Welcoming in Christ (Unfinished Sermon)

Often, when I have interviewed with churches, I will ask them to describe themselves without using the words “Welcoming,” “Friendly,” or “Outgoing.” One of the reasons I do this is because I think these are words what we really do not know the meaning of. We may think we know what they mean, but when I look at various congregations, it seems that that understanding was not present.


In our reading from Romans, Paul tells us that we are to welcome each other as Christ has welcomed you. That we are to welcome each other for the glory of God.

So, if we are to welcome each other as Christ has welcomed each of us, what does that mean?

Well, that is a question that I cannot answer for you. That is a question that I can only answer for myself. I can tell stories about being rejected by congregations and denominations that I had devoted my life to. I can tell stories about family and friends that chose to let me know that I created too much difficulty to bother with. I can tell you stories about judgment leveled against me because I did not conform to someone’s preconceived notion of what it meant to be Christian.

Now, some of you may be drawing conclusions as to what I am talking about. And in some cases, you would be right, but in other cases you would be very wrong. I have lost friends because I believed that God could and would save anyone. I lost friends because I believed that God’s love was greater than anything we could do here on Earth. Something as simple as believing that Christ’s gift on the cross was meant for everyone has caused me to lose friends.

In the situations of my life where people have turned me away, I am sure if you asked these people, they would all claim to be friendly and welcoming. No one wants to think of themselves as cold and judgmental. And in the stories I could tell, I am sure all the people thought they were doing the right thing. But in each of these situations, what I felt was not welcoming at all; what I felt pushed me farther away from the love of God. I don’t think that what I felt from these people who claimed to be Christians was what Jesus had intended.

How did Christ welcome people? Did he pass judgment on them? Did he speak of them with contempt and fear? Did he make comments about people just within earshot? No. When Christ welcomed people, he welcomed them with love and with compassion. He invited the sinners and the outcasts to eat with him. He extended forgiveness to the adulterer. He embraced the downtrodden and he healed the ones who were excluded from society. He became the servant to those whom society called outcasts and died for us all, even as we continue to flaunt our gift. This is the welcome Christ gave to us and the welcome we are to give to others.

I want you to take a moment. Think of a time when you were not welcomed. Think of a time that you were shunned, hurt, or cast out. What did they do that made you feel left out and alone? What happened that let you know that you did not belong?

Now think of a time when you were welcomed. Think of a time when you felt lost and someone brought you in and made you feel at home. What changed? What helped you to feel that all was ok? What was said that let you know that you were indeed welcomed.

To be welcomed as Christ would welcome us is to have

More Sleepless Nights.

This whole thing with the Former Secretary (FS) is getting crazy!  I keep tying to find ways to not get snagged into all the systems stuff, but find it difficult. I know that people are rebelling because I am holding boundaries where there were previously none.  This is not going over well with the FS so she is getting people to do her bidding.

I just feel entirely too thin-skinned to be doing this.  I know I just need to stand up to the whole thing and call it out, but I am too wimpy for that.  I just want to go away and do something involving no other people except Nick.  I just want to be left alone.  I am tired.  I am jumping at shadows.  I am amazed at how mean "Good People" can be.

Then I have to ask how am I contributing to the system?  How am I being reactive?  How is my reactivity contributing to the general anxiety of the system?  Am I doing more harm than good there?

Thoughts Flying Through My Brain

Hopefully, writing them down will help them to allow me to go to sleep.

First off,   Happy 5th Anniversary to Nick!  I love you and don't know why you put up with me and my neurotic ways!

Two:  Anyone want a cat?  We inherited a cat.  This cat is younger than the one that we previously had and is terrorizing the older cat.  The older cat is bigger, but wimpier than the new cat, so the new cat just reads the older one the riot act.  We had a urine "oops" previously, and today we found a mound of turds on the bed.  (The new one had the old one trapped in the litter box a week or so ago.  I am afraid the older on is scared to use the box.)

Three:  The congregation keeps being bipolar.  Things are going great in many aspects.  We made it through the scheduling conflict with little ramifications, but what I had predicted has come to pass:  The husband of the former secretary (the one who is on the council) has decided to become passive aggressive.  He started to ask if I had made any phone calls to former congregants and kept quoting from "the contract" about a mutual ministry review.  He was informed that a mutual ministry review was not a job evaluation of Fr. Ben.  I also, not so subtly informed him that he may want to be careful of quoting the contract.

As it stands, I am only contracted to work Wed, Wed Night, Thurs, and Sunday.  As anyone in the church knows, I do not work those hours. I am also working Tuesday, Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sunday afternoons.  I am also taking a defacto pay cut in that I am getting milage and other expenses cut.  If people want to get picky about the contract, they will end up on the short end of the stick.

I feel as if people in the congregation see me as the enemy.  Beware false gods, but be even more aware of false devils!  The congregation has functioned with such loose (or maybe even non-existent) boundries that any boundries feel restrictive.  I know I have to just stand firm and wait it out.

Oh, bright comment of the day:  Now that all of the brush is gone [and you can now see the church from the road!] we are more likely to be robbed.  (IDK, I think better visibility from the road should make us LESS likely to be robbed.  But what do I know?)

Happy Advent to all!

WAKE UP! Advent 1A

Advent 1 Year A   November 28, 2010     Matthew 24:36-44  
The Rev. Benton Quest


Happy New Year!

Some may think I am about a month early, but today we celebrate the beginning of a new church year. With a new church year comes a new sense of life and vitality that change often brings. And with this change we once again stretch and look at our life anew.

So often in our lives we can get lulled into a kind of walking sleep. We get up in the morning, we go about our daily lives, and we go to bed at night. That day is gone, never to be lived again. And then, again the next morning, we get up, we go about our daily lives, and we go to bed at night. Before we know it, weeks have passed and we really have nothing to show for it, no memories to reflect back upon. We have been living life, but we can’t remember anything about it. We have been going through life in a kind of sleep.

Well, that kind of thing could happen with the church year, too. We come in, we say the familiar prayers, we hear the familiar stories, we see the familiar people… And granted, there is a certain comfort in all of this; but there is also the potential that we can get to the point where our worship life becomes another type of walking sleep. We have been doing it; we just can’t remember anything about it. It is for this reason that we have the various seasons in the church year. We have the different seasons to wake us up and help us to see our worship and the whole world anew. So you see, we changed the color of the paraments on the altar, we added the Advent wreath, and we have changed the prayers we use during the service. All of this to help us to remember that time has passed and to keep us from being lulled into sleep.

