One morning a little girl sat at a kitchen table to eat breakfast with her mother and father. As she listened to the prayer her father prayed before the meal, she was especially intrigued that he thanked God for God's presence everywhere.

After the father finished his prayer the little girl asked him, "Father, is it really true that God is everywhere?"

"Yes," said her father.

"Is God in this house?" she asked.

"Yes," her father said.

"Is God in this kitchen?"

"Yes," her father said.

"Is God on this table?" she asked.

"Yes," her father said.

The little girl hesitated and then asked, "Is God in this cup?"

Her father said, "Yes."

Upon hearing this the little girl quickly covered the cup with her hand and exclaimed, "I've got Him!"

In Job's attempt to make some sense out of his suffering, he tried desperately to figure God out by confining God to his own narrow conception of God. In other words, Job was trying to get God to respond within the limited confines of Job's own theological cup. In fact, Job was so certain of his theology that he believed he would prevail if his case were presented before God. To be sure, this is why he wanted to find God. He said, "Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; but he would give heed to me. There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge" (Job 23:6-7).

Finally in chapter 38 God appears before Job as a voice out of the whirlwind: Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements -- surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? -- Job 38:2-7

As soon as God speaks, Job realizes that he can never have the luxury of saying: "I've got God!" Indeed Job now knows that God has exceeded Job's expectations and refuses to be contained and fit neatly into any theological box that Job has constructed. So God answers Job, but not according to Job's definition of the problem of suffering. Instead God transposes the issue to another level which emphasizes God's power and divine knowledge in contrast to the human weakness and ignorance of Job.[1] In response, Job now realizes how foolish he has been to propose that he understood everything that happens. In fact, Job answers God and says, "See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but will proceed no further" (Job 40:4-5).

No longer does Job seek to arrange a debate where he can instruct God. He finally realizes that it is he and not God who is unaware of life's complete picture. When we too are tempted to believe that God is bound by our theologies, rituals, denominations, and traditions, like Job, we are called to remember that God is boundless and cannot be contained in any of our cups. We cannot put God in the cup of any ritual and say, "I've got God covered." We cannot put God in the cup of any theology and say, "I've got God covered." We cannot put God in the cup of any church tradition and say, "I've got God covered." We cannot put God in any ethnic or gender cup and say, "I've got God covered."

Job learned that God stands above all human systems and wisdom. The purpose behind it all is not to answer directly the problem of suffering, but to give Job a vision of God's glory and presence with Job in the midst of Job's suffering. Thus Job discovers that he can trust God's purposes even though he cannot clearly understand them. Indeed, he comes to see that his new relationship with God will sustain him in the midst of his suffering.

Our African American forefathers and foremothers in the midst of the suffering of slavery could identify with Job's predicament. Even in the face of sorrow and suffering in the absurdity of slavery they were able to sing praises to God through the spirituals. Even though their relationship with God did not bring an immediate end to their oppressive condition, they were sustained by the faith that the cup of slavery could not contain the God of their hope and liberation. By the grace of God, it was a faith that enabled them to sing: Nobody knows the trouble I see, Nobody knows but Jesus. Nobody knows the trouble I see, Glory, Hallelujah.

1. Beverly B. Gaventa, editor, Texts for Preaching, (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993), p. 551. "

The Greeks had a race in their Olympic games that was unique. The winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit. I want to run all the way with the flame of my torch still lit for Him.

Shortly after the turn of the century, Japan invaded, conquered, and occupied Korea. Of all of their oppressors, Japan was the most ruthless. They overwhelmed the Koreans with a brutality that would sicken the strongest of stomachs. Their crimes against women and children were inhuman. Many Koreans live today with the physical and emotional scars from the Japanese occupation.

One group singled out for concentrated oppression was the Christians. When the Japanese army overpowered Korea one of the first things they did was board up the evangelical churches and eject most foreign missionaries. It has always fascinated me how people fail to learn from history. Conquering nations have consistently felt that shutting up churches would shut down Christianity. It didn't work in Rome when the church was established, and it hasn't worked since. Yet somehow the Japanese thought they would have a different success record.

The conquerors started by refusing to allow churches to meet and jailing many of the key Christian spokesmen. The oppression intensified as the Japanese military increased its profile in the South Pacific. The "Land of the Rising Sum" spread its influence through a reign of savage brutality. Anguish filled the hearts of the oppressed and kindled hatred deep in their souls.

One pastor persistently entreated his local Japanese police chief for permission to meet for services. His nagging was finally accommodated, and the police chief offered to unlock his church ... for one meeting. It didn't take long for word to travel. Committed Christians starving for an opportunity for unhindered worship quickly made their plans. Long before dawn on that promised Sunday, Korean families throughout a wide area made their way to the church. They passed the staring eyes of their Japanese captors, but nothing was going to steal their joy. As they closed the doors behind them they shut out the cares of oppression and shut in a burning spirit anxious to glorify their Lord.

The Korean church has always had a reputation as a singing church. Their voices of praise could not be concealed inside the little wooden frame sanctuary. Song after song rang through the open windows into the bright Sunday morning. For a handful of peasants listening nearby, the last two songs this congregation sang seemed suspended in time. It was during a stanza of "Nearer My God to Thee" that the Japanese police chief waiting outside gave the orders. The people toward the back of the church could hear them when they barricaded the doors, but no one realized that they had doused the church with kerosene until they smelled the smoke. The dried wooden skin of the small church quickly ignited. Fumes filled the structure as tongues of flame began to lick the baseboard on the interior walls. There was an immediate rush for the windows. But momentary hope recoiled in horror as the men climbing out the windows came crashing back in their bodies ripped by a hail of bullets.

The good pastor knew it was the end. With a calm that comes from confidence, he led his congregation in a hymn whose words served as a fitting farewell to earth and a loving salutation to heaven. The first few words were all the prompting the terrified worshipers needed. With smoke burning their eyes, they instantly joined as one to sing their hope and leave their legacy. Their song became a serenade to the horrified and helpless witnesses outside. Their words also tugged at the hearts of the cruel men who oversaw this flaming execution of the innocent.

Alas! and did my Savior bleed?
and did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
for such a worm as I?
Just before the roof collapsed they sang the last verse,
their words an eternal testimony to their faith.
But drops of grief can ne'er repay
the debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away
'Tis all that I can do!
At the cross, at the cross
Where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day.

The strains of music and wails of children were lost in a roar of flames. The elements that once formed bone and flesh mixed with the smoke and dissipated into the air. The bodies that once housed life fused with the charred rubble of a building that once housed a church. But the souls who left singing finished their chorus in the throne room of God. Clearing the incinerated remains was the easy part. Erasing the hate would take decades. For some of the relatives of the victims, this carnage was too much. Evil had stooped to a new low, and there seemed to be no way to curb their bitter loathing of the Japanese.

