April 7, 2019                The Spirit of Giving                                 

This past week, I saw an old movie, “Babette’s Feast”. It’s the story of a small town of less than 20 people on the Netherlands coast. The story focuses on the lives of two elderly sisters, the daughters of the town’s pastor who served some 50 years, but had passed away. The two daughters keep the church alive by leading worship in their home.

One day, Babette is sent to them, by an old acquaintance of one of the sisters. It seems the revolution in France has caused her husband and son to be killed, and she had to flee for her life. So the sisters take Babette in, and she works as their maid and cook. Over the years, Babette, grows close to the two sisters, they help Babette to overcome her tragedies, and they become quite fond of her, despite being suspicious of her foreign ways.

Then the day comes, when Babette receives a letter saying that she has won the lottery, $10,000 francs. And in gratefulness for the sisters taking her in she asks to prepare a feast for the sisters and the church members. Babette takes a week to prepare the feast bringing in quail, snails, turtles, and fish. Making pastries, breads, soups, and stews. Buying wines, brandies and cordials.

The feast comes, and Babette serves the guests a spectacular 7 course meal. The church people, who live very austere lives, agreed to eat the meal, but not to let their souls be tarnished by enjoying such luxury. However, through the sharing of the meal, they open up, and overcome many of the hurts and sins they have committed against one another in their lives. At the end of the meal, they all go outside and gather in a circle singing praises to their heavenly father.

The next day, the sisters are ready to bid farewell to Babette, figuring that with her lottery winnings, she would be returning to France. But when they ask her about leaving, she says she is going nowhere. Why they ask, you have all your winnings. And Babette answers, “I have nothing, the feast cost $10,000 francs, I ask only to be allowed to stay in your service.” The sister’s are shocked at this, but happily agree for her to stay with them, as long as she likes.

Our Gospel reading this morning, tells the story of the woman who anointed Jesus at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, in Bethany. Most commentators, like to spend time talking about how Judas, questioned this lavish waste of perfume, and suggests it might have been sold to feed the poor – or more likely, to fill the money bag, from which Judas would steal. These commentaries speak of Judas representing our human selfishness and self-interest, while the woman’s lavish gift represents her love for Jesus, and what our love for Jesus should look like.

In short, our love for Jesus, should not have us counting the cost of ministry, but should call forth from each one of us an extravagance of giving, that makes a real difference in our church, our lives and in our world. That is, of course, why I chose to share the story of Babette’s feast today.

But I want to go beyond these commentaries as well. In seminary, one of the books we read was Stephen Dunn’s “The Spirit of God”. In it, he speaks about how human beings are torn between their physical lives and their spiritual lives. He speaks about how if we spend our lives counting the cost of everything, we would all end up misers, miserable and unhappy. On the other hand, if we live our lives more spiritually, giving of ourselves out of our love for God and for one another, we are more likely to find friendship, fellowship, peace and joy in life.

Dunn goes on to say, that Jesus gave to us the church, as the specific place in which we might practice and grow in our spiritual lives. A church that focuses solely on the costs of operation, struggles, a church that lives life in the spirit of God’s love, thrives. Every church, including Union Congregational has a little bit of both. We all focus on the budget and bills, because they have to be paid, sometimes we even complain about the work, and what it takes to keep a church running,…but we also have members, who live in the Spirit. Visiting shut-ins, making Christmas boxes, giving money to missions, gathering cans to sell and happy money for the Good Samaritan Fund, gathering for worship, gathering for fellowship, gathering bottle caps for the conference, going to Feed My Starving Children, funding a Youth Ministry, being there to comfort those who have lost loved ones, and look in on those who are sick and recovering, and praying for them in their times of trouble, and etc.  

It is this spirit, which gives us life, giving of ourselves to one another in love, even as Christ gave himself in love for us. Living in this love, rather than in our own self-interest, is what as Jesus says, “Makes his yoke light, and his burden easy.” Sometimes, in the church, I think we forget that, and we are tempted to be tired or to give up on our work together, but I think that if we rediscover that love for God, that is the foundation of our life together, than we will find the strength and the spirit to live forever. And that is the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen.    

Mar. 31, 2019                Two Brothers                                      

Twenty years ago, I chaperoned a group of youth from the Illinois Conference as they went to a National Youth Event in Iowa. The youth gathered at Pilgrim Park, and the first day stayed at Pilgrim Park to go over a schedule  for the event and the rules that we needed them to agree to for their safety and for making the most of our time together.

