If I pour contempt upon my neighbor, the hatred will recoil upon me.”[v]

Increasingly today we realize that our neighbor is global. John Wesley, who is considered the founder of Methodism was known to say that the world was his parish. He believed in going where the need was. He took seriously the teaching of scripture to care for those in need – wherever they may be.

We find a profound illustration of this in the life of Jesus. Today’s Gospel is a passage that has caused problems for many commentators, pastors, and believers. Jesus is approached by a woman seeking healing for her daughter. She can only be described as being at the bottom of the ladder when it came to the concerns of a Jewish man. Jesus’ response to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs” is harsh. Commentators have tried to soften it and make it sound like a joke, but that just doesn’t seem to work.

It seems to me and to some of the commentators that I read that we are seeing Jesus here at his most human. We find Jesus responding, “Let me take care of the Jewish people first,” or “Let me take care of the people of North Kingstown first, and then if there’s anything left over…..” We find Jesus still learning and growing in his awareness and understanding of God’s kingdom. Jesus learned and recognized that the call was to serve and care for those beyond his normal boundaries, beyond his normal contact area. This is a learning and a growing that continues for us today.

In last week’s Gospel we heard Jesus repeating the words of the prophet Isaiah’s warning message, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.”[vi] Today we hear James asking, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? … If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, `Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works is dead.”[vii]

What does a Christian do? A Christian puts his or her faith into action. There are so many ways that we can do this. I think that it is wonderful that God has created us in so many different ways and awakened in us so many different passions. It is painfully true that none of us is able to meet all of the needs around us. However, one of the genius’ of the United Methodist Church, I believe, is our connectional system. Together we are able to do many things that none of us could do alone. Through our mission shares we are able to be in ministry in places that you and I may never be able to see.

For many of us though those places and needs also need faces to help raise our awareness and encourage our response. Saffiatu has become the face of a far greater need. Pastor Clorinda Hernandez and others from Nicaragua have become faces for me and for others. Clients at the Food Pantry put a face on the needs locally. Project Outreach puts faces on needs in Providence. The Domestic Violence Resource Center puts faces on yet another need. There are many faces and many many needs. You can identify the faces that speak to you of the needs that stir your passion. Some of the needs can temporarily be met by charity, others require a response of justice to deal with the deeper systemic issues. The practice of our Christian faith calls us to both. Mike Clark, the preacher at the New England Pastor’s Assembly, said “The sadness of the world is not that there’s too much charity and not enough justice, or too much justice and not enough charity, but that there is too little of both.”

The prophet Micah wrote, “What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”[viii] In a nutshell, that is what a Christian does, in as many ways as we are able.

[i] Source not readily identifiable at this time because of lack of Internet Access and access to my books due to renovations in my house.

[ii] Presentations by BeeHive Collective at 2006 NE Pastor’s Assembly, Geneva Point, NH.

[iii] King, Jr Martin Luther. “Where Do We Go From Here?” quoted in McGinnis, James, “And Justice will bring Lasting Security” Weavings, Sept. Oct. 2006, p.44

[iv] Brueggemann, Walter, cited in McGinnis, James “And Justice will bring Lasting Security” Weavings, Sept. Oct. 2006 p.40

[v] Rabbi Arthur Waskow, “The Sukkah & The World Trade Center”, Shalom Center, September 12, 2001, www.shalomctr.org/note/209 cited in McGinnis, p.44

[vi] Mark 7:6b-7

[vii] James 2:14-17

[viii] Micah 6:8

“When Christians get together in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does.” These are the words that Eugene Peterson uses to begin his introduction to the Book of James. James is a small book – 5 short chapters in length – just 3 ½ pages. It resides near the end of the New Testament and appears to have been written by James, the brother of Jesus.

Martin Luther didn’t much care for the book of James because it doesn’t tell us anything about Jesus. In fact, Luther called it an “epistle of straw”. Instead it seems more like a “how-to” book for Christians trying to live out their faith on a daily basis. It brings out into the open many of those things that can go wrong when Christians get together and deals with them honestly and through the lens of how Christians should be expected to behave.

Over the next five weeks, we will be focusing on this short letter and what it tells us about our Confident Stand as Christians, and what should be our compassionate service, careful speech, contrite submission, and concerned sharing, or in other words, what a Christian has, does, says, feels, and gives. Hopefully, we’ll gain some insights into our own lives and our daily living.

James says that sometimes we are like those who look at themselves in the mirror but then forget what they look like when they walk away. Now that sounds rather ridiculous; at our ages we all know what we look like – or do we? I received an e-mail this week that addresses this in a light hearted way. It says that “A very weird thing has happened. A strange old lady has moved into my house. I have no idea who she is, where she came from of how she got in. I certainly did not invite her. All I know is that one day she wasn’t there and the next day she was. She is a clever old lady, and manages to keep out of sight for the most part, but when I pass a mirror, I catch a glimpse of her. And when I look in the mirror to check my appearance, there she is hogging the whole thing, completely obliterating my gorgeous face and body.”

The e-mail goes on to elaborate the tricks this mysterious person likes to play, like making food disappear – especially the good things like ice cream, cookies and candy and then tampering with my scale so that it looks like I’m gaining weight. This mysterious stranger alters clothes so that they don’t fit, messes with files and papers so I can’t find them, blurs the print on newspapers and magazines so that they are hard to read, and has tampered with the volume control on the television so that it never goes above a whisper. The e-mail closes with the admonition to watch out so that this person doesn’t find your house and move in.

We know that the physical changes in our lives sneak up on us a little at a time so that one day we are surprised to look in the mirror and see someone different than we remembered. The same can be true of our spiritual life. The person we are becoming happens slowly, bit by bit, almost imperceptibly and James offers some of the suggestions that will help us to become the person we really want to be – the person God created us to become.

This past week, Rev. Garland and I spent several days in the company of some saints – who probably wouldn’t identify themselves that way. We attended the New England United Methodist Pastor’s Assembly and one of our speakers was the Reverend Clorinda Hernandez, who serves a community of Nicaraguan peasants at Las Florres as pastor of a church and teacher in a school that she founded. Clorinda is a tiny woman but huge in spirit and commitment to Jesus Christ.

Clorinda began one of her speeches by quoting from the letter of Paul to Titus, “a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” Despite being in a country that is behind Haiti in being the poorest county in Latin America, where over 60% of people live not only in poverty – but in extreme poverty, Clorinda witnessed to a faith and a belief in God who is the author of life and has promised only the best for all of God’s children.

Mike Clark who was our preacher for the event, urged us to look unsentimentally at the harsh reality of the world. Most of us do not know first hand the harsh realities with which Clorinda and her people have to live everyday. Many of us complained when we faced brown outs during the height of the summer heat and lost electricity for two or three hours. We do not have to deal with the reality of having electricity for only 2 to 3 hours a day, or going for 3 – 4 days every week with no water.

However, Mike also reminded us to look at our own reality – and many of us do know some harsh realities in our lives. We have experienced the death of people we love, the devastation of illness, the death of hopes and dreams. Yet, in the midst of this, we have the knowledge, the hope and the promise that God is the Creator and giver of all that is generous, good and perfect.

Earlier in this letter, James deals with the temptation that many have to think that the difficult things in life are put there as a test or a trial given to us by God. James refutes this, and with Clorinda would affirm that God is the one who gives us the hope and the strength to deal with all of the garbage that happens. In the difficulties of life, we learn that we must truly depend upon God for our strength.

There is a tendency in modern life toward a sort of apathy that says we must just accept things as they are, that there isn’t anything we can do about them. James reminds us that Christians are not willing simply to get through life. Disciples look to God for standards of behavior that challenge the conventional standards of society. There is a temptation on our part to count our blessings when we encounter those who have much less than we do, but a more appropriate response as Christians is to challenge the standards and behaviors that allow and even perpetuate these kinds of things.

So, we have this assurance and confidence of the God who creates and sustains and who calls us to look to and embrace standards that are different than the conventional standards of the world. Along with this, James uses the image of having the Word of God planted within us. Peterson puts it this way, “In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.” Isn’t that a wonderful image? God landscaping us with the Word, making us into a salvation-garden!

With this implanted word, there are many things that should become part of our lives – and we will talk about some of them more in coming weeks. However, it involves all of our body, all of our life. We are to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger because anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Now let me make a distinction here between the kind of anger which James is speaking about – anger that is about us, about the slights we feel, and a radically different kind of anger that is about the injustices that cause and perpetuate oppression of God’s people. That kind of anger can motivate us to actions that when chosen wisely can bring justice and God’s righteousness.

In fact, James counsels that we must act on what we have seen and heard. We are to be doers of the word, and not merely hearers. Again, Peterson writes, “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!”

We are people who have been given a vision, a purpose, a promise, and a hope. We are people who are charged with sharing that vision so that others may know it also. Mike told a wonderful story that I am sure I will not be able to do justice to, but perhaps it will give you the idea. He had been in India for several days for a conference. On his last day, with the only opportunity for some sight seeing, his guide asked if he would like to ride an elephant or go see the botanical gardens. Mike, not feeling quite adventurous enough for the elephant, chose the gardens. However, there had been a very dry spell in India and when they arrived at the gardens there were no flowers.

