Luke 1:26-38

1.    It’s official, this past week; I hit full on “Grinch” mode. I have been fighting it all Advent, but it finally happened.
A.    I was shopping – store rhymes with “Gracie’s”.
B.    The first thing I noticed on the way into the store – no Salvation Army bell ringer. Could have been break time, I don’t know.
C.     On the way out, inquired of the valet – “huh”.
D.    “I don’t know, dude.”
E.    As I walked to my car with my grinchy face, and my grinchy walk, clutching my purchases, I dared someone to try to talk to me, to DARE to wish me Merry Christmas.
F.    I could almost hear the singing in my head, “you’re a mean one, Pastor Jon.”
G.    I was done. I ran out of money, of patience, of holiday cheer. I felt like I just wanted to call the whole thing off. Thank God I do not have that authority.
H.    Have you ever felt that way? (tell me I am not the only one).

2.    Once upon God gave a young woman just that very opportunity. She could have canceled Christmas – before it even started.
A.    Though she could not possibly have foreseen the gift-giving gluttony of our modern commercial Christmas, while she could not have anticipated Santa Claus or Black Friday, or the rest of it, Mary was confronted by God with a simple “yes” or “no” proposition.
B.    The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. He just appeared, he wasn’t there and then he was. We don’t know if she was washing clothes, or sleeping, eating, or praying. The bible just says Gabriel appeared.
C.    And he gets right to the point. After dispensing with the appropriate pleasantries, Gabriel tells Mary the good news.
D.    He says, “And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
E.    Now, if this were me, I would have a question or two.  Oh really, and who is going to pay his tuition? Who is going to protect him when he goes to school? Who is going teach him how to rule Israel? Etc.
F.    Mary, she has only one question, and it is more of a technical matter. God knows I am a virgin, right? I know how these things happen.
G.    And Gabriel, ever quick with an answer – we’ve got the covered, the Holy Spirit is taking care of the whole “conception” thing.
H.    After that, Mary say’s “I’m in.” That’s it. End of discussion.

3.    This is unprecedented! This is historic! And that is her only question?!? How do we get our heads around that?
A.    About six months before we were married, Cindy and I started looking into adoption. Process seemed overwhelming.
B.    “Wouldn’t it be great if someone gave their kid?”
C.    Two days later, my dad called. A young woman is in my office. She is pregnant and is looking for parents to adopt her child, can I give her your name?
D.    That is a miracle. That is about all the miracle I can handle. And I had a question, or two, before all of this unfolded.
E.    And yet, there is Mary. “Let it be with me according to your word.” She said “yes.” Just like that.

4.    Much is made in our world about choices. We all want more and more choice, more variety, more control over the events that effect our lives.
A.    But, as happens so often, events conspire to impact our lives regardless of our best efforts.
B.    Illness, death of loved ones, aging parents to be cared for, an economy that forgets which way is up.
C.    Terrible things happen and wonderful things happen in this life. And the only thing that we know for certain is that we never really know what is coming next.
D.    And like Mary, most of our choices ultimately boil down to a “yes” or a “no”.
E.    Sometimes, we say “no.” And you can usually tell who the “no” people are in our society.
F.    They are usually sulking their way through mall parking lots, with grinchy faces, and grinchy walks, clutching their purchases, and daring someone to try and wish them Merry Christmas.
G.    Others who say “no” simply buckle under the weight of the anger that they have carried with them – resort to drinking, drugs, etc.
H.    Some just shut down and walk through this world like living dead people, never really making a difference in the world either way.
I.    They are the “no” people. And there are times, I think, when we all feel that way.

5.    But, what if, like Mary, we said “yes.” Would we be “favored ones” like she was? I think so. That would be cool.
A.    Sort of. I mean, what does it mean to be a favored one? After Mary faced public scorn for getting pregnant out of wed lock…
B.    Traveled nearly 100 miles on the back of a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Gave birth in the most unsanitary conditions imaginable.
C.    And then, after Jesus is born, they had to escape to Egypt because the king of the Jews is trying to kill her kid.
D.    Oh yeah, Mary had to be thinking “lucky me” I am so blessed…
E.    But, you know what, she was blessed. That is what the angel Gabriel said.
F.    “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” You have found favor with God?!?

6.    So, I am driving home from the store with no name. I am grabbing the steering wheel with my grinchy-grinch fingers, mumbling under my breath.
A.    And on the radio, I hear a song called “Gabriel’s Message.” The song opens, “The angel Gabriel from heaven came/His wings as drifted snow/his eyes as flame; All hail, said he/ thou lowly maiden Mary/Most highly favour’d lady.”
B.    Now, when the radio sings the scripture that you are preaching on – you notice. You stop for a moment, and reflect.
C.    My heart calmed a bit, I loosened the grip on the steering wheel. Noticed nativity scenes on lawns.
D.    My heart lightened. I began to notice signs of life, where people have said “yes” to God. Neighbors helping neighbors. Kindness to strangers. Support for Longest Night.
E.    Yes, yes, I see. And that’s when I had my epiphany – quite similar to the Grinch’s.