Now one of these rules were that people did not wander off together during the evening events, which all the youth agreed would be a problem on a large college campus where we would be staying. But on that first night at pilgrim park, two of the youth, took a liking to one another and went for a walk.  When the other youth noticed them missing, they notified us, and we found them sitting on the creek bridge talking at 11 pm.

Now the other chaperone and myself, explained to them that the other youth were quite upset with them. They other youth had made a covenant with one another to follow the rules, and they had not wandered off, so we told them that they would need to apologize to the other youth. So in the morning, after breakfast, they apologized and the group was torn, some wanted to welcome them back, it was no big deal to them. Others, were upset, because they had wanted to go out that evening, but were told they had agreed to stay with the group. So they thought there should be some form of punishment for the two who left.

Now there was a rather wise older minister on the trip, (which leaves me out), who told the kids that he had a story for them, and he proceeded to tell them the story of the prodigal son. And he focused on the two brothers, how the one brother had gone astray, but was welcomed back by his loving father. And the other brother was angry that the younger brother should be welcomed back so lavishly, without any punishment. Now as Christians, the minister said, we all love that God welcomes us back, when we have gone astray – and we like to talk about the God whose forgiveness has no limits. But sometimes, when others have gone astray, we forget the story of the prodigal son, and we behave like the elder brother, unwilling to forgive, and unable to get over it, when they receive forgiveness and are welcomed back. And then the wise older minister made a point I like to remember. Not only was it important for the elder brother to welcome back the younger brother for the sake of the family, but also for his own sake, lest his unwillingness to forgive eat at him, and destroy his relationship with the family.

Well as usual, this didn’t immediately impress the kids who were upset, but they grudgingly agreed to abide by the rules they had agreed to together, and by the next day, it seemed the disagreement was over with, the group had a fine trip together, and got along quite well.  

Now some might say that this is silly Christian sentimentalism, how will people ever behave is there is no discipline, boundaries, or consequences. But the parable of the prodigal son is not about how to govern a society. Society has law and order, and there is punishment. But the parable of the prodigal is about how we live together beyond all of that. It’s about overcoming the worldly impulse we have to be unforgiving, and seeks for us to share a forgiveness that is not only good for our families and our communities, but is also good for us as well.

Mar 24, 2019         Bear the Fruit of Repentence                        

About  5 years ago, the Methodist Church in Jerseyville, hosted the winner of the toastmaster of the year award. If you don’t know, the toastmaster of the year award is given to the winner of a series of competitions designed to find the best public speaker. Five years ago that speaker was Rory Vaden, and his presentation that night was about his book “Take the Stairs”.

“Take the Stairs” is a book devoted to helping people to clear away the clutter of their lives, focus on what is important in their lives, and most importantly, address the issues in their lives that need to be addressed. Now many of you might say, that’s hardly anything new, everyone should be doing that, but unfortunately, many people don’t. Sometimes people are lazy and figure they can get around to things later. Sometimes people are afraid, and don’t confront their problems directly. Sometimes people find ways to keep themselves busy with all kinds of secondary issues, and convince themselves they can’t do it all.

Now I can’t say that what Mr Vaden wrote is groundbreaking and new, but for people who have trouble focusing on what they can control in their lives, or on what they should put as a priority in their lives, he does a fairly good job of helping people do that. And one of the things that he tells people about in taking control of one’s life, is that it is important to address the issues we avoid, solve them, get them out of the way, and keep moving on to the next issue in line.

For some people that might mean credit card debt, for others it might mean filling out their taxes, for others it might be dealing with addiction. For some it might mean being reconciled to a family member, or someone at work, for some it might mean doing work around the house, and for others it might mean, looking for a new job, or even going back to school. According to Mr. Vaden, it is human nature for us to avoid dealing with issues or situations we don’t like, and so in recognition of that, we need to intentionally seek to address them.

Now the purpose of my sermon today is not to give you a self-help lecture. No, the purpose of my sermon is to get at what Jesus is saying to the people in our gospel lesson this morning. This morning Jesus asks the people if they think that the Galileans who Pilate slaughtered for false worship, were worse than other Galileans. Or if   people who died when a water tower fell were worse people, or more to the point, if they were being punished by God.