So, I guess I could have said, “Wake up!” instead of “Happy New Year.” I could have, but you all would have probably thought I was being rude. However, with the start of this new church year, we do get a wake-up call. As we begin the season of Advent, I won’t be the one telling you to wake up, in the gospel, we hear Jesus himself telling his followers, which includes all of us here, to keep awake.

In the gospel reading, Jesus is telling us the importance of keeping awake. When we hear this, we must realize that this is more than just being coherent, keeping awake is maintaining an awareness of those people and things that surround us.

Jesus first starts by telling his disciples that no one knows the day or hour of the Lord’s coming. NO ONE. Not even the son – Jesus himself – knows this. Only the Father knows. I find it interesting that even though Jesus tells us that no one knows the date, so many people spend so much time trying to figure the day and time out. What is especially interesting are the people who will state, “Well, we may not be able to know the day and hour, but at least we can figure out the month and year!” Why people are so interested in knowing the exact time eludes me. My only guess is if we know, we don’t have to be awake. We can sleep until that moment and then wake up when the time arrives. Kind of like the bumper sticker that says, “Jesus is coming back, look busy!” But Jesus doesn’t want us to sleep; he wants us to be awake and alert. He wants us ready for action.

Jesus again reinforces that no one would know the day or hour by citing an example from the time of Noah. Jesus tells the disciples that as the great flood approached, the people had no idea their own demise was near. As Jesus says, “they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.” So, again, what Jesus is saying is that planning for the coming of the Lord is a waste of time.

Since we are not actively planning for the Lord’s coming, that doesn’t mean we get to kick back and do nothing. Just because we do not know the day or hour that does not mean that we can just slide through. Just because we can’t know the details, doesn’t mean that we should be spending our lives in a state of walking sleep, Jesus wants more of his disciples. It is here that he brings in a few other examples.

In his examples, Jesus talks about people out doing things, people going about their daily lives. These people are not waiting in a cave in anticipation of the Lord’s return; they are out in the field and are grinding meal. He does not talk about people just sitting around waiting for something to happen. These people are active.

It is while these activities are occurring that some are taken, and some are left behind. Now, we might want to ask how the choice was made as to those who were taken? Unfortunately, we are not given the details, but Jesus does give us another example right after, which we can assume is meant to help us understand.

Right after the disappearing people, Jesus tells about the thief in the night and the homeowner who was asleep. Since the homeowner was asleep, the thief was able to steal the owner’s property. But if the owner had been awake, the thief would not have succeeded. So by giving us this example, we can assume that in the previous examples, the ones who were taken were the ones who were awake and those who were left were those who had fallen asleep under the spell of the world. And finally make sure everyone gets it, Jesus reiterates that we need to be awake, alert, and ready because the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour.

What Jesus is telling us, then, is that we are to live our lives being alert and ready. We are not to let the routines of the world lull us into sleep. We are to wait for the return of the Lord but we are not to just sit there and let the world pass us by. We are to live in the tension that the advent of Christ’s return brings.

One of my seminary professors had a great way of explaining this tension: He would say, “Could Jesus return today? Yes.” Then he would say, “Am I counting on it? No.” It is true, Jesus could return at any time. We can look for signs, we can try to figure out dates, but we are told that no one knows the hour of the Lord’s return. So the message Jesus has for us is that we should live in the expectation of his return but also realize that we have been given a life to live, here and now. We need to live our lives but we also need to live with the awareness that Christ could return, and so therefore, we can’t just go through our lives, asleep! We need to get busy!

I think there are many things that stop us from being busy for Christ. We have jobs, families, and commitments. We get caught up in the trials of life. These trials can be thought of as a darkness in our lives, a darkness where, if we are not careful, we can get lost. What is sad is that when we get lost, we forget that we have been given a light to lead us. We have the example of God incarnate, God with Us. We don’t need to fumble around in the dark when we have the light of Christ to lead us.

This awareness of Christ’s presence in our lives gives us a new way of living life and a new way approaching the tasks in our lives. Christ is the presence that opens our eyes to the true potential of life.

Granted, we do not know when Jesus will return, but there is something else we cannot know, we cannot know when we will make our own personal return to Christ. We usually do not like to think about that too much, but we will each have our own “thief in the night” moment. And try as we might, we do not know the day or hour of our death. When this time comes, will we have our house in order? Will we be ready to move on to the heavenly kingdom?

Part of Jesus’ call to “keep awake” is for us to be aware of our relationships, not only with God but also with those around us. As we approach the day we celebrate Christ’s birth, we are to remember the great sacrifice that was made for us in that act of God becoming human. As we look to Jesus’ birth, we can also be thankful for his saving death and resurrection. And we needn’t be afraid of the thief in the night, because we know that we have great love of God to lead us into the night and to keep us safe.

So, Happy New Year! Happy Advent! And Good Morning! As we approach the celebration of Christ’s birth, I ask you each to make a New Year’s resolution: Resolve to approach each day as a gift and each person as a treasure. Resolve to see the light of Christ in everyone you meet and to see Christ’s light in yourself also! Resolve to dream the dream God has for us! Dream of a world where Christ love fills our community. If we are not dreaming, then we are just sleeping. Christ calls us out of our sleep! And finally, resolve to leave behind the dark and live in the wondrous light that has been given to us through that small child in a manger and the miraculous man he became.

ONE MONTH LEFT!

May Santa keep your spirits up! ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Growing old is manditory, growing up is optional...

Some people (some?) are just children walking around in adult suits.

First off, things in the congregation are going MUCH better.  I don't know if that is the effect of celexa or if things are changing; either way, life in the congregation has been pretty good.

BUT

I have been having some run-ins with the former secretary.  She decided to tell me that she did not like where I moved the stained glass in the sactuary.  That is fine,she does not have to like it, that still does not mean I am going to move it.  (I also need to say that she may have beenin church 6 Sundays since I have been here.  She is never in church so why should this bother her?)  She was NOT pleased to hear that. 

Well, on Sunday, I get an e-mail informing me of a "Beading Workshop" taking place at the church in a few weeks.  This was the first time I ever heard of this.  I asked the congregational Pres if he knew nything about it.  No, he did not.  I asked if he approved the use of the building?  Again, no.  The event was written on the calendar and that was assumed to be ok.  (Wanna guess who had decided to hold this little workshop?  Yep!  The Former Secretary!)

