October 28, 2007

A Tale of Two Pray-ers

What would life be like if you knew that you only had a few months or days to live. What would you do? What are the things that would become important to you? Who are the people in your life that you would reach out to. There is still so much in life to say and to do, there are so many people in my life that I have not reached out to – that I couldn’t imagine where to begin.
Randy Pausch, is a professor at Carnegie-Mellon University, who will die in a few months of pancreatic cancer. He was featured on Oprah last week giving what he called “his last lecture to his students” – encouraging them to define their dreams and to pursue them. From what I understand, there is a tradition among professor to give a lecture as if you know that it will be you last day on earth. He was keenly aware that he was living his last days. Wo don’t like to think of our death, we don’t like to be faced with the fact that we are mortal, finite beings. And that all that we have done in the world, no matter what it is, will come to an end. As Professor Pausch begins his lecture – he says that the elephant in the room, is that this is real for me, I will be dying soon.
The Timothy scripture that you just heard, could probably be classified as Paul’s last letter – words of advice to the one person who he knew would carry on his life’s work. Basically his advice was to fight the good fight of faith, to run the race of life and to keep the faith no matter what.
I learned a lot about Paul and his faith and have developed a lot of respect for him. In 2000 the Women’s division asked me to write the school of Christian missin youth study on the book of Corinth. In my preparation for writing I took a tour of Greece and Rome following in the footsteps of Rome. On that trip I realized, that as we read the scriptures, even though Paul is very graphic about his troubles- It doesn’t register just how hard his life was. But in actually seeing the places where he preached, you begin to see that he was thrown out of every place that he preached. Even though his message sounds very convincing to us on paper –he made a lot of enemies in reality. Even though he was a roman citizen, it was the roman government that eventually killed him for being a nuisance to society.
It is not certain if this letter to Timothy was written by Paul himself, or a student of Paul’s. But it definitely is a good by letter. It speaks of the last time that Paul was imprisoned, and he realizes that most of the other students that he had trained to evangelize, had by now abandoned Paul and went on with their lives. We know that he has been imprisoned, he (or someone for him) speaks of his impending death. But scripture never records that he was actually killed. Which is probably why most of us have heard Paul’s teachings in some form or another, but his suffering is not real. We don’t think about that moment that comes for him, and for all of us , when we become keenly aware that life is a finite thing – that runs out and ends. A colleague had a friend who died after a long fight with cancer – one of her last realization in life was that it all mattered – everything that she experienced in her life, good and bad was important. As Paul is reflecting on his life, he becomes keenly aware of all of the suffering. He sees all of the people that he touched in his ministry. Many who are no where to be found in his hour of need. He also realizes that no matter how many people who have come into his life have gone away – that the spirit of Christ was with him in the beginning and had never left him. And that was all that he needed. Continually he reminds those who read his final words – that Christ is all that matters in the journey of life. He tells us to fight the good fight, run the race of life, and keep the faith no matter what. Because in the end – Christ loves you enough to do the same for you.
One of the things that is common knowledge about Paul was that before Christ converted him, that he was in training to be a Pharisee- an upstanding jewish man who went the extra mile to uphold the jewish faith. A Pharisee took vows to tithe as much of 30% of his income to help others, to pray, to study scripture, to live a righteous life. Jesus didn’t always appreciate the Pharisee lifestyle, but this is the type of person that we would welcome as part of our church.
One of the common prayers that they prayed to God – was a celebration that they were living a blessed life and that they were fortunate to do everything right. This was seen as a sign of God’s blessing. This was even the prayer that Paul prays in his last letter. That in the midst of all of his suffering, and all of the people that he knew that were misrepresenting the gospel – that he was thankful that he had always done what was right and remained faithful to Christ.
Jesus tells the story of a Pharisee who came into the temple praying – god I thank you that I am not like other people, thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like a tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of all of my income. He was celebrating the fact that not only did he do what he was supposed to as a Pharisee, that he was able to go above and beyond the call of duty. God bless his soul – how many of us could say the same in our journey to the ultimate cross?
And yet for some reason, Jesus was not impressed with is prayer at all.
Another man comes into the room – a tax collecter. Now you have to understand that a tax collector is not quite the same as an IRS agent in today’s world. We might resent an IRS agent – but at least we know that person is working for the government – and in some convulated way – might actually be on our side. In Jesus’ time if a begger received money from a tax collector, he or she would give it back. Because a tax collector was thought of as a traiter – someone who chose Rome over his own nation of Isreal. They were thought of as thieves who robbed money from their own people- because they often pocketed money after they paid the assessment to the Roman state.
But anyway, this tax collector also walks into the temple and prays God be merciful to me a sinner. A Very simple but heartfelt prayer.
There is a saying that there are two types of people who pray – those who pray because it is the right thing to do and those who pray because their life depends on it. Which type of prayer are you?
I want us to take a test- everyone get a pen and keep score o you bulletin. This test is to see if you have gained enough points to get into heaven. You don’t need to keep exact score – you can estimate if you would like.
If you have been baptized, you get 25 points. Now give yourself 2 points for everytime you have ever been to a church service in your life – just guess-. Give yourself an extra point if you made a prayer request when you came to church. Give yourself 5 point for each bible verse that you have ever remembered. 10 points for doing a personal devotion for 10 days in a row.
Now you also get points for deeds of kindness. An act of kindness for a neighbor is worth 10 points. If you have ever volunteered at a hospital you get 1 point for each hour worked. If you have never cheated on a test you get 1 point per test. If you have had to turn the other cheek instead of seeing revenge – you get 20 points each time. If you have ever gave someone your coat when they were cold – yo get 25 points. For giving all of your possession to the poor you get 10,00 points. But if all that you had to give away from the start was less than $100 – it is only worth 5 points. If you have ever been on a church mission trip you get 1000 points.
Now you also have to deduct points for incorrect attitudes.
If you have ever gone to church – you get two points for each service. But if you were thinking of something else during the sermon – then you lose 4 points for each service. If you made fun of the pastors clothes or hair- then you lose 2 more points. If you have ever said something unkind or mean then you lose 10 points for each time. If you have ever done something that you knew was wrong then you lose 1000 points for each time. If you have had an argument with a family member – any family member – then you lose 150 points for each time. If you have ever forgot to water your plants – them you lose 100 points for each time.
Now there is a chance to win extra bonus points. If you have are willing to give a million $ toward upkeep of the church – you get a million points. Or if you prefer to donate $3 millions to mission work of the church you get 3 million points.
You need 3 million points in order to get into heaven. Did anyone come even close? I usually give this test to my confirmation classes. It is much more fun to give to youth because they aren’t so stuck on being righteous, and are more willing to admit when they have done things wrong. So they see their point disappearing pretty fast.
The point of the exercise is to realize that no matter who much we do right, no matter how much money we give to god (that doesn’t mean don’t give), no matter how much many good things we do for others, no matter how much we pray – It is not enough to be right with God. never a time in your life when you will have a right to say- I am justified – I am okay. You can’t earn grace from God Grace is a gift that is freely given.
Two men walked into the temple to pray. One of them prayed about all of the things he had done for God – one asked for God to have mercy on him as a sinner. Jesus says that only one of them left truly forgiven, and justified, made right with God. That was the one whose life depended on his prayer. Because no matter how much we do right – we are all sinners. We all depend on God’s grace to live. After that lesson, our temptation would be to pray a prayer thanking God that we are not like to Pharisee. We thank God That we are righteous enough to admit that we are sinners and in need of God’s mercy. And yet, if we pray like that we have lost the point of god’s grace in our lives. I want us to end by praying a prayer that I always pray in my deepest times of fear, my deepest times of questioning, the times when I need god the most, the times when my life depends on prayer. It is the Jesus prayer – Lord Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. Amen.

October 21, 2007

If Granny can do it so can you!

Grannies are Coming to TownTune: Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Oh, you better watch out, you better go hide Stay in your room don’t venture outsideThe Grannies are Coming to TownAnd right on their heels, the National GuardThey heard us say, "we hate Election Fraud"The Grannies are Coming to Town
Old ladies in big dresses, big hats and lacey shawlsThere surely must be danger, in their purple parasols
Oh you better watch out, you better go hideStay in your room don’t venture outsideThe Grannies are Coming to town!

The grannies are coming to town. The raging grannies that is. Every since 1997 the grannies have been gathering all over Canada and the United States. They protest, they sing, they act out, they knit, they do whatever they can to bring situations of injustice to the attention of whomever is able to listen. In order to be a raging granny – you have to be between the age of 52 and 67.
Rose Deshaw, a Raging Granny from Canada describes the philosophy of the group as always nonviolent. They call attention to evil by singing songs that all can relate to. I thought this one was kind of fun…….