7.    No one can stop Christmas from coming. Macy’s can’t sell it away. Santa can’t steal it away. The Grinch can’t wish it away. No one can stop Christmas because…
A.    Mary said “yes.” She said yes. She didn’t even think about it that much. She just said yes.
B.    And every time we say yes to God in the same way, the child that she brought into the world is alive again in our time.
C.    Every time we say yes, we make real the promise contained in the angel’s proclamation of “good news of great joy.”
D.    Every time we say yes, God’s love is made more real in the world…

8.    Christmas is coming my friends, whether you like it or not. It is almost here.
A.    The only question that we have to grapple with – how will we respond? Will we say “yes” or will we say “no?”
B.    Will we say yes to a crazy God who comes not in the form of a military messiah, or a mighty king, but as an innocent child?
C.    Will we say yes to a God that chooses to enter into this world in the most obscure and humble place imaginable?
D.    Will we say yes to a God that loves the unlovable, who seeks the lost, and who gave all just for us?
E.    Can we say yes to that God and “no” to the Grinch?
F.    Mary already did the hard work. She and Joseph took all of the chances. Christmas is coming because she said yes.
G.    Will you join her – will you join me – and say yes, too? The child awaits. Are you ready to receive him? Amen.

Sermon delivered 12/21/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church – Anaheim Hills.

Isaiah 61:1-11

1.    Do you remember having “do-overs” when you were a kid? I was the king of the do-over.
A.    On the playground playing baseball – “the sun was in my eyes…someone distracted me…I wasn’t ready.”
B.    Getting in trouble as a youth – “I didn’t know you were serious when you said I couldn’t go to the pool if I didn’t clean my room. Can I have a do-over? I will clean it right now.
C.    Even as we get older – “I didn’t know this was a 35 MPH zone officer.” Or for you golfers in the room, I have one word – mulligan!
D.    The do-over has an important place in many people’s lives. And that is o.k. Sometimes, it is important to be able to just start over – to have a clean slate.

2.    In fact, do you know who invented the do-over? It was God, of course.
A.    Read Leviticus 25:8-10.
B.    The year of Jubilee – God’s way of granting a permanent do-over. Occurred every fifty years. It was put in place as a safeguard against continued slavery and against poverty.
C.    Every fifty years, land is returned to its original owners, or their descendants.
D.    Every fifty years, slaves are set free.
E.    Every fifty years, when the trumpet would sound, all of Israel got a do-over, a chance to start fresh.
F.    It was God’s way of keeping justice and equity in the land of his chosen people. The only responsibility that the people had was to let go and surrender to the justice of God.
G.    Jubilee is about letting go – of land, of slaves, of power and control. It is only in letting go of things that we make room in our lives for God to enter in.
H.    When the trumpet sounded, the Jubilee would begin.
I.    Jubilee – it is a great big do-over.

3.    When the people of Israel returned to Jerusalem after a time of exile in Babylon, they discovered that life was hard.
A.    Temple destroyed, leadership was non-existent, the people were lost to their own sin. They needed a sense of hope.
B.    Life was confusing for them. They had lost the sense of what it meant to be God’s chosen people.
C.    Can you imagine their joy, then, when they read these words from the prophet Isaiah? Read Isaiah 61:1-3.
D.    Good news to the oppressed, binding up the brokenhearted, liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners…the year of the Lord’s favor.
E.    Isaiah is declaring Jubilee. Let’s start again. Let’s try this one more time. What’s past is past. But, what is coming. Well, that is gonna be good.
F.    Read Isaiah 61:4-7.

4.    Last week, Cindy and I (and I don’t know what we could have been thinking) took Corran to the Rainforest Café for dinner. At South Coast Plaza.
A.    The whole place was decorated for the holidays. People were rushing everywhere.
B.    As we approached the center of the mall, “Santa’s Village” came into view. I tried to distract everyone, but it was too late.
C.    They had everything, crafts, candy canes, Santa Claus – and everything cost money.
D.    As we waited in line, I experienced this brief moment of hope – the girl portraying the elf was sitting on the floor comforting a little girl who was a little frightened of Santa (I wanted to whisper in her ear – “be afraid, be very afraid”).
E.    When we got to the front, the owner pulled the elf aside and instructed her on how to “push” different products and photo packages.
F.    My heart sank. I felt like Cindy Lou Who wondering “where are you Christmas?” while all of Whoville went crazy with shopping and decorations and eating.
G.    And suddenly, I had this incredible urge to stand in the middle of all of this chaos, and sing the song my parents taught me growing up, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me…”
H.    I chose not to, and maybe I should have. Maybe that truly was a moment of spiritual revelation. All I know is that I desperately wanted to tell people that God will proclaim a Jubilee from all of the madness that Christmas has become, if we are only willing to let go of a few things.

5.    What kinds of things might we let go of this Christmas – what things might we divest ourselves of – in order to experience Jubilee, the true freedom of God?
A.    For some – old resentments that cling to us like a noose around our neck, perhaps that have caused estrangements from loved ones.
B.    For others – fears or prejudices that separate us from other people and a rich experience of the love of God.
C.    For some – literal indebtedness. We are addicted to spending more than we have, in living beyond our means.
D.    What will you let go of this Christmas when the trumpet of Jubilee sounds?
E.    Because – faith is as much about the things that we give up as it is the things that we embrace.
F.    And if we are going to hang onto Isaiah’s vision – which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ – than there are things that we will have to let go of. It is that simple.

