Grace Lutheran Church - Sermon Lessons

Sermon “Invited” October 12, 2008

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:27:46 -0600

“Invited” October 12, 2008
Pastor Wesley Howell

You know…just when I think I know what's going on in the Bible… just when I think I understand what’s going on… along comes a story like this one, today's gospel, the story of the great banquet. There’s a simpler version in Luke. We had a fun song about it when I was in the children’s choir way back in elementary school days. Mrs. Muzzy would desperately try to get us sixth grade boys in line….but it was impossible.

I cannot come, I cannot come to the banquet,
don't trouble me now. I have married a wife.
I have brought me a cow.
I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum.
Pray, hold me excused, I cannot come.
A certain man held a feast on his fine estate in town.
He laid a festive table and wore a wedding gown.
He sent invitations to his neighbors far and wide,
but when the meal was ready, each of them replied,
I cannot come, I cannot come to the banquet,
don't trouble me now. I have married a wife.
I have brought me a cow.
I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum.
Pray, hold me excused, I cannot come.

When we were sixth graders we boys would switch the words. “I cannot come to the…I have bought me a wife, I have married a cow…” Poor Mrs. Muzzy. She told me, “I hope you become a pastor someday…”

Now…I like the way that the story begins - with a party. And who doesn't love a party?

Well I guess lots of people don't. When the invitation was sent those who were invited began to make excuses.

New invitations were sent. This time it was even worse. Those invited not only refused the invitation, they murdered the messengers!

The parable gets a bit weird here where the King takes a break from the wedding feast to go and make a little war. He kills the folk that killed the messengers and then it’s back to the party.

God's love is open and available to all, if we will only come.

Yet apparently more than just showing up for the party is required. The story is not yet over. It goes on to tell of one of the guests who gets into the worst sort of fix because he’s not wearing a Wedding Robe. This always bugged me, but in Seminary we had a great Rabbi who taught Old Testament. He told us,” You poor little lambs. You try to read the New Testament without Jewish eyes and you miss it all. This wedding Feast, at a Wedding feast the host would hand out robes at the door…like party hats. This guy came in but his attitude was…great…here’s a free meal but I’ll be danged if I’m going to party.” Not even willing to take the slightest responsibility or even effort to join in.

We are free to come or not to come, to run our lives fairly much as we choose. But there are consequences, and the consequences are great and can be severe. They can be really sad.

Jesus comes into people’s lives, they can say yes and they can say no, but there will be consequences. The call once given may not come again.

There was a final verse to that song. Even we sixth graders got it. We’d hush our voices and with great intensity sing,

Now God has written a lesson for the rest of mankind,
If we're slow in responding, He may leave us behind,
He's preparing a banquet for that great and glorious day,
When the Lord and master calls us, be certain not to say,
I cannot come, I cannot come to the banquet,
don't trouble me now. I have married a wife.
I have brought me a cow.
I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum.
Pray, hold me excused, I cannot come.

Serious matters are under discussion here. We are here on Sunday, standing before the living God. That's serious. The invitation is now. And whether we say yes, or whether we say no may make all the difference.

Sermon September 21, 2008 - Unfair Labor

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:35:55 -0600

September 21, 2008 - Unfair labor
Pastor Wesley Howell

One reason why I love scripture and truly believe that it is truthful is that the Bible is so willing to be truthful ABOUT US, to show the faithful as we really are, "warts and all."

A few years ago I was filling in for a fifth/sixth grade class for Sunday School… Filling in for a Sunday school teacher who had called in sick, we were talking about Jesus' disciples.

I told them all about how Jesus' disciples were thoroughly human, half-understanding, and sometimes not getting it at all. Peter: fisherman, rough, spoke too quickly, foot in mouth half the time. Matthew; tax collector; Judas…well we know what happened there.

"Now what does that teach us?" I asked the kids, looking for the answer “That the disciples were very much like us.”

One little boy, (was it Max?), raised his hand and said, "I guess it shows that Jesus is a lousy judge of character." Well…OK…but more… Jesus knows us… knows us oh so well.

This little parable drives people crazy. A farmer goes into the market place…a denarius was a daily age. It was the amount of money you needed to eat and feed your family for a day. If you had a denarius your family ate… didn’t have one and they went hungry.

The kicker word here is envious. Are you envious? If you’re envious of someone it’s because YOU WANT what they have. It was a question of ownership. We’re owed more.

OK…so take a good hard look. Where have we started to slip into thinking it’s ours. Our church… here for us… here first and foremost to fit MY needs. After all, I’ve been here for forty years. My sweat equity is in this place. So what in the world is so and so doing bringing in new ways to do things if they’ve only been here a year. Listen…my vote counts for more. Doesn’t it? My needs, my place, my vision. How long have I been a Lutheran? That’s what counts. How many generations?

Ah, but hot news flash… this is God’s place. God’s vision. God’s mission. How do you discern God’s plan? You’ve got to read the Bible, glean and sift. Pray. Discuss and listen to other parts of the body.

What’s God’s mission been about for 4000 plus years?

Freeing people from bondage,

Lifting up the outcast,

Healing, - healing people physically and healing relationships,

Healing the places where society is the one causing the brokenness. We call that justice. Reaching out to let all people know they’re loved and valued. ALL. And that just the beginning…

It does come back to our hearts. Who we are and how we react and see things at our deepest level. Do we think it’s ours? Are our hearts open to the love and ministry of this moment?

I was at my parents place yesterday. It’s hard because mom is dealing with some pretty serious memory loss. We were talking about Kirsten going to WSU and how she was doing, that she seemed to be thriving at college. “She still has that dimple!” I said. “Remember when you guys were some of the first people into the hospital when she was born and Mom, you were the first person to see her dimple.” Mom looked in pain. “I don’t remember.” “It’s OK mom”, I said. We can remember for you.” “But there are some memories I don’t want to lose…I need a hug.” And there was the God moment. The hug…the love…right here and now.

There is a little parable for us. Do we miss the love of the moment yearning for the memory of what was. The world’s hurting out there. Right here and now… It wants a hug. Can we soften our hearts and stop fussing over OUR perception of what’s fair? Is it mine… am I envious because this person is coming in late in the game but needs God’s love as much as I do?

It shows that Jesus is full of grace, so much so that he reached out and called even fallible, frail creatures like us to work with him. How’s your heart?

Sermon September 28, 2008 - The Two Sons

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:17:03 -0600

Sermon September 28, 2008 - The Two Sons
Pastor Wesley Howell

Matthew 12:23ff

Boy I just love it don’t you! I just love it when Jesus nails those Scribes and Pharisees. It makes me feel so good. So righteous. There they are…2000 years of being called God’s chosen people. But they’re hiding behind a name. God sent them with a mission. A mission that began with Abraham. Blessed to be a blessing to ALL people. But it’s a lot easier to kick back and rest in God’s blessedness. We’re blessed and they aren’t. We’re in and NOBODY else is.