Are You Voting?
(tune- Frere Jacque) Are you voting? Are you voting? You and me? (point to another RG & to self)You and you? (point to audience) Schools, jobs, healthcare. Hunger and environment. Read. Think. Vote! Read. Think. Vote!!
Rose goes on to say, “we are spreading green branches of a great tree.- for those who come behind us. Grannying is the least understood yet most powerful response that we have to the evil of the world. The raging grannies phenomena started when some older women discovered that a UN ship was coming to their town, which had a nuclear reactor on board. They were concerned that there was no emergency plan for the community if something was to go wrong. So, they went to the local mall, dressed in big hats and aprons, and bought turkey baisters to test the surrounding water to see if it was contaminated. It got the attention of the public, and the issue was addressed by local officials. Every since then, grannies have been gathering in granny gaggles – discuss the issues and to protest in the most effective ways.
I liked Rose Deshaw’s comment that grannying is the least understood, but most yet most powerful method that we have of addressing evils of the world. Even she says that it is effective, because no one expect granny’s to have an opinion, to know what it going on in the world – much less to have a voice to express injustice.
And yet it really has been our grannies who have cared the most about the conditions of the world and who have the wisdom to address it.
I have a feeling that Jesus must have had great respect for the power of raging grannies too. When everyone else is coming to give their offerings to the treasury – Jesus comments on the lady who gave all that she had – a mite – hoping that it would make a difference.
Jesus also speaks of the widow who comes to the judge to ask for justice over and over again. Scripture says that she was a widow – but we don’t really know her age of circumstance. But in our minds – we do think of her as an older woman – someone who had no other means of taking care of herself but to depend on the kindness of others. In that society, she could have been twelve- and if she was a widow with no children she would still have to beg for a living. But in our minds eye – I think that we all imagine this woman as a raging granny – someone with the wisdom and the fortitude to stand up for her rights.
The bible takes a very disturbing situation and puts a little humor in the story. Scriptures says that this was a judge who had no fear of God and no respect of another person. As a public servants – judges were expected to be intentional to watch out for and to care for widows. In Hebrew the word widow meant silent one or one unable to speak. A woman’s identity was totally tied up in the men in her life. Even the new testament says that a woman was not supposed to speak in public – if you have a question you were supposed to save it and ask your husband at home. If you had no husband – then you had absolutely no voice to speak about anything.
Jesus has a particular concern for the widows of society. He speaks a lot of being intentional to care for the widows – because they had no other means of support. The entire missionary focus of the early church was support of the widows. Paul wrote his letters to the churches in the new testament – all because he was collecting money to support the widows in Jerusalem. Any self respecting public servant would know that they had a responsibility to help a widow. And yet this judge was determined not to help a widow in need. He eventually granted her justice, so that she would not wear him out by continually coming. The humor is that is that the greek term used means to give someone a black eye. Her constant nagging for justice would badger him to the point of physically wounding him. I think that qualifies as a raging granny act. Afterall, her demands really were nonviolent.
And yet – when I think of this story I have to ask myself – where is God in this story – is God the nagging widow or the unconcerned judge. And who am I supposed to be in the story – the one who must constantly ask for justice or the one who has been entrusted with the responsibility to help others, yet chooses to have no respect for anyone else but myself?
I think that finding God in the story is a little easier to see. This is known as an if/ then story. Jesus uses this a lot in his storytelling. If a public servant who has admitted to not caring about people can grant a defenseless widow justice, then surely a God who is always just, who always cares, who is always on the side of he defenseless will grant us justice if we ask. We don’t have to give God a black eye to get God’s attention or to get God to grant us justice. God will always give us justice – which is not the same as giving you anything that you want when you want it. Justice is the love, care compassion and grace that is your birthright as a child of God – but that the world is not always so willing to let you have access to. The moral of the story is that God always hears your cries and will always give you an answer.
But what about you – where are you in the story of the widow and the judge. Are you the one in need of justice – or the one who needs to learn to give it. I think that there is a part of both characters in all of us. Jesus is telling us this story because this is a time in our lives when we need to speak up – but we also need to learn to listen compassionately.
Not all of us are poor and defenseless. Even women today not only have a voice to address injustice, they also have the power to change things. But in the eyes of God we are all poor and defenseless. There are areas in all of our lives which we have no control – and all that we can do is to appeal to God and hope that God really cares. That is the point of prayer – turning our lives over to God and humbly waiting for an answer.
But we have to be careful because the careless judge is also a part of us. We are called to be the answer to the prayers of others. Are we truly listening to their cries. When we are given power – do we use it to help others – or to save our own reputation. God is crying out to us to build God’s kingdom – are we truly listening to those cries? Prayer is the ability to be honest with yourself and generous with others. As the children of God – as the church we are called to be in constant prayer for the coming of God’s kingdom. A place where even the most voiceless of persons are heard and the most vulnerable of people are able to live a productive life.
I wanted to share with you another song of the raging grannies – It struck me as addressing a poignant issue of our time.
Just Say NO to War
One little two little three little soldiersMarched off to war and never got olderIt makes us sad and it makes us bolderJust say NO to war!
One billion, two billion, three billion dollars, Wasted on war if we don’t holler,You can go but we won’t follow !Just say NO to war!
Their kids, my kids, your kids too,Facing death - it’s up to you !Here’s what we all need to do -Just say NO to war!
I don’t feel that it is important to address what people think or don’t think of the present war. But to think about the value of life. To think about our place in it – to think of the need for us to constantly cry out for justice, to think about the part that we all play in injustice. And to remember to power of prayer, specifically of our prayers to make a difference. Amen.

October 14, 2007

Have you said thank you today? - Your faith depends on it

Makeover’s have become really popular these days – people write Oprah hoping for the knock on the door that will change their lives. Extreme makeover is not just a show about houses that have rebuilt – but about people who have been rebuilt. We hear the stories of their past- we hear their dreams for being fixed – we watch their progress as they go through countless surgeries or other things will totally erase their past. We celebrate with them as their share with the community the new them – after they have lost weight, or whatever they needed to do.
There are a lot of shows that use this as a concept – but I would imagine that an even more exciting show – would be extreme makeover follow up – what happens to these people after the show- how do they deal with the changes after all of the excitement is over with. Do they become the person they were before the makeover? Or do their lives really change. And are they really emotionally prepared for these changes.
Afterall, the changes that are made are always cosmetic changes – things are fixed on the outside – but who these people are on the inside is never addressed. What inner habits may have created the outer reality is never addressed. What scars have been permantly formed from being the person they are, is never even talked about. But I think that for ages, we have all bought into the concept of living happily ever after – but we don’t want to hear the real story of what that means.
Imagine being a young man, in the prime of your life, just married the woman of your dreams, and one day she notices some white spots on your neck – and your life as you know it is over – because she has to report to the community and the priest that you have leprosy – and have to immediately move away from the community. Or imagine that your first child has been born two months ago – a son to carry on your name – and you too are diagnosed with leprosy- Or after a long period of trying to find your life work – you realize that you want to go into farming with your father – and as you celebrate your new found life – you lose it to leprosy. The laws in the book of Levitcus are very clear – if anyone notices a swelling in his skin or a scab or boil or pimple with transparent skin they are to be brought to the priest for examination. If the spot turns white – or if it looks more than skin deep, then the priest must declare him a leper. It could happen to anyone at any time in life. If they were a leper- the most important thing was protecting the rest of the community from they – so they were to live outside the gates of the city. They were to keep their distance from everyone and to declare to all that they were one of the untouchables. Life as they knew it was over – no family, no job, no meaning in life. Just gathering together with other lepers – totally dependent on the goodness of others to live. I could imagine that anyone in this condition would think of themselves as likely candidates for an extreme makeover.
Even back in that day – they had heard of an extreme makeover – they listened to that man Jesus as he talked about makeovers. They listened to his sermons as he talked about being restored to community. How even though the whole world treated them as outsiders, that there was a God who loved them and would treat them like anyone else.
No one really knows why Jesus would have been in this no man’s land on his way to Jerusalem. He was somewhere between Galilee and Samaria. Galilee was the home of the Jews, the people he was trying to reach with his message. Samaria was the home of their cousins – those who were no longer considered Jews. Yet Jesus noticed that these were the people most likely to listen to his message and to apply it to their lives. So as he was traveling to Jerusalem, this was the perfect place to stop and to preach. As he passes by the lepers – they cry out – Lord have mercy on us. To ask for mercy is to ask for what it due to you – what you deserve but for some reason it has been denied you- They wanted their lives back – they wanted the right to return back to their lives, their wives, their children, their jobs, their community – all the things that made life worth living. They had heard enough to know that Jesus had the power to give them just what they asked for. With no special potions, no special words – Jesus tells them that they will be healed. All they need to do is to show themselves to the priest, so that they can be restored into community.
They don’t even question Jesus – they immediately go back to their lives. Only 1 returns to thank Jesus for what he has done. Jesus gives him an additional blessing and tells him that his faith has made him whole. The others are healed on the outside – and yet Jesus knows that this one has been made whole on the inside too.
Jesus was in between Galilee and Samaria – his audience was mixed – we really have no idea how many of the lepers were Jewish and how many were Samarian. We never hear what happens in their lives after they return. What we do know that the one who thought to return to thank Jesus was a Samarian. Maybe he did not have a priest to return to. Maybe he did not have a family or life to return to. Maybe his mom had always taught him to say thank you – we don’t know what it was that made this one leper out of ten return to Jesus. What we do know is that this one was different – when all ten asked for mercy – nine were looking for cosmetic changes. Leprosy back then was understood as any type of skin condition. One was looking for changes in mind, body and spirit. Nine lepers were looking to get on with their lives – one wanted to live. Nine were looking for the acceptance of society – one was looking for the acceptance of God. One was looking for their past to be restored – one was looking toward the future. Nine were looking for changes – one was looking to be transformed. He was changed from the inside out. He was not the same person that he had been. He knew that from this moment on, once he had been touched by Jesus – things would never be the same. His life would be so much more than those dreams of the life that had been taken away from him. God had shown him a love that he could never imagine in a million years.
When you look at your life, which one are you – one of the nine or the one who stood out? Bear in mind that in those days- to say thank you was the last thing that you said to someone when the knew the relationship was over. If you knew you would never see the person again – you said thank you. The nine others had their lives restored – they were a part of the community again – they probably were not quite ready to saw good bye to Jesus – whereas the one – realized that no matter how hard he tried – things would never be the same for him- he could never go back to the man he used to be. That gesture of thanks seemed to really make a difference to Jesus. But this is not a sermon on gratitude – but on faith.
I can really relate to the story of Edward Spencer – he and I went to the same seminary – Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston. Edward attended that school in 1860 – a little bit before my time. One night, he was woken in the dorm – people were shouting that there had been an accident in the Winnetka harbor. A cargo ship has hit a cruise ship- people were in lake Michigan drowning. Edward was a good swimmer – so he ran the 31/2 miles to Winnetka to do what he could to help. He jumped in the water and started pulling people out- by dawn he had been able to rescue 15 people. He lay exhausted on the beach, when someone yelled that two more people were trapped on the ship. He swam back into the water and rescued them two. 300 people perished in the accident. 98 were rescued – Edward had saved 17 by himself. Unfortunately, Edward was never able to run the 3 ½ miles back down Sheridan Road to Garrett. As a matter of fact, Edward never returned to Garrett. After that night he lost the use his legs. He died an invalid in California. Late in his life, a reporter from the LA times interviewed him about his heroic rescue- he was asked what he remembered most about that night. He said that he remembered that of the 17 people that he rescued – not one of them ever said thank you. At least Jesus did get a thank you from one person. That one person who made all of the difference in the world.
I am sure that we can all identify with those 17 people. Some probably were healed – some did go on with their lives – some were genuinely grateful for being saved on that night, some probably even remembered that courageous seminary student who saved them. They just never got the chance to say thank you in person to him. Having no idea of what difference it would have made in the life story of the one who gave his legs, his hopes, his calling to save them. We are all grateful for the saviors that God has sent into our lives – who have given us life in so many ways. We really are grateful in our hearts – even though we don’t think to say it with our lips. Today is a perfect day to write a note, to make a phone call, to take someone out to lunch – to say thank you for all of the Edward Spencers in our life. But this is not a sermon about being thankful – this is a story about being faithful.
This is not a sermon about the nine lepers who went on with their lives – it is a sermon about that one who had been transformed and given new life by Jesus Christ. Jesus told the Samaritan- that his faith had made him well – not his thank you.
It is our faith that makes us well- not our thank you’s. The more faith is focused on Christ – the easier it is for us to remember to say thank you for each and every gift that we have been given.
Christ is always faithful, Christ always hears our cries of mercy. Christ always gives us love and life, but it is our response to Christ that gives us transformation and new life. It is our desire to say thank you that indeed makes the world a wonderful place to live for all people. What do you have to be thankful for today? How will you choose to live a thankful life today?