6.    Rabbi Edwin Friedman tells a modern-day parable about letting go.
A.    A man had just discovered how God intended him to be in the world. Eager to begin his new life, he set out. Very soon, he came to a bridge. After starting across the bridge, he noticed someone coming the opposite direction. The stranger and the man – looked exactly alike, dressed alike, etc. Stranger had a long rope.
B.    The stranger began to unwrap the rope as he walked. Just as the two men were about to meet, the stranger said, “Pardon me, would you be so kind as to hold the end of the rope for me?” The man agreed without a thought, reached out, and took it.
C.    Then, the stranger jumped off the bridge. The man on the bridge abruptly felt a strong pull from the now-extended rope. He automatically held tight and was almost dragged over the side of the bridge.
D.    What are you trying to do?” he shouted to the stranger below. “Just hold tight,” said the stranger. This is ridiculous, the man thought. He began trying to haul the other man in. Yet it was just beyond his strength to bring the other back to safety.
E.    And so it went, back and forth. The man on the bridge yelled over the edge, “What do you want?” “Just your help,” came the answer. “Just keep hanging on,” replied the dangling man. “That will be enough.”
F.    Finally, the man on the bridge devised a plan. But the dangling man had no interest in the idea.
G.    Suddenly a new idea struck the man on the bridge. “I will not accept the position of choice for your life, only for my own; I hereby give back the position of choice for your own life to you.” No response. After a long pause, the man on the bridge uttered slowly, “I accept your choice.” In voicing those words, he freed his hands and continued his journey over the bridge…
H.    What will you let go of this Christmas season in order to experience the fullness of Christ? What grips you like a rope around your waist, pulling you downward?
I.    Because Isaiah has declared Jubilee – and the Jubilee that he declared was given flesh and blood reality in Jesus Christ.

7.    There is an interesting thing about Jubilee. It begins when the trumpet sounds. And the trumpet always sounds on the Day of Atonement.
A.    The freedom that God offers can only begin when we acknowledge our own sin.
B.    The Jubilee of God can only occur when we truly learn to “let go and let God.”
C.    You hear a lot about the true meaning of Christmas. And I want to invite all of us to do some letting go this morning. Let go of the idea that the true meaning of Christmas is about…
D.    Presents or decorations or parties or food. Let go of it. I declare that you are free.
E.    Christmas is the time of year where we are to be “nice” to one another. Let go of it. I declare that you are free.
F.    Christmas is about family. Let go of it. I declare that you are free.

8.    These things are by-products of Christmas. But, let me tell you what Christmas is about. Read Isaiah 61:1-3.
A.    And the source of that freedom, that hope, that love can only be found in one place.
B.    In a manger, in a backwater town, in an occupied nation, where Mary and Joseph care for their infant son, Jesus.
C.    He is not your garden-variety savior. He did not come into this world in glorious fashion, nor will he leave it that way.
D.    But, in him, our Jubilee has been declared. In him, our freedom has been won. In him, and only in him, can we find the true meaning of Christmas. Amen.

Sermon delivered 12/14/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church – Anaheim Hills.

Isaiah 64:1-9

1.    “The dream is just the precursor to the miracle.” These are the words of Don Cesare Lodeserto, a modest priest from San Foca, Italy, near the heel of the “boot” in the southeastern part of the country.
A.    “The dream is just the precursor to the miracle,” Father Lodeserto says, and he would know.
B.    Day after day, he watched young Albanian women coming off ships – crossed the Adriatic Sea in search of a better life. Where did they go, he wondered.
C.    Many had been lied to – or outright sold into – slavery. They were teenage girls, already sex slaves.
D.    Father Lodeserto saw this pain, he saw the fruits of this sin and the toll it took on these young women’s lives. He saw it all, and he felt great pain.
E.    He would pray a prayer similar to the prophet Isaiah when he looked upon human suffering.
F.    And then, Father Lodeserto did something else. He founded Regina Pacis (Queen  of Peace). Shelter, training, treatment, etc.
G.    In the face of despair, Father Lodeserto felt lost. He sought the wisdom of God in order to respond to the needs of these women. And his prayer turned into a dream, and that dream was the precursor to a miracle.

2.    Today is the first Sunday of Advent – hope. Hope is a strange idea because it is so tied to our circumstance. Many of our children hope for cool toys. In other places of the world, a place to stay would be nice. Hope, whatever form it takes, must attach itself to a dream, and a dream is just a precursor to a miracle.
A.    Isaiah had a dream. Isaiah 64:1-2. Open the heavens and come down.
B.    Isaiah’s dream is dramatic to say the least. He talks about mountains quaking and nations trembling. Now that is a dream!
C.    As is often the case – dream born out pf desperation. The Hebrews had returned home from the Babylonian exile.
D.    They returned home full of hope and expectation, but their homecoming did not turn out the way that they had planned.
E.    Tough times – destroyed temple, no touchstone. Unfaithfulness of the people (when in Babylon…). No center, no direction.
F.    That is why Isaiah’s prayer is so dramatic. “Open the heavens.” Make yourself known. Help us out of this mess, O God!

3.    They sought a sign because they felt lost. They did not know how to respond to the reality of their new lives in Jerusalem. And so, they sinned.
A.    I read an article yesterday about the infamous “Black Friday”, when Christmas shopping begins in earnest.
B.    I read a story out of New York – Walmart employee was trampled to death when the customers rushed the building.
C.    When they heard about the death, most customers kept right on shopping.
D.    I read that story and I was full or rage – hopefully righteous indignation. If ever we needed a visible example of how far we have strayed from the holiness, the sacredness of Christmas, this was it.
E.    We are a people who are lost. And because we are lost, we week a sign. But, we seek it in all the wrong places.
F.    But the question still remains. What is it that we are seeking? And where are we looking for it?
G.    More importantly, how will God answer?