In the decades that followed, that bitterness was passed on to a new generation. The Japanese, although conquered, remained a hated enemy. The monument the Koreans built at the location of the fire not only memorialized the people who died, but stood as a mute reminder of their pain.

Inner rest? How could rest coexist with a bitterness deep as marrow in the bones? Suffering, of course, is a part of life. People hurt people. Almost all of us have experienced it at some time. Maybe you felt it when you came home to find that your spouse had abandoned you, or when your integrity was destroyed by a series of well-timed lies, or when your company was bled dry by a partner. It kills you inside. Bitterness clamps down on your soul like iron shackles.

The Korean people who found it too hard to forgive could not enjoy the "peace that passes all understanding." Hatred choked their joy.

It wasn't until 1972 that any hope came. A group of Japanese pastors traveling through Korea came upon the memorial. When they read the details of the tragedy and the names of the spiritual brothers and sisters who had perished, they were overcome with shame. Their country had sinned, and even though none of them were personally involved (some were not even born at the time of the tragedy), they still felt a national guilt that could not be excused. They returned to Japan committed to right a wrong. There was an immediate outpouring of love from their fellow believers. They raised ten million yen ($25,000). The money was transferred through proper channels and a beautiful white church building was erected on the sight of the tragedy. When the dedication service for the new building was held, a delegation from Japan joined the relatives and special guests.

Although their generosity was acknowledged and their attempts at making peace appreciated, the memories were still there. Hatred preserves pain. It keeps the wounds open and the hurts fresh. The Koreans' bitterness had festered for decades. Christian brothers or not, these Japanese were descendants of a ruthless enemy. The speeches were made, the details of the tragedy recalled, and the names of the dead honored. It was time to bring the service to a close. Someone in charge of the agenda thought it would be appropriate to conclude with the same two songs that were sung the day the church was burned.  The song leader began the words to "Nearer My God to Thee."

But something remarkable happened as the voices mingled on the familiar melody. As the memories of the past mixed with the truth of the song, resistance started to melt. The inspiration that gave hope to a doomed collection of churchgoers in a past generation gave hope once more. The song leader closed the service with the hymn "At the Cross." The normally stoic Japanese could not contain themselves. The tears that began to fill their eyes during the song suddenly gushed from deep inside. They turned to their Korean spiritual relatives and begged them to forgive. The guarded, calloused hearts of the Koreans were not quick to surrender. But the love of the Japanese believers not intimidated by decades of hatred tore at the Koreans' emotions.

At the cross, at the cross
Where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away ...

One Korean turned toward a Japanese brother. Then another. And then the floodgates holding back a wave of emotion let go. The Koreans met their new Japanese friends in the middle. They clung to each other and wept. Japanese tears of repentance and Korean tears of forgiveness intermingled to bathe the site of an old nightmare. Heaven had sent the gift of reconciliation to a little white church in Korea.

Although Lot is referred to by Peter as "righteous Lot," he chose to live among the wicked in Sodom because he loved money and prominence. He was a double-minded man who wanted to serve God but who also wanted to enjoy the pleasures of this world. I believe this is evident from the fact that Lot chose to live in the plain bordering the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 13:1-13). Once there, he moved into the city itself and became a part of its culture (19:1). It's true that he didn't give up his belief in the high moral standards he had learned from his uncle Abraham, and he didn't approve of the wicked things he saw and heard. But as an official at the city gate, he apparently had little impact on the wicked society of which he was a part.

Lot's double-mindedness brought him much inner torment and rendered him spiritually powerless. He couldn't even convince his sons-in-law (and their wives) to leave Sodom before God's judgment fell. Only he, his wife, and the two daughters still living at home escaped. And his wife died instantly when she looked back, disobeying God's command. In the end, Lot lost the very things he wanted possessions and position.

Charles Kettering, the inventor, had a unique method of solving problems. He would break down each problem into the smallest possible subproblems. Then he did research to find out which subproblems had already been solved. He often found that what looked like a huge problem had previously been 98 percent solved by others. Then he tackled what was left.

Proverbs 6:5 - "Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler."

Jeremiah 5:26 - "For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men."

Although I don’t suppose that most of us ever use the word "fowler" in the course of your daily conversation, still this is a legitimate term to use for persons who capture birds for food or other reasons. If we will stop to think of the displays of rare birds in our zoos, we must realize that they had to be captured by experts. And that’s just what fowlers are - experts in catching birds.

In biblical times, too, the fowler was a well-known man. Not only did he provide birds for eating, but he also sold birds to be used in sacrifice. These birds, of course, could only be pigeons or turtledoves. You will remember the biblical stories about the sellers of birds in the court of the Temple.

The fowler used various methods to make his captures. Some of them used light traps made with noose cords which entangled the birds’ feet. Others used nets. Still others used bows or throw sticks. Now these methods we can understand and approve. After all, there is something sportsmanlike about such procedures. But unscrupulous fowlers also had other methods that they used, which were not so nice. Among the milder of these was the practice of caging captured birds and then concealing them so that their voices would draw other birds. Well, admittedly, that’s not so bad. But then, sometimes the eyelids of a bird were sown shut, and then it was placed in a camouflaged location where its cries would draw other birds. Now, there is no word for that other than cruel. And, of course, there is a nasty kind of deceit inherent in it.

Because of this method of catching their prey by trickery, in the Bible a "fowler" is the word used to describe those who try to ensnare the unwary and bring them to ruin. Hosea says that the false prophets are like fowlers (Hosea 9:8), but it also works the other way - God snares the wicked (Job 18:9-10; Hosea 7:12). The snare as envisioned in the Bible is wickedness, evil, or idolatry. A very apt description of the wicked man - one who traps the unwary like a trusting bird, ready to fall into the hunter’s hand!

Like so many other everyday things, even our money bears witness to the fact that ours is a God-founded nation, and it emphasizes the additional fact that as a nation we rely upon Divine Providence.

On the dollar bill is a pyramid, which represents the building of our country. The pyramid is unfinished symbolizing that our nation is not yet completed. Directly above the pyramid is an eye of providence symbolizing the eye of God. This stresses the importance of putting spiritual welfare above material prosperity. Our Founding Fathers firmly believed that our strength was rooted in God and that our progress must always be under the watchful eye of Providence.

Another important symbol is contained in the words Annuit Coeptis in a semicircle at the top of the seal. Referring to the Almighty, meaning "He has smiled on our undertakings." And, finally, three Latin words appear directly under the pyramid, meaning "A new order of the ages." That statement suggests that our nation, under God, is introducing a new age in the life and freedom of mankind.

One of the greatest discoveries of my life is that i am a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God.

Keith Miller shared this confession:  "The new discovery to me is that the Christian church is not a trumpet corps, but an orchestra -- that we are not all supposed to sound alike because each of us is a different shaped instrument.  God has given us our own individual sounds, our own lives.  For years I have been a piccolo trying to play in the tuba section. Can you imagine anything more pitiful than a piccolo trying to playing a tuba section?”

