Grace: It's not Just a Table Blessing

John 8:1-11    (NRSV)

8 ¹ while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. ³ The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, ⁴ they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. ⁵ Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”]]

Last Sunday Matt shared a great introduction to our series that is loosely based on the book by Rev. Martin Thielen called “What’s the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian?”

The title of the book is actually a play on trying to help us focus on what is truly the CORE of being a follower of Jesus.

And Matt nailed it.

Jesus very clearly tells us that the core of his faith is the SHEMA, found in Deuteronomy. 

For our Jewish sisters and brothers, the Shema is the prayer that they are called to pray four times a day --- twice during morning prayers, once during the evening service and before going to bed at night.

Rabbi Teluskin in his marvelous work “Jewish Literacy” notes:

Although Judaism has no catechism, the biblical verse “Sh’ma Yisra’el, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Ekhad --- Hear, O Israel, the Lord is Our God, the Lord is One” comes closest to being Judaism’s credo.  In just six Hebrew words, it sums up Judaism’s belief in monotheism, and its rejection of all idols.

This prayer would have been at the core of who Jesus was.  But Jesus does something interesting.  He takes this famous creed and modifies it, as Matt shared last week, by adding to it.

Jesus is confronted by some of the teachers of the law following what appears to be a rather heated debate.  They want to know if Jesus has proper theology so they ask him:

“Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 

He answers with the Shema --- but he didn’t stop there.

The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Loving God with our whole heart, soul and mind is hard enough --- but loving our neighbors?

How in the world can we do that?

For me, the key is understanding who we are --- and maybe more importantly who we are not!

In other words, stop thinking that the world revolves around me and my agenda and recognize that God is God (and I or you are not!)

And the only way that we can really do that is when we understand GRACE.

Grace, in my mind, is one of those difficult words because in the English language it has many different meanings.

          Miriam Webster’s helps demonstrate this with their simple definition of grace

: a way of moving that is smooth and attractive and that is not stiff or awkward

: a controlled, polite, and pleasant way of behaving

When we talk about grace in the church --- I don’t think that is what we mean.

Miriam Webster’s gives 7 additional definitions from

·         A title for a duke, duchess or archbishop

·         A special favor

·         A sense of propriety

·         A musical trill

·         A table blessing

But the one that is most important to us is also the most difficult to understand.

·         unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification

The problem is WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Most middle and upper middle class followers of Jesus struggle with grace.

Not that we don’t on a certain level like the idea --- but there is one word in the definition that tends to trip us up.

Anybody know what that difficult word is?

          UNMERITED

That one little word goes against everything many of us have been taught our whole lives.

·         There's no free lunch

·         You get what you deserve

·         You want money? Work for it.

·         You want love? Earn it

·         You want mercy? Show you deserve it

·         Do unto others before they do it unto you.

I was down at the Family Promise/IHN day center and their executive director was giving me a tour of the facility.

We walked past a room with a huge 10 year old Big Screen TV (Not a flat screen mind you --- one of those big 500 pound TV's) and as we walked through he apologized to me for it --- I must have looked surprised because he said many people judge and say "Why do they have a TV?"

GRACE --- unmerited assistance --- unmerited love --- that is a hard thing for us to do.

But at the core of Jesus was GRACE.

Our Gospel story this morning is a powerful illustration of God's unmerited love.

A woman who has been caught in the act of adultery is brought before Jesus by the Pharisees to try and trap him.

My first thought on reading the story is --- Where is the man?  Why wasn't he brought before Jesus also? --- but that is neither here nor there.

What the story tells us is rather mysterious.

Jesus bends down and begins to write in the dirt as the Pharisees demand justice

          What did he write?

                   We don't know

But after he finishes writing he says:

“Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

And then we are told that they put down their rocks and walked away.

Jesus does not condemn her --- guilty as she may have been. 

Instead he offers her the opportunity of a new life.

A number of years ago the United Methodist Church adopted a new logo.

I think it is the best thing that we have done in a long time as a denomination because it helps to define who we are supposed to be.

Anyone remember what that logo or tag line says?

          Open Hearts

                    Open Minds

                             Open Doors

What would the church look like if we took that motto seriously?

Let me illustrate with a story that I think has framed my understanding of the Christian movement my whole life.

I heard Tony Campolo share this story probably close to thirty years ago.

It is also found in the book we are studying.

Tony tells a wonderful story about a trip that he made to Honolulu.

Now for those of you who have traveled any distance, you know that sometimes it takes a few days for you to get acclimated to a new time zone. (The one hour change from Central time to Eastern Time has been very difficult for me!)

Tony woke up his first morning in Hawaii, his body telling him it was time to get up, but the clock showing 3:30 in the morning.

Since he was wide awake he went out looking for someplace to get some breakfast.

As you can imagine, the only place that he could find open could safely be called a “greasy spoon.”

The cook/waiter came up to him and said: “What d’ya want?”

Deciding that the safest bet was a donut, Tony asked for one and a cup of coffee.

While he was sipping his coffee and eating his donut, the door swung open and in marched a group of provocative and boisterous prostitutes.

They sat down a short distance from Tony and he heard one of the women say:

          “Tomorrow’s my birthday. I am going to be thirty-nine.”

Her “friend” said, in a rather nasty tone:

“So what do you want from me? A birthday party? What do you want? You want me to get you a cake and sing ‘Happy Birthday’?”

“Come on!” the woman said. “Why do you have to be so mean? I was just telling you, that’s all. Why do you have to put me down? I was just telling you that it was my birthday. I don’t want anything from you. I mean, why should you give me a birthday party? I’ve never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?”

After a while the women left.

Tony said to the guy behind the counter: “Do they come in here every night?”

“Yeah!” He said.