4. How will God answer us when we seek a sign like the prophet Isaiah? How will God answer our prayer?
A.    There was a film made in 2003 – from the Czech Republic. It is called “Most,” which is Czech for “bridge.”
B.    Both at once heartbreaking and hope-inducing. It is about a drawbridge operator who brings his son to work one day.
C.    Son out playing near the bridge – which is open. Train comes ahead of schedule, the son gets stuck on the bridge.
D.    Father has time to make a choice – save his son, or save the people on the train. He chooses to make what I consider to be the ultimate sacrifice.
E.    At one point in the film, the man recalls a conversation he had with his son.
F.    The star that we are seeking is not in the north – it is in the east. But, its meaning is much the same. Someone is thinking about us…it is OUR father.
G.    And he is about to express his love for us in the most unpredictable way imaginable.
H.    Like Isaiah, we are seeking a sign, but will we miss it because we are not looking in the right place?

4.    A man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, “Eighteen to nothing—we’re behind.”
A.    “Boy,” said the spectator, “I’ll bet you’re discouraged.” “Why should I be discouraged?” replied the little boy. “We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!”
B.    Hope. Hope is the stuff that feeds dreams. And the dream is the precursor to a miracle.
C.    Today is the first Sunday in Advent. Church tradition – the Sunday of hope.
D.    We have hope. And we keep praying that this will all make sense. But that is exactly the point – it doesn’t make sense, not by the world’s standards.

5.    Like Isaiah, we feel lost and we seek a sign. But what are we seeking and where are we seeking it?
A.    Isaiah – when faced with a homecoming that was full of hardship and difficulty – prayed a prayer asking God to “tear open the heavens and come down.”
B.    Have you ever felt that way?
C.    When faced with the reality of young women being sold into slavery for sex, Father Lodeserto prayed for hope, and a ministry was born.
D.    As we face the challenges of our everyday lives – declining economy, fires, crazy people at the store, etc. – we pray to God and we pray for a sign.
E.    And that is good. Keep praying. But, remember, God answered Isaiah’s prayer not with clouds parting, or with earthquakes, but with the cry of a small child, lying in feeding trough for animals, born to insignificant parents, in a nowhere town, in an occupied nation.
F.    And from that beginning, the kingdom of God was born in this world.
G.    So pray your prayers of hope. Pray your prayers of longing. But, remember how God answered Isaiah’s prayer. Because no one saw that one coming.
H.    That is our longing. That is our hope. And hope is the fuel for dreams. And a dream is just a precursor to a miracle. Amen.

Sermon delivered 11/30/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church – Anaheim Hills.

Joshua 2:1-14

1.    Does anyone remember that old spiritual, “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho?” The lyrics are not terribly difficult.
A.    Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho. O Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down.”
B.    The song goes on to talk about heroic Joshua, almost as if there was no one else there the day that Jericho fell.
C.    But, there was. There was a woman, a prostitute, a nobody, someone so poor that she sold herself out for sex to help feed her family. A woman so insignificant that she lived on the outer outskirts of town (her home was actually in the town wall).
D.    Rahab was not like our Hollywood movie “hooker with a heart of gold.” She was not Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman”, just doing this until a rich, industrialist Prince Charming finds her walking the streets and takes her away from all of this.
E.    Rahab’s life was not nearly so romantic. She was a poor, indebted, insignificant, prostitute. There was no Prince Charming waiting for her, only dirty, smelly travelers who saw her as nothing more than a piece of meat, if they bothered to see her at all.

2.    I am sure that one of the reasons that Rahab lived in the city wall is because that is all that her family could afford. And the “decent people” of Jericho probably felt comfortable knowing that if there was ever as invasion, no one important would be lost before the city could be warned to action.
A.    But, living out on the edge, on the margins of society, provided one distinct advantage for Rahab, did it not?
B.    Joshua 2:1. Rahab, the person that the townspeople would reject and scorn, was the first point of contact for the Israelite spies.
C.    What strange and wonderful things happen at the edge of the city.
D.    D.L. Moody, the19th century preacher, evangelist, and author, tells the story about a man who was traveling on an ocean liner, and was very seasick. Confined to his stateroom on the outer edge of the boat, he heard that someone had fallen overboard.
E.    Wanted to help. What to do? Shined his light out the porthole of his cabin. The drowning man was saved.
F.    Next day, the man spoke with the rescued man. He said he had gone down the second time, and was just going down again for the last time, when he put out his hand. Just then, he said, some one held a light at the port-hole, and the light fell on his hand. A man caught him by the hand and pulled him into the lifeboat.
G.    A seasick, miserable traveler, consigned to a low state room – an unlikely deliverer, but, a deliver just the same.