October 7, 2007

Today we celebrate world communion Sunday, this is a time when we know that we are united with Christians all over the world in a common task- and we can think of the power that we have to build God’s kingdom and celebrate that it is working – the world is changing. The power of transformation is in our unity – in what we are able to do together.
But while preparing for sermon on unity in world communion, I was struck with an email that I received from another pastor. She was asking for prayers for her cousin, Danny – who felt isolated and alone in Thailand. She says,
Dannie is an American and a cousin of a friend of mine. His wife is Thai(she isn't a Christian). She became homesick for her village in Thailandso Dannie agreed to move. I spoke of Dannie last year on World CommunionSunday because he had sent an e-mail that touched my heart so very much. It read, "Keep me in your prayers. Believe me, I need it. It's so hardto be alone as a Christian. But I do talk to my Lord a lot." Because ofhis request for prayers, members of my church committed to praying forhim. When I relayed that to Dannie, his response was, "I am sitting herein tears. I can feel the prayers of my brothers and sisters. I praiseGod and I give Him the glory. Now the prayers that I and so many otherChristians who are alone need are coming to fill us with the joy of JesusChrist. Please let the people who are praying for me know that they arealso in my prayers." That was a year ago. The e-mail I just received read, "I will takeCommunion 'with you'. I will be alone, but not alone in spirit. Jesus iswith me everywhere I go. There are no churches in the mountain villagewhere I live. No missionaries either. Your prayers are important to me. I do try to 'walk the walk' and I have been able to witness several times. This is a hard land for Christians, but it is full of wonderful people." Let us not forget that as we greet each other and embrace each other asone community of faith to another throughout this world, and as wecelebrate Communion together on this very special of days, there are thoseChristians who are alone. As Dannie's sister in Christ, I will pray fordaily focus for him, for steadfastness and for opportunities for him toreflect the love of Jesus Christ to his neighbors. Thank you again for your wonderful blessings and greetings. They will beframed and in our windowsills, on our altars and yes, on the Table. Wewill truly be surrounded by your fellowship and love. I was touched by the email – because I think that it is important to always remember the other side of unity – isolation. I always tell people that it is impossible to be a Christian on our own. When people tell me that they are Christian, but not spiritual, that they are religious, but they don’t want to go to church- I truly believe that the only way to be a Christian is to go to church – to be in community. Our faith is only challenged, and thus only grows when we are around people- people that we don’t understand, people that we don’t agree with, people that we have to learn to love. And yet we have all had those moments in our lives when we have felt like Danny – we felt lonely and alone – not necessarily by chance – but by situation. We have all had our moments when life didn’t make sense. Times when the normal things in life that gave us so much comfort – are painful because they bring back memories of the way things used to be- when they are no more. All summer, we have been following the plight of the isrealites. They have been threatened with exile from their land because of their sin. Well the moment happened – the Babylonians have led some of them away. They are fed, they are taken care of, the young are even educated – but as they sit by the canals of Babylon – dreaming of the rivers of Isreal – they become keenly aware that they are not at home – God has broken the promise to them – that they would always have a home. They got such joy in singing songs of praise- songs that celebrated God’s promise to them. To make a bad situation worse – their captors taunt them – seeing their grief by asking them to sing. But how can we sing the songs of zion in a foreign land. There are many people in the world today – who are just like Danny, just like the isrealites – wondering how to maintain their faith in a foreign land. On this world communion Sunday – let us remember those who are in exile from their countries – like those from Darfur, in Africa who are escaping famine and a government who are killing them. There are many in Africa who have to escape widescale genocide. There are those who are in Pakistan who are still trying to escape the effects of an earthquake. Those from Cuba, who come to America seeking a life of freedom. We remember these and many more today – because they are a part of the Christian family – when we take communion – we are solidarity with their situations and we pray for God’s healing of their situations. Exile is a physical situation, but it is also a spiritual situation. There are times when we can feel cut off from God and what God has called us to do. Many years later, when the isrealites were able to return to community, jesus was on the way to Jerusalem with his disciples. Jesus was reminding them of the importance of forgiveness. No matter what happens to us – it is okay to feel our grief. To refuse to sing the songs of praise. But as some point we have to move on, and the only way to move on is to forgive our brothers and sisters. The disciples were a lot like we are – how do you just forgive, when someone has done you wrong. We are faitfhful people – but reality always challenges our belief of the way things are supposed to be. They asks Jesus a question that we have to ask everyday. Can you increase our faith – because as it stands – we are not able to do what you asks of us. We want to be able to forgive and forget, but we just cant. We are inadequate, there are still things that we need to learn and understand, it will be a minute before we have the energy to move on, right now – we are still in our grief and we still need time to heal. Jesus tells the disciples – that they don’t need to increase their faith. Any amount of faith at all with make a difference. Jesus tell them that the faith of a mustard seed can move a mountain into the sea. A friend of mine says that she used to go outside and try to will the mountains in her back yard to move. Of course nothing would ever happen. Yet he real focus of he story is the power of our faith. Jesus is telling us that we don’t need to increase our faith – we can witness the power of God with what we have – even if it is just a small glimmer of hope. That glimmer can change our life – and is enough to change the world. Faith is not about our positive thoughts – faith is our willingness to trust that God will take care of us. God always does all of the work. Faith is a willingness to let God do the work without us needing to be in control. A small congregation on the smoky mountains built a new church on a piece of land willed to them by a member. Before the church opened, the building inspector came to the church to tell them that they could not open because the parking lot was not sufficient. The only way to expand the parking lot was to move a mountain behind the church. We all know by now that mountains don’t move. The pastor was determined to see the church opened. So she held prayer meetings every day. After the last amen on Friday – she told them that the church would be open on Sunday. Later that day – some men came to the church, explaining that they were building a shopping mall and they needed some dirt to build the foundation. They needed to get started immediately, if they could just take the dirt from the mountain. The mountain was literally moved, so that the parking lot could be built and the church could be opened. It only takes a little – to make a big difference. Most of us – in this area of the country it would be safe to say that none of us have a mountain in our back yard that needs to be moved. But all of us have prayers, all of us have dreams, all of us have hopes that something in the world will be different. We don’t know how things will change, we don’t know what we need to do to change things. We just have a little bit of faith – that things should change. It is that small glimmer of hope that will make a difference-God will do the rest. God wants us to remember that each and everything that we do in life is about God. Every situation that we find ourselves in, we need to ask – what does this have to do with God. Every challenge that we have we need to ask – how is God at work in this situation. We don’t need to increase our faith – we just need to use the little that we have. Even in the toughest of situations, remember that all things are possible with God. As we celebrate world communion Sunday, we are all keenly aware that unity amongst all Christians is not a reality – our differences still separate us. Even in our own church family – we all can’t work together on everything. There are many people who are not in exile from the Christian community, we still feel alone in a crowd. Who feel that no one is listening to them, no one cares for them. There are those who are suffering from grief. There are those who ask - how can I sing the songs of Zion, when I am amongst strangers. How can I praise God – when I hve nothing to celebrate. Jesus request to us all – is to just sing, just pray, just hope, just go forward, just celebrate our unity – God will do the rest! Amen.