Well, that's what we try to do when we seek to conform rather than make a creative response to life. When I am bent on conforming I am saying I have nothing unique to offer.  I am putting my very being and the work of God in my life by not giving expression to what He has given me.

No wonder St. Paul urged us, "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its mold." I hope you have made the discovery -- that you are a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God.

A woman visited a tourist town and stopped to see a cathedral. As she stared at the beautiful stained-glass windows, a feeling of peace washed over her. She hadn't felt that way since childhood, and she had a deep yearning to attend church again. Kneeling before the Christmas scene, she studied the figure of the Christ child whose arms were outstretched. She wished with all her heart that those arms were reaching out to her. She remembered Christmases of long ago when her family attended church together. The Nativity scene then was lit with colored lights and pine boughs scented the church. Afterward friends invited her family to breakfast. They would return home from sharing fun and laughter, and then exchange gifts. They sipped hot chocolate and listened to bells toll Christmas joy throughout the town. The peace, love and warmth now seemed far away. Christmas was lonely and cold. She hadn't gone to church in many years because of rebellion as a young woman. The pain and the bitterness of remembering seared her heart. As tears fell, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. A kindly priest looked down at her. "Father, I'm so miserable," she blurted. She told him the story of her rebellion and bitterness, her loneliness, and her fear of going back to church.

He replied, "The church is for people still suffering. Jesus has already forgiven you."

Those words rang in her head long after the priest had left her. She felt the bitterness slipping away. She knew that the Christ child was with her.

Sacrifice is not a word we use much these days, is it? When was the last time you used it or thought about it in terms of your own life? When was the last time you sacrificed anything for anybody? Come to think about it, there's only one sport as far as I know where the term is actually used. Do you know which sport that is? You can almost hear Harry Cary announcing it over the radio, "And there it goes, a long fly ball to left; easy out, but the man on third tags up and trots home. Sacrifice fly."

What a great idea: you're out, but you helped someone else score a run. Baseball is one of the few sports where you lose but the team still gains. Do you remember the way comedian George Carlin spells it out in his routine about the contrast between the hardness of football and the softness of baseball? He says: In football you Tackle! In baseball, you "catch flies…" In football you Punt!  In baseball you "bunt…" Football is played on a Gridiron! Baseball is played on a "field…" In football you Score!  In baseball you "go home…" In football you Kill!  In baseball you "sacrifice…"

Baseball may be the only sport where you actually can hear this word. It's one of the few places anywhere that you hear it in a self-centered, take-care-of-yourself, don't-worry-about-anybody-else society. In contrast to football, sacrifice may sound like a sign of weakness but I hardly think of any of the Atlanta Braves or Minnesota Twins as weak. Baseball's one thing; life is quite another. Who sacrifices anything any more in a time like ours? Who really denies themselves and takes up crosses anymore? Actual sacrifice can lead to bitterness, especially when you thought you were trusting God's plan for your life and suddenly you realize that you have to sacrifice all your greatest hopes and dreams as burnt offerings on the high altar of the providence of God.

Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men, who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.

Jesus painted no pictures yet some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from him. Jesus wrote no poetry but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world's greatest poets were inspired by him. Jesus built no buildings but St. Peter's Basilica, Rome and Notre Dame in Paris are some of the most beautiful buildings in the world, Jesus composed no music still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns, symphonies, and oratorios they composed in his praise. Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth.

His unique contribution to humanity is the salvation of the soul! Philosophy could not accomplish that. Nor art. Nor literature. Nor music. Only Jesus Christ can break the enslaving chains of sin. He alone can speak peace to the human heart, strengthen the weak, and give life to those who are spiritually dead.

Author Anthony Campolo says our attitudes start at a very early age. He brought his son to the first day of school and the principal was addressing the parents in this way: "Here at the Ding Dong School, we like to think of each child as a little flower, unique and special, one which blossoms and grows in its own special time." The problem is, the kid grows up thinking she is so special that she's the only one that matters. Then she gets a job at McDonalds, or General Motors, or Andersen Windows. I guarantee you Joe Rosell does not give this speech to the new hires: "Here at Andersen Windows, we like to think of each employee as a little flower, unique and special, one which blossoms and grows in its own special time."

There is a need for conformity. There is a need to leave our personal wants and wishes at the door, and to work together for what is best for the group. That's what it means to "deny oneself" in our day. In fact, Jesus called the Church "a body." And only when the body is working together toward a common goal, only then is the body functioning properly. Friends, take my word for it: there are an awful lot of dysfunctional churches in America today.

Tom Long writes, "It has been my observation that somewhere deep in the forest of life many Christians come to a fork in the path. Some head in one direction, traveling their last few days in bitterness, shouting at the world for its iniquity, wagging their heads over the sad plight of our time, cursing 'what this world has come to nowadays.' Others, however, are given the gift of traveling the other way, the path of a cheerful confidence in providence...This is the path that knows that a banquet table awaits at the end and that a house of music and dancing can already be heard in the distance. This is the path that sees a world full of miracles. This is the way of blessing, the path of gratitude.

I am convinced that it is the risen Christ who stands at this parting of the ways. If the good news of Easter is true, then we have hope, and it is hope that sustains us when we face our darkest hours.

A Time magazine article from 1984, looked well into the future. It featured a cover story on fatherhood. In that story it documented the changing shape of what we call family life. It reported that fathers used to occupy a greater place in the home and that well into the 18th century, childrearing manuals in America were generally addressed to fathers, not mothers.

But as the industrialization began to separate home and work, fathers could not be in both places at once.

Family life in the 19th century was defined by what historians call the feminization of the domestic sphere and the marginalization of the father as a parent."

The article makes some other sobering points. "Rising divorce rates and out-of-wedlock births mean that more than 40% of all children born between 1970 and 1984 are likely to spend much of their childhood living in single parent homes."

And the impact of these fatherless homes on the children is significant, if not devastating. Time goes on to say, "Studies of young criminals have found that more than 70% of all juveniles in state reform institutions come from fatherless homes. Children from broken families are nearly twice as likely as those in two-parent families to drop out of high school."

The decades old article was right. 

The complex shapes and uniqueness of snowflakes have confounded scientists for hundreds of years. In the past, it was generally recognized that the formation of a snowflake is a two-step process: making a single crystal and then having it grow.

This process begins as a microscopic speck of dust is trapped in a molecule of water vapor inside the winds of a winter storm. As the particle is frosted with droplets of supercooled water, it becomes heavier and begins its plunge to earth. The falling ice crystal is sculpted by the varying temperature and humidity—lengthening here, a spiky branch pushing out there-until it grows into a shape as unique as a person's fingerprint.

But in the past few years, as our ability to study these beautiful flakes has improved with the development of new technology, a great mystery has emerged. Scientists have discovered that very few snowflakes contain a speck of dust or any other particle which has long been believed to be necessary for a snowflake to form! How are these unique flakes formed?