Jesus tells them a little parable. Not NEARLY as long as the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan; but boy does he nail them. Two sons; the father tells one…Go out into the vineyard to work. “NO WAY Pop”. Sound familiar? No way…but then the son changes his mind and goes. The second says, ”You bet Dad! See how good I am! I’m off”. But he has NO intention of going out. He’s off to play golf or whatever sons do these days: X box or whatever. So which of the sons actually does the will of the Father? This isn’t rocket science. Notice that Jesus has NOTHING to say that one son loses his sonship. He doesn’t stop being a son…so don’t go there; but it is all about actions speaking louder than words, talk is cheap.

I love it when Jesus nails those scribes and Pharisees. They had 2000 to get it right. Until I realize that the Word is for us too. And when you start to hear it not just as a Word for back then…but a real word for now… now it’s time to squirm.

It’s not like it took us 2000 years to start forgetting what we’re about. In the year 400; Christianity had been the approved and was the state religion of Rome for about 70 years. EVERYONE was a Christian. Rome was a Christian nation. But there was a preacher from the fringes of the empire, where faith and living your faith mattered; where they were preaching Christ with their words and deeds. This preacher came to the capitol city and he was shocked…appalled. They were mostly Christians in name only. Had their lives changed…were they trying to live what they believed? Trying to live as Christs? Hardly, it was membership. A card they carried, like being part of a country club. This Preacher was preaching on this very same text and he said,

”There are some who call themselves Christian, who attend worship regularly, yet perform no Christian actions in their daily lives. There are others who do not call themselves Christian, and who never attend worship, yet perform many Christian actions in their daily lives. Which of these two groups are the better disciples of Christ? Some would say that believing in Christ and worshipping him is what matters for salvation. This is not what Jesus himself said. His teaching was almost entirely concerned with action, and with the motives which inspire action. He affirmed goodness of behavior in whoever he found, whether the person was Jew or Roman, male or female. And he condemned those who kept all the religious requirements, yet were greedy and cruel. Jesus does not invite people to become his disciples for Jesus own benefit, but to teach and guide them in the ways of goodness.”

So which son are we? That’s the first question. But it’s not just to nail people and then leave them there bleeding. As Jesus said, it’s about doing the will of the Father.

I started to do a bit of this last week with you… Scanning through the Bible you’ll see God sending people…over and over again. God Sent Abraham into the unknown. Why? So that he might be blessed and that the blessing might be spread to all people. All this sending…
• God sent Joseph into Egypt, not to meet Potifar’s wife, but to preserve life.
• God sent Moses back into Egypt a few hundred years later to free oppressed people. People in slavery…bondage.
• God sent Nathan to chew out David for stealing Bathsheba. He told the truth to David in a little story about a man and his sheep.
• God sent the prophets in a time of amazing prosperity for Israel…to weep over the fact that they had forgotten to be a blessing. To weep that now they were a people of injustice selling the poor for the price of a pair of shoes.
• Then…when it all came crashing God sent the prophets again to give comfort and give hope.
• God sent John the Baptist to point to Jesus - to testify to the light.
• Then…finally…God sent Jesus. To tell people that the Kingdom of God is here. To heal the sick. Raise the dead. Bring outcasts, people on the fringes back into the fold…

So…if that’s what God’s been about for 4000 plus years why should it be any different? Go…go into the vineyard…preserve life, tell the truth to everything which kills life, …to save people oppressed (and if you don’t see people in bondage all around you you’re not looking very hard) …to heal, to make God known…to help people see and connect with the God who’s been there the whole time. The God whose mission is life and he only gets cheesed when what we’re doing sucks the life from someone else…because He loves them too! It’s not rocket science. But the question comes back to the parable…which son are we?

Amen

Sermon June 29, 2008 - A Cup of Water

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:29:37 -0600

Sermon June 29, 2008 - A Cup of Water
Pastor Wesley Howell

It’s graduation time. I’ve mentioned my “grief” with the content of Graduation ceremony speeches. “Now it’s our turn to go out and change the world!” Well, that’s fine. But it’s SO big – too big. People want to change the world but not their own part of it. People want to change others but not themselves.

Jesus has been “nailing” us over the past few weeks. Really hard stuff like “Who ever loves father, mother, sister, brother, more than me is not worthy of me.” He’s not fooling around. He wants to make sure our priorities are straight and that God is NOT just an addendum to the many clubs/tribes we want to sign up for. Who’s the number one priority? Jesus. And then we can go from there…but don’t slip off. So the priority is hard…but what does he ask us to do?

Healing. The healing God began in Genesis. It doesn’t have to be huge; and it begins with healing…you.
A little prayer offered on our behalf, to drive away the darkness, to destroy the isolation? I was talking with one of our members in a health center and he said, “You know…just to know people are praying for me…they care.”

Doesn’t a part of us hunger for that?

Of course, we do. This is God pouring grace into our fragmented lives, which is all well and good; if only God's grace weren't so scary; if only it didn't come with so much risk!

Extending the circle to another involves the risk of rejection, the risk of laughter, the risk of tears, and the risk of love.

I've heard it said that the problem with others is that they are just so “other.” They’re not LIKE us. They might not like us. They might refuse our kindness. They might wound us. They might persecute us. Others might crucify us.

And worst of all, others might change us, so much for small acts. There’s no such thing as a small act. Because even offering a glass of water means we have to step outside our self made walls of protection. It is a risk…but it’s also rich life.

But this is Jesus. He's always trying to change us. He never leaves us alone.

He wants us to be good. He wants us to be faithful. He loves us and expects us to love others.

Jesus knows we were not created to live alone. God’s heart is so big and full of love it cannot help but offer grace and redemption and call us back. And it grows. It grows when we offer kindness, gentleness, and mercy, when other lonely lives become wrapped up in our own. God's love that was first opened to us is extended to someone else.

And before you know it the cup of water we are offering to another becomes our salvation, as barriers fall, hands touch, and lives become entwined.
Getting involved with this kind of God, even when it seems small and harmless, is always risky. Whether we are casting out demons, preaching in the streets, being persecuted for our faith, or simply offering meager acts of hospitality to others, we always risk finding salvation. This is the great irony of the gospel. We reach out…we risk. Sometimes we get stepped on; but it’s a risk he was willing to take.
Jesus has high expectations. He’s been nailing us over the past few weeks. He EXPECTS us to do it…to live it out.