September 30, 2007

There was a man, who spent his whole life dreaming of spending time in heaven, there were so many questions that he had of God, all he wanted in life was to sit at God’s feet and to listen to God’s word everyday all day. Well eventually his dream came true, he died and went to heaven. It was all that he had imagined it to be. He was so happy to see his Lord face to face and to be able to talk with him. There was just one concern that he had in the back of his mind. He noticed that on the first day, when it came time for dinner he was served a bologna sandwich and potato chips. And when he looked down on the people in hell, he could have swore that they were having lobster. The next day he was served a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and the people in hell had steak. And on the third day, while eating his hot dog- he noticed that the people in hell had a full blown buffet - with every good food that he could imagine.
Finally, after dinner on this day he thought he would question God – God it seems that the people in hell seemed to have these fabulous meals. I am so happy in heaven, this has been a wonderful time – but I don’t quite understand why the meals are so bland – when the people in hell have a feast every night. God replied – well you know – it is just so hard to cook for two people. I told that story once at a meeting, and a really strict Christian woman looked at me in horror – how dare I talk that way about heaven. But that joke has special meaning for me- because I find that it really is difficult to cook for two people. At least when my son was home – I never really shopped for what I wanted because I knew that he would eat it before I got a chance. But at least when we had leftover – I could force him to eat them until they were gone. Now that it is just me, I get all of these cravings for all of the food that I really want. But after one day – it sits in the refrigerator forever, because I don’t want it anymore, I am not going to force myself to eat old food and it goes to waste. It is just so hard to cook for one or two people.
But I guess that really religious woman at the meeting was right – the real point is about heaven. How do we live our lives in order to get there, what happens when we get there, and doesn’t going to heaven give us certain rights and priviledges over the people going to hell? (by the grace of God I am expecting to go to heaven, and I am expecting each of you to be given that same grace – but really, does that mean that we have more rights and priviledges over the people who are going to hell? I think that is a question that could be debated over and over again.
Both 1 Timothy and Luke talk about the rights and priviledges of those who are going to heaven. In Timothy, Paul is giving advice to his mentee Timothy. He is addressing those preachers in Ephesus who loved to stir up controversy and to keep the people confused. We have all heard Paul’s advice whether we know anything about the bible or not. Most of us have heard to advice as money is the root of all evil. And yet that is not what Paul says – Paul was not talking about money at all. He actually says the love of money is the root of all evil. Your attitude toward money and all of your wordly possessions is what leads you to heaven or hell. Jesus would agree with that point. It is that craving inside to have more, to be better, to create bigger that drives us to steal more than our fair share of resources intended for all. It is our need to maintain the lifestyle that we think we are entitled to the leads us to forget about the needs of other people. We have to fill up our gas tanks on a regular basis. I have heard stories that in less than fifty years the world will have used up most of the natural oil supply. But when you depend on your car every day to get to work and there is no direct route of public transportation – using up all of the oil in the world is a very distant reality. What we need to get through our everyday lives – is just one example of how our needs and our desires and our cravings control our life. There is just no room for us to think of the big picture of how we affect others and our own future. The media thrives on creating needs in our lives – we are told everyday that it is time for us to buy a new car, - have you seen the Honda commercial where the man actually knocks on the tv and tells you that if you are seeing this commercial that its that time of year again – time to new car. We are also told that we need to update our wardrobe, and that if you really want to be cool – you need to drink Miller beer. These companies spend so much money creating needs for us because they depend on our attititude toward money to survive. They need us to need more, bigger, better, improved. The love of money is not the root of all evil, it is the feeling that what I have is not enough- so I need to get more that is the root of all evil. It is the root of our jealousy, our anger, our disappointment, our need to put our needs before the needs of other people. Because our needs are not only immediate, they are also important.
It is 1 Timothy that reminds us that there is great gain in learning to be content with what you have. You came into this world with nothing and you will leave with nothing and God will supply what you all that you really need in the meantime. Paul says that there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment.
There are many of us grace filled Christians, who think that God fulfilling our basic needs is a special blessing. When we are given extra money, when we are given more than what we need to survive, when we get that house that we have been praying for – we look at that as a sign that God really loves us, that God has given us special favor. Forgetting that on the day that we were given more, that there are countless others who don’t have enough money, who don’t have enough food, who were not cured of that illness that God loves just as much as God loves us. It is not what we possess that is evil, it is our attitude toward it that is. There is great gain in godliness – not in what we have- but in learning to be content with what we have. God had provided for us as a gift not at a special priviledge over others. Ephesus, where Timothy lived was a very wealthy town. I have walked down the streets of Ephesus myself – the sidewalks are made of marble, and each house actually had heated floors so that you could keep your feet warm in the winter. Paul reminds that people of Ephesus to take the blessings that they had been given to be rich not in possessions, but in good works generosity and the willingess to share. It is okay to have things, as long as you also have the right attitude. Paul would later point out that God blesses us, not because we are special – but so that we can cheerfully share with others. I read a quote from a bishop who put the concept of sharing in a very powerful way. To the hungry belongs the bread you keep, to the naked belongs the clothing in your closet, to the barefoot the shoes you leave to rot, to the needy, the silver you buried. I thought that was a harsh way to encourage us to share – yet definitely something to think about. Actually I learned that in greek the word for community and the word for generosity are the same root – koinania. Being the people of God means to live in both community and generosity. To be willing to not only see our needs, but also see the needs of others around us.
There were two men who were in a second story apartment. One of the men encouraged the other to look out the window and to report what he saw. Well I see a woman playing in the park with her children. I see a couple taking a walk – I see, a man sitting on a bench. They walked away from the window – and there was a mirror directly opposite the window and he asked the man to look in the mirror and to once again report what he saw. The man reported – I see a reflection of myself. The other man responded – isn’t that interesting a window and a mirror – both are made on glass. It is just that one has a little silver behind it, and in the presence of that silver all that you see is yourself – when the reflection of all of the people that you saw in the mirror is still there- but you were not looking for them, so you didn’t see them. It is not the love of silver that is the root of all evil – it is our attitude toward silver that is the root of all evil. And I know that most of us here consider ourselves to be grace filled Christians – we think that we don’t have a problem with our giving – we give what we can – but let me ask you, How many of us look in the mirror everday – looking only for ourselves – being totally blinded by what we see. How many of us look in our lives everyday – looking at only our concerns, our needs for the day – never thinking to look for the presence of others.
Jesus drives the point home by telling the story of Lazarus and the rich man. This is actually a very old story told in a new way. The Egyptian god of the underworld – Osirus was the one who would give the cup of life to the favored dead – so that they could indeed be renewed and refreshed with new life. Jesus takes this old concept and instead of Osirus giving the cup of life – it is Abraham the father of all of the faithful who gives the cup of new life to Lazarus who had a very tough life, but now that he is in heaven finds rest and comfort, while the rich man who had it all in life finds discomfort and painful realizations. The switching of fate that we expect in heaven. Now in life- the man was not mean, he didn’t do harm to Lazarus, he was not responsible for Lazurus suffering. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even see Lazurus – he didn’t even know that people like Lazurus existed. It wasn’t wrong – but when he got to heaven it was enough to make him feel connected to God. Hell is longing for something that you realize that you can never have. He missed an opportunity of grace that will never be offered to him again. In getting caught up in fulfilling his daily needs – he never even thought to listen to the call of God to be in generous community.- to share what he had with those who asked.
Last week a man came into the church to ask for money to get back to Gary Indiana. He had been stuck in Oak Park for 48 hours and no one would give him the money to get home. I gave him $10 to get home and asked that when he got it that he be sure to give $10 to someone else. The day care director chastised me for giving the money – saying that he could have used it for drugs. I explained that I did not give him the money because I thought that he needed it. After 48 hours he could have walked to Gary Indiana, if he was that interested in getting home. But I gave him the money – because I am trying to change the way I see people in the world. How do I respond to people in need. When people are on the street asking for a donation – I make a point not to have anything to give. If I give it all to them – then there won’t be enough to take care of my own needs. Is it God who supplies for my needs or my money. Money is not the root of all evil – our attitude toward it is. How do we determine who much we spend on others and how much we spend on ourselves. How do we determine to trust God in our lives to bless us, not because we are special, but so that we can bless others. The rich man realized that in caring for his daily needs, he had forgot to care for his relationship with God. And now there was no fixing that gap in his life.
The man realizes what he cannot redo, but he asks that Lazarus go to warn his brothers who are living the same way. Jesus responds with one of the most ironic lines in the bible – if they are not willing to listen to Moses and the prophets, then neither will they be convinced by someone who rises from the dead. It is Ironic because Jesus is that person for us, who has risen from the dead to give us a message of generous community. It is never too late for us to realize how we have been blinded in life by the things that we look for – and if we look for him, Lazarus is sent to us each and everday to give us a message of God’s love for us. Who is that Lazarus in your life?

Setember 23, 2007 - making money, friends and influence

(Brer Rabbit Earns a Dollar-A-Minute as retold by S. E. Schlosser)

One fine morning, Brer Fox decided to plant him a patch of goober peas. He set to with a will and before you know it, he had raked and hoed out a beautiful patch of ground and he put in a fine planting of peas. It didn't take too long before those goober vines grew tall and long and the peas ripened up good and smart.
Now Brer Rabbit, he'd watched Brer Fox planting the goobers and he told his children and Miz Rabbit where they could find the patch. Soon as those peas were ripe, the little Rabbits and Brer Rabbit would sneak on in and grab up them goobers by the handfuls. It got so bad that when Brer Fox came to the goober patch, he could hardly find a pea to call his own.
Well, Brer Fox, he was plenty mad that he'd worked so hard on those peas only to have them eaten by someone else. He suspected that Brer Rabbit was to blame for this, but the rascally rabbit had covered his tracks so well that Brer Fox couldn't catch him. So Brer Fox came up with a plan. He found a smooth spot in his fence where a cunning rabbit could sneak in, and he set a trap for Brer Rabbit at that spot. He tied a rope to a nearby hickory sapling and bent it nearly double. Then he took the other end of the rope and made a loop knot that he fastened with a trigger right around the hole in the fence. If anybody came through the crack to steal his peas, the knot would tighten around their body, the sapling would spring upright, and they would be left hanging from the tree for everyone to see.
The next morning, Brer Rabbit came a-slipping through the hole in the fence. At once, the trigger sprung, the knot tightened on his forelegs, and the hickory tree snapped upright, quick as you please. Brer Rabbit found himself swung aloft betwixt the heaven and the earth, swinging from the hickory sapling. He couldn't go up and he couldn't go down. He just went back and forth.
Brer Rabbit was in a fix, no mistake. He was trying to come up with some glib explanation for Brer Fox when he heard someone a-rumbling and a-bumbling down the road. It was Brer Bear, looking for a bee-tree so he could get him some honey. As soon as Brer Rabbit saw Brer Bear, he came up with a plan to get himself free.
"Howdy, Brer Bear," he called cheerfully. Brer Bear squinted around here and there, wondering where the voice had come from. Then he looked up and saw Brer Rabbit swinging from the sapling.
"Howdy Brer Rabbit," he rumbled. "How are you this morning?"
"Middling, Brer Bear," Rabbit replied. "Just middling."
Brer Bear was wondering why Brer Rabbit was up in the tree, so he asked him about it. Brer Rabbit grinned and said that he was earning a dollar-a-minute from Brer Fox.
"A dollar-a-minute!" Brer Bear exclaimed. "What for?"
"I'm keeping the crows away from his goober patch," Brer Rabbit explained, and went on to say that Brer Fox was paying a dollar-a-minute to whomever would act as a scarecrow for him.
Well, Brer Bear liked the sound of that. He had a big family to feed, and he could use the money. When Brer Rabbit asked him if he would like to have the job, Brer Bear agreed. Brer Rabbit showed him how to bend the sapling down and remove the knot from his forepaws. When Brer Rabbit was free, Brer Bear climbed into the knot and soon he was hanging aloft betwixt heaven and earth, swing to and from the sapling and growling at the birds to keep them away from the goober patch.
Brer Rabbit laughed and laughed at the sight of Brer Bear up in the sapling. He scampered down the road to Brer Fox's place and told him that his trap was sprung and the goober thief was hanging from the hickory tree. Brer Fox grabbed his walking stick and ran down the road after Brer Rabbit. When he saw Brer Bear hanging there, Brer Fox called him a goober thief. Brer Fox ranted and raved and threatened to hit Brer Bear with his walking stick. He yelled so loud that Brer Bear didn't have time to explain nothing!
Brer Rabbit knew that Brer Bear would be plenty mad at him when he found out he had been tricked, and so he ran down the road and hid in the mud beside the pond, so that only his eyeballs stuck out, making him look like a big old bullfrog. By and by, a very grumpy Brer Bear came lumbering down the road.
"Howdy, Brer Bullfrog," Brer Bear said when he saw Brer Rabbit's eyes sticking out of the mud. "You seen Brer Rabbit anywhere?"
"Brer Rabbit jest ran on down the road," he told the grumpy Brer Bear in a deep croaking voice that sounded just like the voice of a frog. Brer Bear thanked him and trotted down the road, growling fiercely.
When Brer Bear was out of sight, Brer Rabbit jumped out of the mud. He washed himself off in the pond and then scampered home, chuckling to himself at how he'd escaped from Brer Fox and Brer Bear, and already thinking up a new way to get into Brer Fox's goober patch to get him some peas to eat.