Then when I said that it was not an approved event, I got the "well, we'll just cancel then.  We thought we were doing something good."  (Overtones of "I'll take my ball and go home.)  I explained that I was pleased by the event, I just didn't like the route of obtaining use of the building.  To which I heard, "I didn't think we needed permission to use our building." 

Did I mention when all the planning for this event was going on, I and the President were sitting at various tables in the same hall as the people planning the thing?  And all they had to do was ask either one of us if there was a conflict?

Oy vey.

Thanks for the Troubles, Jesus. Pentecost 25 Proper 28C

Proper 28C                Luke 21:5-19                    Nov. 14, 2010             The Rev. Benton Quest

I was watching a show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network a while ago. I don’t know if you are familiar with TBN but it is the channel that has all the preachers on it. Now I need to tell you, I normally don’t make it a habit of watching TBN, but when I watched, they were having their fundraising week. Well, the preaching was quite unbelievable. These folks were preaching in a manner that I don’t think I will ever accomplish! Maybe you don’t want me to accomplish this style!! Well, I am not going to talk about the preaching style. What I wish to discuss is the content of the preaching.

I will admit that I didn’t hear the entire sermon, but what I did hear I found upsetting. It seems that this preacher was talking about how all the people in a certain congregation had gone from destitution to affluence. How suddenly the parking lot was beginning to fill with Cadillacs and Lincolns. How people have gone from having little money to having money to spare. The preacher was talking about how by just believing in Jesus, the people became wealthy.

Now this sounds like a good message. I bet if we went out and guaranteed that by coming to St. Swithin's, people would become rich, we would have people knocking down our doors! We would all like to hear that by simply going to church we could all make whole lot of money. Well, most of us would probably like to hear that message. Yet, for how good a message that would be to hear, there is a problem with that message. There is an underlying message to what the preacher was saying. What the preacher was saying is that we should believe in Jesus for the things that we can receive. What he was saying is that being a Christian is like having a winning lottery ticket. If we believe enough in Jesus then we will have big cars, big houses, abundant health, and lots and lots of cash.

So very often this is the message we hear when people talk about Christianity. The message we get is if we only follow Jesus our life will be so much better. If we only follow Jesus our life will be so much easier. It makes sense, doesn’t it? We don’t follow Christ and our life is a mess because of sin. We follow Christ, He forgives our sins, and our lives are much better because we are making Christ happy and he wants to give us stuff. Sounds good to me!

In seminary we had a name for this type of belief. The belief that because we believe then everything will be wonderful is known as a Theology of Glory. A Theology of Glory is pretty enticing. We believe in Christ and Christ gives us exactly what we want. And know what? A Theology of Glory works! It works until your wife gets cancer or your husband is in an accident or large buildings collapse killing thousands of people or jet engines self-destruct. When the “bad” things in life happen, then the Theology of Glory leaves us standing in the smoke and dust asking, “What happened?”

But Jesus doesn’t teach a theology of Glory. He teaches what Martin Luther called a Theology of the Cross. A Theology of the Cross has to do with learning from our mistakes and holding to our convictions. In the gospel reading for today, Jesus talks about being arrested and persecuted. Those who follow Jesus are going to be arrested and persecuted. Through their association with Jesus, the disciples lives are going to be come difficult and complicated. They probably will be taken to jail, not to the new car show room.

When I read these scriptures, I am confused as to how to respond. I don’t want to be arrested! I don’t want to have to go to the jail and visit with you when you get arrested! I don’t want to end up in jail myself! Just think about the evangelism campaign we could have! “Join St. Swithin's! A welcoming place where you can get your very own serial number! Free mug shot with every membership!” We won’t be able to keep the people out!

Why does Jesus do that? Why does Jesus promise all of these horrible things for his followers? It really is not a good way to get follower and believers. I think you will agree with me that we would much rather hear about how following Jesus would bring us a life of leisure. We don’t want to hear that through following Jesus our life is going to be more difficult. But Jesus doesn’t let us off. He tells us that we need to be prepared to be rejected by the world. We need to be ready to have the world not just passively ignore us but to actively persecute us.

Humm… I don’t like hearing this at all. And I would like to talk around these words. I would like to tell you that Jesus was just messing with our minds; that we really don’t have to go through all this suffering. But to tell you that would be to do Jesus a disservice.

Now one thing I want to make perfectly clear; Christ wants us to have the best life possible. Christ wants us to live a full and fulfilling life. We need to always remember this. Jesus is not telling us to follow him so that we will have trouble and pain. Jesus is telling us to follow him so that we can have the best life possible.

The way of following Christ is to pursue the things that are truly important in life. To follow Chris is to be fully involved in life. To follow Christ is to experience what is the most important in life.

What are the most important things in life? Is it most important to have things or to have friends? Is it more important to have the praise of everyone or to have the satisfaction of knowing that you did what was right? Is it more important to have the admiration of the masses or to have the love of God? It is nice to have things, praise, and the admiration of the masses, but it is more important to have the love of God. Like a good parent, Christ wants what is best for us. And just as with children, often what the parent knows is best may not always appear to the child to be the best. Also, what is the best may not be what is the easiest! If what was the best were also the easiest, then the new health plan would involve eating cookies and watching TV! Unfortunately, maintaining our health is a little harder. But in putting in the work, we get the benefits.

Our faith life is the same way. When we follow Jesus, we have to put in the work. This work helps us to live fulfilling lives. This work helps us to live a life that is rich and vibrant. A life in Christ is not dull and boring, no! It is full of energy, abundant energy! Life in Christ is not about judgment. It is about freedom!

Unfortunately, the world doesn’t want us to have an abundant life. If we have our fulfillment in God, then we don’t need to buy our fulfillment in the Martha Stewart collection. If we find our fulfillment in Christ, then we don’t need to worry about how others view us. If we have our fulfillment in Christ, we can move about life, experiencing what is best.

But it is this lack of worry about the world that will cause the world to rebel and causes the problems Jesus teaches about. There is a lot of pressure for us to define ourselves by the ways of the world. A lot of people have a lot resting on my desire for a new car or a new shirt or a new Wii. Advertising’s sole aim is to make me feel that my life is not worth living if I don’t own their product. Advertising’s sole aim is to make me (and you!) feel like we are less than the special creations created by God.