But…the funny thing is that WHAT he expects us to do is simply to reach out. That’s the start. You want the world to be peaceful? Then YOU be peaceful. Want your family to be caring? Then YOU be caring. Want the congregation to be friendly…spiritual? Then it starts with you. You BE what you want. Don’t just fuss about everyone else and try to make THEM what you want. Simple as a cup of cold water given because of who and whose you are. We don’t have to save the world…but he does expect us to heal our little corner of it.

Sermon June 22, 2008 - Jesus Disrupts Our World

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:36:42 -0600

Sermon June 22, 2008 - Jesus Disrupts Our World
Pastor Wesley Howell

It’s that time of year again–graduations-speeches. Most of them you’ve heard before…”I remember when we were just little freshmen.” “Now it’s time for us to go change the world.” Reminds me of, I think it was Mark Twain, who said, “Everyone wants to change the world, but they don’t want to change themselves.” This year at Kirsten’s graduation the speaker had a great image. “Hold onto life like you would a wet bar of soap…too tightly and you’ll loose, too loosely and you’ll drop it. It’s a balancing act. Use a light touch and be ready to go with the flow.” It sounded like there were echoes with Jesus in today’s gospel. Holding on…loosing life, preserving…

Sometimes, in my experience, Jesus brings peace. Sometimes he brings a sword. Sometimes Jesus unites, and sometimes he divides and disrupts; we have to make choices.

Have we found a way to follow Jesus without having to give up anything? Being a Christian is roughly the same as being a sensitive, compassionate, and caring American. Jesus is the one who keeps families together, who confirms our highest and best values and institutions.

Then comes Jesus in today's Gospel and even the most complacent and contented among us realizes that here we have a confrontation with a very different way of looking at things.

There’s a church not too far from us. 10-15 miles to the east…a church that has experienced severe conflict, especially about 10 years ago. Many of the older members were very unhappy with the direction of the church and are threatening to take their money and leave. Younger members had joined over the years…and they were thrilled with the growth…but then...shock of shocks…things started changing - guitars and drums and new hymns. What was their rallying cry? “This isn’t Lutheran.”

So they called in the Bishop in a last-ditch effort to preserve the peace and unity of the church. The Bishop….Bishop Maier listening to both sides carefully and called them back together. Were they surprised! The Bishop said, "I've never seen a church grow without conflict. Has anybody here ever learned anything or grown significantly without conflict? Sometimes Jesus seems to kill one congregation in order to give birth to a new one."

Wow!

Are our priorities straight? “Not Lutheran.” That’s what gets thrown at us. Luther heard that people were starting to call the reforming congregations “Lutheran” and he pitched a fit. Refused! “Who am I, this bag of worms, that Christ’s church should be called after me!” It wasn’t until after he died…then.

Lutheran. In High School I had a medal I wore all the time. It was a Luther’s rose on one side and on the other it said, “I am a Lutheran”. My catholic friends had medals too. They were different.

A couple years ago I was praying and wrestling. I could see the changes coming down the pike and I said, “But Lord, I love the church. I love being Lutheran. I grew up in the church. It was my family.”

The message came back loud and clear. “I know you love the church; but do you love me more?” If you think the answer is easy you’re not hearing him.

A life of faith means keeping our priorities straight. Is Jesus Christ and proclaiming him…living that proclamation the center of everything we do? Or have we hitched our life to the adiaphora. The peripheral…What are we trying to hold onto. What is winding us up, what are we spending our time and energy talking about? If it’s not Christ at its center…then we’re not worthy of him.

God is Real.

Enter into a relationship with God as known in Jesus

That relationship can-and will-change your life.

Sermon June 1, 2008 - Hear These Words and DO Them

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:42:27 -0600

Sermon June 1, 2008 - Hear These Words and DO Them
Pastor Wesley Howell

Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel, “the one who Hears these words…and Acts on them…that person is like a person who built on rock.” The solid building is the acting on them.

Do you know what the “official” name of our church is? Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -- we are EVANGELICAL and LUTHERAN. Those are good words…but what do they mean? For years we've been saying that "institutional loyalty" is a thing of the past. How does that unpack? Well, institutional loyalty means you go to a store or restaurant, partly because you’ve had a good history with them; Fredrick and Nelson…huge loyalty base. But…sad isn’t it. They’re no longer around. Loyalty wasn’t enough.

In the church it meant you seek out Lutheran first and then find one that fits. It meant Lutherans being imported from Europe or being born into it… first/second generation. But that isn’t the world we find ourselves in anymore…it just isn’t.

So the question is: Can WE as a church actually make the shift and modify our practice/thinking to recognize that change? I've found that words like sin/sinner, justification, even Grace, need to unpacked for the person on the street. We take those words for granted. I think it means we need to be passionate and clear about what we believe, then able to translate that, touching people who have not had a long history in the Church where insider language and ideas are used. What does it mean to be Lutheran? Is there anything about that which people out there would value? Or does it drive us deeper. That we’re Christian first and Lutheran is our flavor.

Let me use an example: Sunday afternoon a while back Linda called as I was heading out of the church and asked me to stop at QFC and pick up some tomatoes. So there I was in Produce… I looked up and there was a young man there, 20 something… staring at me across the tomatoes. Actually he was staring at…this (collar), "You Catholic?" "Nope," I responded, "Lutheran" "Oh," said he "What do they believe?" Now I just wasn’t ready for that. I’d been up since 5 a.m., Worship, preaching, teaching confirmation, Sunday meetings…."Well", I said" at our core we believe in a God of Grace." Blank stare from him. I floundered on..."We believe in a God who loves us. Loves ALL of us. And yearns to be a part of our lives. Loves us so much he won't let our "stuff" get in the way." "Oh...cool" said he. Maybe my answer wasn’t the most eloquent…But he got it.

Why are we here? Are you contented or compelled? Each one of us, individually, as congregations, as church… need to continually make an honest assessment and then let it drive you to the core of what you believe.

It’s one thing to say we’re evangelical, Evangelical means we have good news…it’s another to live it out. I believe we want to be, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed. When we peel back the layers what you find is that we have a beautiful and wonderful gift…Jesus!

We have to care enough about other people to want to share. We have to be ready to REALLY listen to them so we can convey the message in a language...in words they’ll understand.

Everyone who hears these words AND DOES THEM. That’s what Jesus says.

Sermon April 27, 2008 - Togetherness

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:12:46 -0600

April 27, 2008 Togetherness
Pastor Wesly Howell

Last week we took a little walk in the Garden of Eden, and you know it does us good. It’s not just because reading the Bible will make you “Holy” or religious. God’s Word…God’s message…for you sits in the words. Luther: “Cradle to hold Christ”. Buechner: “Window to look through to see God’s world.” So let’s get back to the Garden of Eden. We talked about God making hippos and giraffes and bringing them before the Adam to see what he’d call them. But I think it’s so amazing that even before the apple thing God recognizes that there is trouble in paradise. That it’s not QUITE right. “It is not good.” Up to now everything’s been good…good…good: sun…good, moon…good, trees…good. Now…whoa...not good… “It is NOT good that the man is alone.”