Stories of how the trickster was able to use wit in order to outsmart others have been a part of folklore for generations. My mother used to tell me the stories of brer rabbit when I was a child. These stories were popular in the south and in African American culture. In Africa and the carribean there are the stories of anansi the spider. In these stories, the trickster becomes the hero – you know that he is wrong and you know that you are not supposed to emulate his behavior, but he becomes popular because he gets away with the things that we can only fantasize about. These stories have been a part of the human psyche. They serve a purpose for us. How else would you explain their popularity. How else do you explain O.J. Simpson capturing our headlines for the last two weeks. Why would it be breaking news that someone who committed a crime has posted bail and is returning home? Why would a book about how someone murdered their wife be a best seller. O.J. Simpson is our modern day trickster. The man who can get away with what we can’t do. He makes headlines, because everyone is wondering if he will get away with a crime again.
There was never a time when I was embarrassed by our nation’s priorities. The media knows that to cover his story will only give him the publicity that he is so desparately seeking- yet they scurry to tell his story. Oprah talked about how she refused to read his book, knowing full well that just giving the situation air time will make the book a bestseller. And what about the common person – we know that he is wrong, we would never condone what he does, yet we listen to the story. We allow this to go on. I can relate to how Jeremiah must have felt as he looked at the actions of his day- as he says that his heart is sick over his people. When I think about the whole O.J. situation I am just sick – sick and sad at his arrogance, sick at our reaction to it, sick that the whole situations seems to make a mockery of justice. And yet you hope that somewhere, somehow there will be a sense of justice in this situation. A hope that people will somehow come to their senses and stop feeding the enormous ego that keeps all of this going on.
For jeremiah his sense of hope was that the people of Isreal would realize that they had stepped away from the values that they had been raised with. Hope that they would stop relying on what they had achieved in on their own and go back to trusting God. Hope that they would stop trying to be like others and spend more time trying to be like God. He prays that God will be present to change the situation and to create a future where his people will not have to suffer. He comes to realize that God is indeed in the picture and that God indeed does care about his people. And yet, even when God is closest to us, God cannot or will not protect us from the consequences of our own dumb actions. Even though God was indeed present and at work – that would not stop Isreal from paying from its sins. That the wheels were already set in motion, and they were set to go into exile and to be kicked out of their land. God couldn’t save them from what was set in motion, but they could realize what they had done and repent, turn around and do things differently.
I think that we listen to the O.J. story because we too hope that he will publicly announce that he has learned from his mistakes. The last headline is that this could be the end of the road for him. That if convicted, he could face life in prison. We don’t want him to go to jail for life, but We hope that this time, he will be able to say that he has made a mistake and that he will change his behavior.
Jeremiah too hopes that the people will understand the error of their ways. Will be able to publicly acknowledge that they have stepped away from God. And after they have experienced the consequences of their bad ways, they will decide to walk with God. Maybe that is what we hope about OJ.
But in the meantime, the trickster story serves a purpose in our hearts. We still cheer for the bad boy- how else do you explain Jesus story in Luke 16 – he tells the story of another trickster – a steward who has squandered away the money of his master. He has been fired from his job of supervisor of the others sharecroppers. Before he totally leaves, he goes to the others who also owe money to the landowner. When the landowner returns he is thought of as a hero – he has to commend the steward for his shrewdness in handling a bad situation. Jesus tells his disciples that they should be just as shrewd.
Many people struggle with story – why would Jesus commend a man for cheating and not taking responsibility for his actions? Because Jesus is an expert on human nature – he knows that even though it doesn’t make sense, he meets us where we are - we love to listen to the antics of tricksters – we are always listening to see what will happen next. Jesus uses this as a story to get our attention – but with a powerful message. Tricksters like brer rabbit, OJ Simpson, the irresponsible steward are motivated by self interest. They will do whatever they can to save themselves. Imagine if all of the energy that they put into saving themselves was put into saving others- what a difference they could make in the world. Imagine the difference that we who give the trickster attention could make if we channeled our energy into making a difference in the world. Jesus asks each one of us – if the children of this age can be so shrewd in their dealings, why cant the children of the light be shrewd with spreading the light of God to a world who is still in desparate need of a sense of real hope. Give people something to believe in, something else to talk about besides OJ’s freedom.
Jesus reminds us that we are indeed the irresponsible steward in this story – we are the trickster. We have been given a responsibility to take care of God’s people, and we have fallen down on the job. We have not used our resources to help others, we have helped in keeping others slaves to their lives, we have been given the opportunity to forgive those who have hurt us- we have the power to change the ending of the trickster story. We have the good news that the good guy is the hero of the story. We can make lots of money, we have makes lots of friends, we can even have a lot of influence in the world. It is not what he have – it is how we use it that distinguishes us as children of the light. It is our intention that distinguishes dishonest wealth from true riches. Jesus says if you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches.
Dishonest wealth serves ourself, true riches serves others. Dishonest wealth is used to get us out of a tough spot, true riches are used to empower us to make the world a better place. Dishonest wealth does not ask us to think about justice, true riches encourages us to make decisions which are beneficial to others. Most importantly, you can’t take dishonest wealth with you when you die, true riches are what get you a free ticket to eternity.
There is still hope for someone like O.J. – he is a child of God, maybe someday someone will be able to tell him that in a way that he can hear. His conversion story will make national news. It will be a big story that will make a difference for a lot of people. But Jesus reminds us that we too can make a difference, that our realization of what it means to be a good caretaker of God’s world, of God’s people, of God’s resources- makes just as much difference in the world.
Osceala McCarthy is a lady from Mississipi - She quit school in the sixth grade to take care of a sick aunt. It was just never practical for her to return to school. She spent the next 75 years washing and ironing clothes for a living. She never go married, never had children, she never even learned to drive a car. What she did do very well was save money. There were times in her life when she had to cut the toes our of her shoes in order to repair them to wear, she had only one bible, which she had to scotch tape together. In 1995 she was able to go the University of Southern Mississippi to donate $150,000 to give scholarships to well deserving African American students. While still alive, she was able to give another $100,000 to her church and relatives. She gave away over $250,000. that’s a lot of money. Was that dishonest wealth or true riches? Many of here may say that we don’t have $200,000 in money to give away to others. Money is not the only resource that God has entrusted us with. We have time, we have love, we have the ability to think through the toughest of situations, we have the ability to hear the cries of God’s people. We may not have a lot, but the little that we have will work just as well. Jesus says that whoever is faithful in a little will be faithful also in much. We always have $250,000 worth of faith that Jesus loves the world to transform it. How will you put it to good use?