“The one that was sitting right here, does she come in every night?”

“Yeah, that’s Agnes. Yeah, she comes in here every night. Why d’ya want to know?”

“Because I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday. What do you say that you and I do something about that? What do you think about us throwing a birthday party for her – right here – tomorrow night?”

The guy said sure.

“Look, if it is OK with you, I’ll get back here tomorrow morning about 2:30 and decorate the place. I’ll even get a birthday cake!”

“No way,” said Harry (that was his name), “The Birthday cake’s my thing. I’ll make the cake.”

At 2:30 the next morning Tony returned to the diner and began setting up decorations, including a sign made out of cardboard that read: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AGNES!”

At 3:15 every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place.

And at 3:30 on the dot, the door of the diner swung open and in came Agnes and her friend and everyone in the place shouted HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Campolo says:

Never have I seen a person so flabbergasted . . . so stunned . . . so shaken. Her mouth fell open. Her legs seemed to buckle a bit. Her friend grabbed her arm to steady her. As she was led to sit on one of the stools along the counter we all sang “Happy Birthday” to her. As we came to the end of our singing with “happy birthday dear Agnes, Happy Birthday to you,” her eyes moistened. Then, when the birthday cake with all the candles on it was carried out, she lost it and just openly cried.

Harry mumbled, “Blow out the candles, Agnes! Come on! Blow out the Candles! If you don’t blow out the candles, I’m gonna hafta blow out the candles.”

After a few moments --- he did!

Then he handed her a knife and told her, “Cut the cake, Agnes. Yo, Agnes, we all want some cake.”

Agnes looked down at the cake. Then without taking her eyes off it, she slowly said, “Look, Harry, is it all right with you if I . . . I mean is it OK if I kind of . . . what I want to ask you is . . . is it OK if I keep the cake a little while? I mean is it all right if we don’t eat it right away?”

Harry shrugged and answered, “Sure! It’s OK if you want to keep the cake, keep the cake. Take it home if you want to.”

“Can I?” she asked. Then, looking at me she said, “I just live down the street a couple of doors. I want to take the cake home, OK? I'll be right back. Honest!”

She got off the stool, picked up the cake, and, carrying it like it was the Holy Grail, walked slowly toward the door. As we all stood motionless, she left.

Tony said: Not knowing what else to do, I broke the silence by saying, ‘What do you say we pray?’”

When I finished, Harry leaned over the counter and with a trace of hostility in his voice, said: “Hey! You never told me that you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?”

“I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning.”

Harry sneered as he answered, “No you don’t! There’s no church like that. If there was, I’d join it. I’d join a church like that.”

That, to me, is GRACE.

          Unmerited assistance --- unmerited love

Brennan Manning, in his powerful book: The Ragamuffin Gospel, in 1990 wrote:

Something is radically wrong when the local church rejects a person accepted by Jesus: when a harsh, judgmental and unforgiving sentence is passed on homosexuals; when a divorcee is denied communion; when the child of a prostitute is refused baptism; when an unlaicized priest is forbidden the sacraments.  Jesus comes to the ungodly, even on Sunday morning.  His coming ends ungodliness and makes us worthy.  Otherwise, we are establishing at the heart of Christianity an utterly ungodly and unworthy preoccupation with works.

Open Minds

          Open Hearts

                   Open Doors

Come Jesus says --- not just the saints,

                             not just the righteous,

                             not just the saved,

Come Jesus says and know that you are loved.

Simon Peter and the Coke Machine god

John 12:9-19   New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

⁹ When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, ¹¹ since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

¹² The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—
    the King of Israel!”

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:

¹⁵ “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
    sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

¹⁶ His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. ¹⁷ So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. ¹⁸ It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. ¹⁹ The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

Simon Peter is by far my favorite of all the disciples

          He is so real

          So human

It is hard not to love him

Peter is uneducated, most likely illiterate

          He is a fisherman by trade

          But Peter is called personally by Jesus to be a disciple of his

And Jesus gives him a new nickname

Peter is the original rocky

Rocky, however seems to have a hard time living up to his name.

Do you remember the night we call “the last supper?”

John 13:2b-9  (NRSV)

And during supper Jesus, . . . got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

Don't you love Peter's exuberance and innocence?

But, after Jesus' arrest, trial and death --- what does Peter do?

          Begin Preaching?

          Start Evangelizing?

          Change the world for Jesus?

I’ll let John tell you what Peter says, it is just four simple words. 

Peter says: “I am going fishing.”

Peter – Rocky --- the one Jesus says he is going to build his church on --- when the chips fall --- Rocky goes back to his comfort zone and goes back to fishing.

And as Peter goes back to fishing, John tells what is my favorite resurrection story.

It is found in John chapter 21

Peter does exactly what he says, and the story finds him fishing on the Sea of Galilee.  But he and his fellow disciples are having a terrible night.

They have been out all night long and have caught NOTHING

They are getting ready to quit when they see this stranger standing on the shore, and as any of us who have been doing something for a number of hours long to hear, this stranger says “Your fishing on the wrong side of the boat, throw your net over the other side and you will catch some fish.”

I don’t know how you would react to that comment, but you can ask Nancy how I would --- let’s just say, I doubt I would respond very favorably

But, for whatever reason, they decide to give it a try.

And guess what?

John tells us that they caught more fish than the nets were able to hold!

Peter all of a sudden gets a glimmer of insight and realizes that it is none other than Jesus who has been talking to them, not some stranger.

And as they gather on the shore, what takes place one of the greatest (and for me) most hope filled exchanges in the bible.

John 21:15-17

Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 

I love that story --- and it is filled with hope for me.

Because if Peter had been blessed with three feet instead of two, you can be certain that he would have somehow managed to get all three in his mouth, instead, he just had to settle with getting two crammed in there.