I have something to tell you! We are more than new Cadillacs! God gives us more than the purely material! We are the baptized children of God, heirs to the eternal reign! We are the redeemed! We have the promise of Immanuel, of God with us! God here and now! Soon we will come to the table and be fed and strengthened by Christ’s own body and blood. What greater gift can we receive?

It would be nice to have a Cadillac, or a Lincoln, or a 1976 tan Fiat Spider convertible with caramel leather interior. But to measure God’s goodness by purely tangible possessions is to limit our understanding of God. No, God comes to us in so many different ways. God comes to us in the laughter of children, in the coarse texture of a cat’s tongue, the sparkle in a loved ones eyes, the smell of freshly baked cookies, the feel of sheets fresh off the line, the feel of clothes still warm from the dryer, the sound of gentle rain on the roof, the smell of a fire on a cold evening, or the gentle brush of a finger on a cheek. Jesus is present in all of these. When we limit our concept of blessing to those things we can own, we limit God.

So as we approach this Thanksgiving, let’s give thanks for the things in our lives, but let’s also be sure to give thanks for the multitude of small blessings in our lives and pray that God increases our awareness of these blessings. God promises us more than we can ever understand. It may not be what the world promises, but it will be so much better!

Frustrations

My church is right across the street from a high school.

I thought it would be great to offer my help to the school concerning a Gay/Stright Alliance or anything like that.  Let's face it, I am gay, I am a clergy person, (and a quite liberal clergy person at that!) and I have some backing in psychology.  Personally, this seems like a no-brainer! 

So I called the counseling department, twice, and left messages.  I heard nothing in return.

I called the principal's office and was given the name and phone of the GSA advisor.  I have heard nothing in return.

How hard is it to return a phone call?

Time

I stole this from Lemuel, go show him some love!

20 years ago (08. Nov 1990)




1.) How old were you? 26
2.) Where did you go to school?  I was out in the working world with a BA in Psychology and Psychobiology
3.) Where did you work? I worked for a private Sheltered Workshop/Residential Center
4.) Where did you live? I lived in a little, tiny house (you could sit on the "throne" and lean your forehead on the wall in front of you!) in Grand Detour, IL.
5.) Where did you hang out? Anchovies
6.) Did you wear glasses? Nope!
7.) Who was your best friend? Anna
8.) How many tattoos did you have? None.

9.) How many piercings did you have? None.

10.) What car did you drive? A green Chevy Citation, not sure of the year.
11.) Had you been to a real party? Not really sure of this question, but I don't think so.
12.) Had your heart broken? Yes

13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced: Single


10 years ago (08. Nov 2000)



1.) How old were you? 36
2.) Where did you go to school? By this point I had finished my MA in Psychology and also had an M.Div.
3.) Where did you work? My first church in the middle of nowhere northern Michigan.
4.) Where did you live? circa 1970's Mobile Home
5.) Where did you hang out? Traverse City, MI
6.) Did you wear glasses? No.

7.) Who was your best friend? Still Anna
8.) How many tattoos did you have? One.

9.) How many piercings did you have? None.

10.) What car did you drive? A red 1999 Plymouth Duster.  I loved that car!
11.) Had you been to a real party? No.

12.) Had your heart broken? Yes, although I wasn't ready to admit it and he had no idea he did it!

13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced: Still single


5 years ago (08. Nov 2005)



1.) How old were you? 41
2.) Where did you go to school? Kind of all over the place.  Nothing like a formal degree, just tons of seminars.

3.) Where did you work? Bethlehem Lutheran Church
4.) Where did you live? In my house!  I loved that house!  It had gargoyles!  It had hardwood floors!  It was beautiful!
5.) Where did you hang out? I didn't really have a "hang out" place. 
6.) Did you wear glasses? Yes, just to read when I remembered them.

7.) Who were your best friends? Anna, still
8.) Who was your crush? Jim
9.) How many tattoos did you have? Two.

10.) How many piercings did you have? None.

11) What car did you drive? 2002 Chevy S-10 Pick-up. (I was so butch!)

12.) Had you had your heart broken? Not anything new.

13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Single but moving toward Takn
14.) Any kids? Just two furballs who had been with me since 2000


Present (08. Nov 2010)



1.) How old are you? 46
2.) Where do you go to school? School of life.

3.) Where do you work? A small church in the 'burbs of Detroit.
4.) Where do you live? In an apartment complex with a view of the neighbors' buildings.
5.) Where do you hang out? Some area parks, a few sports bars, a few gay bars.
6.) Do you wear glasses? Still for reading when I remember where put them.

7.) Who are your best friends? Jim, Anna, Dennis

8.) Who is your crush? Crush, I am a fool for a nice body.  Love in my life?  Jim, of course!
9.) Do you talk to your old friends? Actually, more so now, due to Facebook.
10.) How many tattoo’s do have? None. Three.

11.) How many piercings do you have? One, though most people will never know this!
12.) What kind of car do you have? 2007 Ford Focus
13.) Has your heart been broken? No, and don't see one in the future, either.
14.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter? Cannot be married in this state.
15.) Any kids? Two furballs:  One that I have had since 2000 and one that we recently inherited. ("She goes to your house or heaven.)

Well, that was kind of fun!

Gifts and Promises Pentecost 24 Proper 27C

The folks we meet today in the gospel reading are interesting. We don’t see them a whole lot, matter of fact, this is one of the few places they are mentioned in the gospel of Luke. These guys were known as the Sadducees. They were a branch of the holymen of Biblical times. The odd thing about the Sadducees is that they only adhered to the first five books of what we would call the Old Testament. Now in these five books, there is no mention of resurrection. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, that is what made them sad, you see?


But even though they did not believe in the resurrection, they did have a deep and abiding faith. They believed that they were to keep the laws of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, and that they would live on throughout the thoughts and memories of those who came after them. So there was a “form” of living on after death, but not the bodily resurrection that we currently associate with Christianity.

But I have a question for you to think about: Why were the Sadducees so devout? They devoted their life to God, but they were not promised anything in return. In their theology, when they died, that was the end of it all. So if they were not promised eternal paradise, why be devout? If you believed that there was no heaven, would you be a believer or would you just go out and live for the moment?