A Lesson in Humility September 1, 2007

A Lesson in Humility The scripture from jeremiah starts out with some pretty strong words to have to hear – What wrong have I done that you and your ancestors went away from me and went after worthless things. How do you answer a omnipotent God who is everything who asks you want have I done wrong that you left? That question could be construed as a guilt trip – afterall, we would never leave God. We put God first in our lives everyday. We heed the words of God in our lives, we take seriously what God says to us and we apply it diligently to our lives. This scripture must be addressing a situation of the past – not us. Actually Jeremiah is giving a final warning to the ancient people of Isreal. They have gotten to know the people around them, they have incorporated their ways of life. But they have also started to practice their religion – to even believe in their God. Knowing full well that the God that they worship is the one and only real God. Any other religion is only junk in the face of God. There us no other God but the one God of Heaven. In order to bring peace to his land, the king of isreal has allowed this incorporation of other worship practices. We learn later in the scripture that the people are indeed taken away to Babylon, and the country of isreal ceases to exist,because they were not wholeheartedly faithful to God. It is easy for us to think that this is about them – and not a wake up call for all faithful people- including us here. God is speaking to us when he has what he has done wrong that we have strayed from God. This is an invitation for us to look at our own lives – where have we gotten so comfortable with our lives, that we have forgotten to look at what we are doing. Is worshipping God in our lives really the most important thing to us? Or have we let other things creep in an take our attention? Are we more concerned about that project at work, or even that project at home. Do we care more about what the neighbors say about us than about what God says about us? Do we just assume that we know what it means to be a Christian – that we don’t have to examine our lives? At some point or another- actually each and every day we need to examine and question our lives – and to answer God’s question of why we have strayed away. One lesson that I think that we all know about – but don’t always apply to our lives is Jesus call to be humble in Luke 14. Jesus has been invited to a breakfast at the house of a prominent Pharisee. This was a sign that Jesus has really made it – only important people invite other important people to their functions. In those days to invite someone less than you to a party, meant that you would lose your social status. Whomever you invited to your party was obligated to invite you to one of their functions. That was how you moved up in the world. Jesus was happy to oblige that social necessity. But it wasn’t quite appropriate for him to instruct the host and his friends on how to throw a party. Everyone seemed to think that they were the most important person at the party. So they were jockeying for the most important positions. Jesus tells that that is a little rude, they might be embarrassed at how unimportant they really are. But he also tells them not to invite those of equal status, but to invite those who are too poor to return the favor. These words of advice stick out in my mind – this was the first bible lesson that my cousin taught us as a child – that when you go to a party – to make sure to take the lesser seat, and if you are worthy they you will be invited to a more honorable seat. But for Jesus, this was not a lesson in etiquette of how to behave at a party. This is a lesson on how to live our lives today and in eternity. Jesus us teaching us to be humble – to not think of ourselves as more important than anyone else. Humility is the absence of pride, conceit and vengeance. But us is also the presence of a willingness to be helpful and a selfless concern of the things that matter most to God. Humility is our open door to a relationship with God. It allows us to honesty answer God when we are asked why we have abandoned God. It allows us to acknowledge what we have done and to ask for forgiveness. It allows us to listen when God tells us how to go forward and to serve more fully. One man had to learn his lesson of humility, like most of us the hard way. He finally was hired at an important company in town. He was just a mail clerk who worked in the basement, but it didn’t matter – at least he was in the door – which is more than he could say for others. One day a cock roach crawled in front of him on the floor. Just as he raised his foot to kill it, he realized that it was talking to him. If you spare my life, then I will grant anything that you want. The man thought a minute, and decided at least it was worth a try – well if you just get me a job on the first floor- I will feel so much better about myself. The next day that he comes to work he is informed that he has been promoted to a desk job on the first floor. He is so excited – when the cockroach crawls by his desk the next week we thanks him. But the cockroach asks if there is anything else that he could do for him – and the man asks for a promotion to a job on the second floor. I don’t know that I could be that comfortable talking to a cockroach crawling across the floor- but anyway… The man is amazed at his wonderful luck. As the weeks pass, he has moved all the way up to a corner office in the sixth floor. There are only seven floors in the company – and the entire seventh floor is reserved for the president of the company. He knows he will never get to the second floor but he can dream can’t he. Sure enough that night the cockroach pays him a visit and he makes the request. On the news the next day he hears the report- the president has had a heart attack and died. When he comes to work the next day his told that he has been chosen as the president. The seventh floor office is his. When he sits at his desk gloating at his success, he realizes that that there us an opening in the ceiling which leads to the roof. Just to make sure that he has indeed reached the highest spot in the company – he climbs through the hole. He notices that there is a man in the corner of the roof. He walks over to the man to see what he is doing there – the man in tattered clothing says that he knows that he is the most important person in the company- but there is still someone who is higher then he and he is praying to that person. Our successful man is utterly outdone by what he has seen and heard – someone more important than he is his company. In his conversation with the cockroach – he says that he wants to get to know this God who is more important than he. He want to be near God and to value the things that God values. The next morning he returns to work – to his place in the basement. He comes to understand the importance of humility in his life and in his walk with God. Humility is the doorway where we get to know God. Humility is our opportunity to be in tune with those things that are important to God. Each and every day, there are certain spiritual pills that we need to take in order to live a healthy Christian life – they are prayer, forgiveness, thankfulness, humility, hospitality, and charity. Instead of jockey positions with the people on the social A list – we need to hobknob with the people on the k list- Those whom God had a special care and concern for. Afterall God reminds us that in the eyes of heaven we are all equal and deserving of God’s love. I would like to try an experiment in order to do this I need to have three volunteers to come up to the front. It is important that everyone have an open mind and take this game with a grain of salt….. Arrange yourself from left to right from youngest to oldest. The trick is you can only trade places with the person next to you, and there can be no talking or hand gestures. You just have to assume that you know – no arrange yourselves according to height order. Now arrange yourself in order of intelligence. Now to make this easier- I would just ask you given the lesson that we just learned – what would Jesus do? It is not our place to judge whether the order you chose is right or wrong - because in God’s eyes we are all equal and equally important. Let us remember that the lesson is not about age, or height or intelligence, but in humility. Our personal ability to put others before us. Thank you to our volunteers for demonstrating that for us. Humility – is our invitation to a very important party. God’s party- where anybody who is anybody is invited. And God has given the church the responsibility to carry out the party plans. To be intentional to include those whom the world has forgotten and forsaken. Because those who are the people who embody the spirit of God – who we must not forget and forsake. Come to be a part of the party at God’s table. Amen.

Where is Your Faith? - August 19, 2007

Imagine, you are on a camping trip. It is nighttime, and the perfume of pine forest is all around you, You have left your cabin for a peaceful walk. Your leaders for the trip take you up the steep hill behind the cabin. You are led to the middle of a forest clearing, and you are instructed to lay down on your back and to watch the night time sky. You are told that if you wait and watch, you will see an unbelievable surprise. You wait for what seems like an impossibly long time. You keep quite still as you watch the glory of stars undimmed by the presence of city lights. You watch and wait, and it seems that nothing happens. You begin to think that you have been trapped – that this is some kind of joke. But you faith in your leaders, keeps you waiting and watching. Then suddenly the sky is filled by a wondrous blazing meotor show. You silent waiting is replaced by awe filled voices, as you and those you are with rejoice in the wonder that you have just saw. You had honestly questioned this whole experience, but in the end you received a reward for waiting in faith, a reward beyond anything that you could have made up in your mind.
Perhaps we can do this exercise when we go on our church camping trip. Getting away and just watching the night sky always brings the reward of awe. There is always something going on in the stars.
And yet this is a representation of our life as faithful people. God is our ever present leader on a journey. God tells us that there is a wonderful surprise in life coming up, it will be something that is greater than anything that we can imagine. We wait and we look forward to this wonderful surprise, but nothing happens. We get doubtful, we start to think that perhaps God does not know what anything. There is no surprise in life, there is nothing to look forward to. There is only the day grind of things that need our attention, things that we need to get through. Life just is, most of the time there is no reward.
That was the attitude of the people of the new church- they were told that Jesus was coming soon – that there would be a reward for a hard life. Moments passed, as a matter of fact, by this time years have passed and nothing has happened. There are no signs of Jesus. This fragile church that Paul addresses in Hebrews is made up of both Jews and gentiles. They have been able to overcome their differences to become a united church. But they have also found that they are being teased by others in their community. People are telling them that they are wasting their time. There is no need to wait for a Jesus who is not going to show up. It just doesn’t make sense to believe in something that you cant see. Paul reminds them that just because you cant see it, that doesn’t mean that it is not there. Afterall, the stars in the sky put on a wonderful show each and every night, but how many of us really take the time to pay attention to actually watch it. God speaks to us and gives us a vision all of the time. Most of the time we are so caught up in our doubt and cynisim that we forget to listen to a positive message from heaven.
Paul uses the of Sarah and Abraham as an example of faithful living. He is 98 and she is 90. together they are almost a quarter of a millenuim. Today they would be living together in a nursing home. They have no children to take care of them, so they are reliant on the staff for all of their care. And all of a sudden they get a vision to leave the safe care of the nursing home, and to go out into the desert into a new land. They are encouraged to take care of themselves and to listen to that voice of God calling them forward. The nurses at the home are especially concerned about this strange disappearance of Sarah, because her blood test show something strange. They have never had to do a pregnancy test on any of their patients, but for some reason they did and found that she is pregnant. In the midst of the worst of circumstances, when they thought that all hope was gone, God made a promise the Abraham and Sarah, and god fulfilled on that promise. God promised that they would have a family so large that its number would be like the stars in the sky. Over 5000 years longer, we can marvel at the fact that god did fulfill on that promise. But what must it have been like to follow a promise that makes no sense, and has nothing to do with reality. God has made each of us that same promise, but how many of us have a faith to wait for that promise to be fulfilled? How many of us are even still enough to hear God make that promise to us?
When the church in Hebrews was discouraged, Paul went back into history. And showed that many who had come before had followed God’s voice in their lives. They committed to living a life of faith, some times they never saw that faith fulfilled, but the generation who came after did. It reminds us to think of our ancestors and the dreams and visions that they had for the world. Having an education was very important for my grandmother, but it was something that she was denied. She always encouraged me to do the best that I could in school and to take advantage of every opportunity that I was given. When I got to college we were told the story of racism on campus in the sixties. We were reminded that we were free to get an education because of the many who sacrificed their education to sit in and demand equal education for all people regardless of their skin color. It is that reminder of the past that inspires to create a future for generations to come. To create a world that doesn’t exist today. It exist only in our faith and God’s vision. Who are the people in your past, who created your world, who fulfilled God’s promises so that you can live. Paul reminds us that we all have faithful ancestors and in times of doubt, we need to remember their stories.
A father and his five year old daughter were sitting around together talking. As he was reading his paper, the conversation went to dolls. The father promised his daughter that he would build her a doll house. The next day, he noticed that the daughter started to gather all of her dolls, and to collect all of her little tea pots, and all of the other things that you would out in a doll house. He asked wife what she was doing. The wife responded that she had been promised a doll house, and that she was making preparations to move in. the husband immediately put down his paper, and ran to the garage to build that house. It was important to fulfill the plans of his daughter. He wanted his daughter to believe in him. God is a lot like that father, God wants to fulfill our visions. God will do anything to fulfill the promises that have been made to us. It has been said that it is not a great faith that we need, but we need faith in a great God and the great promises that God will fulfill.
Jesus puts a new spin on being willing to watch and to wait. He tells us that being a child of God is the most wonderful gift that we could ever receive, but that it also comes with a responsibility. Our watching and waiting is to be filled with disciplship. Waiting is making a choice to be obedient to God. God is steadfast in God’s promise to us, so we must be steadfast in our faith. Jesus tells two stories one of those we are able to wait in steadfast faith and one who is not.
First he tells of servant who wait for their master – and when he comes he puts on his apron and serves and feeds the servants. Jesus is the one who will serve us, who feeds us all that we need to get through life.
Then he tells of a man who falls asleep while guarding his house – and thieves break in and steal his possessions. For those who don’t expect it – Jesus Presence is like a thief in the night, that steals our life away from us. When we are expecting one thing – Jesus makes another happen. It all depends on how we formulate our priorities - is our life about what we want – or what God has called us to do?
We have no way of knowing when Jesus will return, but we can be sure that he will. What will he find us doing when he comes? When we are waiting as a faithful disciple, there is not need to be anxious over uncertainty. What we hope for in the future, affects how we choose to live our life today. When we die, we cant take our finances with us, but we can take our character. So are we building up our possessions or our faith? When we talk of our self worth are we talking about how much we have or how much God values us. In God’s eyes, we are worth more than you ever know. Shouldn’t we respond by faithful living?
Isaiah sums it waiting in Christian discipleship very well when he says – Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, remove the evil of your doings, cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan and plead for the widow.