God creates animals…it’s like Adam says…nice try Papa…but…well. So God creates Eve. “At last! Bone of my bone…flesh of my flesh.”

It’s all about relationships
 God to human….friendly…caring…intimate…walked and talked
 Human to human….supportive…caring…stand next to
 Human to creation…creation takes care of the humans and the humans take care of creation
 Creation to God…joy…delight.

Freedom got us in the mess. So what is freedom -- the ability to choose? Or is it getting what I want, when I want it…which usually means NOW. And I want it ALL. See…it’s not just freedom…that’s pretty neutral. But when it’s all about me, individualism; there’s the mess. “When they saw the fruit was good to eat…and that they would be LIKE God.”

There is a message for you here too, just as there was for the disciples. When Jesus calls you to follow him he doesn't expect you to be some kind of spiritual super-hero. He just wants you to be obedient to him, to follow him.

I think this is a message that goes against our ingrained cultural predispositions. Why do students go to college? Rarely, in my experience, do they say, "to get a good education," or "to gain wisdom." They say, "So I can be out on my own, so I can live my own life… free!" But what’s the number one problem? Loneliness

What do older people fear about getting older? Not the loss of a spouse or even death. They say, "I’m afraid of becoming dependent upon my family."

What is a big reason that I hear for why a young couple is delaying marriage? "We just don't want to become dependent on one another. We like our freedom." Or do we want kids? “Well that means we won’t be free: to do what I want, where I want, when I want…now!

We say that we want to be free, that we want to be independent. Yet it is one of the ironies of contemporary life that, in trying so hard to free ourselves of any dependencies and attachments, we end up enslaving ourselves to a host of masters.
 Who are you enslaved too? What did you do when the power went out a year ago? Did you find out just how dependant you were…are?
 I can name people whom I know who worked all their lives to, "one day retire and be free." Yet when they finally finished their life work and got to their long-awaited retirement they found out that they didn't know how to do anything but work.
 How many people did you know who have died right after retirement because now they had complete "freedom" but had nothing interesting to do with that freedom.

"Retirement ain't all it's cracked up to be," said a man from church "When I worked all I could think about was having the freedom to play golf, now I can play 24 hours a day and seven days a week…, it's hell. I used to yearn for it; dream of it. Now…I’m bored stiff."

Saint Augustine said most of the world's "freedom" is merely the rattling of the chains of the happily enslaved.

I can't think of anybody in my church that was killed because he or she was too obedient to Christ. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and mind….and your neighbor as yourself. How many would say, “Oh man! That’s just killing me!” Maybe it does feel like it. Just kills you to be kind. But that’s the old Adam dying.

What is church? It’s not just the place where you come to have YOUR needs met. I get my spiritual tank filled. That may happen. GREAT! But you see…it would still be about ME.

It’s a place where we can continue to learn how to play well with the others here and new others who come along, to get along and simply to love and care for one another, to learn again that we are interdependent, to get saved…not just for heaven…but for now.

“I will not leave you alone. Orphaned… desolate.” And He hasn’t.

April 20, 2008 Sermon - Show Us

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:59:57 -0600

Sermon April 20, 2008 - Show Us
Pastor Wesley Howell

Think about what happened. In the Garden of Eden God walked and talked with Adam. God was worried about Adam being lonely so he starts molding clay again and comes up with the ANIMALS. You can almost hear the excitement as God brings each one to Adam…”What are you going to call his one? ‘Platypus’…OK well, I asked.”

When we chose individualism…when we chose not to trust, it was like an invisible wall, a gulf, a rift, a valley. That’s SIN. Not so much the stuff we do but the condition afterward. You know how it feels. We make choices, we hurt someone and….space…distance.

But God wasn’t going to leave it at that. He kept coming at people, trying to reconnect. Abraham was blessed to be a blessing; Moses with a gift of freedom from slavery and then the Ten Commandments, a framework to live well together. David, Isaiah…until…

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was made flesh, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." It sounds very beautiful and poetic.

But then when that Word-made-flesh got to talking, began moving about in the world, reaching out to the untouchables, healing the sick, rebuking the rich and the powerful, raising the dead, upsetting the authorities, …well, then many people thought they could see God just a little too well! God got so close to us in Jesus that we got a good look at God and we didn't like what we saw!

So we crucified him. We wanted to keep our "religion" vague, indefinable, soft, and spiritual only some vague…airy kind of way. That way we can make it fit what WE want. Even if we had to crucify Jesus to do it!

And we did. But then we learned on Easter that he was not only Word-made-flesh but also eternal life; he was the God who would not be defeated by our sin and death.

In Jesus, we got a good look at God.

That's what Jesus told Philip when he said, "Show us God." Jesus said, "Philip, take a good look at the one who is beside you, talking to you, walking with you. When you've seen me, you've seen the Father."

And if you think it’s over…guess again.

We chose to mess it up….we have to choose to make it right. That’s the way love is…

I think it’s wild that only the Gospel of Luke has ascension. Matthew ends with…”Lo I am with you always, even to the end of time.” Mark’s says to the ladies at the tomb, “He is going on ahead of you, just like he said, He’ll meet you back in Galilee. He’s going ahead.” In John Jesus keeps popping up where you’d least expect him, at the tomb/gardener, entering locked doors, with Thomas, back in Galilee when they went back to fishing. Then he shows up to Paul in the road to Damascus…

Take it as both/and in heaven (ascension) and here with us; but where? Show us! In that parable of the Sheep and Goats I mentioned last week. The scary one where both the sheep and goats call him “Lord”. They say, “Lord! When did we see you?” “Ah, when you did it to the least of these you did it to me.”

From Genesis to now… He’s still trying to fix it…and he has a plan.

Once upon a time there was a monastery…it all started out well, but after a while people started getting cranky, picking on each other, jumping on every fault, chipping away. The Abbot was beside himself…what to do. One night he had a dream…not just any dream; this was a full fledged vision. “What am I to do?” he cried. “I cannot tell you,” said God, “but know this…one of you is the Messiah.” When he woke up he told the rest of the monks. Who is it? Could it be John? Or the baker Francis? He couldn’t be that young novice who just came in. But maybe? As time went by they kept looking and they started treating one another better…after all... it might be. Soon they were known far and wide for their love and faith. And the Abbot’s plea was answered.

“Show us and we’ll be satisfied.” If you have ears to hear, eyes to see…and hearts willing to be softened.

Sermon April 13, 2008 - Good Shepherd

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:34:05 -0600

Sermon April 13, 2008 - Good Shepherd
Pastor Wesley Howell

I’ve gone through the Bible and I just can’t find a place where Jesus said to his disciples, “Believe the following five things about me.” He doesn’t say “Now to really get it right believe: a. b. c. d….