So often we get caught up in the whole Santa model of God; you know, “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!” We MUST be good, because if we aren’t, then we will not get our presents, I mean, eternal life. We may not want to come out and say it, but many of us have this kind of understanding of God lurking at some level.

And it is this God as Santa theology, or maybe we could call it “God-Will-Squash-You-If-You-Don’t-Behave” theology, that runs throughout the story of Job. There is the understanding among Job’s friends that God is just waiting to smash Job under God’s thumb the moment Job does something wrong. And the reason Job is suffering is because Job must have done something wrong.

Just a reminder, Job was a righteous man who was suddenly afflicted with all kinds of hardships from having his family die to having sores appear all over his body. In the story, we are told that Job did nothing to earn these afflictions; we are told that they were given to him by Satan to see if he would curse God. And also in the story, we are told that Job has three “friends” who come to try to convince Job that he needs to repent from his sins so that he might get back into God’s good graces and get all these bad things taken from him.

I often wonder how I would do in a situation like that. Would I just give up on God and decide to just do whatever? Would I curse God and decide it was not worth it? I would hope not. I would hope that I would remain faithful even in the face of tragedy. And I hope that I would remain faithful even if eternal life was not a promise. I would hope that the gift of life and the beauty of the earth and people that surround me would be enough to move me to worship.

You see, somewhere we have acquired the idea that there is some kind of contract between equals that exists between us and God. We do good things, and God gives us good things. We worship God and God lifts us up into Heaven. God needs us, and in return, God makes our lives easier.

But it is this kind of thought that takes away our awe and respect for God. As cold as this may sound, God doesn’t need us. God would still be God even if we totally ignored God. This is the harsh reality, (at least for our human egos!) God doesn’t “benefit” from being in a relationship with us! God is no farther ahead with us nor is God any farther behind without us. Again, that is harsh, but that is the truth: God is God and we aren’t.

But when we come to the realization that God doesn’t owe us anything, we begin to realize just how great God is! It is only then that we realize how extravagant God is! God doesn’t have to give us anything, and still, God gives us a beautiful world, magnificent opportunities, and incredible people. God gives us challenges, pleasures, and experiences. God places these things into our lives, not because God owes us anything, God places these things into our lives because God loves us! Pure and simple, God Loves Us!

And for all the wonders that God has given us in our lives, even if we were to worship God constantly, we could never repay what God has given. Just giving our worship to God for the wonders that we have experienced in this day to this point could consume our lives. And even with that, God continues to bless us. Even if we never say “Thanks,” God continues to bless us. Even without the promise of eternal life, we would be eternally indebted to God.

This is what Job understood. This is what the Sadducees understood. This is what Job’s friends didn’t understand; and this is what we so often forget.

But in Christ coming to Earth, it doesn’t end here! In the person of Christ, we HAVE the promise of resurrection! We have what the Sadducees could only dream of! Not only do we have the gift of life, the gift of love, the gift of possibilities in our lives here and now, but we also have the gift and the promise of eternal life in the resurrection! This is the great gift God has given us. Not only do we have the promise of eternal life to look forward to, but we have the wonder of life in the here and now to enjoy and to revel in.

Yes, we should be like the Job and know we are redeemed even when our things appear to be falling apart. And yes, we should be like the Sadducees and be able to devoutly worship, even without the promise of eternal life. We should be able to do this, but if we can’t we still have a God who loves us. We still have a God who gives us life and beauty. We still have a God who promises us more than we could ever deserve! What a wonderful, marvelous gift. And so much more than we could ever expect from Santa Claus.

Two Months!

God Loves Us All (Unfinished Sermon)

I am so happy this week! We have an easy one!! YEAH! A nice easy to understand gospel reading. Not even a lot of interpretation to be done. Pharisees are bad and tax collectors are good! Just be nice and humble and everything will be a-ok! I like scriptures like this. I don’t have to think too much about them and neither do you! We can just sit back and pat ourselves on the back and be oh so proud of how humble we are. We aren’t like that nasty, self-serving Pharisee. We are not all kinds of self-righteous. We can thank God that we are not like other people.


Yes, we could feel that, but you know, if we listened to ourselves, we really aren’t that much different than the Pharisee. The Pharisee is praising himself on how righteous he is and how he keeps all the laws. The Pharisee is praising himself on how he is just so much better than the tax collector. The Pharisee is just lifting himself up, telling the whole world how wonderful he is.

But we can get into a similar situation by thinking we are just so much better than everyone else because we are just so humble. I have heard it once described as “conspicuous non-consumption.” We look at ourselves as being so much better by what we don’t have. Or I have heard people in churches get into “I was a worse sinner than you” competitions. If we look at this parable as just a platitude to be humble, we can get into all kinds of weird behavior. These must be something more here than just a simple exhortation to not think too highly of oneself.

Humm…Maybe this is not as simple as it would appear to be!

If we think about it, everything the Pharisee was saying was most likely true. I am sure he did fast twice a week. I am sure he did tithe. I am sure the Pharisee was of upstanding character; he was a righteous man. The Pharisee was not lying when he said all of these things. So the problem Jesus had with the Pharisee was not his truthfulness, it was something else.

The tax collector was also being truthful. We are not going to whitewash him and make him into something he was not. The tax collector was, truly, a sinner. So, again, the difference cannot be made on their truthfulness. They both were being truthful.

Maybe it was repentance! Was the tax collector repentant and the Pharisee not? We know that the Pharisee doesn’t seem to think there is any need for repentance; why should he? According to his standards and his laws, he hasn’t done anything worthy of repentance. But if we look, the tax collector does not repent either! We are not told that the tax collector says, “I’m sorry” or “I will try to do better.” The tax collector shows no sign of repentance. So repentance cannot be the thing that separates the two men praying in the temple.

Well, you probably have it figured out by now; the difference is that Pharisee does not see any need for God in his life. The Pharisee sees his place in life as his own doing. He has the good things in life because he has been righteous and has followed the law. Now the tax collector, he has no illusions; he doesn’t even approach the temple, he just throws himself down and begs for forgiveness. The tax collector just begs for mercy. The tax collector makes no pretense of being righteous. He doesn’t even promise to be righteous in the future. All he does is realizes his place in life and realizes that he needs God’s mercy.

The Pharisee doesn’t realize that his need for mercy. The Pharisee cannot even look at the tax collector and say, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” The Pharisee does not see that his life could be any other way than the way HE made it. According to the Pharisee, everything he has he deserves; he earned it. According to the Pharisee, he has no need to be thankful because he is just getting paid back for his righteousness.