All That You Have is your Soul

A wise older man and a young ambitious young man had a conversation. The older man asked the younger one what he intended to do with his life. “Well said the younger man, I will learn my trade.” And then asked the older man, “I will set up in business” said the younger man. And then asked the wise man, “I will find a wife and get married and start a family” and then…I will make my fortune…. And then – the younger man hesitated and bit and said, “ I suppose that I shall grow old and retire and live on my money” and then. The younger man got a little slower in his answers but he responds, “Well I suppose that some day I will die. But the wise old man asks one more question…and then?
We are all like the young man, we plan our lives, we decide what we are going to do, we plan how happy we will be when accomplish those plans, we prepare ourselves to just go forward with life. And Jesus is there to remind us that there is more to life than making a living. There is more to us than what we do – true life is about who we are. What did God bring us into the story of history to do? What is it that captures your soul? The Hebrew word for soul is nefesh, which means one’s whole being, one’s whole existence. The gospel lesson is a sober reminder that God is the one who demands our whole being. At some point in our lives, God comes to each of us and demands that we return the life that we have been given. No matter who we are, no matter what we do in life or don’t do, we will all die, and our souls will be returned to God. What is it that captures your soul? Unfortunately, that is not always a positive statement. We can be captured with the love and will of God. But the reality is that our souls are usually captured by something else – all of us get caught up in the midst of our lives – and we think that our life is the most important thing in the world.
What is it that captures your soul? You soul can be captured by fear, by busyness, by concern, by greed, by determination. There are countless things in our life that stand in our soul’s ultimate purpose to honor and praise God.
One of the most pervasive things that stand in the way of our soul’s purpose to honor God is our stuff. We seem to love our stuff. We spend our lives trying to acquire stuff. It is the stuff that we possess that gives us our identity, it defines who we are, it is our reward for doing the right thing, it is our comfort when our feelings are hurt, it is it is our substitute for failed relationships. Stuff is everything to us.
The self-storage association reported that stuff is so important to Americans that the storage industry is the fastest growing sector of the real estate industry. In other words, it is more important for people to have a storage space for their stuff, and then it is to have a house for their bodies. In 1984 there were 6,601 storage facilities, taking up more than 289.7 million square feet. In 2007, there are 59,657 storage facilities taking up mover 2.2 billion square feet. There are enough storage facilities for every American to have 17.2 square feet of storage. There is so much storage space in America that there is room for every man, women and child to stand under the roof of a storage unit. There are still to build thousands of new storage facilities in the coming years. In 1995 it was reported that in 17 people owned storage, today that number is 1 in 10 and it is expected to increase. We love our stuff!
We are so attached to our stuff that there is even a rumor that since Jesus lived so long ago and since he was such a nice person, that he always talked about our souls, but he would never address our stuff. Jesus was concerned about our behavior, but he would never address money issues. That is not true. It may not be appropriate for the preacher to talk about money issues – but the truth is – that Jesus talked about money all of the time. He was a little obsessed with it actually. Almost 2/3 of his parables had to do with money or possessions. The story in Luke 12:13-21 is one of those times when Jesus talks about money.
A man, probably a younger brother steps out of the crowd to ask Jesus to settle a dispute between his brother over his inheritance. In those days, it was the older brother who received the inheritance from his father. It was his decision to share it with his other brothers. Jesus tells him that he has not come here to settle disputes between brothers. Instead he tells the brother and all listening the story of a farmer who stored up grain for himself. He was so blessed that he had too much grain, and decided to tear down his old storehouses and to build bigger ones. God gets a little concerned about the man’s priorities, and demands his soul that very night. We are supposed to strive to be rich in God, not in stuff. Because you can’t take stuff with you when you die.
The bible calls this man a silly fool. But we are all a lot like him. He was not a bad man; he did not have evil intentions. But he was convinced that his life was in his hands. As he spoke of his dilemma of having too much stuff and needing more storage space, his whole conversation was about himself. What he had, what he could do, how it would affect him. His whole conversation was about me and mine. Jesus’ conversation is always about we and us. We are not in this world alone- there are many others in need. When we hold onto our money and possession, there are always others who do without. Jesus didn’t have any possession. He didn’t have a house, or a donkey or even a moneybag. What he did have were people – lots of people who depended upon his word for life.
Jesus reminds us that we are all just like the older brother who has been given an inheritance. We shouldn’t have to be told to share the gift that we have been given with our brothers and sisters.
We are brothers and sisters because God is the loving parent of us all. Hosea says when Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. It was I who taught them to walk, like a mother I took them up in my arms, I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them. It is God who has nurtured all of us through the twist and turns of our life. It was God who supplied our needs, who loved us , who helped us to grow up. Sometimes we didn’t know that it was God who was taking care of us. Sometimes we did not know where God was leading us, sometime we didn’t know what was going in our lives or why. But God was there.
Sometimes when God led us where we needed to be, we made the decision to go where we wanted to go, when god supplied our needs, we got upset because we wanted so much more, when God asked for our love in return, we rejected God and went our own way.
The prophet Hosea lets us know that in those times the battle of how to respond was in God’s heart. Does a loving parent give us the punishment that we deserve or the compassion to give us a second chance? God agonized over whether to give us judgment or grace. Even though we are all sinner, we have all done wrong – God chooses to give us the grace to allow us to go on. When we suffer. God suffers and does all that God can do to make it better.
The words of the prophets can be very cruel sometime. They can speak of a terrible judgment on the people of God. And yet their words always end with hope. The words of Hosea end with God’s children finally coming home. It is interesting that in history, the doom that Hosea spoke of did come true. The Israelites were defeated and taken away from their land. They did suffer. But they also came home.
I started this sermon with the story of an ambitious young man. I want to end with the story of an ambitious young girl.
One could say that she was very rich. Very rich indeed. Her gifts were great. From the very moment of her birth her intelligence, and tenacity were quite evident. As she grew she became in succession, ruler of her nursery school, monarch of day care, student council chairperson, and valedictorian of bother her high school and college classes. Then not being content with her Harvard bachelor’s degree in business administration, she graduated at the top of the best MBA program in the country. No one was surprised when half the companies in the fortune 100 actively courted her. a major manufacturer finally won the competition for her skills. The company’s president proudly told the Wall Street journal about how she would transform the firm. It wasn’t too long before he realized that complete accuracy of his statements. But unfortunately his business savvy didn’t foretell the way she deflated his golden parachute as she almost literally shoved him out the executive suite door. In doing so, she became the youngest CEO in the history of the firm. The firm she took over was no ordinary firm, of course. You could see that from its balance sheet. But you could see it even more in the faces of its employees. For while the firm was immensely profitable, it had the reputation of being even more immensely honorable.
Over its hundred year plus history, its officers had always treated their employees and customers, as they wished to be treated themselves. Even more impressively, in this day and age, they’d always refused to do business with any company that treated their customers or employees with anything but the same level of honor.
After she’d installed herself in the corner office, the firms new CEO carefully examined this well crafted tradition of honor. At least she examined it before she tossed it our. Then her drive to success led her to a search for a new tradition. To keep on top, she thought profit must rule over anything else.
It wasn’t long before the firm’s workers were hit with massive layoffs, and plant closures. In their place came factories in countries that were less picky about labor and environmental issues. The average age of those employees was about 12. and it suddenly didn’t seem too important when the firm’s child laborers developed many cancers never before seen in their country. Soon the firms share price climbed through the roof. With all of her stock options the new CEO seemed set for life. After all, she more money, more possession. More power then she could ever possibly use or spend. Her life seemed perfect.
But her perfect world began to unravel after her visit to the firm’s new factory in Thailand. She’d gone there to assure herself that everything was being done to maximize its profitability. She was quite pleased by what she saw at the plant. Her young workers there were laboring at a feverish speed. And no funds were being spent to provide them any unnecessary frills; frills like safety equipment.
Then just as she was leaving the plant, she heard a hissing noise. Before she could even turn to locate the source, she found herself enveloped in a cloud of foul smelling fumes. Quickly she ran from the plant and stood grasping for breath beside the main door. When at last she could speak she questioned the plant manager about the fumes source. Don’t worry, he told her. The holding tank for our processing chemicals springs a leak now and then. The workers are used to it by now.
Satisfies by the explanation, she returned to the firms New York headquarters. There she threw herself into her latest effort; a hostile takeover of a major competitor. But after a few months, she began to feel strange. She tired easily, became nauseated frequently. And began to loose weight. At first she thought that it was just a virus. But why didn’t the symptoms go away? Then she notices a lump on her neck.
For the first time, she was scared. She made an appointment with the best doctor in the city.
After being poked and prodded, and tested the doctor looked at her in silence. His eyes seemed to pierce her soul. I am so sorry he said, her death would come very quick, within a month. She was confined to her home, as hospice took very good care of her.
Dying is a very lonely affair. None of her employees ever came to visit. She heard that they celebrated when they heard the news,
She had not friends, and she had alienated her family. Weeks went by with no one, until one day an unexpected visitor why knocked at the door.
It was her former boss; the one she had fired. He sat with her that day, and came back every day to visit. He often bought flowers or other gifts to cheer her up. She began to look forward to these visits and to wonder why he was so nice to her.
One day she asked him. Why are you visiting me – took everything away from you. After I fired you , you were so poor.
Her former boss smiled at her for a moment and then leaned forward and took her hand. You could never make me poor. As long as I can do something for someone else I can never be poor.
You see, the secret of being rich, isn’t gaining possessions, it isn’t winning the rat race. For I found out early in life that no matter who well I did in the rat race, I was still a rat.
The secret of being rich is using your gifts and whatever you gain from those gifts to help others. We have a choice in life he said – you can be rich in ourselves, and build up money and things, but in the end no amount of money or things will matter
But if we use what we have to enrich God’s people, we’ll have created things that matter. Only in that way can we be rich toward God.
Her life ended painfully, but the pain was lessoned by a sense of awe. For at least she’d met someone who was rich. Very rich indeed. To God alone be the glory.