Dr. John Hallett, a physicist at the University of Nevada, has discovered the answer. As snowflakes are being formed, extremely dry or cold air cause snowflakes to break up into smaller parts. The small fragments then act as seeds for new flakes to develop. In other words, it takes snow to make snow!

Sometimes we forget that it is necessary for Christians to give a personal witness of their faith in order for others to discover the love and life Christ has for them. In other words, Christ uses Christians to make Christians!

Whenever we experience pressures and difficult burdens, when we see a part of our lives broken or shattered, these are often the circumstances God uses to let our faith touch someone close to us and be the seed for a new and beautiful life in Christ. To many, the reason we face difficulties in life is a great mystery. But to us, we live expecting to bear burdens for our Savior and anticipating that the pressures we endure will be used by God to produce new life in others!

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale once met a Dutch gentleman who told him a story of God's great providence during a time of suffering. He was just a child when World War II wreaked havoc on his country of Holland.  Food was scarce, and the people of his town were in danger of starving.  They were so hungry that they dug up tulip bulbs for food.

The pastor of the local church announced a prayer meeting to call upon God for help.  For more than an hour, the people prayed fervently for food.  As they prayed, the young boy felt the presence of God in the room, and he knew that God was answering their prayers.

The next morning, food aid flights came roaring over the town, dropping packages full of food.  Like manna from heaven, the packages of food saved a starving people and renewed their faith in God's love and providence.

He drew a circle that shut me out—
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.

Pete Richards was a lonely and bitter man. His life had started out in such a promising way. Despite his growing up in a poor family in New York City, Pete Richards was a shining star on the basketball court. God had given him a gift that Pete used to get a full scholarship to a big eastern university. While in college, Pete Richards not only made his team a winner, but he established himself as a fine student with a very promising career ahead of him in business.

And then came Viet Nam. Because Pete had been in the ROTC in college, he graduated with a Second Lieutenant's commission, and after just six months of additional training, Pete found himself in the jungles of Viet Nam responsible for a rifle company. One night while on patrol, Pete Richards' dreams were suddenly shattered by a land mine. Miraculously, he survived, but it meant the loss of both legs, and nearly 18 months in a veteran's hospital.

For Pete Richards, there would be no more basketball, no promising career on Wall Street, and as far as he could see, no more life worth living. He became withdrawn from even his family and friends, and it was clear that each day, the bitterness in his soul was taking his life.

Too proud to take the assistance offered to him by his family, Pete became one of the hundreds of faceless men on the streets of New York asking passersby for a handout. He had found a great spot just outside the steps leading into St. Thomas' Episcopal Church on Fifth Avenue. After all, he reasoned, those rich churchgoers owe me something for my time in Viet Nam.

It was on a day when Pete was feeling particularly sorry for himself, that a young man about Pete's age stopped by his wheelchair, and said, "Hi! Mind if I sit down by you for a while?" "It's a free country," said Pete, "suit yourself." The stranger introduced himself as Dan Ferris, and Pete was startled when he took out a thermos of coffee and some deli sandwiches, and offered them to the hapless man in the wheelchair. At first, Pete refused the kindness, but he was really hungry, and the food mellowed him so that he and Dan began to talk. Pete actually enjoyed their conversation about growing up in the City, their experiences in college, and the nightmare they shared in Viet Nam.

The next day, Dan was back with more sandwiches and coffee. Slowly, he began to gain Pete's confidence, and their meeting by the steps of the church became a daily ritual. One day, Dan told Pete about a friend of his who was starting a course to train people to use computers. He asked if Pete would be interested. At first, Pete's old bitterness and resentment put up a wall of resistance, but Dan's loving insistence finally won out. The next day, Dan came to Pete's single room, helped him get shaved and dressed, and they set off for the computer school.

Pete Richards turned out to be a computer genius, and today he lives a fruitful and productive life. No matter where he goes, Pete never tires of telling anyone who will listen about a man he met on Fifth Avenue whose love gave him back his life. "

A tourist stood for long periods of time upon the beach, facing away from the ocean, pressing a seashell against his ear. The water lapped at his feet, the sun beamed down upon his head and shoulders, and the waves crashed just behind him. Firmly, he pressed the seashell against his ear. He wanted to hear the powerful surge of the ocean as it heaved and rolled. See the picture in your mind's eye: a man standing with his back to the ocean, attempting to hear the ocean in a seashell. Although in the presence of the very thing he was seeking, he was oblivious to the actuality.

Some people have difficulty in recognizing that they have caught up to what they have been chasing, or are in the presence of the object of their desire. Such persons, in their extreme forms, are always running but never arriving, always searching but never discovering, always looking but never seeing, always measuring but the numbers are forever wrong. It would be unfair to describe Phillip and the other disciples as fitting this description, but then it would be equally unfair to suggest that they were incapable of obliviousness, particularly since our text begins, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." Phillip and the others are reminiscent of the man standing by the sea listening for the sound of the ocean in a seashell.

“You have to handle that person with kid gloves.”  Have you ever heard that statement?  It suggests that a person is hypersensitive -- easily hurt.  We all know people like that, and we have to learn how to relate to them.  But I’m concerned about another issue.  My perception is that a lot of people handle all of life with gloves -- afraid of the real touch.  Francis Cornferd wrote a poem about it:

Oh, why do you walk through the fields in gloves
Missing so much and so much?
Oh fat white lady whom nobody loves,
Why do you walk through the fields in gloves
When the grass is soft as the breast of doves?
Oh why do you walk through the fields in gloves
Missing so much and so much?

Now the poet may have been unfair to the lady, but the point is clear.  Going through life with gloves, we miss so much.  In fact, we miss everything.  Life is to be lived not with gloves on, but with bare hands.

The two most important things parents can give their children are roots and wings.  Roots and wings -- children need both.

Roots -- a place to feel secure.  That’s what home and family should provide.  A place for persons.  Not just a place for bodies to eat and sleep and watch TV.  Not just a place where our clothes are washed and the car is parked, but a place for persons to feel secure in being who they are.

Not only roots -- wings.  The goal of parenting is to affirm the fact that each child is a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God.  When children realize their own worth, they gain self-esteem.  They can act independently and accept responsibility.  They can soar on strong wings, loved into being by their parents.  Roots and wings are the two most important things parents can give their children. 

But not only children.  Isn’t this what we all need?

During World War II, Hitler commanded all religious groups to unite so that he could control them. Among the Brethren assemblies, half complied and half refused. Those who went along with the order had a much easier time. Those who did not, faced harsh persecution. In almost every family of those who resisted, someone died in a concentration camp. When the war was over, feelings of bitterness ran deep between the groups and there was much tension. Finally they decided that the situation had to be healed. Leaders from each group met at a quiet retreat. For several days, each person spent time in prayer, examining his own heart in the light of Christ's commands. Then they came together.

