My friend, Don Shelby, minister of First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica, California, has told a moving story which introduces the sermon today. It happened when Don was a pastor in San Diego. One weekday morning, on arrival at the church, he was called to the sanctuary.

The custodian wanted him to see a strange offering which had been placed at the very center of the altar. Upon examination they discovered it to be a pair of brown corduroy trousers, a belt, a white T-shirt, a pair of tan suede boots, and a note. There were blood stains on the shirt and on the note. The note had been written on one of the pledge cards which they had placed in the pews for that year’s Loyalty Sunday. A name was written large and under lined three times. Then the plea, also underlined, “Please liste…