He says things like “I am a door”,”I am the gate”,” I am bread”,” I am a shepherd.” But somehow I think he’s driving for a different point.

No. What Jesus said was, “Follow me.”

In today’s epistle, it is not said that Christians ought to know about love; we are to love. And then, amazed by God’s love they ACT on it. Sell everything they have and live in community.

In today’s gospel, Christ does not say that we are to think about him, to believe in him. Rather, he says that we are to listen for his voice, live in him, with him, and follow. We are to follow, to do what he did, to live in the world as he lived.

The faith is in the following.

So don’t be too befuddled of the simple question, “Are you a Christian?” It’s a freebie. Easy.

The answer is not a matter of having your head straight about the meaning of the atonement. You don’t have to understand the intricacies of the Doctrine of the Trinity. The answer is simply to say, “Yes, I’m trying my best to follow Jesus. I’m his apprentice, his disciple.” The faith is in the following.

How often in all the gospels, you hear Jesus criticizing his disciples. He often seems at his wits end that they don’t get the point.

Jesus criticism of them doesn’t mean that they are not real disciples; it means that they are still on the journey. They are on the way.

Faith does not mean they have arrived, it means that they are on the way.

That’s why Jesus’ parables are stories about real life and his teaching is about matters like anger, forgiveness, ordinary injustice, disappointment, the stuff of real life because he meant us to follow him now, in this life, not just some other, future time.

I have to tell you…It’s amazing what you can learn when you’re getting your hair cut. A few weeks ago I told you about an encounter over tomatoes in Top Foods. Just a couple weeks ago it happened at my barbers. I was sitting there waiting and the guy in the chair, guy about my age, asked the barber what he did for fun on the weekends. My barber said “You know, I’ve started going out to retirement and nursing homes and cutting hair for free. I love cutting hair and it makes me really happy that people feel good about themselves. It makes THEM happy. Just love it.” The guy sitting in the chair said, “You’ve got to be kidding! That’s what you DO for FUN? Man, what a waste. I spend my weekends picking up chicks. This whole relationship thing is for the birds. It’s hard and messy and complicated. Life is short and I’m just going to have as much fun as I can. Pick up chicks and one night stands. That’s where it’s at.” I have to tell you, I was SO happy I wasn’t wearing my collar that time.

Now…I want you to think about it. Both men, the barber and “Mr. Pick Up Chicks Guy”, are followers, people who live out some vision of what life is about, why we were put here. One is catching his vision from Jesus; the other is attached to selfish pleasure seeking. So the abstract question “What do you believe in?” is really silly…their lives proclaim it.

I want you hear this as a parable about following Jesus, about being a Christian, about being a disciple. Who you are is BOTH choice and grace. Saying What or Who you believe is only part of the story. God has his arms outstretched and open…that’s Grace. But we have to respond…that’s Choice.

Later… in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 25) Jesus tells another story about sheep…sheep and goats. It’s a story that hits hard. Both say “Lord!” So they have the words right. They are both SAYING “Lord”…. but their lives proclaim what they REALLY believe. And the results are tragic.

The faith is in the following. Your faith isn’t just in your brain, or in your mouth. It’s also in your feet. Maybe we should spend a lot less time fussing about WHAT we believe. Spend our energies on Following.

Sermon April 6, 2008 - Road to Emmaus

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:19:07 -0600

Sermon April 6, 2008 - Road to Emmaus
Pastor Wesley Howell

The Gospel is the dramatic account of the walk to Emmaus and Christ being revealed to his disheartened followers. You can easily imagine walking along with them. Walking with Jesus but we didn’t know it. They DON’T know it while he’s with them….only afterward.

Paul says that we see "in a mirror dimly," "through a glass darkly" (I Cor 13:12, NRSV). One day we shall see, we shall be "face-to-face," we shall know and be known. One day. But not yet…groaning….yearning…wishing.

And the whole creation groans "with eager longing" (Rom 8:19) for freedom from our "bondage to decay" (8:21). Let’s think about that "eager longing" that Paul speaks about in Romans. But right now…we’re here. In between time.

We're after Easter. On the first Easter evening, two disciples journeyed toward a little village alone. Unknown disciples to an unknown place. They figured it must be the end of the journey with Jesus - Jesus had been dead and buried for three days. Then, to their surprise, they look up and Christ walks with them. BUT let’s not hurry it. We like to think that they see Jesus and recognize him…but they don’t. What Jesus gives them is…HOPE. It’s what we often get.

Our God is persistent, and determined to have us. Even in our lostness, when we’re running away, running to “who knows where.”

Last week we heard about Thomas. We miss a little something in this text that I want to go back to…because it connects.

Somehow we’ve worked ourselves into thinking it’s an all or nothing thing, this belief. We’re so wigged out about the two opposites. Either you believe or you don’t. One way or the other. We set up the story that way…the disciples believe…Thomas doubts. Blessed are those…a beatitude here.

Blessed are those who COME TO BELIEVE is how it’s translated. In Greek it’s the same word as the name for the first book of the Bible. Genesis: A beginning: A birthing: A growing. I believe even now, even in this sermon, in this service, here at this church, as you go forth in your daily life, he’s walking through the door, picking the lock…he’ll find a way to get you … faith is growing…it’s being born.

It’s in the Grace of the growing that we can help out. Like any relationship it’s a two way street and we can help it.

Why do you think we’ve been doing NCD? It’s NOT just a program, a recipe, add a cup of this, two tablespoons of this a presto…great church.

Everything we’ve been doing is to help you, each one of you …to have your hearts burn within you as you walk with God. Like any relationship we can slip, get complacent. The word is intentional.

 Prayer, in whatever form it takes, at its core is an intentional move by you to open your heart and your life up to God. “When I pray I can feel it. I feel warm…I feel loved.”

 Bible reading, not as facts and figures, dates and rules, but that as you read the words you hear and feel God speaking to you. Letting his word change your life, even in small ways, it’s with you. Changes how you see…how you act.

 In our community, when two or three are gathered. Going to visit someone, giving someone a call, just to say “Hi! Thinking of you”. To care…to know there’s someone who’s there. Who cares? It’s the same feeling isn’t it? The feeling of God.

When we connect it’s like a slow burning fire. We want CEDAR…light a match and whoop. Glorious! Bright! Exciting! For some people it works like that…great! But isn’t it beautiful that God thought of others in here. But more like a peat fire. Deep. Glowing…lasting a long time.

But it’s all about stepping outside the locked doors… walk with Christ, have your vision slowly clear. Grow in faith. Feel your heart burn within you. Even if it’s just a warm glowing…and stepping into life.

