At a family gathering, a grandmother was coaxed into doing something she had never done before. After much friendly badgering, she climbed slowly up on an exercise bike. She took her time getting in just the right position. She waited a few moments. Then, nervously, she said, "All right, you can turn it on now."

If only work in the church could be handled like that. If we  could magically flip a switch, and then watch as the work is done  for us. But work in the church requires a delicate blend of divine inspiration and human perspiration.

Today's passage of scripture is striking in its similarity to that which so often transpires in today's churches. How many ministers have been taken to task by one group or another within a church for reaching out into the community to undesirables? So…