And the difference between what Jesus is asking, and what Mr. Vaden is saying in his book “Take the Stairs”, is that the book infers that bad things happen to bad people, and that God is punishing us when bad things happen to us. In contrast to this, I believe Jesus is trying to move us beyond this way of thinking about the tragedies that happen around us in our lives.   

In fact I think that Jesus point is this, that when these tragedies occur  it is a waste of time for us to lay blame, and that we should always be seeking to live as a disciples of Jesus Christ now, growing in our relationship with God, and bearing the fruit of repentance with acts of mercy, and deeds of loving kindness, before it’s to late, and you don’t get the chance. 

  Which brings us to the parable of the fig tree. For three years the fig tree has just gone along, living but producing no figs. The owner of the vineyard says cut it down, but the servant says, let me dig around it, fertilize it, give it just one more season, one more chance for it to bear fruit. That is what Jesus seeks to do for us, and coincidentally what we are called to do for ourselves. To do the work faith in our lives, to bear the fruit of repentance/new life, because that’s what repentance really means, it means living a new life. So bear this fruit before it’s to late, and we are cut short in our lives. And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Mar.  17, 2019                 Citizens of Heaven                            

         His name was Zach, and he was a IRS agent. He was good at his job, he knew what deductions were legal and what weren’t. He was fair and just, but he found that he had few friends, few people like the tax man, even fewer, those who are fair and just. Over the years, he often was exasperated by the deductions people tried to take, in time he was often quick to see the worst in others.  

         Her name was Samantha. And Samantha was a housewife, at least that was her dream. So she married her high school sweetheart, but somehow that just didn’t work out and a few years later she was divorced. She tried again, this one took for 5 years and she had two kids, but it too ended. She tried again, and again, and again. She just could understand, she was a good person, this was all supposed to be so easy, but she just kept marrying losers.

         His name was Nick, and Nick was a priest. But Nick had some doubts, doubts about his church, doubts about the priesthood. Oh, Nick told himself, he believed in God, there was no problem there, and he was a good man, keeping the commandments and doing the work of the church, but there was always this nagging doubt, did his life mean anything, did it really make a difference.

         Her name was Mary, and Mary, shall we say, was a professional. She had long ago given up on the idea of marriage and children. But that wasn’t important, none of that mattered. All that silly moral stuff that people talk about, they were liars, none of it mattered, the most important thing was to be a good person yourself, so that no matter what you had to do to get along, there was still something inside you that was pure, and good.

         A few years ago, I did a series on C. S. Lewis book, “Mere Christianity” A book that tries to get people to examine their faith, so that they can hear the Christian message anew, bringing faith and hope and new life to them.

         In the first section of the book, Lewis speaks about the Law of Human Nature. The difference between right and wrong that all people seem able to recognize. Lewis says, we love the law of right and wrong, for it establishes the ideas of justice and the common good that are in all our interests. Yet, at the same time, we hate the law of right and wrong, because it keeps us from acting solely in our own interest all the time, it keeps us from worshiping ourselves.

         And so, because of this love and hate relationship with right and wrong, we find that we have this same love and hate relationship with God, who gives us the law of right and wrong. We are not as good as we think we are, nor as bad as others think us to be, we are just people, people who love what is right, and people who love what is right for us.

And therein lies the problem, because as we live loving what is right for us, more and more, we love what is right for all, less and less, until we become lost, until we become enemies of God, and our lives become broken. And no amount of telling ourselves we are good, can set us right.

        

         Many of you might have heard of Zack by another name, his name was Zachaeus, and when he found Jesus, his whole life changed, he found an acceptance for himself by which he was able to accept others, for who they were.

         You might have heard about Sam, Sam was the woman at the Samaritan well, who learned that life was about more than marriage and babies, and she at last came to know a relationship of love, a relationship with God.

         You all know Nick, Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night, who discovered that his life in the church lacked that Spirit of God’s love that truly makes a difference in our lives.

         And Mary, Mary of Magdalene, who discovered that what you do, does make a difference in your life, that God wants us to live only the best life, and ultimately, the life that is best for us!

         Here again, these words of Paul to the Philippians,

         “For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.”

        

         The season of lent, is a time for Christians to examine their faith, and whether we have bought the lie some tell ourselves that they are good by societies standard, when in fact they have become enemies of God. How many of us go about seeking our own wills, seeking glory by the standards of the world, and set upon our own personal desires, and find we are unsatisfied.