Amen.

Prayer is the beginning of every Dream Sermon for July 29, 2007

" Prayer is the beginning of Every Dream" A man opens a bar, right across the street from a church. The church is very unhappy about this. As they meet for administrative council meetings, for bible study, even Sunday service, every time they pray as a church, they pray that some how this bar will be shut down. One night during a storm, lighting strikes the bar, it catches fire and is destroyed. The bar owner takes the church to court, saying that they were responsible for the damage to his property They asked God to destroy the property and God answered their prayer. The churches defense was that they had no control over acts of God. The lightening had nothing to do with them. Listening to the case, the judge felt that he had to be very careful in how he proceeded and how he answered this case. While weighing the evidence of the case, he says – now let me get this straight – in this case we have a bartender, who believes in the power of prayer and this side, and other the other side we have a church who doesn’t. hmmmm. And even though we as the church pray at every function, we talk about prayer everyday – the power of prayer is still something that befuddles us. At some level we all ask the same question that Jesus disciple asks in Luke 11 – Teach us how to pray. No matter how much time we spend in the church, we claim that we don’t know. Jesus responds to the disciple by giving a short version of the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s prayer is one of the most powerful prayers in the world. It is a large part of our Christian faith. You will hear some version of it every week in every (or I am pretty sure most ) churches that you will every go to. We know this prayer by heart, we say it all of the time, but how many of us really have taken the time to think about what it means, and what are we really praying when we say it. I could preach a whole sermon series on the meaning and power of the Lord’s prayer. Many of my colleagues have used this Sunday to do just that. The full version of the prayer that we use is actually in Matthew. When the disciple asks Jesus to teach us how to pray like you do, that is what they are asking for a formula – the right words to say to get God’s attention. And Jesus does indeed give them those words. Father, hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come. God is the source of everything that exist in the neighborhood. God is the source of everything that we have in our lives, God is the source of both the things that we need in life, and God is the source of what we want. So when we pray, we are to pray to the source- the one who has the power to provide for us. The source of everything in the universe is not just a scientific reality like the sky, the sun and the moon. The source of everything in the universe is a heavenly and very sacred force. With the power to give, but also the power to give lovingly. The source of everything in the universe is not just a blanket force that provides for everything – but is a special force which has a special relationship with you- an intimate relationship where it can listen and care about what you are asking for. Like a parent – who has a special reason for making sure that you are taken care of. Jesus received a lot of criticism from other jews for calling God abba, or daddy. They thought that was much too personal. And yet Jesus tells us that when it comes to prayer, god is personal- listening just to you and your request. So when you have a request, call upon the forces of the universe and acknowledge God as a caring parent, as father. After calling upon the only one who is able to answer your prayer – your most important needs are food for today, forgiveness of the past, and the freedom to walk into the future without temptation. With Food, forgiveness and freedom – you have access to anything else in the world. The Lord’s prayer is truly a powerful prayer, a prayer that we need to spend lot’s of time thinking about – and yet I think this passage is about so much more. Yes, Jesus does give the formula, but he goes even further by reminding us that it is not the formula that works to answer our prayer – it is the power of God. It is important not only to know the formula, but to also know why the formula works and how to use the formula. For some reason, it seems that channel 7 news loves this actress Felicia Fields – she is a star of the Chicago version of the color purple. To me it seems that every week channel 7 is doing a new story about her. I think last week was Felicia fields day in the city, so of course there was this big story about her. One of the reporters asks her advice about living life. Now when most people give you advice about the meaning of life, I think it is a bunch of junk. But I was really impressed with her answer. She said that life is like a monopoly game. When you play monopoly it is a very long, long game. I forget even how you win monopoly, but most of the time you never can tell who is really ahead and who is behind. And at some point you may have the money to buy lots of hotels and some time you are scrounging for money. But Ms. Fields said that the key to winning monopoly is to keep your man on the board. As long as you have your man on the board – you are still in the game, you are still a key player The minute you take your man out of the game, you have no chance of winning. For some reason I was really struck by that advice, because I started to think about how easy it is in life to just give up and quit. Prayer is our way of keeping our man on the board and staying in the game. When we asks the Lord to teach us how to pray – we are not asking how to pray- Most of us were taught to pray at a very early age. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to keep, God bless mommy, god bless daddy, please God give me a pony for Christmas. We know how to pray – what we are really asking for is how to pray in a way that works. We didn’t get that pony for Christmas. The person who we prayed to save got sick and died anyway. The war is still going on, there is still hatred and violence in the world. Things are not changing in our lives, the person whom we have been praying for for years is still lost and confused. If our prayers are not answered, then there must be something that we are doing wrong. We must not have the formula right, how are we to pray in a way that God really hears us. In response to the request of the disciples to teach us how to pray – Jesus tells the story of the friend who knocks on the door at midnight for bread for his guest. The friend, is asleep with all of this family, his animals surrounding him. He can’t possibly get up, even to help a friend. And yet the friend keeps knocking, keeps asking until he request is finally honored. The man’s willingness to keep asking finally paid off. And for us the problem is not that we didn’t pray right- it is that we gave up praying at all. When things didn’t turn out the way that we expected, we stopped praying. We gave up and decided that prayer doesn’t work – that God doesn’t care, there was no use in trying. Can you imagine how many people would be in church today if their prayers were answered in the way that they wanted. If we could say a pray and know that even the next day that everything would be like we asked, everyone would come to church and pray. Jesus reminds us that when we have a request to be persistent and to keep asking. There is no such thing as an unanswered prayer. There is never a request that is made that God is not working on. Ask and you shall receive, search and you shall find, knock and the door will eventually be opened. Jesus is not saying that we need to be willing to constantly beg God in order to get something. The friend at the door had a relationship with the man in the house, he kept asking because he was in need and he knew this was the place to get help. Prayer is a living relationship the one who can supply all of our needs. A church was having a family and friends day. Before inviting guest, each person was asked to make a list of people in their lives that they would want to invite. Before approaching them, they were supposed to pray for them for a week. One lady wanted to ask her neighbor Kate. She and kate had sons who were in little league baseball together. She prayed for Kate, but it seemed the the opportunity to talk about church never came. So of course the lady decided that prayer didn’t work. And that Kate would never come to church. On Friday, before the family and friends Sunday she got a call from another little league mother that she was coming to church with her son. Her son had insisted that he had to come to Sunday school with his friends. Oh, and by the way, Kate is coming with her son. Her prayer was answered. In order for our prayers to be answered, God has to work behind the scenes in ways that we would never imagine for things to turn out. Sometimes the change has to come in the situation, sometimes the change has to come in the hearts of others, sometimes the change has to be made in our hearts for prayers to be answered. There is no prayer that we make that God is not addressing in some say, somehow. God always answers our prayers in a way that our highest good is addressed. Like a very caring and concerned parent, God knows what is in our best interest. Even when we have no idea of what is best for us. God is working it out and making a way for it to be clearly revealed to us. Prayer is asking for our needs in the context of an ongoing relationship that the universal source of all of life. It is a relationship that we never have to give up on, because it is with a parent who never gives up on us. Finally, even experienced Christians seem to think that for prayer to be answered, there must be some secret. There must be some secret formula that will make our prayers more effective. As you know there is even a popular movement, called the secret. That teaches that the answer to having the life of our dreams is intentions. If we can create what we want in our minds, then we can make it so in our lives. It is a secret, because not everyone realizes that we have access the abundance of the universe. I have a friend who swears by the secret, and has encouraged me to watch it several times. Paul reminds us that there is no secret to having the life of our dreams. Jesus Christ loves and and died for your sins is all that you need to know. There us no secret formula to getting our prayers answered – the prayer that we learned at three still works. There is no additional information that we need to get about Jesus, there is nothing outside of the life of Christ that we need to seek. The Christ we knew at three is the Christ that still serves us at 80. There is nothing that needs to be added to Christ teachings. Prayer works because we ask and God listens. The source of abundance in the universe is not your wants and needs, it is a loving caring being who knows you personally and listens to everything that you say. That source is a sacred God who knows how to give good gifts. Acknowledging that sacred God is the first step of every prayer, and prayer is the first step in making our dreams come true. Living your life in constant prayer is the key to seeing your prayers answered. What is it that you need in our life? What is it that you aspire to become in the future? Who are the people you would like to see in church? What are you being led to do to serve God? What is it that you hope to see for this church in the future? What is it that you hope to see for your life in the future? It looks like we all have a lot to pray about – may you have the strength to pray until God reveals it all in your life.