March 23, 2008 - Easter Sermon

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:33:56 -0600

Easter Sermon 2008
Pastor Wesley Howell

Remember where we were when I saw you last. We were here…in the sanctuary…but it was very different. We were gathered at the foot of the cross. It was dark…really dark…both here…and here in the heart.

Think of how it was for the disciples of Jesus. For about three years they have trooped along behind him on the Galilean highways and byways. They have tried to understand his teaching… which hasn't been easy! Those who would loose their lives will gain them…sell everything you have and follow me…blessed are Peacemakers.

But all of that seems distant to them now - only a dream after the horrible nightmare of the past week.

Now Jesus has been sealed in the tomb for three days. Pilate has shut the door on Jesus once and for all.

Now the disciples hid.

John says that the doors were shut and locked "from fear." And they had much for which to be fearful. But some of them may have been also filled with grief. And well they should grieve, for in the death of Jesus they had suffered a great loss - shut the doors.

God knows exactly where we are and what motivates us. We are hiding from God, from our family members and friends, even from ourselves by trying to push it down...for reasons of fear, judgment, shame, consequences, etc.

That's what the disciples had done. They had closed the doors on their past with Jesus, and they were adjusting to the facts. It's over. It was good while it lasted. Close the door.

And then can you feel how Jesus arms enfold us, with hands that are pierced from what we have just done to him and as our head rests on his bloodied, sweaty chest he whispers in our ears: I love you and I will always love you.

Somehow we beat ourselves up for not getting it. But nobody did! If you knew Jesus was going to rise from the dead on the third day where would you be?! Front row seats!

But listen to the story and find yourself.

Mary came…and other women, with spices to finish the funeral. Mary looks in and the tomb is empty. They (some grand unknown THEY) have stolen the body. When she runs to the others is it to proclaim he had risen or that his body was gone? The disciples Peter and another guy (doesn’t give him a name) come running. They look in and it says they believe…believe what? It doesn’t say! But I think we can get a clue by what they do. They look in and see the tomb is empty but then they …GO HOME. What?

Mary hangs around crying. Through her tears she sees shadowy figures. Where have they taken him? Please tell me where you’ve taken the body. It’s not until Jesus says her name…Mary…then she understands.

Christ came through their locked doors. The dark tomb could not hold him, nor could the dark despair and resignation of his followers. He came back to them, even through their locked doors.

The very first thing that the Risen Christ does is return to the same cowardly and misunderstanding disciples who had so disappointed and forsaken him. He came through their locked doors.

Luther said that when we’re faced with the resurrection we are like cows looking at a new gate. I don’t know how many of you grew up on or near a farm BUT HE SO GOT IT RIGHT! Like the California Happy cows commercial. “What is it Bessy?” “I don’t know…wasn’t there yesterday.” “Fence yesterday…fence today.” We’d try to herd them through and they’d run the other way. I’d put a halter on one and lead her toward the gate and as we got closer her heals would dig in. “Mooooo!” “No way! Fence!” A two-thousand pound cow versus a 180 pound high school kid. Guess who won. Until finally pushing and shoving you’d get one to go through. As her head went through the space it was like “Wow! It’s a gate! New pasture!” Then they’d all go bounding through. 2,000 pound cows bouncing through the pasture like calves.

Now you may not like to think of yourself as a cow -- or a sheep. But put your pride aside for a minute and you’ll get it.

You don't know what tomorrow holds for you, and that scares you.

The Risen Christ can come through locked doors. There is no security system that's been devised that can keep you safe from his incursions. He came to his first disciples and he promises to keep coming back to us, keep intruding among us, keep pressing in upon us, and keep opening the door that we don't know how to unlock. Offering new life.

What’s it look like? I don’t know. I get glimpses now and again. But I’m a cow just like you…looking.

But those glimpses Jesus gives shows a life without fear. A life of possibility not limitations. A life of joy and love and deep relationship. A life of no more hiding. A life of God saying YES not no. But you’ll have to walk through it yourself.

Your faith isn’t based on shouting it louder and the louder you yell it the easier it is to believe. The Risen Christ comes to you, moved through whatever locked door you were hiding behind, breathed his life-giving breath upon you, and says. “Don’t be afraid.”

Good Friday Sermon

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:22:48 -0600

Good Friday Sermon
Pastor Wesley Howell

Well…this is the way it usually turns out, isn’t it. It’s what we’ve come to expect. A young man steps out of the crowd and speaks a word of hope, love, shows us a God who wants to reach out and touch…to walk with his children again, to surround us and fill us. But a man like that is a threat…and so here we are. It’s what we’ve come to expect.

But in the midst of this horror something strange is going on. He could have walked a different path. Lord knows there were a thousand opportunities to go a different route. But he called them temptations, pulling him away…

This is LOVE. No matter how dark, mysterious, and difficult life gets, Christ is there. He descended into Hell, we say in our Creed. I always wondered what that meant.

Here he is. Don’t you see….No matter what you do to remove yourself from the loving reach of God, you can’t do it. Even in hell, even there, there is God's loving reach. Because Jesus is there, even in hell, so is the love of God.

On the cross Jesus shows that there are absolutely no limits that he will not go to in order to get us, to grab us and find us and save us, to bring us home. That Jesus would descend even to hell to reach out to us is an affirmation that there is no place to which you can descend that Jesus will not descend to reach to you.

On Christmas, God found us by becoming born in a stable. On Good Friday, God finds us by descending to hell:

We had a favorite game when I was a kid. Late and long summer evenings, we played in a big yard, deep dark woods to one side, we played, "hide and go seek" There was always one kid who spoiled the whole game by being too good at hiding. Every kid ought to know that in lost and found, you want to hide well, but not too well. Eventually, you have to be found. But this kid, his name was Sam, was great at hiding. He went way out beyond the bounds, out into the dark woods. Or he would slither down into the crawlspace, where nobody would go to look for him.
Spiders…cobwebs…horrible stuff. But he didn’t care, because he was SO good at hiding. “Is Sam under there?” “I don’t know.” ”Go find him…” “NO WAY! I’m not going under there.” This kid would never be found.

And so we would go on…start playing another game.

He would come back, furious. "The game is hide and seek" he would lecture us, "Not hide and give up."

Do you know somebody who, even though not a kid, is really good at hiding? There are some people who are so good at hiding, so good at camouflaging themselves, so good at tucking themselves away where nobody would dare look, but they just ruin the game. Do you know somebody like that?

Well, tonight, you have been found.