Peter --- Rocky --- the guy Jesus is building his church on.  If Peter can be so thick headed --- well there is certainly hope for someone like me!

All this gets me to an earlier time in Peter’s life, actually the moment when Jesus gives him his nickname.

Sometimes I think we may have miss translated his nickname as Rocky when it really should be head full of rocks or knucklehead!

Mark 8:27-29   (NRSV)

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”

As many of you know, I graduated from The Divinity School at Duke University.

One of the special features of the Duke Divinity School in the early 80's was we had a demon possessed Coke Machine.

This was one of those old fashioned machines that you put your money in, a cup would drop into a slot, ice would fill the cup and then the drink flow into the cup.

But this was, as I said, a demon possessed machine --- you never knew with certainty just what you would get.

Sometimes it would take your quarter and do nothing

          Other times

Cup but no drink

Cup drink, no ice

My favorite: ice, drink --- but no cup

You quickly had two choices to make

·         Make a cup out of your hands and catch as much drink as you could

·         Watch your drink go down the drain

Near this pop machine was a good place to study because it was quiet and out of the way --- and once when I was sitting there studying --- this well dressed, petite, drop dead gorgeous woman, who obviously was very classy (and I had never seen before) came up to the machine.

She got out her quarter, put in in the machine, and made her selection --- but nothing happened

She pushed the buttons again --- tried the coin return --- but still NOTHING

After a few minutes of trying to get the machine to work --- this petite woman began to kick and hit the machine!

You see --- She EXPECTED something from the machine --- but she didn’t get what she expected.

PETER expected certain things from Jesus

He knew who Jesus was

          The Messiah

          The Christ

          The Chosen one of God

He thought he knew what that meant

Peter and the Jewish people of his day had certain expectations of God’s messiah

They expected the messiah to be:

·         A great king like David

·         The one that God would use to intervene in history and achieve by supernatural means that which they had not been able to achieve by natural means

·         The messiah would totally destroy all of God’s (and thus the Jew’s) enemies

·         The messiah would restore Jerusalem

·         The messiah would gather the dispersed Jews

·         Israel would be made the center of the world, and all the world would be subject to Israel

·         The messiah, after cleaning up all our mess, would bring an everlasting peace to the world

But Peter didn’t get what he expected when he encountered the Messiah

Listen as Jesus tries to explain to Peter just what kind of Messiah he is:

Mark 8:31   (NRSV)

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again

Simon Peter expected something from Jesus

·         He thought he had him all figured out

·         He put his quarter in the slot, but he didn’t get what he bargained for --- instead he got a Messiah who had to DIE

So let me ask you: WHAT KIND OF MESSIAH ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

Last week I asked you to show me Jesus --- to show me the kind of Jesus that you follow.

What did you decide to show me?

We, just like the Jewish people of Jesus day, have come to put certain expectations upon the Messiah

So, WHAT KIND OF MESSIAH, WHAT KIND OF CHRISTIANITY DO YOU BELIEVE IN?

Many of us would like to believe in the Christianity that is promoted by many of our mega-church, TV evangelists, and even within the walls of many churches: 

A Christianity that says:

          Just send your money

          Believe the right things

          Vote for the right candidates

                   And everything will be OK

         

          Just tune us in

          Just come to church

                   And you will have it made

                   All your problems will be solved

But like Simon Peter, we find ourselves with feet firmly planted in our mouths because when Jesus tells us what it means to be a Disciple, to be a follower of the Way, we say: “Are you crazy? --- You must be mistaken”

Because that is not the kind of Christianity that we have come to expect

But Jesus tells us, that to follow him means sacrifice

And one of the first things we must sacrifice are the ideas that we have come up with that define the Messiah

Instead we need to listen to God

Jesus tells us:

·         that we must take up our cross (our burdens)

·         we must risk our lives and our stuff

·         we must follow, actively follow, if we want to live with God and the Christ

What kind of God do you come here seeking?

What kind of God are you looking for?

For many of us, our God has become like that Coke machine at Duke

We put our quarter in and --- we expect something in return

          Something very specific

And when it does not come out as we planned --- we often find ourselves angry and disillusioned with God

Some of you may be asking yourselves --- OK, this is nice Steve, but what did it have to do with the scripture lesson that was read to us today?

Did you listen carefully to the first verse that Roger/Matt read?

John writes:

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 

The people had heard what Jesus had done with Lazarus --- RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD --- and they came because they wanted to see if it was real and to check out Jesus --- because --- well you never know . . .

We are also told that they believed and even testified about Jesus because of this great sign that he had done --- BUT --- when push came to shove --- as Jesus is arrested, tried and crucified, over the next few days ---- where were these people?

The problem was ----

·         they expected Jesus to raise up an army

·         Not to offer himself as a sacrifice

We have to be careful what we expect from God

          God is not called to live out OUR expectations

God is not like a vending machine, that we can go and put our money in and get out what we expect

          Instead God is calling each of us, and has expectations for us.

The question is --- are we willing to take the time, the sacrifice and effort to understand God’s expectations for us?

Or do we want a Coke machine god to do our bidding?

Seek

Listen

Follow

And see where God leads you this week.

Spitin' Image

1 Corinthians 1:18-24   (NRSV)

¹⁸ For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
          and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, ²³ but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

John 12:20-33 (NRSV)

²⁰ Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³ Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.²⁸ Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. ³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

I am still pretty new here, but I want you to imagine for a moment that I am a stranger and that I have come to worship at Meridian Street for the very first time.

Now I also want you to imagine that I was somebody who did not know anything about Jesus, and I was curious to learn about him.