3.    If I were to ask each of you in an honest moment, what reasons would you give me that you are an insignificant person in the grand scheme of things? Why are you unimportant?
A.    So often, we are so busy underestimating our worth to those around us, and especially to God, that we simply fail to see how God is on the move around us.
B.    In a rather sad example, in 1991, Dr. Jimmy Allen, the retired pastor from First Baptist Church, San Antonio wrote these words about a ministry opportunity that got away.
C.    “We missed him,” Allen writes. “Our chance to change things came and passed and we did not know it was there. A dark-skinned little boy sat through Sunday School classes for three years at a great Baptist Church but some one missed him.”
D.     What was it that caused the people of the church to fail to share God’s love with this young man? Was it fear, insecurity…prejudice?
E.    Whatever it was, Allen goes on to write, “His name was Sirhan Sirhan, and at age 24 he shot and killed Senator Robert Kennedy. In a welter of words and the shudder of grief throughout our nation, the persistent thought keeps recurring…someone missed him.”
F.    Someone…missed him.

4.    Rahab, despite being on the lowest rung of the social ladder, despite having to demean herself as a prostitute in order to support her family, despite a life of little hope for a bright future, was attentive to how God was on the move in this world. And she was going to be a part of it.
A.    Joshua 2:8-13.
B.    “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the dread of you has fallen on us…”
C.    Rahab sees what God is doing, and she takes her stand with God.
D.    Certainly, self-interest involved. Protection for her and her family.
E.    But, she does not let shame, hopelessness, despair, or anything else get in the way of discerning how God is on the move and aligning herself with God.
F.    And so, she becomes an unlikely deliverer for the Israelite spies, and ultimately for the Israelites themselves, and even for her own family.
G.    Rahab is a gentile. She is a poor. She is a nobody, She is a prostitute. And yet, it is she that God uses to keep his promise to give his people a land – a home – of their own.

5.    There is a disease that is ravaging our nation – shame.
A.    I am not talking about the good kind of shame that helps us realize when we have done wrong. I am talking about the unhealthy shame that tells us we are wrong.
B.    It is this shame that causes us to undervalue our own importance. It is this shame that causes us to feel that our contribution does not matter. Worst of all, it is this shame that causes us not to act for the good of the kingdom of God.
C.    Whenever we experience this shame, we do well to remember the prostitute Rahab. She did not do a great thing. She did a very small act of faithfulness. But, that small act made great things possible.
D.    What great things will our small acts of faithfulness make possible? What redemption and grace will the world experience because we decided to be “on the move” with God?
E.    Or, what tragedies will occur in our world because “someone missed him,” because we were so busy worrying about what we cannot do that we failed to faithfully do what we can?

6.    At the beginning of worship this morning, you heard Ken Lay read the poem “The Touch of the Master’s Hand.” The violin in the poem gains value once it has been played by a master.
A.    After the old man played the violin, “The audience cheered,” the poet wrote. “But some of them cried/We just don’t understand/What changed its’ worth?/Swift came the reply/The Touch of the Masters Hand.”
B.    The poem concludes with these words. “And the foolish crowd can never understand/The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought/By the Touch of the Master’s Hand.”
C.    My friends, it doesn’t matter what we think of ourselves. Just like it didn’t matter what Rahab thought of herself.
D.    Our worth, our value is not determined by the limitations of our own ego.
E.    Our value, our worth, like Rahab’s, is determined not by our own gifts and abilities, not by our own cleverness.
F.    But by who we are when we are touched by the master’s hand.
G.    Who will we allow God to have us be in his kingdom? What small things can we do for God’s kingdom that only he can make great?
H.    The foolish crowd can never understand/The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought/By the Touch of the Master’s Hand.” Amen.

Exodus 4:10-16

1.    Growing up, I always had an affinity for the supporting player, the second fiddle. I always had an appreciation for their role in the whole drama of life.
A.    Where would Don Quixote have been without his faithful squire Sancho? Still chasing windmills, I would guess.
B.    Where would the Lone Ranger be without his stoic sidekick Tonto? (probably dead, since it was Tonto who found him after the famous ambush).
C.    How would Batman survive all of the fiendish death traps set for him by Joker, Riddler, Catwoman, et al without his trusty cohort Robin?
D.    I remember in Little League – lay down a bunt to move the runner, so someone else can hit him in.
E.    Being second fiddle is a very good and righteous thing. However, what really gets under my craw is when the star gets all the glory, as if they were the only person in the world, and the second fiddle shuffles off back into obscurity.
F.    That always made me angry. Because I knew the secret. The star is nothing without the help of the supporting player.

2.    Consider Moses for a moment. When we think of him, we see this…
A.    “Let me people go” in that deep, powerful voice. Many people might be surprised to hear the biblical account of Moses.
B.    You might recognize the scripture that was read for us this morning. This is the famous “burning bush” episode where God calls Moses to go to Egypt and free the Israelites.
C.    Moses, of course says “Sure, I’m there.” No, he does not. You might be interested to know that Moses objects passionately to God’ call. First he says, Who am I?” God says, “I will be with you.
D.    Then, he says, “who are you?” God – “I am who I am.”
E.    Then he says, “what if they don’t believe me.” This isn’t gonna be hard, is it God? God turns his staff into a snake, and gives him a temporary case of leprosy.
F.    And, finally, we arrive at where we picked up the story this morning. Moses basically says to God, “Can you send somebody else?” By now, God is more than a little upset. And there we are.
G.    This Moses is a little more human, isn’t he? Maybe someone we can even identify with a little bit?