His companion, however, was undaunted. He began by showing him where the roses normally were, and described how beautiful they look. Then he showed him another area that is usually filled with another kind of beautiful flower and once again described it in detail. Mike began to think that this had the potential to be a very boring visit, seeing only what might have been. But his companion continued undeterred by the physical absence of the flowers. They came next to a place where there was normally a pool and frogs jumping in the pool. Mike said at that point, he became a little concerned, because he could see the frogs jumping in the pool. His companion’s vision had been so vivid that the place became alive for him. He saw what should have been; what would normally be.

Mike concluded by reminding us that we have been given the vision. As Christians we can see what should be and what can be, but has been temporarily obstructed by human actions or by circumstances of life. Whatever we may face in life we can face it with the confident stand that we know the creator and sustainer of life, the One who has landscaped us with the Word and made us into a salvation garden.

As we come for communion, come aware of all those in whom the Word has been planted. Come, knowing that as we gather, we are not alone. In our prayer we pray that we may be for the world the body of Christ, and that we may be one in ministry to all the world. Come as keepers of the vision. Come as sharers of the vision. Come as those who seek to be doers and not only hearers. Come as those who know that there is another standard – one that is better than the standard of the world.

A month ago when I was in NH visiting my mom, my experience of God’s world began before I opened my eyes with the melodious sounds of the morning birds. Their music was in full symphony mode, deep throaty chirps, short staccato twittering, cooing of the morning doves, the sing song responses of the phoebes and a discerning ear could pick out the distant and distinctive call of the lake loons. I quietly arose and walked to the front of the cabin and onto the screened in porch and looked out across Pawtuckaway Lake, a place I spent summers as a child. The lake was still, not a ripple, its glass like complexion reflected the shoreline with its 100 foot pine trees. It was a serene scene, peaceful, calm and full of life. Being a quiet observer, it was easy to feel God’s presence and relate to the Psalmist who wrote “great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.” (Psalm 111) I thought how John Wesley might recognize the natural songs of the birds as the morning hymn. The birds did not need the lesson from Ephesians where Paul writes to “be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is the bird’s daily exercise to greet each day in joyful song. I would do well to follow their lead and make it my spiritual practice to begin each day in praise of the Lord’s work.

Today’s scriptures speak to us about being connected to God’s world and how that gives us wisdom. The psalmist entreats us to be mindful of all of God’s great works, to study them, to remember God’s miracles, mercy, righteousness and His covenant. And if we observe and study God’s works we will be filled with awe and moved to sing His praises joyfully, Hallelujah! Verse 10 states “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” When I researched this verse, I found that fear was translated in several sources as meaning awe. (Spurgeon, 2006).

It is easy when one is vacationing in NH, staying in a cottage on a lake surrounded by nature to be in awe of God’s natural wonders. John Wesley speaks about this in his sermon God’s Approbation of His Works, (1782) when he states, “How small a part of this great work of God is man able to understand! But it is our duty to contemplate what he has wrought, and to understand as much of it as we are able.” I learned that Wesley had a fondness for studying nature and learning about science, he even conducted his own scientific experiments and would include his discoveries about nature and science into his sermons. For example in his Sermon on the Mount III (1748), Wesley stated that “the great lesson is that our blessed Lord is in all things, and that we are to see the Creator in the glass of every creature; that we should use and look upon nothing as separate from God, and with true magnificence of thought survey heaven and earth and all that is therein as contained by God in the hollow of his hand, who by his intimate presence holds them all in being, who pervades and activates the whole created frame, and is in a true sense the soul of the universe.” Wesley advocated for an integration of faith and reason, he believed in our ability to make scientific discoveries and to use these discoveries to advance God’s work. He believed that our ability to study God’s world creates a constant state of awe, praise for God and an increased ability to do God’s work.

I could not help to think about how John Wesley would respond to some of the most recent scientific discoveries in the area of “brain science and the biology of belief” as presented in numerous articles and books, including the book Why God Won’t Go Away (Newberg, D’Aquili, & Rause, 2001). In this book a new area of inquiry called neurotheology studies the relationship between how specific areas of the brain function during deep religious and spiritual experiences. It is not surprising to learn that the brains of Buddhists monks and Franciscan nuns who meditate and pray several times daily for many years show heightened activity in the frontal lobes of their brains. This new field of neurotheology has identified a universal experience among the world religions they call the realness of an Absolute Unitary Being and conclude that while there is much to learn, these results “make a strong case that there is more to human existence than sheer material existence. Our minds are drawn by the intuition of a deeper reality, an utter sense of oneness, where suffering vanishes and all desires are at peace. As long as our brains are arranged the way they are, as long as our minds are capable of sensing this deeper reality, spirituality will continue to shape the human experience, and God, however we define that majestic, mysterious being will not go away.” (Newberg, D’Aquili, & Rause, 2001, p.172). If this is not an awesome discovery, I don’t know what is. There is a shift in this area of science that recognizes that the “pursuit of science, even basic research, must promote personal growth and the welfare of other people.” (Monastersky, 2006, p. A15). How fitting with John Wesley’s view of science.

As I continued to listen to the morning bird symphony I realized there were many layers to the music, melodies and harmonies and this made me question the layers and depths of wisdom. How are we to have wisdom, real wisdom? How are we to know God?

The Psalmist states to be in awe of God is the beginning of wisdom. Wesley and the neruotheologists encourage us to study God’s world and how our mind and brain experience God and Solomon asks God directly for wisdom. When God came to Solomon in a dream and tells him, he can have anything – just ask – Solomon said “you have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness of heart towards you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord my God you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen a great people so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil, for who can govern this your great people?” God was pleased with Solomon’s prayerful request and responded, “Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind…” While praising God and keeping God as his focal point, Solomon was a very wise ruler, who also studied God’s world and was sought out for understanding the natural world and for wise advise on moral and spiritual decisions. While Solomon kept God’s counsel, God’s people prospered greatly.

Solomon gives us one answer to the question of how we can be wise. One level of wisdom is through discernment, judgment, and wise decision-making, which come when we keep God as our center. But, knowing God with our head, with our mind is only one level of wisdom and I would argue not the deepest level or most meaningful level of wisdom… just the beginning.

John Henry Newman delivered a sermon in 1841 in which he described Christian wisdom as a gift from God. Newman writes the following, “God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding, exceeding much, and largeness of heart even as the sand that is on the sea shore… And he spake three thousand proverbs, and his songs were thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar-tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall. He spake also of beasts and of fowl, and of creeping things and of fishes. “ And again when the Queen of Sheba came, ‘Solomon told her all her questions; there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.’ (20)

Newman (1841) goes on and defines Christian wisdom beyond Solomon’s wisdom and connects us to Paul when Paul speaks of wisdom as revelation from God of knowing the love of Christ that fills us with the fullness of God.

Newman (1841) describes “a comprehensive mind, wisdom in conduct or policy, implies a connected view of the old with the new; an insight into the bearing and influence of each part upon every other; without which there is no whole, and could be no center. It is the knowledge, not only things, but of their mutual relations. It is organized, and therefore living knowledge” (21) …. “Wisdom is the clear, calm, accurate vision, and comprehension of the whole course, the whole work of God; and though there is none who has it in its fullness, but by searching all things, the deep things of the Creator, by that Spirit they are, in a measure, revealed unto us…. A wise person has the mind of Christ.” (Newman, 1841, 29.)

The messages in Ephesians is that we are called to “be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for this is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns… giving thanks to God.”

Newman says a wise person has the mind of Christ, and that God will reveal His will to us. So, how are we to be wise by knowing the will of God? This is revealed to us by Jesus in John 6:51-58. Jesus tells us, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” Jesus tells us the will of God is for us to have everlasting life through eating the bread of life. Some sources I read translated “eating” as faith, so to live wisely we must live by having faith in Jesus as the living bread.

So how does a wise person live so as not to waste their time and to demonstrate Jesus as the living bread? Samuel Johnson’s Sermon IV on Charity (1812) is a beautiful answer for dong wise works and he tells us how each one of us can be wise or wiser.

Johnson (1812) states that those “who are blessed with a clearer light and taught to know the will of our Maker…by messengers inspired by God…those who look to the holy scriptures will be informed of a great duty enjoined, explained and enforced by Moses and the prophets, by the evangelists and the apostles, by the precepts of Solomon and the example of Christ…God requires the tribute of charity: he commands that what he has given be enjoyed in imitating his bounty, in dispensing happiness, and cheering poverty, in easing the pains of disease, and lightening the burden of oppression; he commands that the excess of bread be dealt to the hungry; and the clothes when the possessor cannot use be bestowed upon the naked, and that no man turn away from his own flesh.”

Johnson (1812) goes on in his sermon to further define acts of charity as giving of oneself either in possessions or time and talents. He entreats us to “meditate on compassion and benevolence which are implanted in every mind.”

Johnson (1812) describes how each of us can contribute no matter what our life circumstances, rich or poor, healthy or sick to acts of charity. If we do not have extra food or clothes to give to the needy then we could tend to the sick or aged or take care of infants, if we ourselves are sick or at the end of our life we can teach the ignorant. Johnson writes “charity is an universal duty” that we all have the power to practice. “ Since every degree of assistance given to another, upon proper motives is an act of charity…on some occasion we can benefit our neighbor… Anything we ask of God we ought to be ready to bestow on our neighbor; if we pray to be forgiven, we must forgive those who trespass against us; if we ask Providence for our daily bread, we must deal out our daily bread to the hungry.” Johnson describes in his sermon how our religion based on Jesus commands us to charity – this is the wise acting person.