I said to you: “You are a Christian.  You must be, or why else would you be worshipping here this morning.  Since, I don’t know this Jesus that you are here worshipping --- Please --- Show me Jesus!

          WHAT WOULD YOU SHOW ME?

Show me Jesus!

I don’t want you to answer out loud, but I want you to figure out in your mind what you would say to me.

Because what you choose to show me is going to say a good deal about your faith. 

About your relationship to God. 

About how you perceive God.

So I come to you today and I ask you: SHOW ME JESUS!

          What will you show me?

I am very serious about this question.  SHOW ME JESUS!

ALTAR --- and the Beautiful Cross – I can find Jesus there

BIBLE --- Here is Jesus in this book.  I can find Jesus written on the pages in the words of the book

CONSTRUCTION SITE --- Jesus is in the new building

TAKE ME TO THE WALL OF PASTORS --- and show me some of the former pastors and say here is Jesus -- or show me Pastor Matt

Show me SOME SAINT HERE AT MERIDIAN STREET

Or TAKE ME TO MLK CENTER or SOUP’s ON at Roberts Park or FLETCHER PLACE or INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK, or NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR --- maybe there you could show me Jesus

Or maybe you would show me THIS FELLOWSHIP --- In the midst of this gathering on Sunday morning – that is where I can find Jesus.  We act so different that we can see Jesus here.

Or is Jesus just a myth, a figment of somebody’s imagination?

So I ask you: SHOW ME JESUS; what would you show me?

Or maybe --- maybe you would have the courage and temerity to point to YOURSELF.  You might do that if you were the spitin’ image of Jesus

In our Gospel lesson this morning this is precisely what happened.  A group of Greeks came to the disciples and Philip and said: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 

Paul tells us that the Greeks sought WISDOM

          Knowledge

          Truth

          Understanding

As so they come to the disciples and say: SHOW US JESUS.

It is easy to understand why they came asking this.

          Do you know what happened just prior to this story according to John?

                   Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and Palm Sunday.

Paul tells us that the Greeks seek WISDOM

          Do you think Jesus taught them anything?

Maybe they were looking for understanding life and death

          Why do good people hurt?

Maybe they came because they were seriously seeking life

Or maybe success in their lives, maybe Jesus could improve their lives.

Maybe they were looking for simply how to survive --- how to live.

Those are all possible reasons why they came, and are the same reasons why people come today seeking to see Jesus.

But when the Greeks came, what did Jesus show them as the core reality of what he is?

          The answer should shock you!  Maybe even astonish you!

Jesus did not show them life, nor any great healing or teaching ---

JESUS TALKED ABOUT DEATH!

Is this what you would show somebody who is asking to see Jesus? 

Would you show them pain and death, failure and defeat?

Listen again to what Jesus said:  “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

What makes Jesus different was not his incredible teachings,

          It was not his incredible healings

          It was not his incredible miracles

          It was neither wisdom or signs

What made Jesus different was that Jesus died --- on a cross.

The cross is what made Jesus the son of God.

By our standards, Jesus was an absolute failure --- but by God’s – his death was GLORY

And on that cross we are told that Jesus would draw us unto him.

Listen again: “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” 

Jesus is drawing Meridian Street United Methodist Church to himself

Jesus is making us a part of him

It is almost as though he offered to reach down from the cross and shake hands with us. 

And if we have the courage to take his hand --- we find that he will NEVER let us go!

That is the core of our faith!

Jesus dies for us and draws us in

          And because of that --- we are no longer the same.

Let me try to tell you this in another way.  Walter Wangerin, is a great storyteller, and I want to share one of his stories.  He says that it is a true story.

When Walter was a young boy his mother once said: “Wally, you are the spitin image of your grandpa.”

          I wondered what the spit was? Walter would ask

Walter’s grandpa used to spit tobacco --- so did that mean that when he grew up he would be able to spit tobacco like his grandpa?     

          Was that the spit?

His grandfather was the caretaker of a cemetery in St Louis and he loved to spit tobacco

          He knew his grandpa loved him and he loved to put on a show for Wally

                   He would lean back and spit --- a beautiful brown wad --- like a comet

Mom said “I’m the spitin image of my grandpa, and I wondered if that meant that when I grew up I would be able to spit just like my grandpa did”

Grandpa would tell Wally the secrets of life and death

          When you die --- your hair and nails continue to grow

          Sometimes when a body was cremated it would sit up and scream

One day mom announced that we needed to go and see grandpa

          “Why, we never visit grandpa in the fall”

Mom said it was because grandpa was dying

          It felt like something was wrong --- and I did it

Grandpa was dying

          Nobody said what dying was

          And nobody said what you do for dying

We rode to St Louis --- and I sat very small in the car

          Nobody said what dying was

          And nobody said what you do for dying

When we arrived we were ushered into the house and it was very quiet

          Nobody said what dying was

          And nobody said what you do for dying

The kids were all sent into the living room and they were invited in to see grandpa -- one at time

          Nobody said what dying was

          And nobody said what you do for dying

Wally shares how his grandpa called him in --- and as he walked into the bedroom he walked very small --- his mother left him and let him go in by himself

          Nobody said what dying was

          And nobody said what you do for dying

He asked his grandpa: “Is this what dying is --- you are no longer the same?”

But his grandfather did not say anything --- he just smiled

AND THEN HE TOLD ME WHAT YOU DO FOR DYING --- he didn’t say it, he showed me.

He reached out with his hand and shook mine --- and I knew what dying was ---- because grandpa invited me in --- I was a part of it.

          I knew what you do for dying and it was OK

Two weeks later the call came, I knew what it was --- and as my mother hung up the phone I walked over to her BIG, because I knew what to do --- and I did what you do for dying --- I reached out my hand and I took hers and shook it --- because that is what grandpa showed me you do for dying.