3.    And then into the story stumbles Aaron. He is just minding his own business, coming to deliver Moses a PB & J sandwich. It’s just another day in Midian for Aaron.
A.    He does not have a clue what is about to happen. But, God, fed up with Moses, says this…
B.    Exodus 4:14-17.
C.    End of negotiation. In the next scene, Moses is asking his father-in-law Jethro permission to go to Egypt.
D.    Both Judaism and Christianity recognize Moses as a great hero of the faith. Honestly, I wonder how many of us even knew his brother Aaron before we came to worship today.
E.    And yet, without Aaron, Moses would not have been possible. He would have finished his life in obscurity as a shepherd in Midian because he was too scared to follow the Lord’s calling.
F.    Don’t miss this. Don’t get caught up in the great Moses narrative that we forget that it was not until God agreed to send Aaron that Moses agreed to go.
G.    Do not forget the work that Aaron did to free the slaves right alongside Moses.
H.    Don’t ignore the importance of the second fiddle.

4. Perhaps, some of you are familiar with the annual dogsled race called the Iditarod. 1000 mile trek across the frozen Alaskan tundra.
A. I have often wondered, who first got the idea for this race.
B. Commemorates an original “race” run to save lives. Back in January of 1926, six-year-old Richard Stanley showed symptoms of diphtheria, signaling the possibility of an outbreak in the small town of Nome.
C. When the boy passed away a day later, Dr. Curtis Welch began immunizing children and adults with an experimental but effective anti-diphtheria serum.  – supply ran out. and the
D. Nearest serum was in Nenana, Alaska–1000 miles of frozen wilderness away. A group of trappers and prospectors volunteered to cover the distance with their dog teams! After 144 hours in minus 50-degree winds, the serum was delivered to Nome. As a result, only one other life was lost to the potential epidemic. Their sacrifice had given an entire town the gift of life.
E. The supporting player made the doctor’s work possible.

4.    Who have been the second fiddles in your life? Who has been an Aaron to your Moses?
A.    Strange week this past week – buried two beloved people. As a result, I got to spend some time this week reflecting on the influence that these people have had on so many lives.
B.    Gladys – nursery at CUMC for 28 years. Great dedication to and love for children. Corran was the beneficiary of her dedication.
C.    Testimony of her life. She said, “I always want the children to see God’s love when they look at me.”
D.    It is no surprise then that Hannah, a youth from the church said of Gladys, “she was the first person to show me God.”
E.    Larry – part of the men’s group that encouraged me to return to seminary and pursue ministry. A Jewish entrepreneur who saw in me a calling to Christian ministry.
F.    “When the wind stops, row.” Those were words that he lived by.
G.    I don’t think Gladys or Larry ever thought about whether they were playing the starring role or second fiddle, they were simply faithful, and let God do the rest.

5.    I think that Aaron was a lot like that. As he walked up the mountain to see Moses, he had no idea that he was about to be a supporting player in one of the most famous episodes in all of history.
A.    But, the truth is, without Aaron, there would be no hero Moses. Without Aaron, there would have been no freedom for those who were enslaved in Egypt.
B.    Kru Nam was an artist in Chiang Mai, a town in Northern Thailand.
C.    Kids on the river banks as she walked to her studio. One day, she took them canvases and asked them to paint their stories.
D.    She was horrified by what the kids produced. She asked them about the dark paintings. Kids were sex slaves. People would come to local karaoke bars, pay someone and take the kids for sex.
E.    The kids said they were lucky. They got away. Living on the riverbank is better than the karaoke clubs.
F.    Kru Nam went to a random karaoke club. Grabbed three kids, and ran out. A ministry was born.
G.    Today, “Buddies Along the Roadside” serves over 150 children that Kru Nam has rescued from sex slavery.

6.    Who will be Aaron to her Moses? Who will speak for her as she seeks to rescue children from captivity? Who will be Aaron to the children in Northern Thailand?
A.    If that seems to overwhelming, who will be Aaron to the children of our church, and our community?
B.    Who will love the, support them, teach them about the love of God in Jesus Christ?
C.    Who will be Aaron to all of those lost souls in our community that don’t know the love of God? Who will introduce them to Jesus Christ?
D.    Who will be willing to play second fiddle – a supporting role – in the kingdom of God. There is no shortage of opportunities.
E.    That is what God calls us to. Because the kingdom of God will not be won from the top down. It will be won from the bottom up.  That is God’s way.

7.    It is time that we in the church recognize and celebrate the role of the second fiddle – the supporting player. Because that is our calling as Christians. As Aaron was to Moses, we are to be to the world.
A.    Without you…the people of Anaheim Hills and parts beyond will never come to know Jesus Christ.
B.    Without me…the plight of those in captivity will be less magnified.
C.    Without us…acting as the second fiddle, as the supporting player, the church will never be able to live into God’s great commandment to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
D.    When the church truly becomes as Aaron, the world will know love, they will know peace, they will know grace…they will know God.
E.    They will know God. Amen.

Sermon delivered 11/9/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church – Anaheim Hills.

Matthew 16:21-26 - Let’s just say this up front. Jesus was not a marketing genius. While churches today offer thier gospel with a Starbuck’s cart in the lobby, a climbing wall in the youth room, multi-media in worship, Jesus invites people into a relationship with him by admonishing them to “pick up your cross and follow me.” That seems so counter-intuitive in today’ consumer culture. But, that is the invitation that Jesus extends. A question lingers in the hearer’s ear after Jesus’ invitation. What are you going to do about it?