On one sunny day Jesus' disciples said to him, "Teach us to pray." In response, he taught them, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name . . . " You know that prayer. Today, this dark, bloody Friday that we call "Good," Jesus teaches us another, more difficult, but perhaps even more consoling prayer: "Our Father who is with us even in hell, hallowed be thy name . . . "

On this somber day that we call "good," we see what lengths You will go to in order to save us. You reached toward us, suffered for and with us, stood beside us, shared our lives, died with us. While it would have been amazing for you to teach us, be patient with us, walk with us, and suffer for us; most remarkable of all, you died for us.

This is LOVE.

Sermon, March 9, 2008 - A young man named Eutychus

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 11:57:25 -0600

Sermon, March 9, 2008 - A young man named Eutychus
Pastor Wesley Howell

"A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead" (Acts 20:7-12).

Paul was preaching and he's on a roll. Paul has come a long way to be at First Church Troas and so he gives them everything he's got, the whole ball of wax. The sermon begins about 11:20 a.m. and continues "until midnight." (And you have the nerve
to criticize the length of my sermons!)

Well, Paul is going on and on…who knows when he’ll be back so he’s going to feed them the whole bale of hay here… and "a young man named Eutychus" is mentioned. Ever heard of him?

This is where you come in if you are a 15 or 16-year-old who has trouble staying awake during the sermon. His name Eutychus means in the Greek, "Lucky."
Young Lucky is seated on a sill at an open window, maybe trying to get some fresh air. As Paul drones on, Lucky falls asleep just before midnight, topples out of the open window, falling to his death three stories below where a couple of ushers "picked Lucky up dead." (I guess his Mama goofed when she called him "Lucky.")

Well, Paul stops just long enough to go downstairs, resuscitate Lucky and announce to the others, "Do not be alarmed, his life is in him. Now, as I was saying . . ."

That's it? Paul's not going to let a little thing like death stop him. Paul's on a roll, it's only 1:00 a.m., so he continues with the sermon. As one biblical commentator says, Paul's resurrection of this dead boy "appears as a mere hiccup" during the middle of his lecture!

Lucky is brushed off, his breathing resumes, and church continues. Next day Lucky is back at school with a bad headache but raised from the dead and no worse for wear.

In this little story we could have missed we are told that Paul has paused just long enough in his sermon to raise a young man from the dead and then church goes on as if nothing happened and young Eutychus, Lucky, was named patron saint of all of you who have trouble staying awake…maybe even alive, during church.

Which brings us back to the Gospel for today. So much going on here. Lazarus is Bound by Death, and he’s Wrapped up like a mummy. What does Jesus say? Unbind him!” But all the way through it you have people bound by expectations. The mourners. Let’s cry, he’s dead. The disciples, bound by expectations,”Odd that Jesus is waiting around. We thought he loved this guy and yet when he hears he’s sick he doodles around.” Mary….Martha… ”Lord, If you had been here. You can do mighty things. You can heal the sick…but now it’s too late. If you’d been earlier…but now.”
The others…you can understand their disbelief…but his closest friends?

Wrapped up in expectations. Luther said that when we look at resurrection we’re like a Cow looking at a new gate. Can’t REALLY believe it’s there.
We didn't know that we were all wrapped up when we kept our faith safely hidden away within ourselves, when our religion became something that we practice only in the safety, behind the closed doors of the church, instead of out in the world where we work and spend so much of our lives.

We didn’t know we were locking him out when we were afraid…afraid our world was changing around us and we didn’t like the way it looks so we do everything in our power to make sure THIS PLACE stays the same.
We didn’t know we were locking him out when we opted to set up safe rules that replaced him. Rules that we thought would lock away anything that could harm us, harm our kids…We thought we were wrapped in security…We didn’t know we were locking him out… But we did. We don’t expect miracles anymore. Or maybe we don’t see the miracles around us. Is it because we’re bound up? That OUR expectations have cut us off from God? That they are stifling us?

So ponder this one…this could be a call for you to throw wide the portals of your heart, to let Jesus into your life.

What have we gotten used to? Just accepted as “The way things are”. Lazarus! Lucky! Tom! Edith! Vern! Insert name here! Come out! Unbind...you’re all wrapped up. Wake up, break free… And live again!

Sermon, January 20, 2008 Saint John and Baptism

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:49:35 -0700

Sermon, January 20, 2008, Saint John and Baptism
Pastor Wesley Howell

Does it strike you as a bit odd? Last Sunday we had the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, dove, words, “Behold my Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Now we shift over to the gospel of John. For those who think the Gospels are all the same, see how easy it is to have your mind fill in the blanks where the words are not actually there.

Same setting: John the Baptist, wilderness, all the people coming out, Jesus showing up. There is even the dove of the Holy Spirit...but NO Baptism of Jesus. Just as later, at the end of John’s gospel there’s NO Last Supper, NO institution of Communion. Jesus washes feet instead.

Now instead of trying to blend them all together can we take a deep breath and let our needs for everyone and everything to agree in lockstep. It may give us a feeling of security but that’s not what’s happening if we truly take the Bible as it comes.

John has a different take–a different agenda–a different vision. Already in the early church, right from the beginning baptism was entry, a new birth, a new identity. You were being born and embraced by a new family. You belonged. You became part of the body as Paul calls it. And that’s fine. But is it enough? Are there dangers?

John thinks so. He’s the one that talks about being born again. Not just new identity, but new life, transformed life, changed life.

Believe not just to belong. Love is not just a fond feeling that holds the group together. Love is action for John.

This is my commandment, just one; Love one another, as I have loved you. If there is one word which shows up the most often in the New Testament, God is the most frequent, but a close second is love. But what do we mean by that?

Language and translation is a sticky subject. Words trying to convey how we feel. It’s the same with Love. We use that word to convey a thousand different meanings. The Greeks were wiser; they had three words:
Eros: Romantic, passionate love
Philia: The love of friends and family
Agape: Caring for someone, looking to their needs. Thinking of them and jumping in on their behalf. Doing what is necessary, often putting you own agenda aside.

We are not called to “love” God with an “eros” kind of love, an erotic love that doesn’t get too far away from my needs. It may branch out to one other person but it doesn’t reach out too far. I HOPE!

We are not just called to “love” God with a “philios” kind of love, with the kind of brotherly love that seeks to have fun with God. It’s not that it’s not there, but we’re called to go deeper. Instead, we are called to “love” God with an “agape” kind of love, with a love that is self-giving, self-sacrificing, and disinterested in gaining any kind of return.

Agape love is a choice, a decision, to make every decision in the best interest of the other. With this kind of love, we are called to invest our entire selves.

John again, “This is how they (others) will know that you are my disciples–because you love one another.” Now it makes sense. We may feel for those around us; they may be friends or family and we’re fond of them but Jesus says, Agape. Reach outside yourself and take care of those around you–who ever they are. Love is action.