Francis Schaeffer, who told of the incident, asked a friend who was there, "What did you do then?" "We were just one," he replied. As they confessed their hostility and bitterness to God and yielded to His control, the Holy Spirit created a spirit of unity among them. Love filled their hearts and dissolved their hatred.

When love prevails among believers, especially in times of strong disagreement, it presents to the world an indisputable mark of a true follower of Jesus Christ.

In Gippsland Australia, the coal mines were the biggest source of industry in the small town of Korumburra (pop. 3,600), but now they had shut down and the people did not know what to do. Other than the coal mines, Korumburra is only known for one thing: its great Gippsland gurgling earthworm. These worms can reach 12 feet long and they make a deep gurgling noise. The citizens turned to this natural resource to revive the industry in their town. Toy earthworms were made and sold in the local shops. The people of the town held yearly worm festivals and parades. They even chose an earthworm queen in a beauty pageant. All these activities are great tourist attractions now.

The town in the midst of economic loss and devastation discovered the one thing that made them unique. That one unique thing was the answer to their dire situation.

Note: This is true but 12' would be rare. 6-10' is fairly common when they stretch out. You can search "Gippsland Gurgling Earthworm" and see the pictures. They are also commonly known as karmai, taken from the Bunwurrung language.

Jack was a big man who always seemed to have a smile on his face. In fact, joy and happiness seemed to bubble in his life. His happiness was so genuine that others discovered that joy and happiness increased in their lives when they were around him. But, why shouldn’t he be happy? He had a good family. He had a lovely wife and two college-age daughters. He had a large home in the country. He was active in his church. He was the vice-president of a large defense-oriented company and it paid him a six-figure salary. He seemed to have it made.

One day, without warning, he was called into the boss’ office and fired. He was devastated. He had invested his life in the company. He had worked his tail off. He had helped the company grow and now, they were letting him go.

Financially, he was set for life. But he was devastated that his company would let him go in the prime of life. For weeks he was lost and didn’t know what to do. His self-confidence was replaced with frustration. His friendly attitude changed to one of bitterness. The anger and emptiness he felt even made him consider suicide.

After weeks of feeling helpless and not knowing what to do, Jack began to take an inventory of his life. His wife, who had been his high-school sweetheart, still loved him. His children were in college and their grades were excellent. He was still a respected member of the community. His only real problem had been that he had allowed the anger and bitterness and rejection to wage a war within his soul.

Once he stopped dwelling on what was wrong in his life and started looking at what was right, once he understood that his only real problem centered on the way he looked at himself, once he stopped waging war within himself, Jack was wise enough to realize that he was on his way to living an effective life.

And what is the secret of effective living? The writer of Proverbs paints a beautiful panoramic view of wisdom being the secret of effective living. Wisdom is depicted as being the first thing God created and an essential characteristic for every man or woman if they are going to experience any joy in living. The writer of Proverbs expressed this very clearly when he wrote: Happy is the man who listens to me (wisdom) watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favors from the Lord.

This tantalizing glimpse at wisdom is clearly portrayed as an appeal for men and women to discover her secrets. Wisdom offers a high reward to those who follow her way and the reward is not just in money and wealth. The reward of wisdom is the secret of effective living.

The story of Jesus sitting and debating the Law with rabbis reminds me of another debate that took place in a comparative religions conference, the wise and the scholarly were in a spirited debate about what is unique about Christianity. Someone suggested what set Christianity apart from other religions was the concept of incarnation, the idea that God became incarnate in human form. But someone quickly said, "Well, actually, other faiths believe that God appears in human form." Another suggestion was offered: what about resurrection? The belief that death is not the final word. That the tomb was found empty. Someone slowly shook his head. Other religions have accounts of people returning from the dead.

Then, as the story is told, C.S. Lewis walked into the room, tweed jacket, pipe, armful of papers, a little early for his presentation. He sat down and took in the conversation, which had by now evolved into a fierce debate. Finally during a lull, he spoke saying, "what's all this rumpus about?" Everyone turned in his direction. Trying to explain themselves they said, "We're debating what's unique about Christianity." "Oh, that's easy," answered Lewis, "it is grace."

The room fell silent.

Lewis continued that Christianity uniquely claims God's love comes free of charge, no strings attached. No other religion makes that claim. After a moment someone commented that Lewis had a point, Buddhists, for example, follow an eight-fold path to enlightenment. It's not a free ride.

Hindu's believe in karma, that your actions continually affect the way the world will treat you; that there is nothing that comes to you not set in motion by your actions. Someone else observed the Jewish code of the law implies God has requirements, and Islam's code of love does the same.

At the end of the discussion everyone concluded Lewis had a point. Only Christianity dares to proclaim God's love is unconditional. An unconditional love that we call grace.

A man sat down to supper with his family and said grace, thanking God for the food, for the hands which prepared it, and for the source of all life. But during the meal he complained about the freshness of the bread, the bitterness of the coffee, and the sharpness of the cheese. His young daughter questioned him, "Dad, do you think God heard the grace today?"

He answered confidently, "Of course."

Then she asked, "And do you think God heard what you said about the coffee, the cheese, and the bread?" Not so confidently, he answered, "Why, yes, I believe so."

The little girl concluded, "Then which do you think God believed, Dad?"

The man was suddenly aware that his mealtime prayer had become a rote, thoughtless habit rather than an attentive and honest conversation with God. By not concentrating on that important conversation, he had left the door open to let hypocrisy sneak in.

Acts 17:18 - "Some also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers met him. And some said, ‘What would this babbler say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities’ - because he preached Jesus and the resurrection."

Philosophy is the study of man, nature, and society as a whole. The word, which comes from the Greek philos (loving) and sophia (wisdom), means love of wisdom. Philosophical thinking is the most general and abstract kind of thought. The philosopher tries to organize knowledge into a logical system, and he questions all of the ideas that men take for granted, trying to discover whether they can be justified by reason.

To the Greeks, who originated philosophy in the Western world about 600 B.C., it was the search for truth of every kind - the ultimate meaning of the universe, and the reasons for and the meaning of all phenomena. This, of course, makes it self-evident why the early Christians held philosophy in ill repute - they had the ultimate meaning and they felt that anyone who chose to look for meanings anywhere than in Christ was to be shunned. Of course, there were many who refused to hold to such a strict view as advocated by St. Paul, since the philosopher in general was held in high regard by the pagans.

The Greek and Roman philosophers gave lectures and taught in the schools and held discussions for which they charged fees. Many rich families paid philosophers to live with them as companions, educators, and spiritual advisors. For example, Alexander the Great was tutored by Aristotle, the greatest thinker of the age.

In the golden age of philosophy, much that the philosophers said sounded very similar to what we might expect from a rabbi of Jewish teacher. For instance, the philosopher-mathematician, Pythagoras said, "If you have a wounded heart, touch it as little as you would an injured eye. There are only two remedies for the suffering of the soul - hope and patience."