How do we help others when we are burdened by our own daily worries, troubles, and life’s circumstances? Johnson’s advice to “meditate on compassion and benevolence which is implanted in every mind” is something each of us can do everyday. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk has written extensively on compassion. He explains how compassionate listening relieves the suffering of another person and that we can all train ourselves to listen with compassion, that “we should listen with our heart” (Hanh, 2001, p. 92) “Listen with empathy means listening in such a way that the other person feels you are really listening, really understanding, hearing with your whole being – with your heart.”(p.92). By listening with compassion you will be present to the person’s suffering and relieve that suffering… “Touching suffering is a Buddhist practice”… Thich Nhat Hahn advises that “if you listen too much to the suffering, the anger of other people, you will be affected. You will be in touch only with suffering and you won’t have the opportunity to be in touch with other, positive elements. This will destroy your balance. Therefore, in your daily life, you have to practice so that you can be in touch with elements that do not constantly express suffering: the sky, the birds, the trees, the flowers, children – whatever is refreshing, healing, nourishing in us and around us.” “Sometimes you get lost in your suffering, in your worries. Let your friends rescue you. They may say ‘look at how beautiful the sky is this morning, what don’t you come back to the present and witness this beauty?’ You are with the community with brothers and sisters who are capable of being happy. So the community rescues you and helps you to be in touch again with the positive elements of life.” (Hahn, 2001, p. 94-96)

The Dalai Lama came to visit Salve Regina University last fall and some in this congregation watched him on TV or went in person. The Dalai Lama has written extensively on compassion, suffering, and happiness that is everyone’s right and he advises us to practice compassion daily. The Dalai Lama has seen and lived great suffering he is the wisest person I have ever been in the presence of. He was joyful, childlike, and happy, there was a special spiritual presence about him. My first thought when he entered the tent and was greeting the students with a broad smile, shaking hands and laughing, was how Christ like he seemed. Being in the Dalai Lama’s presence, watching him and listening to his messages of peace, hope and compassion, helped deepen my understanding of Jesus, how Christ suffered to alleviate our suffering, how he died for our sins so we could have everlasting life – I came to a better understanding of the “living bread”. Christ connects us to the wisdom of God so that we can be kind, compassionate and wise acting people.

There are those who donate food, clothing, back to school items, Christmas and Easter items; those who help, listen and visit the infirmed and the elderly; those who share talents of music, cooking, gardening, those who take care of the young and educate the children and each other…

(1784) “We will learn a lesson of faith and cheerfulness from every bird of the air, and every flower of the field.” Wesley describes the Wise Builders in his Sermon on the Mount. These are Wesley’s words …“How truly wise the one who knows him or herself. They know they are everlasting spirits which came from God, sent into a house of clay, not to do their own will but the will of the One who sent them. They know the world. They are to pass a few days or years, not as inhabitants but as strangers and sojourners in the way to the everlasting habitations. Accordingly, they use the world as not abusing it and as knowing that the fashion of it passes away.”

“They know God as Father and as friend, the parent of all good; the center of the spirits of all flesh; the sole happiness of all intelligent beings. They see, clearer than the noonday sun, that this is the end, the purpose, of all human beings, to glorify the One who made us for Himself, and to love and enjoy Him forever.”

“And, with equal clearness, they see the means to the end, to the enjoyment of God in glory – to know, even now, to love, to imitate God, and to believe in Jesus Christ whom He has sent.”

“These are wise, even in God’s account. For they are building their house upon a rock – upon the Rock of Ages, the everlasting Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ – and living a life of holiness and happiness, praising God and doing all things to His glory.” (Russie, 2002).

Let us be wise by staying connected to God, God’s creation surrounds us. We can be wise in seeing and knowing God’s world, as evidence by His creation that we see and experience in nature and in all of His creatures including and especially our brother’s and sisters. Let us be wise in knowing ourselves as God’s creation, and know that His will, will enfold to us à we will discover this will through daily mediation and prayer. Let us be wise acting people by doing God’s will following Christ’s example of compassion with all whom we meet and accepting the invitation to the living bread.

Haas, J. W. JR. (1995). John Wesley’s Vision of Science in the Service of Christ.

Lama, Dalai, (2005) Practicing Wisdom. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, Inc.

Lama, Dalai (2002). How to Practice the Way to a Meaningful Life. New York: Atria

Monastersky, Richard. “Religion on the Brain.” The Chronicle of Higher Education

Newberg, Andrew, D’Aquili, Wugene, & Rause, Vince (2001). Why God Won’t Go

Wesley, John (1748). Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, III & VIII. Eds. Albert C.

Jewish history has a rich tradition of stories about stories. They are the kind of stories that are not really true, but could be. They help illustrate important lessons about life. One such story has a conflicting origin. It may be from the Talmud but other sources credit it to Ben Franklin. Either way, it is a good story about the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah.

“The tent of Abraham and Sarah was constantly open to strangers for they both knew that hospitality was a gift that came directly from God. One day Abraham invited an old man to join him for a meal. When they finished eating the old man thanked his host for their fine gift. `You need not thank me.’ Abraham assured him. `Whatever I have given you comes form the God of creation. Thank God.’

“`Why would I bother to thank your God when I have my own?’ the old man said reaching into his pack. He drew out a wooden idol and set it on the floor. `This is the god who I intend to thank for taking care of me.’

“Abraham was furious. `How dare you worship a god made with hands,’ he shouted. He seized the man and threw him out of the tent. `I am sorry that I ever wasted my hospitality on you.’ He concluded.

“Before the old man was out of sight Abraham heard a voice calling his name. `Yes, Lord?’ the patriarch answered. `For 80 years I have protected and cared for the old man you just threw out of your tent. All this time, though he has given credit to his wooden idol, I have continued to claim him as my own. Although he knows no better, Abraham, you do. Now go, find the old man, and bring him back. Make him welcome. You are to serve even those who do not understand that there is but one God.’ And Abraham once again obeyed God.”[i]

This is the kind of story that could form the basis for a good discussion about many different things, but at least one of the reasons I chose it this morning is that Abraham had an attitude about him that was open to learning new things from God. Throughout Abraham’s life there were many experiences that were used by God to teach Abraham new things about trusting God and about how to live the way God wanted him to live. Abraham is a model for us in being open to being taught in new ways.

In today’s Gospel reading, people were complaining about Jesus and about what he had said about coming from heaven. Jesus refers back to the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah and what they said about the time when the Messiah would come and everyone would be taught directly by God. He says, “it is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.’”[ii] Abraham was willing to be taught by God. For him, life was a teachable moment. Is that true for us also?

I think one of the saddest comments I ever heard was from a man who was in his 50’s at the time. We were talking about some difficult things and he said, “I’m too old to change.” I felt profoundly sad to hear these words come out of his mouth, because I think he really believed what he was saying. As long as we are breathing, there is always the possibility of changing the way we respond to life, if we are truly willing to do so. The question is whether or not we have a teachable spirit. A teachable spirit allows the reality of God’s love to come into our lives. That changes us, and change is difficult.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which we have been reading for several weeks now is in many respects a love letter. It is a letter that calls us into a relationship with God and to a way of life.

It might be interesting to think about the words and ideas that you picked up on when you heard that passage read. One of the commentators I read said that as he scanned the passage he find himself on the going up side of the roller coaster experience. “Thieves must give up stealing, rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.” “Yes, Yes, it is about time,” he wrote. He identified several different kinds of thieves, some different from our usual first reaction, including those who charge more than we think they should for the services we receive, and thieves that steal our sanity when we try to figure out the government paper work that goes with Medicare Part D or Tax forms.

It’s about time, he thinks, to bring these people into line. Then he exulted when the letter went after those who have a mouth. “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” Yes, he thinks. “It’s about time that those people get with the program.” How are we supposed to function if they are not uttering words that make it possible for us to operate gracefully? “Put away from you all bitterness, and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice.” Yes, it is time for those people to lose the attitude. He writes, “Gee, I never knew what impact and power the letter to the Ephesians could have!”[iii]

Then you realize where he is really heading with all of this. Much of how we hear the text will depend on where our heart is. If we read the rest of the passage, Paul talks about being kind to one another, tenderhearted, and forgiving and we discover that this is not really a list of do’s and don’ts as much as it is about having a teachable spirit. It is about having a life that is not hardened like that old long unused baseball glove that is now stiff and inflexible. It is about being shaped and molded like clay in the hands of a potter.

Paul reminds us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. One sign that the Holy Spirit is growing in our lives is a basic quality of gentleness, humility, a teachable spirit. We have something to learn and are open to receiving. That is a sign that God is present in our lives because it is consistent with the very nature of God. This is the way that God comes to us – in humility, in weakness, in vulnerability. Remember that Jesus came to us as an infant, the son of a peasant – an unmarried one at that. Jesus came to us as the embodiment of God’s love. This letter – in fact, all of the Bible, - invites us to a relationship with the God of love. Any relationship of love requires that we open ourselves to all kinds of things: love and joy, pain and suffering, delight and laughter, despair and tears.[iv]

When we look at the passage that way, we discover that it is addressed to us, not just to those other people who steal, and are full of bitterness, anger and all other kinds of yucky stuff.