My mother grabbed me and pulled me close and said: WALLY, YOU ARE THE SPITIN IMAGE OF YOUR GRANDPA, and I wondered what the spit was.

Years later Walter says that he was paying a pastoral visit with a woman, her husband had recently died and she was talking about her son Arthur --- in the conversation she mentioned that Arthur was the spitin image of his dad.

Walter was taken back and chuckled and said his mom used to say that he was the spitin image of his grandpa, but he always wondered what the spit was.

Spit?

I didn’t say spit she said --- I said spitin’, there is a huge difference.

It’s not spit --- it is just the way southerners say spirit.

You are not the spit image of someone --- you are the spirit and image of someone.

Walter said it took his breath away as he sat back in his chair.

For he realized that he just didn’t look like his grandpa, but that his grandpa lived in him.  His spirit was in him!

So when I ask you: SHOW ME JESUS --- If you are the spirit and image of Jesus, then you can show me yourself. 

If you have been drawn into his death by a profound handshake --- you just might have the courage to point toward you.  If it is the spirit of Jesus that lives in you.

AMEN.

Wrestling With God

Audio version available: http://meridianstreet.org/sermon/wrestling-with-god/

(Genesis 32:24‑30 NRSV)  Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. {25} When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. {26} Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." {27} So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." {28} Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." {29} Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. {30} So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved."

It all began with Dan Brown and his novel THE DIVINCI CODE. 

          Well, that is not completely true. 

It really began, for me, as a child.  I read the Bible, I went to church, but to be honest — some things just didn’t make sense.   My parents, raised me in the church (my father is a retired United Methodist minister) but, more importantly, they raised me with a sense that it was okay to ask questions.  I didn’t have to believe everything at face value.

I was a history major in college.  Maybe that is where the blame lies.  In learning history, I learned that everything is seen through the lens of those who are telling the story.  The history of an event, told from opposing sides, sounds sometimes like it is two different events — yet, they both told the truth, as they perceived it.  That lesson seeped over as I began to earnestly study the Bible and the history of the early Church.

Maybe Albert Sweitzer, the great doctor and missionary is too blame.  As I studied his quest to find the historical Jesus, I realized that the only Jesus that we have is not a Jesus of history, but a Jesus of faith.  That doesn’t mean that Jesus didn’t live — I believe he did.  But what we can know about the Jesus of history can never be isolated from the Jesus of faith.

While I have learned to live comfortably in that grey area of life, I know that many people struggle with this.  I see this most profoundly in people who are what Bishop Spong calls “The Church Alumni”, people who no longer can believe the doctrine of the church, yet are still looking for something. 

There is a great deal of excellent scholarship out there on the formation of the Bible and the early church.  I claim no expertise.  What I do claim, is that Christianity is still valid and important in the 21^st Century. 

The “Old” Christianity may be dead (or at least dying), but Christianity certainly is not.  Jesus came to show us a way of life, and he died trying to teach us. 

About a year and a half ago I was struggling with what God desired for my life.  I had been ordained for 30 years and had spent the last 17 years in Munster.

I sensed that it was time for me to move on, but I wasn't able to get a clear vision of what that meant.

I think what really made the waters muddy was the fact that I had said repeatedly over the previous 17 years that Ridge Church was my last appointment. 

          But now it was coming to an end --- what does one do?

I spend many hours praying and listening intently to what I thought God might be speaking to me --- but to be honest --- I never got a clear answer.  The only thing that was clear to me was that my ministry at Ridge Church was coming to an end.

What made it even more difficult was that I was passionately involved in the community.  I took John Wesley's imperative: All The World Is My Parish very seriously, and the other thing that was clear to me that my ministry in that role wasn't completed.

So what does one do?

How do we KNOW what God wants for our lives?

How do we KNOW, that our interpretation of scripture on a particular hot button issue is correct?

Unfortunately I don't thing we do KNOW, with absolute certainty.

The challenge for me has been getting comfortable living in the grey.

About four years ago I attended a seminar led by Donald Miller called STORYLINE. Don is best known as the author of a number of books including Blue Like Jazz and the one that really grabbed me: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.

At the STORYLINE conference, one of the things we were challenged to do was create a timeline of significant events in one's life --- the good and the bad.

The good is easy

          Making the decision to go to Duke

          Meeting Nancy there

          Our wedding

          The birth of our children

          Starting Celebration Church

          Buying our first house

          The list could go on and on

Even coming up with the bad for the most part isn't that tough

          Being told in elementary school that I can't sing

          Failed relationships

          The death of my brother Stewart

          Leaving Celebration Church

          The death of Nancy's dad and brother in a six month period

          Dealing with the declining heath of parents

          Again the list could go on and on

The hard part is honestly looking back at those events and seeing God present in them and finding purpose in them.

Don’t get me wrong --- I don’t believe God allowed Stewart to die to change me --- I have come to believe that through Stewart’s life and death God gave me the opportunity to grow.

I don’t think God is mad at the USA so we are seeing this spike in violence --- God is praying that we will grow and learn and change because this violence is happening.

Jacob is one of my favorite characters in the Bible.

Jacob was the younger of twins, and throughout the pregnancy he and his brother Esau were fighting in the womb of their mother.

Rebecca (their mother) is rather unhappy about this fighting that is going on inside of her and she takes her struggle to God and we are told that she asks God “why?” 

          Why this conflict that is going on within her womb.

And the text tells us:

(Genesis 25:23 NRSV)  And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger."

The story goes on

(Genesis 25:24‑26 NRSV)  When her time to give birth was at hand, . . . {25} The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. {26} Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob.

Jacob, in Hebrew Ya’akob, means “supplanter.”