But the tax collector sees his need for mercy. The tax collector does not make any assumption about his state of being. The tax collector is desperate for mercy. The tax collector realizes that any blessings that he has in his life are all a gift from God. Where the tax collector shows true dependence on God, the Pharisee just appears smug.

The Pharisee divides people up into two groups, those who are righteous, like himself, and the immoral people like the tax collector. Although the Pharisee says “Thanks,” it is more a perfunctory sort of “thanks.” He really doesn’t see that his life and all he has is a gift. He just sees it as part of his own righteousness. He sees all he has as being due to him; not a gift at all. He sees himself and others as righteous and deserving, and the others as immoral and therefore undeserving of what they have.

But the truth is that neither man is deserving of the gifts they have been blessed with. And justification is not from our recognition of the gifts, but our recognition of our need for God’s mercy! God does not see the divisions that the Pharisee is making. God does not see us as primarily righteous or immoral. God sees us as God’s children and wants us to look to God for our daily needs. It is in our recognition of our need for God’s mercy that we find our true humanity. It is in our recognition that all of us need God’s mercy that removes the divisions that separate us and move us into our own little worlds.

In the adult class on Wednesday night, we are reading the book, The Great Divorce. In this book, by C. S. Lewis, Hell is populated by people who are totally separated from each other. They can create what they want just by thinking it. There is no reason to need anyone else. And it is this belief in self-sufficiency that keeps the people in the book out of Heaven. It is not supposed righteousness or immorality of the person that keeps them out of Heaven, it boils down to the person’s realization that they NEED God. Those that realize they need God are justified; those who feel self righteous are allowed to return to their own little Hells.

Can we ever move beyond our need for self-righteousness? Can we ever see ourselves as gifted from God while totally dependent upon God? Can we ever move beyond our need to separate ourselves into “Us” and “Them” groups? Into “Me” and “Them” groups? “God loves me” and “God doesn’t love you” groups? Truthfully, I don’t think we ever can. I think it is part of being human to divide people up into “Us” and “Them.”

But God is asking us to just rely on God.

Its A Trust Thing Pentecost 21

Proper 24C

I was thinking about the concept of trust. What do you trust? If you think about it, we go through our life trusting a lot of things. We trust that the architects did a good job in designing this building. We trust that the materials used to make the ceiling will hold up and not come crashing down upon us. We trust that our car breaks will work and we trust that the other guy’s brakes will also work. We trust a lot of things will happen to keep us safe.


To go through live we HAVE to trust in a lot of things. But what about people? Can we get through life without trusting people? And if we do trust people, who are the people that we trust? Now this is no little question! We may say we trust our spouse. We may say we trust our coworkers. We may say we trust our children or our parents. We may say we trust our fellow congregants. We may say this, but do we really trust these people? We may be willing to trust people with little thing, but are we willing to trust others with the things we consider to be important? Are we willing to trust, or do we want to do it ourselves to make sure it is done the way WE want it to be done.

I think we are willing to trust up to a point, but when things get really serious, we want to do things ourselves. We want to make sure that it gets done the way we want it done. Small things, we are ok with letting others do, but the big things we want to control; we don’t want to be at the mercy of the faults and foibles of others. Although we may say we trust people, I find we usually want to make sure that things are done our way. This is the way of our world. We live in the world of the Lone Ranger. But God did not put us in the world to go it alone; God put us here to be part of community. God put us here to be among believers. God put us here to trust in God.

Do we really trust God?

In our first reading this morning, we have the story of Jacob. We may remember some things about Jacob: He was the second born of twins. He traded a bowl of stew to receive the birthright from his older brother Esau. And finally, he tricked his dying father, Isaac, into giving the blessing to him,, the younger brother, instead of giving it to Esau, the one to whom it rightly belonged.

Jacob didn’t trust that God would be with him. He wanted to make sure he got the blessing, he wanted to make sure he got the birthright. He would scheme and trick to make sure he got the best.

As you could guess, all of this trickery caused problems in Jacob’s life. Matter of fact, Jacob’s name was a constant reminder of his treachery. You see, the name Jacob means “The Supplanter;” he supplanted his brother’s birthright and he supplanted his brother’s blessing. And as we begin the Genesis reading for today, Jacob is returning home after fleeing twenty years earlier after securing Esau’s birthright.

In the reading, Jacob has prayed that God would give him deliverance from Esau after Jacob heard that Esau was going to meet him along with 400 men. I find it interesting that it is only when faced with an almost impossible problem does Jacob finally reach out to God. When Jacob has no way of tricking his way out of something, then he goes to God. In response to Jacob’s prayer, God sends an angel.

Why doesn’t God just make things better for Jacob? Why all of thise wrestling? Jacob had to struggle with God. Jacob had to hold God to God’s word. Jacob had to rely on God instead of relying on his own trickery. And when Jacob relied on God, when Jacob struggled with God, well, first off, his name was changed. It was changed from Jacob, “The Supplanter,” to Israel, which means “One Who Strives With God.” And then Israel receives a blessing. We are not told exactly what the blessing was, but we know that Israel’s meeting with Esau ends in reconciliation and we also know that Israel will become the father of nations. So Israel is blessed, not through trickery or deception, but through holding God to God’s promise.

In our gospel reading, we learn more of what it means to trust in God.

It would be easy to just write this parable off as a call to nag God. We could see the widow as someone who just keeps nagging until those around become so tired that they give in. But that would be to forget about the judge.

The judges of Biblical times were to defend widows. Widows had no power in the community so it was the mandate of the judges to see that they were cared for. But this judge did not care. He had no fear of what would happen to him so he couldn’t have cared less if he defended the widow or not. It was only when the widow had annoyed the judge enough that the judge finally gives the widow justice.

However, God is not some unjust judge. God cares deeply about the widow and the orphan. God cares deeply about the poor and the homeless. God cares deeply about you and about me. And because God cares, we do not need to badger God.

BUT…

We are to remain faithful. We are to put our trust into God. We need to remember that Jesus tells us that this parable shows us that we are to pray and not give up. When God seems slow in responding, we are to remember that it is not that God is unjust or God is slow. When God seems to be far away, we are to wait faithfully and prayerfully. We can wrestle with God, but in the end, we need to maintain our persistence in faith.