However, as with so many of man’s nobler ideals, the whole issue became clouded with narrower and more worldly concepts, so that by the time of the Acts, there were many branches of philosophy, such as Cyncism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Platonism, Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, and many more. And, too, many philosophers led highly moral and ethical lives, while others indulged in gluttony and immorality. The Church Fathers opposed the philosophers because they felt that they regarded the chief purpose of life as pleasure and denied the providence of God.

Modern philosophy began with Descartes, who threw out all preconceived ideas and started his own whole principle of thought on the basis of one idea: "I think, therefore I am." Much of modern philosophy centers on two problems, the nature of knowledge and the nature of reality.

Science made enormous strides in the first half of the twentieth century, and the vital importance to man of these scientific discoveries soon brought many scientists to realize that they must think about the meaning of their work. Philosophers, on the other hand, needed an enormous amount of scientific understanding to construct a valid picture of the universe. The scientist had to turn philosopher, and the philosopher had to become a scientist. Whitehead, Russell, Huxley, Einstein and many more are examples of this scientist-philosopher.

This has also held true in the field of theology. Scientific discoveries have necessitated the rethinking of some theological dicta, and many theologians are philosophers. Among these we may include Bonhoeffer, Tillich, Barth, Hartshorne, de Chardin, and Altizer among others.

We are often afraid to speak of money in the church. We are concerned that someone will become offended. We do not want to confirm the position held by many that all the church wants is your money. As a result, we respond to this perception in a variety of ways. I know of one church that prints in its Sunday bulletin that visitors to the church are not expected to give financially but that this is the responsibility of the members of that church. I know of another church where the pastor announces that they only speak about giving once a year and that he as the pastor does not know what anyone in the church gives. We are very touchy on the subject and we find that we do not speak of it very often. Generally speaking, our response for most of the year is basic silence on the subject of money.

Yet Jesus is not silent on the subject, nor is the Bible. Perhaps that is because money seems to represent our priorities and what we consider important. A quick glance at our checkbook says a great deal about our lives. Our checkbook is probably more revealing than even a diary would be concerning our priorities. Too often we could be accused of putting more trust in our money than we do in God. We often see our bank account or investments as the vehicle for protecting our future. This is why the Bible is not silent on the subject.

When Charlemagne, the Frankish king, died, the people dealt with it in a unique fashion. Instead of the normal burial, using a shroud, they used his royal robe. They placed his royal robe on him and had him sitting on his throne for all to see. Then they placed a Bible on his lap. They had the Bible open with the King's forefinger on his right hand pointing at a particular Bible verse. The verse was Matthew 16:26: "For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?”

When others do things that go against our beliefs they become very difficult to love. And yet, Jesus tells us that loving others is what he expects of us. Love is the essence of our faith. It is to be unconditional, sacrificial and never ending. But, let's be honest, there are times when loving others is not easy. Shoot, with some folks it's hard to get to "liking," much less loving!

Take the story of the Berlin Wall when it had just been erected. In the early days of the famous Wall, hostilities flared when truckloads of stinking garbage were dumped from East Berlin into West Berlin. Many residents wrote to the mayor demanding revenge for this offense, but he responded in a unique way. He asked the people to gather all the flowers in West Berlin and bring them to a certain place at the wall. Then as a great avalanche of beautiful and fragrant flowers was poured over the wall, a large banner was raised. Written on the banner were the words: "We each give what we have."

One of the disadvantages of growing up in a very religious home like I did was that you never knew the end of Sunday night TV movies. When the annual showing of The Wizard Oz came on television every year, I sat through the tornado, saw the house that smashed the wicked witch of the East, and heard the munchkins sing about the yellow brick road. But then just as it got to the exciting parts, my parents announced that it was time for Training Union and Sunday night worship. In spite of all my protests, my parents packed me off to church. I didn't get to see the wizard or learn how Dorothy managed to get back home until I was an adult!

One of my favorite songs in that delightful musical is the one where the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion take turns singing, "If I Only Had…" It's a game that many of us still play today. "If I Only Had…" In the movie, each character had a different need. The scarecrow wanted a brain; the tin man wanted a heart; the lion wanted courage. And through it all Dorothy was looking for a home.

Like us, they were not complete persons. Each one needed something to balance out their personality or their lives. Like us, they seemed to emphasize one part of the personality to the exclusion of another. But it is only when a person develops wholeness that they truly find themselves. Only in wholeness are we at home with ourselves and with God.

Our Scripture passage for today reminded me of the song from the Wizard of Oz. In the text, Jesus makes a reference to the various parts of us in a way very similar to the musical's division of brain, heart, home, and nerve. Jesus says it this way: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The kingdom of heaven is like a professor who had many papers to grade. She asked her teaching assistants to start helping her early in the morning, and agreed to take them all out to dinner when the grading was finished. About mid-morning she realized she would need more help, so when she saw other graduate students standing in the hallway doing nothing, she asked them to help her, and agreed to reward them appropriately. Again at noon she found other graduate students eating lunch, and got them to help her, and again at mid-afternoon. About 5 p.m. she found still others and asked, "Why are you standing around doing nothing? Come and help me grade my papers. "When they were finished grading, the professor took them all to a restaurant. When she paid for the dinners of those who had started work at 5 o'clock, those who started early in the morning expected to receive more. But when she only paid for their dinner too, they began to grumble, "These others who only worked one hour got just as much as we did, who slaved all day over those papers." But the professor answered, "I am not being unfair to you. You got what we agreed upon. I want to give the students who only graded one hour as much as I gave you. Don't I have that right? Or are you envious because I am generous?"

So the last will be first and the first will be last. (Matthew 20:1-16)

The First Battle of Bull Run might not have been a smashing Confederate victory without the flowing curls of Rose Greenhow. On July 9, 1861 she hid a message in her lovely tresses; when she combed out her hair for Rebel officers, they learned that Union troops were about to march on Richmond. A second message contained the invaders' strength and marching orders. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard later said that Greenhow "lived in a house within rifle range of the White House." Her house became the heart of a Southern spy network, and at the height of her activities Greenhow directed more than 50 agents.

It is clear from Scripture that “rejoicing in suffering” is not simply stoicism. It is not simply a

• grin-and-bear-it attitude of tough-it-out-and-see-how-much-you-can-take,
• or just-hang-in-there-until-it’s-over-and-don’t-let-anything-get-you-down,
• or keep-a-stiff-upper-lip.

Many people feel that if they do this, they are obeying God and “rejoicing in suffering.” But they are not. If your suffering does not in some way open you up to a deeper meaning of life then suffering will only teach you bitterness. 

Heap high the board with plenteous cheer
And gather to the feast
And toast the sturdy pilgrim band
Whose courage never ceased.

Give praise to that All-Gracious One
By whom their steps were led;
And thanks unto the harvest's Lord
Who sends our daily bread.

Note: Alice Williams Brotherton was an American author of poetry, essays, reviews, children's stories, and lyrics. Many of her poems were set to music in the United States and in England. 