         To be citizens means to enter a realm where we are not our own any more, but where we are God’s. A life in which we seek God’s affirmation, not the world. A life where we seek the glory of God’s goodness in ourselves rather than our own.

         And when we live this new life, we find the burden of being responsible for our own goodness fall away, and a new life that frees us, to find our true joy and happiness in our lives.

         It worked for Zach, Sam, Nick, and Mary, and it can work for you! 

          

Mar. 10, 2019         A Blessing to the Sojourner                          

“None of us, are native Americans!” This statement was made by one of our local clergy, at our weekly minister’s meeting.  Which prompted a 20 minute discussion on the topic. Mostly, family histories of how we all came to this country. Now most of us have two family histories, one involves my great grandfather on my dad’s side, coming on a boat through the St. Lawrence seaway to Detroit, and the other involves my Mother’s side of the family, traveling up the Mississippi from New Orleans to settle outside of St. Louis. I’m sure most of you have your own stories of the days when your family came as immigrants to America.

A number of those stories probably include some kind of prejudice or discrimination along the way. When the Irish came to this country after the potato famine, they were feared and blamed for the society’s problems. Same thing when the Italians came, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Germans, and etc.  As the speaker noted at our Wednesday Lenten Breakfast, when strangers, foreigners, or what the bible calls sojourners, enter into a new community, they are often scapegoated, blamed for the ills of society. What our speaker didn’t go onto say, was that we do the same thing today, with our fear of Muslims, Mexicans, and people from backward countries.

So why am I on to this today. Well, I have preached numerous times on the temptation of Jesus, but I haven’t ever written a sermon on our passage from Deuteronomy this morning. And, since immigration, and our fears of those who are different from us, is a current concern in our society – indeed it always is - this a timely topic for us to meditate upon this morning.

Our passage from the book of Deuteronomy, speaks about what the people faithful to God are to do to celebrate, give thanks, in the promised Land that God is about to give them. The first thing they are to do is recognize that they were immigrants to the land. A wandering Aramean was my ancestor, reads the text. The next thing is to recognize the persecution of his ancestors – he went down into Egypt, ….. and was oppressed with hard labor. After that, we hear the story of how God brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and led them through the wilderness, to a land flowing with milk and honey. So therefore, in response to this, the faithful Israelite is to take the first fruits of his or her labors, and give it to the poor, the stranger, and the sojourner in the land.

This is the act of almsgiving, which I preached on at our Ash Wednesday service. This is not an anonymous act of giving money, but instead a direct one on one interaction with someone in need. The purpose of which is to know their sufferings, their persecution, and their hardship, as a reminder of what our ancestors faced when they were strangers in a strange land. And in so doing, to overcome our fears of the sojourner among us, so that they may be assimilated into our culture in peace.

Now I realize that there is a lot of fear out there, concerning the immigrant, the foreigner, and the sojourner among us. But one of my favorite quotes about immigrants, comes from Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish philanthropist, who said of first generation immigrants, that the vast majority of them are a hardworking, humble, and law abiding people, seeking the American dream. This statement, reminds us of our families, when they first came to these shores, seeking acceptance and inclusion in American society, and willing to work at any job, to secure that place.

     So what does this all have to do with God? Our passage this morning, shows us that God is the God of the wandering Aramean, the oppressed Israelite in Egypt, the Israelites who were sojourners when they came to settle the promised land. As a reminder of this God commands the Israelites to give of their first fruits to those in need and those who are sojourners among them.  To be clear, the God presented to us in our scripture lesson today is not on the side of those who fear monger and scapegoat the stranger or the foreigner. This God is a God who directs his faithful people to welcome the immigrant into our communities, helping to integrate them, so that we may dwell together in peace. That is ultimately the side that God is on, our living together in Peace! And that is the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen.  

Mar. 6, 2019                Ash Wednesday                                       

As I noted in my newsletter article this month, Lent is that 40 day period between Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday, Sunday’s not included. Lent is supposed to be for us, like 40 years in the wilderness was for the Israelites, and 40 days in the wilderness was for Jesus when he was tempted. The entire purpose of Lent is for us to grow in our relationship with God, and that can’t happen, when we continue in our devotion to the God’s and idols of our lives.