The end result of the not stealing is to share something with the needy. But is it just to give something to those who need it? To fill backpacks or lunch boxes with school supplies, or to fill flood buckets to help those made needy by hurricanes? Or do we discover that what we have to share with the needy is their sense of exposure, powerlessness and marginalization? We might find that we have victimized ourselves by engaging in robbing others of their dignity and pride. We might realize that our extravagant consumption of oil and other natural resources is stealing from the future of our children and grandchildren. We are already beginning to feel the effects of a reduced ozone layer and increasing global temperature. Those of us who consider ourselves middle class are now discovering what the poor and working poor have known for a long time, that driving all over the place without regard for the amount of gasoline we are burning is costly in more ways than one.

In 1995, speaking to the graduating class of Wellesley College, Madeleine Albright, at the time U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and later U.S. Secretary of State, said, “The greatest lesson of this century is that, what happens to people anywhere should matter to people everywhere.”[v]

Are we able to hear these concerns? Are our hearts and minds open to learning from life? Do we have a teachable spirit so that as Jesus said, we can be taught by God – and learn, as Abraham did in the story I shared with you at the beginning.

Paul tells us to speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Henry David Thoreau said that, “it takes two to speak the truth – one to speak and another to hear.” We need to have a teachable spirit in order to hear the truth. However, if we are the person speaking what we think is the truth, we also need to be careful about how and when we communicate that truth.

Some of you will remember the comic strip “Momma” by Mel Lazarus. “One of his strips shows Momma entertaining her perpetual suitor, Mr. K. Frankly, he’s not much of a catch, but he is persistent. As the two sit on the couch, Mr. K. says, `Mrs. Hobbs, I am at a low ebb, psychologically. My ego is flattened.’ Mrs. Hobbs responds in an affirming way, `Mr. K., let me hasten to state that you’re a fine, interesting and attractive man.’ Mr. K. perks up at this and asks, `Oh, Mrs. Hobbs, is that the truth?’ Mrs. Hobbs says, `No, There’ll be plenty of time for the truth when you’re emotionally stronger.’”[vi]

“A teachable spirit allows the reality of God’s love to come into our live. There is a lot about the old life we like. Maybe we like to be in control. Maybe we don’t want to appear weak. Perhaps we can’t let go of a grudge or bitterness or anger or resentment.”[vii] Maybe we have been hurt so often that we have developed the approach of strike first before someone can strike at you. “Maybe we’ve become hardened because it was the way we learned to survive. Maybe we are disappointed with God and we’ve built up a wall, and we intellectually believe, but if we are honest we’re not sure if we trust.

“A teachable spirit is like opening the window and allowing the wind to come in and move over us. There are a number of words for what this is like: surrender, yielding, trusting.”[viii]

“The relationship between a movie actor and a director can make or break a movie. A USA Today film critic wrote, `In some directors’ hands, an actor remains a lump of coal. In others, that same performer will metamorphose into a shining diamond onscreen.’

“She says Katharine Hepburn did her greatest films with director George Cukor. When Hepburn matched up with a different director, Stuart Millar, her movies suffered. John Wayne did fifteen memorable movies with director John Ford, but the luster left when he worked with John Huston. Cary Grant was at his best with director Howard Hawkes but couldn’t bear to watch his own performance in Arsenic and Old Lace, which he did with director Frank Capra.

“What is the key to a consistently winning pair? Richard Brown, professor of cinema studies at New York’s New School for Social Research says, `It is only about one thing – trust. A director must trust that an actor has the character inside him or her and that it is within an actor’s range. An actor must trust a director with his performance, his work and his image onscreen.’

“Trust is also at the heart of our relationship with the Divine Director, Jesus Christ. Christ has absolute confidence that by his Spirit, he can make us into something glorious. The only question is, Do we trust him to bring out what is best in us?”[ix] Do we have a teachable spirit within us and will we let God be our teacher?

[i] White, Whilliam R. Stories for the Journey, Augsburg Publishing, Minneapolis, MN 1988 p.78

[ii] John 6:45, Isaiah 54:13, Jeremiah 31:33, 34

[iii] Emphasis Aug. 13, 2006

[iv] Mosser, David N The Abingdon Preaching Annual, 2006, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2005, p.259

[v] Jones, G. Curtis and Paul H. 500 Illustrations, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1998 p.181

[vi]Hewett, James S. Illustrations Unlimited, Tyndale House, Wheaton, IL, 1988, p.483, #13

[vii] Mosser, p.259

[viii] Mosser, p.260

[ix] Larson, Craig Brian Contemporary Illustrations for Preacher, Teachers, & Writers, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 1996 #245, p.270.

It seems that so many times when Christians gather to worship we come with long and solemn faces, with bodily posture that proclaims that we are here as an obligation, that there may some virtue in forcing ourselves to come on a Sunday morning even when the temperature is blistering rather than staying home in our air conditioned comfort. I realized one morning on vacation (a Sunday morning, at that,) that we were out on a golf course generally willing to deal with the temperature and the humidity because we were doing something we wanted to be doing (or at least my sister and brother-in-law wanted to be doing). Do we have that same desire and need to be together in worship?

Even if our gathering on Sunday morning is not out of a sense of obligation, our demeanor and behavior might not make that clear to someone unfamiliar with the tradition of Sunday morning worship. Perhaps we have forgotten or perhaps we never knew, or perhaps we have been trying to keep it a secret, but our worship is, or should be, a time of celebration and an invitation to be part of a wonderful adventure celebrating the good news that God is transforming our world and we are invited to join in the adventure. We are invited to join in the wondrous adventure of allowing God to use our lives to change the world. We are invited to dare to believe that God is conspiring through our lives to make a difference in God’s world.

“God calls us to hope and to action. Our hope is based on the biblical faith that God is very much alive and is very much the Lord of history. God is, even now, working to bring God’s new future into being. Our action is made possible by the power of God’s spirit working in our lives to change this world. We are part of that mysterious work that uses the small, the insignificant, the invisible, and the incomprehensible to change the world.”[i]

A college student came to the chapel one day distraught over the injustice in the world and the plight of the hungry and homeless. As he talked with God, he expressed his great unhappiness with the way things were in the world. Finally, he yelled at God, “Even I could do a better job of fixing things.” The response came back, “That’s what you are supposed to do.” Our job is to be co-creators with God in changing the world, in making the world a better place for all people.

How do we go about this? Well the first thing is to really understand what our work is. Jesus spelled that out very clearly in the Gospel reading this morning. The crowd went searching for Jesus and his disciples. They had just experienced the incredible feeding of the 5,000 and they went looking for the one who had performed such a miracle. Jesus challenged them on their motivation for coming to find him. He said that they came not because they saw signs, but because they had eaten their fill of the loaves. Then he warned them, “do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

They asked, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” This could have been the opportunity for Jesus to reel off a long list of “do’s and don’ts” but that was not his response. Rather, he said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Paul expanded on this when, in his letter to the Ephesians, he begged them to lead a life worth of the calling to which they had been called and then he went on to explain a little about what that would look like. He was giving examples of what it means to do the work of God, that is, to believe in the one whom God has sent. Eugene Peterson’s The Message paraphrases nicely what Paul is telling us. “I want you to get out there and walk – better yet, run! – on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline – not in fits and starts, but steadily pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.” We may not always be very good at this, but it is a vision, a goal for us to aim toward.

He continues, “You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. … Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness. But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. …. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christians in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.”

So the particulars of the work that each of us are called to do may be different, but it is encompassed by the direction that it is what we do when we believe in the one whom God has sent. In order to do that we have to tune our ears to that we can hear the gospel. In today’s text, for example, there are two levels of communication going on. This is characteristic of the Gospel of John, where there is always the message on the surface and then the message on the deeper level of the spirit.

Those who had come seeking Jesus and who heard his response to them were not quickly satisfied. They wanted to be sure that they didn’t make a mistake by putting their energy and effort into something that might not be what it appeared to be. Sometimes it’s helpful to hear familiar words in a new way, and again Eugene Peterson helps us with that: “They said, `What do we do then to get in on God’s works?’ Jesus said, `Throw your lot in with the One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God’s works.’ They waffled: (Don’t you love that phrase, and doesn’t it perhaps describe our behavior all too often, “they waffled.”) `Why don’t you give us a clue about who you are, just a hint of what’s going on? When we see what’s up, we’ll commit ourselves. Show us what you can do.’” (Apparently feeding more than 5,000 people with 5 small loaves and 2 small fish was not enough.) They continued, “`Moses fed our ancestors with bread in the desert. It says so in the Scriptures: `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’’

“Jesus responded, `The real significance of that Scripture is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven but that my Father is right now offering you bread from heaven, the real bread. The Bread of God came down out of heaven and is giving life to the world.’

Even here, those who were questioning Jesus were listening on only one level. They had experienced a miracle of feeding and were eager to continue that miracle. They were ready to follow if it meant that they would receive the food they needed and wanted.

This is where Jesus throws their listening and thinking into chaos. “Jesus said, `I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever.’” The discussion and debate about what this means would continue for many more verses and for three more weeks of Gospel readings, but it is enough to show us right now that Jesus was speaking on a different level than the crowd was listening. We know that this is a message for the deeper part of us. Jesus is not talking about literal bread, but about that which satisfies the hunger of a soul.

In a few minutes, as we prepare to come to the communion table, we will be singing one of the hymns that responds to this deeper level, “You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat. Come, give to us, O saving Lord, the bread of life to eat.”

“The spirit of those lines is captured in a little parable abut a holy man who rested beneath a tree at the outskirts of a city. One day he was interrupted by a man who ran to him saying, `The stone! The stone! Please give me the stone!’ He told how in a dream an angel had spoken to him of a man outside the city who would give him a stone and make him rich forever.