Matthew 16:21-26

1.    On January 20th 1961, John F. Kennedy delivered from the steps of the U.S. Capitol, his first and only inaugural speech.
A.    Whether, or not, we agree with the policies he enacted during his very short tenure as president, many people agree that his was one of the greatest inaugural speeches ever given.
B.    And that the fact is not lost on me, your pastor, that it was one of histories briefest – just over 13 minutes long. But, in that brief time, Kennedy cast a vision of what America could be.
C.    At one point, Kennedy declared, “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility - I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.”
D.    And then he uttered the one line that made this speech historic. “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”
E.    And with one simple phrase, Kennedy completely reframed the way that Americans viewed citizenship.
F.    Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.

2.    One of the things that Kennedy understood was that anyone can have the right answer. But, if we are not asking the right questions, it matters very little.
A.    Peter had the right answer. Just prior to Jesus’ prediction of his own suffering in this morning’s gospel lesson, Peter boldly proclaimed his faith in Jesus as the messiah.
B.    Matthew 16:13-16.
C.    Peter got it! And he felt good about it. In fact, I suspect that it was the pride that we was still feeling that led him to oppose Jesus’ suffering.
D.    Matthew 16:21-23.
E.    Whoa! What a turnaround. From “you are the rock” to “get behind me Satan!” It did not take Peter long at all to put his foot in it.
F.    But, it wasn’t because he didn’t know the answer – he didn’t understand the question.

3.    For many of us, the moment of revelation was a powerful one – the moment where we recognized in our own heart that Jesus of Nazareth is “the messiah, the son of the living God.”
A.    For me, maybe it was sitting in the pews as a kid being mesmerized by my father’s preaching.
B.    Or maybe, it was in all of the times that I witness the church reaching out to people that were suffering.
C.    Maybe it was when I sat in the back of the dining hall at Lazy W Camp as a Jr. High camp counselor and heard the musician sing about a rebel Jesus – a Jesus that I finally understood and connected with in a way that brought tears to me eyes.
D.    Maybe it was Christmas Eve 2002 when – with our entire family – Cindy and I dedicated our new son to God in the sacrament of Christian baptism.
E.    Maybe it was when Bishop Mary Ann Swenson put her hands on my head, looked me in the eyes and said, “Jon Wesley, take thou authority” in the rite of ordination into United Methodist ministry.
F.    Maybe it was one of those events, or something else entirely. But, there has to be a time in all of our lives where we take seriously – where we make our own – Peter’s confession that Jesus “is the messiah, the son of the living God.”
G.    When was that moment for you? Where were you? What were you doing? What moved you to that great confession?

4.    It is a stirring revelation and a deep commitment when we take seriously Peter’s words.
A.    And it is quite tempting to get caught up in the power of the moment. It is quite natural after experiencing the power and glory of God’s grace to make the same mistake that Peter did – to read into Jesus’ identity as messiah our own notions of power and success.
B.    But, that would be nothing more than getting the right answer to all of the wrong questions.
C.    Peter confessed Jesus’ identity as Lord and Savior. But, it was clear that he still did not know what that means. Where people associated the messiah with political power, military might, and even resplendent wealth. Jesus offered another reality
D.    He said, “ask not what your messiah can do for you, but what you can do for your messiah.” That is the question that Jesus wanted Peter to be about – and us, as well.
E.    Because while we confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, we remember that the Jesus whom we confess did not display his power as expected.
F.    My dad once said that Jesus “made the strength of God manifest in weakness.”

5.    It is true. The Jesus that we confess was weak enough to have compassion on a hungry and tired crowd.
A.    He was weak enough to be moved by the very people that “proper” society rejected, those whom others condemned as outcasts and sinners were Jesus regular dinner companions.
B.    What do we do with that? How do we respond to sinners in our time? Sinners that are not us, I mean.
C.    Jesus was weak enough to welcome children into his midst when everyone else, the disciples included, wanted to shoo them away.
D.    And he was weak enough to allow himself to be arrested and publicly humiliated, to be tried on trumped up charges, and to be crucified for the very people that were calling for his head.
E.    Jesus was weak enough to live in utter dependence on God.
F.    And he calls us to do the exact same thing.
G.    Ask not what the kingdom of God can do for you, but what you can do for the kingdom.
H.    If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.”

6.    Follow me, Jesus said. Even to the places where you are least comfortable.
A.    A recent article in the O.C. Register featured Tom and Bree Hsieh. They are members of an exclusive club called the 50% club. The club is not exclusive based on wealth, it is exclusive based on generosity.
B.    The standard – give half of your income away to the needy. Tom and Bree make $200,000 per year, and live on $48,000. They live in a poor community in Pomona, California, rather than the wealthy suburbs of Orange County.
C.    Recounting when he had his revelation that Jesus is messiah, Tom said that he came to two conclusions. “First, that God had love and passion for the poor. And second, I did not.” That all changed as the faith he confessed began to truly shape his priorities. And now, he and his wife Bree are members of the 50% Club, an act – by the way – for which he was disowned by his family.
D.    Follow me, Jesus said. Follow me down into the dirtiest places of society where the poor and the forgotten live, for they are God’s children.
E.    Follow me, Jesus said. Follow me into the hospitals and prisons, where brokenness and fear are rampant.
F.    Follow me, Jesus said, to the places where the lonely dwell – often times hiding in plain sight.
G.    Follow me, Jesus said, into the community, where most people have heard of me, but very few know me.
H.    Follow me. Take up your cross and follow me.