Often people will twist the parable of the widow and the unjust judge to point the finger when prayers do not seem to be answered. People will say that the man dies of the heart attack because he did not pray enough. Or they might say that the woman has not found a job because she is not faithful enough. But that is not what the parable is saying. The parable is giving us insight into a loving God, not a petty god.

Jacob had something to learn as he wrestled with the angel. He had to learn that what he could grasp for himself through trickery and deceit were so much less than God had planned for him. He had to learn that in relying solely on God was the way to be truly blessed. And it was through the struggle that the blessing came.

We may not know what we have to learn. We may not know what blessings may come. But we are invited to struggle with our feelings of being abandoned. We are invited to wrestle with God and hold God accountable to God’s promise of love and forgiveness. We are to struggle but we are also to remain faithful. This struggle is not easy. My own personal experience tells me that there will be times when God seems distant and faithfulness is difficult. But even when God seems far we are to still remain faithful. We are to remain prayerful. We are to trust.

God wants to give us blessing. God wants us to rely on him. God wants us to remain faithful even when times are difficult. It is not easy to continue when the world looks like it is against us, but we need to remember that the widow, in the face of injustice, continued to plead her case and ask for justice. When times are difficult, we need to remain faithful and it is when we struggle through the difficulties that God shows us the blessings.

Better Living Through Chemistry

Yep, I am back on antidepressants.  And yes, it is a good thing.  Moods were getting all over the place.  I was having trouble just functioning.  I wasn't all for going back on drugs, but I could not function without them.  So, I am back being chemically managed.  And you know, that is not a bad thing!

Happy National Coming Out Day!

Being Well Pentecost 20 Proper 23C

Luke 17:11-19

You know, I have read this story many times. I can tell you the general gist of the story. But when I read it this time, I thought of something different. I usually focus on the whole ten-were-healed-but-only-one-was-grateful-enough-to-come-back aspect of the story. That take on the story has served me well for the past three cycles of the lectionary. But when I read it this time, something totally different jumped out at me.


What jumped out at me this time was what Jesus said to the one leper that came back; Jesus said that the faith of this leper had made him well. This really made me stop and think. I thought all ten were made well. Isn’t that what we would say? They were all made clean, they were all sent to the priests to be inspected, they all had their disease removed, so, we would assume, they were all made well! Or at lest that is the way I have read it for MANY years. But this does not seem to be the case. This is NOT what Jesus says. Jesus makes the distinction. We are told by the writer of the Gospel that all ten were made clean, but Jesus tells us that only one was made well.

So I had to wonder: What was the difference between being made clean and being made well?

I always assumed that being made clean was the equivalent of being well. It seemed like a logical assumption. Being made clean returned you to the community. The lepers were outcasts from those around them. They were banished from being among others and had to keep to themselves. By being made clean, they were returned to society and were able to get back to their normal lives. Wouldn’t you think that being back in the good graces of society the equivalent of being well? I guess I have thought that for years. But then it struck me: Why would there be a need to tell this one specific person that he was well?

It all has to do with that one particular leper coming back and thanking Jesus. There was something in coming back and thanking Jesus that resulted in this man being proclaimed “well.”

Now there was also something that was thrown in that often just slips past us. We are told that this man was a Samaritan. Hearing this, we should start thinking all kinds of things. Samaritans were the most disgusting people of Biblical time. The Samaritans were the grossest of the gross. Good Jews would not EVER associate with a Samaritan. So it should come as quite a shock that out of all the lepers, it was the Samaritan who was proclaimed well.

So, what is it about being a Samaritan and coming back and throwing yourself at Jesus’ feet that makes a person move beyond clean to actually being well?

I think it has something to do with awareness. The Samaritan was aware that he had been made clean and that he had nothing to do with it. The Samaritan knew the immensity of being outside of the community and then what it meant to be brought back into the community. If we think about it, the Samaritan was doubly outcast; he was outcast because he was a Samaritan and then outcast from the Samaritans because he was a Leper!

We can probably assume that for this guy, life has been pretty hard. He could not take a whole lot of things for granted. I would be willing to bet that in the group of ten lepers, he was probably the lowest man on the totem pole. So he was grateful for anything he got! And since he received so very little, what he did receive he realized was a gift and did not just assume that is was his due. There was not a whole lot of entitlement in him.

It would seem that one of our biggest problems is that we have grown up with a sense of entitlement. We feel we are entitled to our world, we are entitled to our comforts, we are entitled to worship when, where, and how we want. This sense of entitlement creates within us a sense of complacency. And with that complacency, we really cannot be said to be well.

We have been given the gift of life and forgiveness through Christ. That gift was made manifest in our baptism and continues to be strengthened when we gather at the table. We have been made Clean by Christ but are we really well? Do we see the gift of life and forgiveness we receive to be truly a gift or do we see it as our just reward for being good people?

I believe that God gives us all gifts. I believe those gifts are given freely. I believe that God gives us gifts to do with as we please and to use as our freewill dictates. And like the nine lepers that did not return, I believe that God will not take our gifts from us, even if we are not thankful for them. I can use my gifts for the glory of God or I can use them to serve myself. You can use your gifts in the service of God or in the service of yourself. Either way, God gave you gifts and talents and will not take them away. However, I do believe that God asks more of us than to just take the gifts that we have been given and to run with them. I believe that God wishes us to acknowledge what has been given and to place ourselves at his feet in worship and thanksgiving. And when we place ourselves before Christ, it is then that we are truly made well. It is then that we are brought into more than just a right relationship with society, but are brought back into relationship with our Lord and maker. It is when we are truly thankful and humble before God that we find our place in the world.

Christ has made us clean, but are we well? Do we have the faith to acknowledge the gifts we have been given and to place ourselves before God? Do we have the faith, the courage, and the humility to be sincerely thankful for the gifts we have been given? This is the challenge that is placed before us. This is the challenge that is placed before our society. This is the challenge that can make us more than clean, but can actually make us well.

Meaning in the message

I was at a meeting yesterday when the question was brough up:  Why do we have more people at our AA meetings than we have at our church services? GOOD QUESTION!

One answer is that the AA stories change lives.  I feel it is a bit of conviction on me as a pastor and us as Christians that this could be true.  Does our story no longer change lives?  If so, why not?  Have we become complacent in our faith?  Does it even matter?