When you think of great building projects, what typically comes to mind? We might think of great buildings that were built centuries ago that still stand today. The Kremlin was built over 500 years and was an architectural marvel of its day. The Great Wall of China as we know it today was built in the 15th and 16th centuries and is over 4,000 miles long. The main construction of the Taj Mahal took 20,000 workers 11 years to build and the whole project spanned 22 years. Sometimes these projects took several decades to complete. Herod's temple, the one destroyed in 70 A. D., took over 80 years to build. Construction on St. Peter's Basilica began in 1506 and was not completed until 109 years later in 1615.

But as spectacular as any of these are in the eyes of man, there is one building project that far eclipses all of them. Its design is so spectacular that it couldn't be drawn by even the best architects. It has been under construction not for decades or centuries, but for millennia, and it still is not finished. Its size is not mere acres or square miles, but encompasses all parts of the earth. What is more amazing is that this building has no steel, bricks, concrete, or windows. Its construction is with very unique, precious stones called "living stones." Unlike all of these other projects, this building will not fade with time. In fact, it will endure forever. What is this greatest of buildings? It is the church, God's master project.

Warning: The following boys-to-men rite of passage story about American Indians is probably myth. Online, we found some tribal members saying they had never heard of this ritual. Because it is a prevalent story on the web, we include it here to warn about it's use in an Indian context.

The early American Indians had a unique practice of training young braves. On the night of a boy's thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was his father. He had been there all night long.

Amid the horrors of World War I, there occurred a unique truce when, for a few hours, enemies behaved like brothers.

Christmas Eve in 1914 was all quiet on France's Western Front, from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps. Trenches came within fifty miles of Paris. The war was only five months old, and approximately eight hundred thousand men had been wounded or killed. Every soldier wondered whether Christmas Day would bring another round of fighting and killing, but something happened:

British soldiers raised Merry Christmas signs, and soon carols were heard from German and British trenches alike.

Christmas dawned with unarmed soldiers leaving their trenches as officers of both sides tried unsuccessfully to stop their troops from meeting the enemy in the middle of no-man's-land for songs and conversation. Exchanging small gifts—mostly sweets and cigars—they passed Christmas Day peacefully along miles of the front. At one spot, the British played soccer with the Germans, who won three to two.

In some places, the spontaneous truce contained the next day, neither side willing to fire the first shot. Finally the war resumed when fresh troops arrived, and the high command of both armies ordered that further "informal understandings" with the enemy would be punishable as treason.

I am always impressed with the litany-like phrases Martin Luther uses in The Small Catechism as petition by petition he explains the Lord's Prayer:

To be sure, God's name is holy itself ...To be sure, the kingdom of God comes of itself, without our prayers ...To be sure, the good and gracious will of God is done without our prayer ...To be sure, God provides daily bread, even to the wicked, without our prayer...

To be sure, to be sure, to be sure! God's gifts come to us despite our unfaithfulness and often without our prayers. Paul quotes an ancient Christian hymn in his second letter to Timothy: "If we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:13)." Our faithlessness and ingratitude cannot make of God something that he is not. To be sure!

All of which brings us to the heart of today's gospel. Rudolph Bultmann is quite correct when he notes that the emphasis of Luke's story is not the miracle of 10 lepers cleansed, but rather the contrast of gratitude and ingratitude depicted on the same dramatic canvas.

Luke draws the contrast all the more boldly when he notes that the man returning to give thanks was a Samaritan, a "foreigner." Always the master storyteller among the four evangelists, Luke, having already given us the story of the "Good Samaritan," now gives us the story of the "Thankful Samaritan."

Quoted by Anglican Bishop J.D. Ryle about 100 years ago:

A flood of false doctrine has broken in upon us. Men are beginning to tell us "that God is too merciful to punish souls for ever...that all mankind, however wicked and ungodly...will sooner or later be saved." We are to embrace what is called "kinder theology," and treat hell as a pagan fable...This question lies at the very foundation of the whole Gospel. The moral attributes of God, His justice, His holiness, His purity, are all involved in it. The Scripture has spoken plainly and fully on the subject of hell... If words mean anything, there is such a place as hell. If texts are to be interpreted fairly, there are those who will be cast into it...

The same Bible which teaches that God in mercy and compassion sent Christ to die for sinners, does also teach that God hates sin, and must from His very nature punish all who cleave to sin or refuse the salvation He has provided. God knows that I never speak of hell without pain and sorrow. I would gladly offer the salvation of the Gospel to the very chief of sinners. I would willingly say to the vilest and most profligate of mankind on his deathbed, "Repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be save." But God forbid that I should ever keep back from mortal man that scripture reveals a hell as well as heaven...that men may be lost as well as saved.

She was elected to high office some time ago. Let's call her Beverly Washington. She was the first woman Lieutenant Governor ever elected in her state. Such a first brought much deserved media attention. There were many demands for photo opportunities and interviews. Beverly Washington had never experienced the limelight quite like this before.

One of the interviews with Lt. Governor Washington was conducted by a much younger woman who was obviously taken with the Lt. Governor's success. "I see you have a degree in law from Harvard," the interviewer began. "You must have had a family which really supported your dreams for higher education. Not many women were encouraged to go to college and law school in the 20s and 30s. You seem to be the exception to the rule."

"I'm no exception at all," Beverly Washington replied. "My father's attitude was that boys should go on to school and girls should get married and raise a family. I was lucky that he let me finish high school. After high school I simply determined to go to college. There would be no financial help. There would be no moral or family support. But I decided. I thought it was unfair to hold women back the way my father wanted to hold my sisters and me back. So I decided, packed my bags, and left for college."

"Very good," said the impressed interviewer, "I guess you were blazing trails for women a long time ago. How then did you get started in politics? Not many women ran for public office in the days you first ran."

"That's true," Lt. Governor Washington responded. "It certainly wasn't easy. It wasn't easy finding a job as a lawyer either. There weren't many women lawyers in those days and no one would hire me. I took all kinds of odd jobs to support myself and our family in those early years. That's when I decided that there was something wrong with a system that could discriminate against women in such a way. So I began to wonder how I might change the system. I concluded that the best way to change the system was to get into elective politics. I would become part of the system! Then I could change it. But, of course, that was more easily said than done. It was hard, for example, just trying to get enough signatures on my petition to run for office. The office was county auditor. It took me six months to get the necessary signatures. But I did it. I got beat in the election, of course. Bad! I lost my first three tries but I finally did get elected county treasurer. I knew I was bucking the system. I knew I was blazing a new trail for women. But I had decided in the face of much opposition that this is what I had to do. I decided and I stuck with my decision."

"And here you are the newly-elected Lt. Governor," the interviewer interjected. "It must be a wonderful feeling. You continue to prove the critics wrong. Do you have any advice for women who might be inspired by your example to run for public office?"