“The holy man reached into his pocket and pulled out a large diamond. `Here,’ he said, `the angel probably spoke of this. I found it on my journey here. If you want it, you may have it.’ The diamond was as big as his fist and perfect in every way. The man marveled at his beauty, clutched it eagerly, and walked away from the holy man. But that night he could not sleep, and before dawn he woke the holy man saying, `The wealth! The wealth! Give me the wealth that lets you so easily give away the diamond.’”[ii]

Jesus is the bread of life and in him we satisfy the hungry heart. Why do we come here for worship? We come hungry and thirsty looking to be served by God, to have Jesus spread a table before us – not piled high with food to satisfy our physical hunger, but with a sign, a piece to remind us of the bounteous gift of God, of the bread of life, of the cup of the new promise, that satisfies our spiritual hunger and thirst. We come to be sensitized to what God has already given. We come to receive the wealth that puts all the rest of our earthly possessions in their proper perspective. We come to celebrate and to be part of the great adventure of being co-creators with God of the world that God has designed and that we are to help nurture and grow. We come to be fed spiritually so that we may go out to walk and run on the road God has called us to travel. We come for the Bread of Life.

J.C. was a lot of fun, but he was exhausting – at least for me. J.C. is one of my grandnephews living in Virginia whom I had the joy of visiting recently. The last time I saw J.C. he was 4 months old, quiet, cuddly and I felt like I was in heaven just holding and rocking him. Now J.C. is 28 months old. Quiet and cuddly are not words that could be used to describe him now. J.C. doesn’t know the meaning of the word “slow” - everything he does is in high speed. J.C. is enthusiastic. He loves life and he seems excited by the opportunity to explore anything and everything.

The only time I saw J.C. sit still was when his mother put one of the “Veggie Tale” DVD’s on. As he watched a story from the Bible come alive in great animation, he was enthralled. He sat in a chair quietly, and then later cuddled with his grandfather on the couch watching it as he wound down and prepared for bed. Watching J.C. reminded me of the way many of us seem to live – running from one thing to another – perhaps not with his enthusiasm, but definitely with his speed. I thought about the many things that captured his attention and the things that clamor for our attention.

The world teaches us to view life from a particular perspective – the bottom line: What I can produce, how I appear, who I know and so forth. We live in a society that teaches us that the one who has the most toys wins. Yet, we have only to look around us to realize that this perspective does not satisfy the great hunger of life – the need to have a purpose, to be able to respond to the difficulties that arise and to find meaning in life. When death comes to one we love, or hurricanes or fire destroy, or illness steals our energy and abilities we quickly realize that having the most toys was never what it was really all about. We find ourselves at the end of our power, the end of our strength and we confess a need for something more.

It is especially at those times when we need to be grounded in something that “more” that we need. When we gather on Sunday morning for worship, that is what we are seeking – the something more, that which sustains us when we are at the end of our power and the end of our strength. Our opening hymn this morning spoke of a love that wakens our hearts and minds that indwells all that we know or think or do or seek or find. That love is what grounds us and it is that love of which Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians.

We also sang about God being with us in all the phases of our lives; the promise that God was there to hear our first cry when we were born and will be there when we are old – and every day in between.

Some years ago I lived on a dirt road. As I approached the road there was a sign that said, “Pavement ends.” It was a reminder that when the pavement ends the road becomes rough. In our lives when the pavement ends, the turbulence is greater. “When the pavement ends, we depend on God. Can you think of a time in your life when the pavement ended: a financial crisis, a family tragedy, a church conflict, a health issue? When the pavement ends, we are forced to do things differently. If we open ourselves to God, we discover that God has already been reaching out to us. The gift is like a bequest of riches, which we had not known about or had forgotten, like an inheritance that we had ignored. The gift strengthens us, in our inner beings, with power. We are encouraged. We are supported. We are uplifted.”[i]

Some of us are tempted to drive full speed, even when the pavement ends. We continue to try to do “it” on our own but when we do that, we miss an important part of our faith. When we insist on our own pride, our self-sufficiency we close the door on the power of God to help us and to reach out to us through other people. Humility connects us with the uplifting power of God. As we become more grounded in Christ, we discover that we are more able to “rise up and walk” as Jesus told a paralyzed man in the 5^th chapter of Luke’s gospel.

I realize that this goes against the grain of the message we receive from the world. We want what we want, when we want it - and according to much of what we are taught, there is no reason we cannot have it. We “supersize” our meals, and our stores. We expect convenience. Most of the world would not understand our desire for so much, but there is one place where “super abundance” is the norm and yet we find it hard to accept.

God’s gift to us is a super abundance of love – a love that goes beyond anything our minds can even begin to imagine. Paul wrote not only about this love in the letter to the Ephesians, but also about our difficulty in comprehending it. He wrote that he prayed that Christ would make his home in our hearts through faith, so that we may have our roots and foundation in love so that we, and all of God’s people, would be able to understand how broad and long, how high and deep is Christ’s love. In fact, he says, “May you come to know his love – although it can never be fully known – and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.”

That is the purpose of God’s great love – to fill us with such love that we may be grounded and filled with the very nature of God – with a nature that responds out of love and compassion. When that happens, when Christ’s power is within us, working inside of us, then God is able to do so much more than we can ever ask or even think.

This seems to be a hard concept for us humans to grasp. The disciples were always having trouble with it. Today’s gospel is a good example of this. The story of the feeding of the 5,000 is simply too good to be true, or better yet, it is too good not to be true! It’s like the little girl whose grandmother was dishing out some ice cream. As the little girl watched with a critical eye, the grandmother knowing that the amount she gave her never seemed to be enough, asked her, “How much would you like?” The little girl thought it over and then said, “Give me too much!”[ii]

God is ready, willing and able to give each of us “too much.” To a hungry crowd full of poor people this was a banquet beyond belief. Free food, as much as they wanted. Some of them probably even stuck some in their pockets so that they would have something to eat on the way home. They ate all they wanted and still there was more than enough. There was so much that the disciples gathered up twelve baskets of leftovers.

We see here the boundless generosity of God. Certainly if Jesus were able to multiply five loaves and two fish so that there was enough food to feed 5,000 people, he could have multiplied it so that there would be just enough to satisfy them. But no! God is no skinflint! God gives far beyond what we want and need. God gives far more than we can ever imagine.

I’m willing to bet that there are some of you sitting there right now who are thinking, well, I haven’t seen such generosity. If God is so generous then why do I have to be so concerned about next week’s paycheck, or if I’ll find a job before my unemployment runs out. If God is so generous then why do my kids give me such a hard time, why couldn’t God have given me kids who behave? If God is so generous, why didn’t God make my marriage work, or my spouse live, or whatever your concern is?

“In some parts of Mexico hot springs and cold springs are found side by side – and because of the convenience of this natural phenomenon the women often bring their laundry and boil their clothes in the hot springs and then rinse them in the cold ones. A tourist, who was watching the procedure, commented to his Mexican guide, `I imagine that they think God is pretty generous to supply such amply clean hot and cold water here side by side for their free use.’ The guide replied, `No, senor, there is much grumbling because God supplies no soap.’”[iii]

We too, tend to look past the generosity of God and notice what we think is missing. The 5,000 who received an over abundance of food that day, received far more, although they probably didn’t recognize it at the time. They received a powerful sample of God’s blessings poured out on us daily – the riches of God’s grace, the super abundance of God’s love.

We see this daily in nature in the abundant harvest of crops, in the beautiful flowers that come from tiny seeds, in the trees that shade us from the hot sun, in the rain that soaks the ground and helps the flowers and trees to grow and gives us clean water to drink. I saw this in the miracle of growth and development in which a tiny four month old baby became an active curious 28 month old toddler. When our eyes are open we see it in the phone call from someone who cares, in the note or e-mail that comes at just the right time, in the friend who is always there. You can see it in the courage that helps you face something you are afraid of, the strength that helps you do what you’re sure you can’t possibly do, the words that come at just the right time. These are all ways that we experience God’s boundless generosity and super abundance of love.

This is what grounds us and nurtures us so that we continue to grow into having the very nature of God within us, the nature of love and compassion, the nature of understanding, the nature of knowing that with God we can face whatever comes our way.

This is what grounds us as we make critical decisions about our lives and the lives of those around us. Recently I read a headline of a newspaper story that said, “The 6 issues that will decide the next election”. The article talked about education, the war in Iraq, blue states vs. red states and so forth, but in my mind the real issue that will decide how we vote in the next election or any election has to do with where and how we are grounded. It has to do with the perspective from which we view the world and the many complicated issues of the world.

I tend to be somewhat cautious of literature I receive that tries to tell me how I should think about a particular issue because I am a Christian. I receive a lot of mail and e-mails appealing to me as a pastor and as a Christian to stand up and be counted and to speak out for Christian values but generally these materials focus on only a couple of specific issues that have become hot buttons.

I believe with all my heart that my faith makes a difference in how I vote and how I approach the various issues facing us politically and personally. I would urge all of us to look at the big gospel picture – the picture that shows Christ having compassion on those who were hungry. It was Jesus who asked where they were going to get the food to feed so many people. It is Jesus who continues to ask us those questions today.