So for many people Lent is a time when they give up something. Some give up soda, or sugary foods, or time watching tv, or smoking, or drinking, or gambling, the list goes on and on.  The point being, to somehow better ourselves, through suffering the absence of such things. And perhaps, this is the only way that people can appreciate that all suffering isn’t bad, and sometimes it is helpful. But that’s not quite what Lent is all about, as I noted above, the suffering of Lent is supposed to help us understand the suffering of Jesus, so that we may be ready to appreciate the new life that is offered to us at Easter through Jesus resurrection. 

William Shakespeare has a famous line from one of his plays, “All the world is a stage, and men and women are merely players.” When Jesus talks about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, this is what he is getting at, their acts of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, are done to be seen by others, to curry favor or acts for which they are well spoken. As Jesus says in another part of the gospel, those who perform these acts for such reasons, have earned their reward, and it is a human reward, not one from God.

The purpose of the disciplines of lent, almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, are not meant for us to earn a human reward, each of them is meant instead to bring us closer to God, to knowing God’s presence, compassion, and strength through a process of emptying ourselves, giving of ourselves, not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of others. Because ultimately, life is not about us, it’s about our relationship with God, and that comes through the way we relate to one another.

So what is this almsgiving all about? Almsgiving is something that most of us really don’t do today. Actually, there are many who do almsgiving year round, but we don’t realize that is what we are doing. We have our offerings on Sunday, we have special collections in church, sometimes during Lent there are even special offering boxes that we fill, and then send in to a mission. Even people today, who don’t give to others through their church, can send money online, or sign up through facebook to support a cause, or even make a donation to hurricane victims via text. All of which makes us feel good about ourselves, but safely keeps us from interacting with those in need.

Real almsgiving is about interaction with people in need, it is one on one assistance, helping a struggling family pay their bills, or deal with their problems. Real almsgiving forces us to see their predicament, to see how the system is stacked against them, to see how the rules work against them. Real almsgiving forces us to realize that those who are deeply in debt to credit cards, who lose their homes because of medical payments, who choose drugs as a way to escape their pain and hopelessness, who are discriminated against because they are strangers, or foreigners, or just plain different, are not all that different from us. Real almsgiving challenges us to see the world differently, and allows us to experience God’s compassion for those the world so often ridicules or ignores.   

So what is this prayer stuff all about? We all know about prayer, in fact it is the most requested topic of sermons for the pastor. Pastor, why don’t you preach a really good sermon on how to pray? A lot of times, in response to this, the pastor will pass on some other prayer from scripture that can be read or memorized.  Then there are family prayers, said at mealtimes, or there are morning or nightly prayers said after or before bedtime. These prayers are usually a long list of what we want, or to help a family member or neighbor, or someone else in trouble. Some when they do pray, are in the deal making game, God if you do this, then….. But most of us are just to hurried, to busy, to devote ourselves to the kind of prayer Jesus is talking about.

When was the last time, you set aside a certain amount of time to pray? You know, twenty minutes of quiet time, when you actually took the time to ask God, for direction in your life, how to handle an awkward situation at work or school, how to love your children when they make mistakes, how to forgive your spouse when you have a disagreement or when they have done something wrong.  How often do we ever acknowledge things are not working out as we plan and ask God how to be a better person. Not many people today are willing to stand directly before God, and allow our lives to be examined, admit our insecurities, mistakes, our weaknesses, and ask God to help us, to guide us. This kind of prayer is the kind that leads to the thing we most fear, change, and it requires of us a trust in God that can be life changing. That’s the kind of prayer Jesus is talking about, the kind that lets God into our lives.

So what is fasting all about? Now I checked online and there are all kinds of fasting, some is total water, bread, and vitamins, some is partial fasting, excluding meat and only eating veggies during lent, one is even called supernatural fasting – going without bread or water for 40 days – somehow trusting that God will sustain you. Can you say tempting God? Also, for some people, a Lenten fast is a chance to diet, to lose some weight or go down a pant size, that’s more of a self-help version of fasting, which really misses the point – growing in our relationship with God.

In America, where the average weight of our citizens is pushing 200+ lbs, fasting during lent is perhaps not such a bad idea, however, what is more important about fasting during lent, is the way it changes the way we look at the world. As well fed Americans, we are full, satiated, sometimes even to the point of feeling ill. Fasting changes that, through fasting we learn what it is to feel empty, what it is to be hungry, and even more, to realize how much we have, and how much food we waste. When we fast, we come to realize, God really has given to us, more than enough, especially of food, and to trust that God has also done that in the other areas of our lives, enough to trust that we will not perish if we are not full of everything we want. 