Free Flowing Axiety?

I truly have to ask what I am doing here. Whenever I think about going to church, I start to panic. I do not want to set foot in the place. There is a sense of dread that comes over me. I go into avoidant mode.


For the most part, I care about the people here. Even the ones who are a pain I wish no ill-will. Truly, I don’t! But I still do not want to come into the office and deal with the stress of this place.

Maybe it is me; maybe the stress I am feeling is all in my head. I don’t know. I do know that I spend the majority of my time not wanting to be here instead of looking forward to being around my congregation. All I want to do is escape. I don’t want to do anything because it is going to cause a problem. But yet these people are looking to me to lead. But when I do lead I get nothing (it seems) but resistance.

Of course, I know that this is all natural. I know that people will resist. I know that no matter what I do, someone is going to have something to say. I know this. But I still am too thin-skinned to deal with it. The “Rose-Colored Glasses” part of me just can’t understand how all of this can be seen in any other manner. I all just makes sense!

I am also saddened by peoples’ theologies. All that I see are people being held captive to their idea of a vengeful and hateful god. All the “haves” and “musts” that are involved. What ever happened to “gift” and “love?” Where is the caring and concern? How can these people believe in a God that is so petty? If this is what they are viewing as God, then I can understand how come the church isn’t growing.

But still, the fundamentalist churches are presenting an even pettier god and they are growing exponentially! Either it is the “Entertaining Ourselves to Death” or it is the “We are better than them because we are SOOOOO good.” Or, maybe God is just an artifact of our neuroanatomy and that is all there is to it.

Write It Plain Pentecost 19 Proper 22C

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 

Have you ever really paid attention to the billboards along the roads? You are probably saying to yourself, “What a stupid question! Of course I have seen the billboards along the roads; how could I miss them?” But that is not what I asked. I asked if you paid attention to them.


Some billboards are really easy to see, really easy to read. They are printed in large letters and the message is brief and to the point. Other billboards are messy with too much printing, too small of print, and indistinct pictures. There is billboard like this on the corner of Rogers Rd and Main St. I had to drive by that one a few times before I could even figure out what they were trying to sell. When the message is that muddy, that indistinct… Well, I know that if the message is that difficult to comprehend, I tend to give up rather than try to figure out what the message is saying.

But there is something to be said about clarity of message and ease of understanding. When you want to get the message to the people, knowing what you are trying to say, and saying it as clearly as possible are your best bets. And although I’m guessing there probably weren’t billboards in the desert during Biblical times, God seems to be giving us some lessons in how to get our message out there. And even though the message is from the past, we still have something that we can learn from our Old Testament reading for today.

The prophet Habakkuk tells us that there is still a vision for the appointed time. God still has a vision, even if we think it is delayed, it is occurring and it is occurring in God’s time. God’s vision is so much bigger than our vision and God’s vision will not be delayed. It occurs when it is needed. We may feel that the vision is late, or that the vision is not occurring at the right time. We may feel that we have lost the vision or God has taken the vision from our community. We may feel this, but that is because we are looking with our limited sight. God’s vision is still there; as the scriptures say, “If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surly come, it will not delay.”

But what is this vision of God? What are we supposed to write plain? What are we supposed to be writing so it can be read by a runner? What is the vision God is supposed to be giving us?

Sometimes I think we make this vision too difficult. We are like the advertisers who what to put too much on the billboards. We want to say everything. We want to put it all out there. But that is not what we are told to do. We are to make the message plain! Plain enough so that drivers, flying by at 75 MPH can comprehend it! Plain enough to make an impact on the hustle and bustle of the world.

Last week, I asked you to really think about why you are here, in this place, on this morning. I asked you to consider why you come back week after week. And I asked you what you had to give to the Kingdom of God. In looking at your responses, one of the things that kept jumping out was the feeling of mission and outreach that has been a part of this congregation since its establishment. This seems to be the message that we are given to write. But sadly, this is the message that seems to be missing. This is the message that we are forgetting.

What is our message? What are we saying as a congregation? Even though it appears that God is telling us that our message is mission and outreach, that message seems to have become lost from public view. It is still in our hearts, God has not taken it away, but it is not written plainly for the runner to read. We don’t seem to be out there spreading the message. Even though God appears to be making it plain to our hearts, we seem to be getting sidetracked.

What so often happens is that the messages of the world are more plain then the message we are trying to send. I remember a small town near where I grew up. Everyone knew about the purple house on the bend in the road. What most people didn’t know was that right across from the purple house was a restaurant. The purple house was much more plain to see than the restaurant and therefore, people remembered the house, even though the restaurant had a large, lighted sign out in front of it. The message the house was sending, which was “Look At Me!” was so much more plain than the message of the restaurant. So therefore, the people remembered the house, and totally ignored the restaurant.

We have a similar situation here. We have a school across the street from us that writes all kinds of messages plainly. When someone drives down the road, they are not looking at us; they are looking at the school. Maybe we should paint the church purple! People would remember us!

But all kidding aside, how do we make the message plain? How do we make the message more memorable and more important than the messages the world is sending out? The world is sending out some pretty strong messages and if we want to make the message known, we need to be sure of the message we are sending out. We need to know the message so well that we can spread it in as plain a way as possible. We need to spread the news of God’s love in as easy a way as possible.

Now, I have been speaking about message as if it is something that we just set out there like a sign in the front yard and hope that people see it and understand it. And that IS one aspect of making the message plain. But there was also the aspect of MAKING the message known. The reason why the message needed to be read by the runner was because the runner was going from community to community spreading the news. TVs and radios didn’t exist, so if you wanted to get the message to the people, YOU had to bring the message to the people. You or your apostle (the word “apostle” is Greek for “messenger”) would have to be sure the message was spread to those who needed to hear it. As I said, there were no billboards in the desert so getting the message out was very important. And if you wanted to make sure the people knew, you sent a messenger out to the people.

So we need to get our message out and we need to be the ones bringing the message to the people. We need to be out running in the world and spreading the message of Christ’s love. We need to be about spreading the message of God. God has a vision for us; God has a vision for the world. And although this vision may seem to be tarrying, it will surely come. It will not delay. We may fear that the vision will pass us by, but what God has promised, God will see through. God has put the message of mission and outreach onto our heart. God has let us know that this is the vision and that this vision will not fail. God has given us the message, and now calls us to bring it to the world.