It was the perfect name for him, as it spoke of his tendency to want to get ahead, to try and turn the tables and change the outcomes —

so that the smaller could become the greater, the younger could gain the privilege of the older, the one with little could get a lot.

There are a number of stories in Genesis about Jacob trying to best his brother.

          In one story he convinces Esau to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew.

In another he and Rebecca create a plan to trick old, blind Isaac (the boys father) into giving his blessing to Jacob, when it should have gone to Esau.

When Esau finds out what has happened, you can imagine he was just a little upset at his brother for stealing their father’s blessing, and we are told that because of his brothers anger --- Jacob the deceiver flees for his life.

Chapter 28 of the book of Genesis is all about Jacob on the run from an angry and murderous Esau.

On his way to his uncle’s home in Haran he lies down and dreams a remarkable dream. In his dream the Lord is poised atop a ladder, or a stairway, and from this place the Lord makes a promise to Jacob:

(Genesis 28:13‑15 NRSV)  And the LORD stood beside him and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; {14} and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. {15} Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

I am with you, God says.

I will protect you wherever you go.

I will bring you back.

I will not leave you.

At the heart of these promises is the promise of presence and protection. God commits God-self unconditionally to be with Jacob.

As far as we know, this is Jacob’s first encounter with God. And the interesting thing is that the promises, by themselves, are not enough for Jacob.

          Jacob wants proof.

          Jacob wants to KNOW that God will deliver.

So, when he wakes from his dream, Jacob makes a vow.

It is an interesting vow:

(Genesis 28:20‑21 NRSV)   "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God,

God’s promises to Jacob were unconditional. Jacob, however, lays down conditions.

Jacob is concerned for his survival, for his safety, and for his well being.

I don't know about you, but too many times in my life I have been like Jacob.  God promises unconditional love, but I offer back conditions.

Eventually Jacob's past catches up with him.

The deceiver is deceived by his uncle and unaware he marries the ugly older sister instead of the beautiful sister that he loves.

After all kinds of twists and turns, the time comes for Jacob to return home. 

In order to go home, he must face his past.

He must acknowledge those bad moments in his life.

And for the first time in his life --- Jacob feels afraid.

He is afraid of what his brother Esau might do to him.

Jacob decides that maybe he can placate Esau by bribing him --- again trying to be in control.

So Jacob sent send messengers ahead bearing extravagant gifts of goats, sheep, camels, bulls, and donkeys, 550 heads of livestock in all.

But before that can happen, Jacob encounters God and learns what it really means to see the face of God — to engage, to wrestle, in authentic relationship with another.

After Jacob has sent his possessions and his family — everything that he owns; to the other side of the Jabbok — he is utterly alone. 

It is then that we read this remarkable story:

(Genesis 32:23‑28 NRSV)   Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.  When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. {26} Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." {27} So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." {28} Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed."

This encounter is a turning point in Jacob’s life.

When Jacob wrestles—truly wrestles — with God — He receives a new name, and with that new name, he is transformed. 

          He is, as Paul writes in Galatians “a new creation”.

He is no longer Jacob the deceiver --- he is now Israel, the one who wrestled with God

When I look back at those critical moments in my life I find one constant

          Not that I have the answers to:

Why Mrs. Boone told me at 12 that I could not sing

Why Stewart at 23 developed cancer and died

Why Mike at 55 died suddenly just six months after the death of his father

          When I wrestle with the issues of violence in our society

Why we kill each other

Why we distrust each other

What I have come to understand is ----

          I don't wrestle alone

God wrestles with me

·         God weeps with me over the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling

·         God weeps with me over the deaths of Lorne Ahrens, Michael Smith, Michael Krol, Patrick Zamarripa and Brent Thompson.

·         God weeps with me over the violence and hatred in this world

·          

I do not have the answers --- but I know that God is willing to wrestle with me

God wants to wrestle with you too

Not to solve your problems

But to help you understand that in the midst of them --- you are not alone

I too am willing to wrestle with you --- not to give you my answers, but to help you encounter God as you wrestle to find yours.

Like Jacob of old, God wants to wrestle with you and change your name as you grow in ministry and service with Jesus.

Letter To Meridian Street UMC

Words cannot express the excitement that Nancy and I feel about my being appointed pastor of Meridian Street United Methodist Church.  What makes this appointment even more exciting is that we get the opportunity to build on the wonderful things that have been accomplished under the leadership of Pastor Anne.

As word of the appointment has spread we have been shocked to learn of all the many connections that we already have with Meridian Street.  One of my best friends from my youth group had grandparents that were members and he told me about worshipping with you every Christmas and Easter as a child.  One of my first friends in ministry, Paul Newman Jacobs, grew up at Meridian Street.  Another friend is friends with one of the music leaders.  I have come to see what a small world it is.

Nancy and I look forward to getting to know each of you and learning more about the mission and vision of the Church.  We love the things that we see on the web and the stories we have been told.

As many of you know, last May, I "retired" from parish ministry.  I knew it was time for me to leave Ridge Church (I was pastor for 17 years), but if the truth be told, I was not yet ready to leave Munster.  I have been extremely active in the local community, and had come to be seen as a leader for the larger community.  I was clearly still in ministry, but just not at a local church.  On December 23rd I wrote Bishop Coyner asking that I be considered for an appointment in 2016.  This is the bulk of the letter I sent the Bishop.

As the Advent Season began, I have been continually kicked in the rear reminding me of my call to parish ministry.

When I left Ridge Church earlier this year, I said I would not preach for at least a year.  I made it five months until the church that I grew up in invited me to return and preach there.  It was the first time I had been invited to preach at the Glenview United Methodist Church.  As the day drew closer I had a sense of dread --- it wasn’t that I was uncomfortable preaching, it was that I would find it too comfortable.  That morning, almost 20 people from my youth group days returned for Sunday worship.  Some traveled long distances and had not graced a church in a long time.  As I reflected on that morning I realized that preaching is one of the main gifts that God has blessed me with.  