So, you might have noticed that Jesus doesn’t say if you give alms, pray, or fast, but rather when you give alms, pray, or fast. The purpose of these is not self-help, nor is it to look good before others, but it is indeed for us to experience God’s presence in our lives, to grow in our relationship with God, but most importantly, to prepare ourselves to enter into that new life, that is ours through faith in the resurrection. For as the scriptures tell us, in dying to this life, the door is open to the new life that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ. And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ in this season of Lent! 

Mar. 3, 2019                  Unveiled Faces                             

Every year, following Easter, the graduates of Eden Seminary gather for convocation. It is a glorious three days, where ministers gather to hear lectures by the leading theologians of our day, and then spend time discussing the ideas presented. It is a time for old classmates to catch up with one another, and a time for the seminary to celebrate those who have been in ministry for 25, 30, 40, and even 50 years.  It is a time for outstanding students to preach and to submit papers for discussion. And of course, there are daily worship serves, in a hall filled with hundreds of people.  Yes, convocation is a glorious event, and at the end of that event, we all return home to our congregations, to do the real work of ministry.

       I thought of Eden Convocation this week, first of all because I was looking over the speakers for this year and deciding whether to attend, and secondly, because convocation reminds me a bit of the story of Jesus transfiguration. In our story of the transfiguration, Jesus leads Peter, James, and John, up the mountain, and there he is transformed before their eyes. And in addition to this, Moses and Elijah, appear with him, discussing perhaps the path of suffering that Jesus will take towards Jerusalem.

       To the disciples, this is a glorious sight, and Peter seeking to make this moment last, suggests they build booths and make shrines on the side of the mountain, so that people may come to the mountain top, and having shared the glory of the moment, might then go down the mountain revived and renewed to be followers of Jesus. But fortunately, Jesus knows better than that. Jesus knows that no matter how wonderful and glorious the vision on the mountaintop may be, that his disciples will need to descend again to the plains and the valleys, and carry out the ministry associated with that vision. Just as Jesus knows, that he must descend the mountain, to realize the vision of God’s glory, through the hard road to the cross that he must walk.

     Brothers and Sisters, about a year ago, a colleague sent me a vision of what the world could look like through faith in Jesus Christ. In a world filled with racial bias and division, faith in Jesus Christ leads us to acts of unity and solidarity with people of all different races. In a world that divides and oppresses people based on race, gender, ethnicity, and economic classes, faith in Jesus Christ leads us to take a stand against those who exploit women, stereotype and slander people of different economic backgrounds, and to seek ways to lift those who are poor, out of poverty. In a world that calls for us to consider those of other nations to be inferior to ourselves, and seeks to treat immigrants as less than fully human, faith in Jesus Christ calls us to recognize both foreigners and immigrants as fully human, deserving of the most basic of human rights. In a world that seeks to destroy truth by repeatedly lying, and offering alternative facts, faith in Jesus calls us to speak truth to one another, to actively refute falsehoods, and to hold people accountable when they lie. In a world that tells us that the only way to change people’s lives is to rule over them, faith in Jesus Christ calls us to be servants to one another, finding ways to change lives through compassion, mercy, and forgiveness.

      This is a wonderful vision, but the bottom line is, this vision will not, and cannot be realized without the daily acts of faith in Jesus Christ, by those who believe in him. The same thing goes for the vision given to those who attend Convocation at Eden Seminary. It is indeed a glorious event, but it all comes to nothing, without that vision being taken to the churches, and the work of each church and it’s members, through their faith in Jesus Christ. As Walter Brueggeman noted in one of his sermons, the glory of God is not just on the mountain top, but is present when a stranger is welcomed, when a hungry person is fed, when someone who is sick is cared for, when someone who is grieving is comforted, when people in trouble are prayed for, when the handicapped are helped, and etc. 

        In short, whenever those who believe in God, suffer themselves to minister to others, as the members of this congregation do regularly, and congregations across this nation do regularly. There in the work of those who believe in Jesus Christ, and listen to him as a guide for their lives, there is the presence of God’s glory in our lives. So take heart, those of you who wonder where God is present, where God’s glory is hiding, it lives and dwells in the acts of faithfulness and love in your lives, not on some mountaintop far, far away. And that’s the good news of Jesus Christ.