Philip couldn’t imagine how Jesus could find a way to feed so many people, but a little boy could. We have experienced God’s super abundance of love, but sometimes our eyes have been closed so that we haven’t seen it. When we have been looking for soap, instead of giving thanks for hot and cold springs, let us change the focus of our vision and give thanks to God for such a super abundance of love. As we begin to recognize it, we will begin to see it more and more. We will be grounded in it and continue to grow in it. As we grow in it, let us praise God and go and tell others what we have seen and experienced. Then through God’s power in us, God will be able to use what we have to offer, which often seems so very small, and God will be able to do far more than we can even begin to imagine.

God of love, we pray that you will strengthen us by your Spirit, not with a brute strength but with a glorious inner strength, that Christ may live in our hearts by faith. We pray that both of our feet may be firmly planted in your love so that we will be able to “take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love.” Help us to reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb its depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.” God, we know that you can do anything, far more than we can ever imagine or guess or request in our wildest dreams. We know you do that not by pushing us around, but by working within us deeply and gently through your Spirit and we give you thanks that whenever we are living it is in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[i] Mosser, David N The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2006, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN 2005, p.249

[ii] Beckman, Martha J. Meditations to Make You Smile Dimensions, Nashville, TN 1995, p.25

[iii] Hewett, James S. editor Illustrations Unlimited, Tyndale, Wheaton, IL, 1988, p.261 #10

A “Modified Peoria System” for the Desperately Ill, the Desperately Tired

Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:1-14a; Psalm 89:20-37 (UMH 807);
Ephesians 2:11-22; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

When I was a youngster I used to watch my dad, after a long day of work, fall asleep in his chair while watching television, and I would some times wonder why he needed those naps. Now, I know. I’ve fallen asleep in the movie theater while my children pointed at me and giggled. I nap on trains. I nap on airplanes before the plane even begins to taxi. I also fall asleep in the chair watching television – except when the Red Sox game is on. Watching the Sox requires too much work to sleep.

Yes, I have become my father. I know the secret – hard work and the stress of daily life requires rest. And you get it when you can.

Jesus had sent the apostles out in pairs of two to minister, to teach what He had taught them. Now they had returned and Jesus was anxious to hear of their experiences, but He also knew they were tired and exhausted from their work. He wisely suggested they seek a place to rest. But there would be no rest today. There were crowds of needy people desperate for Jesus’ teaching and his healing and they followed Jesus and the apostles.

In his ministry, Jesus often set aside time to either be alone with God, or to go off with his disciples and rest. Jesus knew that everyone needs to balance work with rest to renew the spirit, but he decided this was not the time to rest. He knew that for many in the crowd, there was no hope without him. The needs of the desperately ill would come first today. Jesus’ decision to set aside rest and heal the needy speaks to Christ’s compassion for His people.

This was a time of two driving forces coming together – the desperately tired and the desperately ill, both driven by need, both needing God’s touch.

It is a dilemma that all of us face. Some are driven to near desperation by human needs – a serious illness, joblessness, or hunger. Others are bone-weary tired and unable to stop for rest for a variety of reasons – the stress of work and family, the demands of caring for someone who is sick or dying. Some times, we have to choose to forego our rest in order to help others as Christ did on that day.

There are times when all of us either push ourselves, or circumstances push us beyond the safe boundaries. At some point in our life, we are all in danger of burn-out. What to do?

First, have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change;
the courage to change the things you can; and the wisdom to know the difference.

The only constant in life is that our lives will change. We will lose friends and gain others. We will all, eventually, lose our parents and loved ones. We will get sick, we will switch jobs, we will taste days of joy and nights of sadness and doubt. It is inevitable. Even with the greatest ability to look for blessings in difficult times, and the greatest faith in God’s presence, if we cannot accept the things we cannot change, it makes everything more difficult.

If we embrace the change we cannot control, we save our energy to change the things we can control. Open the door to new opportunities and watch what happens.

Difficult times can be tough to accept with grace. Even harder is turning them inside out to see the hidden blessings that may be behind a situation. Even if you welcome change and believe in God’s presence, if you forget to seek the blessings in the darkness, the road will be much harder than it needs to be -- and there will be countless gifts in your life that go unclaimed. Always look for blessings and move forward, opening your eyes and heart.

Even if we welcome change and see the blessings in the darkness, without the faith that Something greater than ourselves loves us, wants the best for us, and is willing to help us on our path, we will miss hearing that voice that can point us in the best direction for our ultimate happiness and peace.

In everyday terms, that means that there truly is a Path under our feet. Have faith that God has a plan for you – that you are unique in God’s plan.

So, accept change, look for blessings in the darkness and have faith that God is with us.

Twenty months ago, just before Christmas in 2004, a good friend of mine was facing the worst of all changes in his life. He was diagnosed with cancer -- a serious stage four cancer. Even with the best of medical treatment, his prognosis was life-threatening.

Let me tell you about my good friend Bart Swenson because what he taught me speaks to the message I want to leave you with today.

Only 43 years old, with a wife and three young children, Bart could have become bitter and he could have given up, but he never did. He accepted his life-threatening change, underwent treatment and used his energy to fight for his life. He searched for blessings in the darkest of days and nights and he always knew God was with him.

He used his energy in positive ways. He was a beacon of hope for his family and a model of grace for all of us who knew him. He accepted each day as a blessing. He saw a blessing when treatment, for a time, reduced his cancer. He saw a blessing when he was able to return to work in three months. He saw a blessing when he was able to attend his daughter’s musical performance or a son’s athletic event.

And along the way, he has been an inspiration to me and all his friends. Throughout the difficult medical treatments, he remained optimistic, carried by the love of his family and his faith. He has had great faith, always dressed with a smile.

I know there were times when he and his family were greatly discouraged, but he never revealed it to most of those who worked with him. He never exhibited anger or pity, only grace and courage. His thoughts were always about his wife and children and how they might lead normal lives at a time when his life was riddled with uncertainty and fear.

In late May of this year, he called me, and for the first time I heard real anguish and sadness in his voice. Fighting back the tears, Bart told me his doctors had just informed him that after 18 months of treatment, there was nothing more than they could do for him. We cried together on that phone call.

For a time, my good friend and colleague, Bart Swenson, was like the many driven by desperation who pursued Jesus and his disciples on that day seeking His healing touch.

In late June, Bart accepted Hospice care and made peace with the final changes in his life. A few days later, on June 29^th, his life slipped away.

Many of you know, firsthand some of what Bart’s family has gone through and so do I. My mother endured the terrible pain of cancer for three years. Her grace was amazing, but as much as she tried to shield her children, I saw her dark moments when she struggled to accept the changes in her life. And when she died, I was angry. We only shared 17 years together, but eventually, with God’s help, I learned to accept her death and to celebrate the rich blessings of her life rather than mourn so few years with so many tears. She still teaches me every day about the grace God gave her and the lessons of life and death she passed on to me. On many days, during her illness, she would pull out a piece of well-worn paper she kept in her bible and read the serenity prayer:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

I remember a specific time when my friend Bart and I were in Washington together. We had finished a day of work and we went to see the new World War Two memorial, and then stopped by the Lincoln Memorial. Bart got a cell phone call from his daughter, Kelsey, who had been dropped off at the wrong athletic field back home in Minnesota and wanted dad’s advice on what to do. We sat down on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial while Bart made some phone calls and reached his brother Jeff back home who could pick his daughter up. When she was safely in the hands of his brother, we both breathed a sigh of relief and we talked about how this was the part of our jobs that was most difficult -- on the road, away from family. Bart said to me, “I’m fortunate; I have a lot of good family back home to help in times like this.” In this case, a good brother to help out. There in the shadow of one of America’s greatest monuments, his thoughts were properly centered on what’s important in life – family. And to the those of us who worked with him, Bart was family. He was our good brother.

Too often we all rush through life striving to be successful, seeking to finish each task in search of some elusive material goal. Too often I have been impatiently focused on some material finish line when I should be celebrating those precious moments along the way -- however long or brief the journey may be. We should appreciate every friend and every moment God gives us, and the simple beauty of God around us -- the first bud of springtime, the call of a bird in the twilight of the evening, the crisp smell of early morning, even a sudden thunderstorm. How have we accepted the changes in our life? Have we searched for God’s blessings along the way? Have we had faith that God is truly with us?

Like Christ, do we recognize those times when we need to set aside our rest when someone else desperately needs God’s touch. In our busy lives, are we setting aside time to pray? Are we part of God’s family?

For each of us there will come seasons of suffering – those times when the desperation is too much to bear. It is then that we have to surrender our burdens to God and put our life in His hands. Unfortunately, we can’t all be healed by Christ as so many were in the scriptures. But we can trust in faith and know that He will be with us, and He will surround us with friends and love ones.

There are people in our community, people sitting in these pews today who may be living days of near desperation – driven by illness, unemployment, or sadness from the loss of a loved one. There are people here who are bone-weary tired. But each day, we pray for God’s strength because deep down we know that every day, that every minute of our life, is a celebration in God’s eyes. Jesus teaches us that every life is important and every life is worth celebrating and everyone of us is part of God’s family.

Eleven of us, Bart Swenson’s closest friends from work -- from Atlanta, Baltimore, Washington, Phoenix, Dallas, and Rhode Island; Catholics, Jews, Protestants -- made the journey to Minnesota to celebrate Bart’s life at his funeral mass on July 3rd.

In announcing his death to his colleagues at The Associated Press, I had written a tribute to Bart for his family and his friends. Before the funeral, a lady I had never met came up to me and touched my heart when she said she had shared the words I had written with a dozen of her cancer patients. She said, “Your message will speak to them in ways you will never fully know.” From his wheel chair, Bart’s father -- who had lost his wife, Bart’s mother, just three months before Bart was diagnosed with cancer -- thanked me for the tribute and said, “I would have gladly changed places with Bart, if only I could.”