Shortly after that I was asked by a neighboring church (Presbyterian) to teach an adult Sunday school class for two weeks around Thanksgiving.  God reminded me again that teaching is another gift that God has gifted me with.  Following the second week, the pastor of the church asked if I would fill in while he was on vacation (his staff requested that he ask me).  I politely declined, but while saying NO I realized that this is what I am supposed to be doing.

I have loved my time away.  I have learned many new skills and have challenged myself in ways I never imagined.  I have experienced things that I never could have done in the local church.  But at the end of the day, I realize that my calling is to be a local church pastor.

I have come to realize that I needed time to process my grief of leaving the community. These past few months have allowed me to do that. The exciting thing is I will be coming to you with a renewed sense of my calling. God swiftly and regularly kicked me in the rear to remind me what I was called to do. What has been most interesting to me since the announcement was made was the response from my friends and former congregations. They too have affirmed that being a pastor is what God has called me to do. I look forward to learning more from the staff and from you about the ministries that God has called Meridian Street to participate in.

Please keep Nancy and me in your prayers as we prepare to sell our home in Munster and begin looking for a new home in Indianapolis. We will keep Meridian Street and Pastor Anne in our prayers as you go through this transition. May God guide each of us and call us to faithful ministry.

In Christ,
Steve & Nancy Conger

An Empty House

I have been slower writing than I would like.  I started a post last week, but have yet to finish it yet.  I will shoot for getting it up on Wednesday.  I have been hesitant to write on what seem to be political things, but it just keeps nagging at me.

It was a tough week.  As I shared earlier, Lindsey's leaving was hard!  But boy I wasn't ready for how difficult it would be to put Haley on the plane back to Chile.  She left Thursday and arrived back in Chile on Friday morning, but as I pulled away from the curb at O'Hare I realized just how different things really are.

I think I have been fooling myself about Haley's plan for staying in Chile.  She would always tell us that she planned to stay a year or two, but I am starting to think that a year or two is going to be a lot more than I anticipated.  As we talked on the way to the airport she shared about how she had received her work visa and would pick it up on Friday when she arrived back.  And as we continued talking I asked how long it was good for (one year) and she said that after two years she would be eligible to apply for permanent status (WHAT??)  I was not ready to hear that.  Seeing Haley and Lindsey just a couple of times a year is not what I was anticipating.  But, I remember when I moved away to Durham to head to Duke, I am sure it seemed like I was moving to LA or Chile to them.

I think what really sunk in, was the realization that neither Lindsey nor Haley will probably ever be in the house that they grew up in.  For both of them, this is really the only place that they have ever known as their "family" home.  But Nancy and I have made the decision that we will move sometime before summer.  Where, we don't know.  Sharing that in my last post got a few people asking lots of questions, but the truth is, we don't have answers.  We are trying hard to be patient and see where we are led.  And we know that it is going to all work out for the best.  But that said, it made me very sad realizing that they would not be here to say goodbye to this home and quite possibly to Munster.  Yep, life marches on.

One of the things I have realized is Nancy and I just need to figure out ways to visit them more often . . .  Oh if it were just that easy.  We feel torn between our children and our parents as we try to find the time to see them all and spend whatever time we have left in this life with those that we love.  But our trip to New Zealand, while it was amazing, and the beauty of the place left us speechless; what made the trip so special was that we got to do it with Haley!  What a blessing and gift that was!

Last night, despite the early snow in Munster, made the trek to Sand Creek CC to attend the Valparaiso Chamber's annual event where they honor community leaders.  It was great to be there to be able to celebrate the honoring of Sharon Kish who recently retired from Porter County United Way.  She is everything that is right with United Way.  During the flood she and I worked closely together on LARRI and if it wasn't for her leadership my distaste for United Way would be greater. 

Ten days into the New Year, and I am doing well on my resolutions.  I work hard every day to be a good husband; I am up to date in my plan to read through the Bible in one year (I am using Bible Gateway).  They have a great plan and even send the readings to you every day.  I continue reading Train Your Brain; however I am behind on the videos.  I will work on catching up on the videos before the end of the month.  My 1000 challenge is right on track.  Actually I am ahead of my plan.  As long as I don't get injured I think 1000 miles is in sight.  The big think for me is I need a goal to keep me motivated, so I hope to choose a half-marathon for April or May to run in.

Happy New Year!

Farewell to 2015 and welcome to new adventures and opportunities in the coming year.  2015 was a year of great change for Nancy and me.  We worked hard this year to strengthen our partnership, and I look forward to that continued growth in the coming year.  I think we both saw the great gift we both have been given, and by looking inward we can better (together) make a difference in the world.

It also was a year of change for both of us professionally.  Nancy's job at the School Town of Munster after 16+ years was phased out.  We both should have seen it coming, but sometimes when you are in the forest one has a hard time seeing the individual trees.  I know that this was a devastating blow to her, as she loved working in the schools and it really is where her call is.

I too made a major change in my life.  I decided to take a time out from pastoral ministry this past year.

This past year has been one of trying new things, sometimes being very successful and sometimes not.  When I look at what my staff and I have done at TradeWinds I am extremely proud.  We invested ourselves in the right way for the future of the organization, by taking the time to lay the groundwork for the future.  Unfortunately, the base had been neglected for a long time.  For the average person looking in, the would not see the value, but for the person who sits in my chair in the future, they will be able to say Thank You.

Doing marketing and fundraising has really pushed my comfort zones, which, while uncomfortable at times, I am thankful for.  It has not just expanded my comfort zone, but it has also made it healthier.