Christianity isn’t a private only a “me and Jesus” thing. It’s a team sport, it is a communal movement, and it is a relationship that restores life to the way life is intended to be lived. We reduce “love” to an emotion or impulse (eros) or a warm fuzzy feeling at best (philios) but seldom consciously think of love as a decision, a choice, an act of self-giving (agape.) God tells us love is action and it’s a team sport.

Now take all those spinning ideas and bring them back into today’s story. John’s evangelism is not “I have and idea, a set of principles and I’m going to argue with you until you agree. And then when you agree you can belong–if you believe correctly.

Here’s John’s way. Behold. Look! See! Here is the Lamb of God, who…LOVES…acts by talking away the sin of the word. Are you the one? Come and see. And when the disciples go to tell others they’re met by skepticism. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” “Whatever, I’m not going to fight with you, just come and see.”

Come and see. I’m not going to argue with you or have some debate. See what a difference God has made in my life. Open the Bible and read and as you read, can you see? See a God who cares; who finds lost sheep and lost people; who reaches out with healing to everyone, especially to those on the fringes.

Come and see a community of agape. John again says, “This is how they (others) will know that you are my disciples because you love one another.” Now it makes sense. We may feel for those around us…they may be friends or family and we’re fond of them…but Jesus says, Agape. Reach outside yourself and take care of those around you, whoever they are. And not just those of the inside group, then we’re back to the club.

But the hard work…the spiritual battle…is to do everything in our power to live it. What will they see?

Love is action. It’s caring; truly caring. Not just agreeing to calm the waters but struggling to wrestle with honesty. I can’t say I care if I just let you walk off a cliff, for fear of saying something you might not want to hear. A community is not driven by fear though we are that–sometimes. We can always be more if we take the risk to be born again–as people–as a congregation.

Amen

Sermon December 9, 2007 "Snakes"

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:08:05 -0700

Sermon December 9, 2007
Pastor Wesley Howell

"Snakes"

John the Baptist wouldn't have lasted a day in the church I grew up in. Maybe he could've been the preacher down at the Pentecostal Church down the road but not at Salem Lutheran, Mount Vernon.

It's not that we were some big, downtown “with it” church. We weren't. We were a small, farm town church. Good Lutherans; good citizens.

Well, ok, maybe we weren't all totally good, but we weren't all that bad either - law-abiding, tax paying, comfortably middle-class.

We were perfectly happy for God never to say anything to us other than what we expected to hear, and what we expected to hear was "I'm okay. You're okay." "God is nice; therefore, we should be nice to each other."

So, if John had pulled up on moving day looking like "captain caveman" with his wild hair and scraggly beard, moved his wardrobe of one camel's hair outfit into the parsonage closet, and put his box of locusts and jar of wild honey into the church kitchen, “Oops, don’t want to open that jar…they have a way of hopping out.” Eyebrows definitely would have been raised. We've seen eccentric preachers before (one guy broke into trumpet playing in the middle of a sermon); but John would have taken the cake.

I can hear the people talking now: "Is that our new preacher?"

"Couldn't be."

But remember, we’re nice. So someone would have said, "Well now, let's not judge a book by its cover. As long as he loves the people, visits Aunt Betty in the nursing home, and takes care of our shut-ins, then we can deal with odd clothing and a rough appearance."

But the first time John stepped into the pulpit and unleashed one of his fire-breathing, spit-flying sermons that would have been the end of him.

His message: "You bunch of snakes!" (What a way to start a sermon!) "What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think that a little water on your snake skins is going to make any difference? It's your life that's got to change, not your skin! If your life is changed, people will be able to tell. You'll bear fruit. And don't think you can pull rank because you are a descendant of Abraham. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can take these rocks and make them into descendants of Abraham. What matters is your life. Is your life green? Is it bearing fruit? If it is deadwood, then it goes into the fire. Repent! The kingdom of heaven is near."

Tough message…scathing…people were being baptized, lives were being turned around…transformed.

I remember going to a funeral for my uncle Mid in a small little Assembly of God church in Arlington. Time came for the service, the family processed in, the preacher started to preach.

The preacher really got worked up and started to shout, "It's too late for Mid. He might have wanted to do something different with his life, but it's too late for him now. It's all over for him. He doesn't get another chance. But it ain't too late for you. People drop dead every day. Why wait? Today is the day. Repent! Make your life count for something. Give your life to Jesus! You never know what tomorrow may hold. Repent!"

After the funeral I was all worked up. I went over to Grandma Larson, good sweet…Lutheran to the core, Grandma Larson. She’ll understand… “Grandma, can you believe that? That was awful… terrible. I’d never do that to a grieving family. It was so manipulative, inappropriate, where was the grace? And worst of all… it was tacky."

"Yes Wesley, you’re right. But the worst part is: It was true."

As it turns out, that's good news.

Can we admit we need to repent…it means to change the way you think…then the way you see changes…and then your whole body follows suit? Are we ready to do that?

Man…this isn’t just a speed bump…this John…this guy is a brick wall in the middle of the freeway!

We are in a culture where we are taught, through advertising, years of schooling, and all the rest that we are able to save ourselves by ourselves, and how? What does saving mean? Saved from what? What’s the problem? From the moment we can walk we’re pumped with the understanding that we are made whole, we are healed, we feel better and we’re given value… you know… when I walk down the street I feel like I AM somebody and others will respect me…how?

Mostly through our stuff. We think that we will find meaning through what we buy or think we want to buy. A recent Church of England report puts it this way: "Where previous generations found their identity in what they produced, we now find our identity in what we consume." People were known by what they made…so we have people named Carpenter, Miller, Smith…

It used to be a major fashion faux pas to have your tag sticking up…right? Man…now it’s not just a tag…our whole bodies are walking billboards. Your car declares it. The purse you so want has the name of the company, Doonie and Burke, Dolce Gebbanna… plastered all over it. T-shirts, sweat shirts all say GAP, Abercrombie…or whatever’s in style right now. Your disposable coffee cup tells everyone if you’re cool. Why the copyright battles? Partly, because NAME means everything.

Is this an inconvenient truth? I know we don’t all play the game totally, but in our own ways we all play along. Maybe it’s where we live…or the letters behind our name but know this…WE FIND A WAY.

“You bunch of snakes!" (What a way to start a sermon!) "What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think that a little water on your snake skins is going to make any difference? It's your life that's got to change, not your skin! If your life is changed, people will be able to tell. You'll bear fruit. And don't think you can pull rank because you are a descendant of Abraham. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can take these rocks and make them into descendants of Abraham. What matters is your life. Is your life green? Is it bearing fruit? If it is deadwood, then it goes into the fire. Repent! The kingdom of heaven is near."

Whoa…John wasn’t playing around. He dared to speak the truth. He IS a speed bump on the way to our sweet baby Jesus. But something tells me Jesus isn’t playing around either. Better hold on…