Other family members thanked us for our love and compassion for Bart throughout his 19-month struggle, saying it was so unlike big companies. The words were greatly appreciated, but for us, they were simply confirmation of what we had decided from the start – do the right thing for someone we care about.

During the service, there were two wonderful eulogies – one from Bart’s brother Todd and one from a high school friend. Bart’s daughter, Kelsey, read a deeply moving poem she had written about her father. His two young boys, Eric and Joe, read from the scriptures. His wife, Leah, was so proud of them.

We wept, but we also laughed as we shared joyful stories and memories of Bart – his constant smile, his positive attitude even in the darkest of times, and, of course, his humor.

Bart loved to play golf. He even played nine holes as late as May with some of his colleagues from work.

In his beautiful eulogy, one of Bart’s best friends, Tim McNiff, related how Bart every year held a golf tournament with his friends from high school and how he applied a handicap scoring system to level the field for all the players, regardless of their ability. He called it the “modified Peoria” system. After the one day tournament, Bart would pour over the scores for hours, calculate the results, and announce the winner. It was based partly on a player’s performance on a few secret holes selected by Bart. No one knew exactly how the complicated “Peoria system” formula worked – never mind how Bart “modified” it. But it so balanced the field, that one year a player still managed to win the tournament with a score of 126! With a scoring system like that, Syd Gledhill and I might even have a chance to beat Herb Stevens on the golf course.

Just as Christ leveled the playing field that day in the scriptures when he healed so many who had so little, Bart was always balancing the field for his friends. Even in death he leveled the field for us, bringing us smiles and laughter to balance our grief.

He taught us about life and he taught us about death. We mourn him, but we also were inspired by his courage, grace, and his love of life. And in that church, filled to capacity by so many people brought together from all over the country because one man had touched each of our lives … in that crowded church, some of the emptiness in our hearts began to fill with the joy God gave us in having known such a good person.

And so my message today is not one of sadness, but of celebration --the celebration of the precious lives and friendships God gives us. I encourage each of you, as you struggle in life, as you help others who are struggling, to also take time to celebrate life, moment by moment, friend by friend.

After you leave here today, take a moment to smell the flowers, listen to the birds, or call someone who needs to hear from a friend. Embrace God’s celebration, wherever you find it -- in the face of a newborn grandchild, in the beauty of a sunset, in the love of your family, on the green grass of a golf course, or in the courage and faith of a good friend who is unique to God.

Celebrate your life in the wonderful feelings that come from helping others and being part of God’s family for Christ has opened God’s dwelling to all.

Have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Search for blessings in the darkness, and have faith and trust that God is with us always.

And develop your own “modified Peoria” system to level the playing field for all of God’s people.

Let us pray.

Lord, help us to be a blessing to the desperately ill, the desperately tired, help us to remember to give thanks for the blessings you give us each day -- the good friends we’ve met, the lessons of courage they teach us. Help us to live in the moment. Thank you for being with us. Thank you for giving us Jesus who whispers softly to us: “Fear not, I am with thee.”

Amen.

Most of us can identify with the story of the young man who was suggesting to his boss that there was a better, more efficient way to handle customers orders. The discussion went on for some time with the young man becoming more insistent that they should do it his way. Finally his boss responded, "You work for me. I don't work for you. We will do it my way." The young man was effectively put in his place.

From time to time we have all been put in our places. Maybe we spoke out of turn or maybe we assumed authority when we had none. Usually when we are put in our place we are "put down", downgraded to a lower level. In the reading from 2 Samuel today, King David and his people decided to put God in the right place, but for them it meant a place of elevation and honor.

The ark of God, or the ark of the covenant, was a special box which contained the tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were carved. It also held a sample of manna - the food which God had provided for the Israelites when they wandered through the Sinai desert for forty years. The ark was a symbol, somewhat like our altar, which represented the presence of God. However, we have altars in every church and we often come up with a make-shift altar or worship center if we are in a setting other than a traditional sanctuary. So it can be hard for us to understand exactly what the significance of the ark was for King David and his people. But essentially, they believed that God actually lived in the ark. It was the most holy thing imaginable. To touch the ark was to touch God and that was practically forbidden except under very special and clearly defined conditions.

The ark had been in a small village and now David decided it was time to put God in the right place - in the capital city not an insignificant village, and in a tabernacle, not in a private home. David wanted to put God in a place of honor, in first place. It seems evident that today, we need to put God in the rightful place at the head of the line. Our humanism, materialism, and secularism relegate God to a subordinate position.

Where does God belong? What is the proper place for the one who created the seas and the dry lands, the mountains and the valleys? How can we expect God to occupy any place other than first and yet we do it all the time. We live in a society which does not honor or even make it easy for a person to put God first. So many people have to work during the traditional hours of worship. Communities and organizations schedule activities during this time. With a few wonderful exceptions, the way that Christians are often represented in television shows, movies and the news makes us look like people with whom I don't want to be associated.

Everything in moderation seems to be the approach that many of us find most comfortable, and yet, God said, "I am the Lord, Your God. You shall have no other God's before me." And that includes the god of moderation. God belongs in First place - and expects to be in First place - no question about it.

But what does that mean? For me, that has taken the focus of two phrases that have come to have great meaning to me. The first is one which used to be a common way of saying good-by, or offering a blessing to someone. We would say, "God be with you." The Spanish have a similar phrase, "Vaya con Dios". But there's a difference. When you translate the Spanish phrase it actually says, "Go with God." There's a small but, I think, important distinction between these two different phrases. When we say, "God be with you" we are actually putting ourselves first and expecting God to be with us, but when we say, "Go with God" the focus is on God and our responsibility to go in the direction that God wants us to go.

You've probably heard the story of the little boy who was riding a bus on his way to church. A gentleman sat down next to him and when he learned that the child was going to church he showed him a bright red apple and said, "I'll give you this nice apple if you can tell me where God is." The little boy looked at him and said, "Mister, I'll give you a whole basket of apples if you can tell me where God is not." We know that God is everywhere, and goes with us wherever we go, even when our path takes us in directions that are not pleasing to God. Even then, God does not leave us. So we can put ourselves first and ask God to go with us, whatever our path may be, or we can put God first and say, "I want to go with you God. Show me your way."

Sometimes we are reluctant to do that, being afraid that God might ask us to do something we don't want to do. Two women were discussing exactly this question when one said, "I know I should ask God to show me his will and trust him, but I just can't." The other woman knowing that her friend had a son, Charlie, who was the absolute joy of her life asked her, "What would you do if Charlie came to you and said, `Mother, from now on I will do exactly what you want me to do, I'll go where you want me to go.' Would you say to yourself, `Oh, now I've got him. I'll make his life miserable. I'll make him do all the things he hates. I'll give him all the dirty work.'"

"Oh, no! Of course not!," her friend broke in. "I would never do that. I love him far too much. If Charlie said that to me, I would be so thrilled, I would do whatever I could to make his life happy and fulfilling." Her friend gently asked, "And is our Heavenly Parent less loving than you?"

"I understand," she said. "If I would be so good to Charlie whom I love, how much more loving would God be to me. I do not need to be afraid to tell God that I will follow His will for my life."

If God does not desert us no matter which way we go, how much better will the paths be if instead of asking God to go with us, we are willing to go with God along the roads which God has prepared?

The second thought I've had follows from this one. When we gather as a church, particularly in committees, it is common for us to ask God to bless the work which we are about to do. After 9-11, it became popular to invoke the phrase, “God Bless America” as a way of expecting God to bless our national activities. It is nice that we want God's blessing on our work, but how much better it would be if we asked God to help us do the work which God blesses.

Some of you have heard me say this before, but I’ll repeat it. There is a difference between "church work" and "God's work." Hopefully "church work" is part of God's work, but it is only one part. The church, any church, is an organization which requires many things to keep it going - including time and energy spent in the upkeep of the building and wise managing of the finances, and education of the children and adults, and on and on. Sometimes there is more “church work” than at others. This week has involved a lot of “church work” for a couple of people as we dealt with a flooding situation in the parsonage and the resulting damage. Like many jobs, the church work can and will consume you if you let it. That’s just one reason why we need everyone to be willing to be involved with the church work on some level.

God's work includes all of that - but it includes more. God's work also includes being a good steward of the other things in your life. Your health - physical, emotional and spiritual. All of your relationships: Your marriage. Your children and grandchildren. Your parents. Your friendships. When we seek to do the work which God blesses - sometimes that will mean saying, "I can't come to a meeting because I am spending time with my children, my spouse, a friend, or myself."

In your places of employment you can be doing God's work either as a direct result of the type of work you do, or indirectly as you relate to other people and in the way you carry out your tasks. When you volunteer to drive a neighbor to the Doctor or work in a soup kitchen, or at a women's shelter or do any number of other things, you may be doing the work which God blesses.

The real question is, “Are we putting God in first place?” Are we seeking to do the work which God blesses or are we putting ourselves first and God second, and then asking God to bless the work which we do. Please understand that this is still better than what many people do when they really don't care at all about what God wants. But still, we, as Christians, are called to put God in first place, the place of honor and praise.

There is a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon in which Calvin loudly proclaims, "A lot of people don't have principles, but I do! I'm a highly principled person!" In the next frame, Hobbes the tiger is casting a quizzical eye at his young friend, who continues to expound, "I live according to one principle, and I never deviate from it."