"Go for it," Ms. Washington shot back. "You've got to decide for yourself. All the old rules may be lined up against you. Even friends and family may not always support you. So, you've got to want it very badly and be willing to pay the price. The most important thing is that you must decide for yourself. Then stick with your decision. Choose your path and don't look back.""

While we deliberate, God reigns;
when we decide wisely, God reigns;
when we decide foolishly, God reigns;
when we serve God in humble loyalty, God reigns;
when we serve God self-assertively, God reigns;
when we rebel and seek to withhold our service, God reigns
The Alpha and the Omega, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

 

Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday we celebrate this week, spoke with some frequency during his years of ministry of putting on the "weapon of love." Responding to those who resisted the emerging civil rights movement, King asserted, "We will counter your force with soul force, we will match your ability to hate with our ability to love." And King reminded us that at the heart of Jesus' life and message is the call to be peacemakers and reconcilers. Violence, said King again and again, "never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problems; it merely creates new and more complicated ones."

We live in a world thirsty for this gospel of peace. With Martin Luther King, and with Jesus before him, we need to announce with integrity, "The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. It is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than on love. It destroys community…Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."

In the book "A Window on the Mountain," Winston Pierce tells of his high school class reunion. A group of the old classmates were reminiscing about things and persons they were grateful for. One man mentioned that he was particularly thankful for Mrs. Wendt, for she more than anyone had introduced him to Tennyson and the beauty of poetry. Acting on a suggestion, the man wrote a letter of appreciation to Mrs. Wendt and addressed it to the high school. The note was forwarded and eventually found the old teacher. About a month later the man received a response. It was written in a feeble longhand and read as follows:

"My dear Willie, I can't tell you how much your letter meant to me. I am now in my nineties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and like the last leaf of fall lingering behind. You will be interested to know that I taught school for forty years and yours is the first letter of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue, cold morning and it cheered me as nothing has for years. Willie, you have made my day."

Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; Whereas, both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness!"

Now therefore, I do recommend next, to be devoted by the people of the states to the service of that great and glorious being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country.

A petunia doesn’t try to be a pansy,
A rose is quite content to be a rose,
A poppy holds its brilliant head up proudly,
The zennia is so bright it fairly glows.

A sunflower stands as tall as it is able,
A daisy shares its freshness with us all.
With unique charm, each blossom gives us pleasure;
The variety of flowers never pails.

How grateful we should be for these creations,
Proud or shy, a flower’s a work of art.
In addition to the cheer they spread, they teach us:
Be the best of what you are and do your part.

James Somerville presents a unique illustration of the Paraclete: When my wife puts her hand on the doorknob, her coat over her arm, my children look up from what they are doing to ask: "Who will take care of us?" and she gives them the name of one of their regular babysitters. All of them are capable, and my children enjoy the attention, but if my wife gives them one name "Brittain" my children leap up from what they are doing and rejoice. Brittain reads to them, romps with them, acts out plays and makes chocolate chip cookies; she nurtures their young lives like a loving parent, and as long as she is with them they are not afraid.

I don't know that the Holy Spirit has ever been compared to a babysitter. But if you can imagine Jesus as a mother, then it may not be so hard to imagine the Spirit in this other role, as one who cares for the church in the interim between Jesus' departure and return, as one who comforts, teaches, reminds and, yes, sometimes even romps with the sons and daughters of God.

In the words of Jesus then, "Rejoice!"

Chelsey Harmon, of the Center for Excellence in Preaching, tells about an article that appeared in the Southwest Review magazine sometime back. The article was written by Roger Gilbert who reflected on being in a crowd one day with hundreds of other people watching a partial solar eclipse. He reveals that, at the moment the moon became “superimposed” on the sun, “the entire crowd spontaneously burst into applause.”  Then Gilbert made this observation:

“Whom or what were we applauding? We tend to imagine when we applaud at a live performance that the applause is ‘for’ the performers, that its purpose is to communicate our approval to them. But this applause suggested that, in some cases at least, communication is a secondary motive, that applause is first and foremost a way of responding to the elation of a moment.” Think about that phrase for a moment: applause is first and foremost a way of responding to the elation of a moment.”

Chelsey Harmon added the further observation that when the angels burst into praise that first Christmas Eve, she tends to think that their praise for God was like the crowd applauding the magnificence of the solar eclipse. It was an act of elation in response to something quite beautiful and unique. God became a human being.

In 1926, a wealthy Toronto lawyer named Charles Vance Millar died, leaving behind him a will that amused and electrified the citizens of his Canadian province.  Millar, a bachelor with a wicked sense of humor, stated clearly that he intended his last will and testament to be an "uncommon and capricious" document.  Because he had no close heirs to inherit his fortune, he divided his money and properties in a way that amused him and aggravated his newly chosen heirs.  Here are just a few examples of his strange bequests:

He left shares in the Ontario Jockey Club to two prominent men who were well‑known for their opposition to racetrack betting.

He bequeathed shares in the O'Keefe Brewery Company (a Catholic beer manufacturer) to every Protestant minister in Toronto. 

But his most famous bequest was that he would leave his fortune to the Toronto woman who gave birth to the most children in the ten years after his death. 

This last clause in his will caught the public fancy--concerning the woman who produced the most children over a ten-year period.  The country was entering the Great Depression. As people struggled to meet even their most basic economic responsibilities, the prospect of an enormous windfall was naturally quite alluring. Newspaper reporters scoured the public records to find likely contenders for what became known as The Great Stork Derby.  Nationwide excitement over the Stork Derby built quickly. 

In 1936, four mothers‑‑proud producers of nine children apiece in a ten‑year time span‑‑divided up the Millar fortune, each receiving what was a staggering sum in those days, $125,000.  Charles Millar caused much mischief with his will. This was his final legacy to humanity. 

Let's talk about legacies for a moment. This Memorial Day weekend we remember those who died in our nation's service. Regardless of how we might feel about war in general, or any war in particular, it is only right that we should pay homage to those who lay down their lives for our country. This is the legacy that they bequeathed to us--a free and prosperous land. 

When Jesus of Nazareth left this earth, he bequeathed a legacy to his followers. He left his Holy Spirit--to comfort, to guide, to empower them to be all that God had called them to be. Today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the church. 

1. The Birthday of the Church.
2. A Spirit-filled Church.
3. The Bold Spirit of Christ in Us.

We may sweep the world clean of militarism, we may scrub the world white of autocracy, we may carpet it with democracy and drape it with the flag of republicanism. We may hang on the walls the thrilling pictures of freedom: here, the signing of America’s Independence; there, the thrilling portrait of Joan of Arc; yonder, the Magna Carta; and on this side, the inspiring picture of Garibaldi. We may spend energy and effort to make the world a paradise itself where the lion of capitalism can lie down with the proletarian lamb. But if we turn into that splendid room mankind with the same old heart, deceitful and desperately wicked, we may expect to clean house again not many days hence. What we need is a peace conference with the Prince of Peace.