This year has also given me new eyes on leadership styles.  When you are THE leader it is hard to sometimes evaluate styles of leadership because everyone has to, somewhat, conform to you.  Not being the leader of a company, but having leadership over a section of that company has forced me to examine how the other Directors and the CEO lead and how I interact with them.  This has been invaluable for me and will produce great benefits as I lead my team in the future.

While 2015 was a year of change, I already see that 2016 will compete with it in terms of the amount of change in our lives.  Nancy and I will move this year.  Where, I don't know.  But we both know that it is time. 

I am filled with excitement about all the change that is coming.  I know that great things are down the road.  I am excited to be able to say that I can see farther than I can see on this first day of 2016.  Stay tuned and lets see what happens!

My resolutions

1.       Be a better husband/partner/father

2.       Read through the Bible in one year

3.       Work through: Train Your Brain

4.       Blog at least twice a week

5.       Run 1000 miles (that averages to about 20 miles per week)

          

Love Does

Sunday, Nancy and I attended the Dyer United Methodist Church.  Pastor Jim Clark had a wonderful message as Dyer UMC kicked off their 4^th Annual Labor of Love.  The message focused on what makes us a follower of Jesus.  It isn’t a title, or a tattoo, or the cross around your neck --- what makes one a follower of Jesus is the willingness to love unconditionally.

That has been my message for years --- Jesus calls us to love ALL unconditionally.  The one place I would disagree with Pastor Jim was when he said that Christian love does not have a social agenda.  Of course it does.  The agenda of Jesus was to teach us how to love unconditionally and he wanted us to break down the barriers that keep that from happening.

What Pastor Jim encouraged everybody to do was stop talking about loving and DO some loving.  His passion kicked me in the rear and has encouraged me to write these words.

A group of concerned citizens began reaching out to the Town Council of Munster, Indiana asking them to adopt a human rights ordinance.  The ordinance would be one that is modeled on a number of other ordinances that have been adopted in Indiana since the adoption of RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act).  A bill that seems to have basically one purpose --- to allow individuals the freedom to discriminate based on “religious,” particularly Christian, convictions.  The one problem with this wildly radical legislation is it is not based on anything related to Jesus --- the “church” maybe, but not Jesus.  Jesus never encouraged discrimination.  And that message was re-affirmed by Paul when he reminds us that all are one in Christ.

When I hear that a Town Council member in Munster (yes, they are all white males) say that he takes “a conservative approach to most new requests.  This one should be passed on the National Level.” I am saddened.  The conservative approach should be to not discriminate and to not allow it to happen to anyone.

I am saddened and disheartened that our elected officials are too afraid to say NO to the bigots and racists of our day.  That they turn issues into political footballs and fail to do the right thing.

Munster bills itself as the town of integrity.  It is time for it to start to live up to its motto!

To all of my Christian friends, it is time we stop condemning people we disagree with, it is time to stop pointing fingers and wagging our tongues.  It is time we start doing what Jesus called us to do: Love one another.

Jeff Aten

It has been an interesting weekend.  Saturday, Jim White and I drove down to Highland Illinois to attend the memorial service for Jeff Aten.  Jeff and I were extremely close in High School.  The truth is Jeff and I had very different world views.  He was enthralled with Ann Rand's book Atlas Shrugged.  I always would laugh at the piece of junk car he drove while we were in college with Reagan bumper stickers all over it.

In his school we did many crazy things together, but many others that will always stay with me.  We got heavy into movie making, and made movies everywhere.  We actually had an award winning one for a class at High School that stared Steve Harr as a scorned girl.  It was set to the sound track of Rich Girl by Hall and Oates.  Recently my father found a film canister and it was a classic we made in United Methodist Youth in Glenview probably around 1977.  It was a silent movie mystery called "The Finger", I will try to get it uploaded to YouTube.

But probably the most important thing we did was bike together.  Our first trip took place when we were 16 or 17 and we rode from Kenosha Wisc. to Wildcat Mountain Wisc. and then to Belvidere, IL.  I still can't my parents let us do it.  There were no adults, just three teenage boys!  The next summer we rode from Warsaw, Indiana to Cincinnati and then to Crown Point where we were picked up.  Remember, this is pre-cell phones.  We literally would ride into a town, find a phone booth and call churches until we convinced one to let us camp on their lawn.  A few years ago, I found a diary of the trip to Cincinnati, if I find it again, I will post some of the entries.

Jeff headed off to the University of Illinois, and I realized it was not best for my studies to follow him there, so I headed to Northern Illinois.  But, there was many a road trip between the two schools!  Every Christmas, Jeff and I organized a reunion of the church group.  We did that until he got the opportunity to move to Virginia with work.  He was the glue that made those reunions happen.  After he moved, they slowly stopped happening.

We would talk sporadically over the years.  We visited him in Washington when Jessica was a baby and he visited us in Warsaw.  But time has a way of letting things drift apart, and for that I am very sad.

So many of my friends from that era i have let the relationships wane --- and for that I am sorry.  My youth group was central to my life.  The molded me, they loved me.  My first love was there, my first heartbreak was there.  But we always were a group!  It was there that I found my voice and calling to ministry.

As Jim and I drove home from the service, we talked about a lot of friends from the past.  We talked of renewing friendships and rebuilding brides that are long neglected.  My prayer is that I have the conviction to follow through.

Jeff, I am sorry we drifted over the years.  I see your smile in my minds eye as I type --- and I see your smirk! 

I had my first beer float with you, and my first smoke.  We shared laughs and sorrows, our failures and successes.  May you rest in peace, and I look forward to renewing our friendship in the next chapter.

I love you my friend!