Who or what is number one in our lives? When God is first all of the other wonderful and important things in our lives will fall into place in a way that brings Glory to God and helps us do the work that God blesses.

The story is told of a young man who listened seriously to the missionary who came to his village. The missionary had been trying to teach the village about tithing. Very early one morning this young man showed up at the missionary's tent with a large fish. He presented the fish to the missionary telling him that this was his tithe. The missionary thanked him and asked where the other nine were. The young man replied, "I'm going to go catch them now. I brought the first one to God."

Let us put God in the right place. First place! The Gospel reading which was assigned for today, is one that we didn’t read. It is the story of King Herod and the death of John the Baptist. Herod allowed his personal pride and his political station to take precedence - even to the point of having a man killed because of someone else’s desire for revenge. He did this even though he recognized John as a good and holy man. Our actions are not usually so blatant - but still, we need to be aware of the many times when we put something else ahead of God.

God’s place is First Place. David celebrated bringing the Ark to Jerusalem with great enthusiasm and joy. His dancing and music were not exactly what was considered proper for a King, but David, lost in the ecstasy and joy of worshipping God was less concerned about his personal dignity and more concerned about the joyous worship of His God.

As we heard in the reading from Ephesians, we have been blessed by God, loved in a way that only God can love, and marked as God’s children. What greater news could there be! What better reason for celebrating. As we heard, “Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! For by the sacrificial death of Christ we are set free, that is our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, which he gave to us in such large measure!” (1:6-8) “Let us praise his glory!” (vs. 14)

There is no place for God except First Place! The God of creation, the God whose faithfulness to his people led them through the desert to the promised land, the God who never leaves us and who guides us throughout our lives deserves the place of praise and honor.

A little over 40 years ago, before this church was begun there was an advance team of people who visited in the surrounding area trying to determine if there was a need and a place for a Methodist Church in North Kingstown. There had been one long ago, but it had closed 50 years earlier. The advance team went back with their information which was combined with other information, dreams and visions, and this congregation was born. The first service was held October 30, 1966. The early years weren’t always easy. In 1967 the treasury was almost empty and there was only about $25 available.

But the little church knew something important – they had been sent out into the community, much as Jesus had sent out his disciples in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus didn’t send them out when things were going great and his popularity was at a high point. Jesus sent them out after his experience in his home town where people had questioned and rejected him. Mark tells us that Jesus could not do any deed of power there, expect to lay his hands on a few sick people and cure them, and he was amazed at their unbelief.

When we experience rejection, there is a tendency to withdraw and lick our wounds or reevaluate our situation. But Jesus didn’t do that. Instead, he ratcheted up his campaign. Until this time, his disciples had been observers, but now it was time to get them actively involved. He called the twelve together and gave them power over unclean spirits and the authority to heal and sent out them on a daunting mission.

It couldn’t have been easy for them. They had just witnessed the painful rejection of Jesus. They were probably afraid of possible outcomes, but Jesus armed them with the one thing without which no disciple dares begin such an undertaking. Jesus gave them power and authority.

When we look at what needs to be done in our churches today, and think we can’t do it, we miss the core of the gospel message. What God calls us to do, God empowers us to do. God empowered that small group of Methodists who had only $25. Before long there was a building committee (chaired by Bob Judd). With faith as the building stone, a way was found. A donation from the Board of Missions helped purchase the land and just before Christmas in 1970 the first worship service was held on this property – in what is now our fellowship hall. The membership of the small church had grown from 38 to 200.

Following God doesn’t mean a smooth path, even when God is the one providing the power. One of God’s gifts has been free will – and so things happen that are beyond our control – and beyond God’s since God will not interfere with free will. Three years after moving to this location, the Navy closed Quonset Point and Davisville and 60% of the congregation was forced to move. Membership plummeted to 55 and the church faced a steep mortgage in a suddenly depressed economic area.

The Apostle Paul was a man who was zealous for the Lord. Earlier in his life he had been equally zealous about persecuting those who followed Jesus’ way – he saw them as heretics who were destroying the true faith of Judaism. Following a dramatic encounter with God on the way to Damascus he was transformed and became the most traveled and enthusiastic missionary that the early church could have. Many of the letters in the New Testament bear witness to Paul’s great work and enthusiasm. But there was something that Paul felt impeded his work – something he identifies as a “thorn in the flesh” – presumably some kind of illness that he thought got in the way of his work. In his letter to the Corinthians that we just heard he tells about how he prayed asking God to remove this impediment. It seemed a reasonable request. Without this problem, whatever it was, Paul thought he could be a more effective witness, do more for God.

The answer Paul received was not what he wanted – but it was a good answer. The answer was “no”, the “thorn” would not be removed, but rather that, as Eugene Peterson puts it, “My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” Paul’s response was, “Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer … I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” (The Message)

I don’t know exactly what took place in this congregation after the Navy left, but I suspect that someone caught this vision of Paul’s because before long, the church had taken a leap of faith, took on another mortgage, built the parsonage we have now and went back to full time ministry. Faithful followers of Christ worked hard, accepted the limitation that they wished they didn’t have to deal with, and discovered once again that when we depend upon Christ, God’s strength is made perfect. It was hard work. It took much time and energy and dedication, but most of all, it took faith in Christ and the belief that God had called this congregation into being in this place and had a mission and ministry to be done.

It wasn’t the last bump in the road for this congregation, but then again Jesus definitely did not promise a bump free road – in fact, just the opposite. Jesus promised that if we are faithful disciples we will run into opposition and difficulties. How could we expect anything different when we are followers of the one who was crucified? We are constantly being reminded that what we do, we do because God calls and empowers. If the only things that happen in our churches are the things we do in our own power, we have reason for concern, because we are missing the core of the gospel message.

Today we are still the advance team being sent out into the villages. Like the disciples we still face the possibility and probability that some of what we say or do will be rejected by others. We have spent much of the last year doing some of the work that is normally considered to be the work of an advance team. We have gathered information about our history and about where we are today. We have interviewed community leaders to get a sense of what they see as some of the community needs. We have discussed many issues and we have learned many things, but now it is time for us to be going out as Jesus sent his disciples. It is time to remind ourselves that when the work to be done seems overwhelming that it isn’t about what we can do on our own, but rather it is about what God is calling us to do. It is about reaffirming that when God calls, God empowers.

I have sat at many meetings in this church and others and heard mostly about the limitations – real or imagined – that people see when they think about going out and doing the work of Christ. We think we don’t have the time. I know that we are all very busy people, but it is also an important maxim, that if you want something done ask a busy person. Most of us have learned how to organize our time and demands so that we can accomplish the things that are truly important to us. The question is, “What are the things that are truly important to God and are they important enough to us for us to make the time for them?”

We think we don’t have the money. We struggle to pay our bills just like most people and just like most churches. When this church had $25 in available cash – the Women’s group came up with $1000 to help meet the needs of the church. When we are faced with important needs, isn’t it true that we generally find what is needed? We need to stop thinking of ourselves as just barely getting by and think about the abundance of blessings that God has given to all of us and the ways that we can respond to God’s grace. Did you know that this congregation is in the top 12% of all of the United Methodist Churches in New England in terms of our attendance and viability as a full time church? In 2004, 44% of all United Methodist Churches in our conference, 236, did not receive even one member on Profession of Faith – we received 11.

We do have another unique situation here, however. When I came here, I discovered that half of the members of this church had joined in the previous 8 years. Nine years later that statistic is still true. While we have people in this church who have been here since that first service, we are also a congregation where new people are constantly coming in and people are leaving – most of them because they move away. While we continue to receive new members, our net membership does not increase significantly. We are a transitional community in many ways and meeting the needs of new people was one of the needs identified by our Learning Team and congregational meetings.

Whatever we think those impediment or obstacles are, it is time to hand them over to Christ and live out of the faith that when God calls, God empowers. Each of us has been gifted by God with some abilities that God can and will use if we are willing to give them to God. Some of us may be called to sing, some to administer, some to teach, some to preach, some to pray, some to provide transportation, some to help others learn how to read, develop budgets and learn how to live on them, some to listen to those who need a listening ear, some to go on a mission trip to help clean up after a hurricane, some to visit shut ins, some to help a neighbor, some to deliver meals on wheels, some to run for political office, some to help teach parenting skills. I could go on and on.

There is something – often many things, that each of us is able to do. Maybe we need some training. Maybe we need some motivation. Maybe we need someone to go with us – remember that Jesus sent his disciples out two by two.

When we look at what needs to be done in our churches and how our church can reach out into God’s community, and think we can’t do it, we miss the core of the gospel message. What God calls us to do, God empowers us to do. If the only things that happen in our church are the things we do in our own power, we have reason for concern. God calls. God empowers. Where is God calling you as an individual? What is that secret passion in your heart that God has placed there and that God is calling you to use? Where is God calling us as a congregation?

And so my message today is not one of sadness, but of celebration --the celebration of the precious lives and friendships God gives us. I encourage each of you, as you struggle in life, as you help others who are struggling, to also take time to celebrate life, moment by moment, friend by friend.

Celebrate your life in the wonderful feelings that come from helping others and being part of God’s family for Christ has opened God’s dwelling to all.

Have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Search for blessings in the darkness, and have faith and trust that God is with us always.

And develop your own “modified Peoria” system to level the playing field for all of God’s people.

Let us pray.

Amen.