7.    As a kid, I loved the song by Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company entitled “Mercedes Benz.”
A.    I remember Janis singing a cappella in her Texas twang, “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz/My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends/I worked hard all my life, Lord, no help from my friends/Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz.”
B.    I loved that song. I thought it was a genuine prayer. I didn’t realize at the time that the song was critical social commentary on how people relate happiness to money and material possessions.
C.    And how often times, we couch that in religious language.
D.    How ironic, I think, that a drug addicted rock and roll singer understood something that it seems the church so often forgets.
E.    We confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, and we are right to do so.
F.    But our confession comes with a calling, a calling to Ask not what the kingdom of God can do for you, but what you can do for the kingdom.
G.    A calling, not to a life of comfort and luxury, but to a life of self-sacrifice and service.
H.    A calling not to rule the world, but to take up your cross and follow. Amen.

Sermon delivered 10/26/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church – Anaheim Hills.

Luke 19:1-10

1.    There was an advertisement is boy’s magazines that I remember from my youth that I always get a chuckle out of. Perhaps some of you are familiar with it.
A.    Cartoon entitled “The Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac.”
B.    It is the classic story. Boy meets girl. Boy takes girl to the beach. A bully in a speedo kicks sand in the boy’s face.
C.    Humiliated, the boy sends away for Charles Atlas’ “dynamic tension” exercise program. And in no time, the boy is the stud of the beach.
D.    And all is well. It is a great advertising gimmick using the old tried and true “before and after” technique.
E.    This technique is often used to demonstrate how pathetic a person’s life is before using a particular product – anything from hair care to weight loss pills – and how spectacularly awesome there lives are once they have used the product.
F.    It worked for Mac. It can work for you.

2.    Madison Avenue types might be surprised to learn that the old “before and after” was around long before one little insult made a man out of Mac.
A.    In fact, it could be said, that “before and after” was a particular specialty of Jesus.
B.    In his encounter with Zaccheus on the Jericho road, we see a classic example.
C.    Before – Zaccheus was a bad man. To many in Israel, he was a traitor (tax collector).
D.    He had bought in, and sold out, to the success myth – and not all he had to sustain on a dark and stormy night was a huge emptiness that forced him to ask the question, “is this as good as it gets.”
E.    For all of his net worth, Zaccheus realized his life was not worth much.

3.    Have you ever felt like Zaccheus? Have you ever sat up at night stared into the darkness and wondered, “is this all there is?” What does it all mean?
A.    In January of 2001, Lorton Correctional Facility in Washington, D.C., closed its doors for the last time, The cell blocks were empty, the graffiti-scribbled walls and cold metal bars stood as a legacy of violence and despair.
B.    But if you go there today you may see that even a former prison can experience a renaissance. Plans are under way to turn a section of the prison into a community arts center. Cells that once contained only darkness will become studios splattered with brightly colored paint, music will replace the loud voices of cursing and anguish, and the vulgar graffiti will be covered with signs of creative life.
C.    Prison is an apt metaphor for the life that Zaccheus was living – a prison of sorts. A prison of his own making.

4.    “So many times it happens,” the rock band the Eagles sang in their 1974 hit “Already Gone,” that “we live our lives in chains, and we never realize we have the key.”
A.    That was Zaccheus.
B.    He is not so much different than you or I, is he? We all have our prisons – bars that we allow to separate us from the love of God.
C.    Anger over past hurts that we allow to fester until they take over – lock us in.
D.    Fear. Pride.
E.    We are stuck in the “before,” and will not allow Jesus in to bring us to the “after.”

5.    It’s the dream and the nightmare (all at once) of every pastor to have someone come into their office and say, “I need help.”
A.    On those rare occasions when the answer to their problems is staring you right in the face, it is often times the one thing they do not want to hear.
B.    Man in a former church – life was in ruins, in trouble at work, wife was on the verge of leaving, etc.
C.    All because of alcohol. But, that was the one thing he would not give up.
D.    It was easy to see. Easy to say. Hard to do.
E.    That was a sycamore tree he was unwilling to climb. Alcohol had become a crutch, and climbing a tree was risky.
F.    Years later, he died alone in his apartment – his family and his job long gone.
G.    He spent his entire life in the “before,” and never came to know the abundant life of the “after.”

6.    Where is your prison? What would the “before” picture of your soul look like?
A.    Zaccheus got tired of living in the before, and he decided to do something about it.
B.    Climbed a tree on the Jericho Road – a huge risk.
C.    And Jesus responded, “today salvation has come to this house.”
D.    Abundant life…
E.    And the same freedom that Jesus offers to Zaccheus, he offers to everyone of us.

7.    It does not have to take the “insult that made a man out of Mac” to get us to see that which is right before us. It does not have to be that our lives become so despairing that we feel we have nowhere to turn.
A.    All of us travel a Jericho road, or sorts. All of us are faced with opportunities to go from “before” to “after.”
B.    We just have to climb a tree once in a while.
C.    Because God is waiting, and willing, to turn our lives around.
D.    This is not a simple makeover. This is being made new, from the inside out.
E.    This is before and after as only God can do.
F.    This is the life to which we have all been called. We stand on the road. The tree invites us to climb.
G.    Will we take a chance? Will we allow ourselves to be made new? Will we let go and let God?
H.    Amen.

Sermon delivered 10/19/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church – Anaheim Hills.

John 1:43-46

1.    Have you ever had one of those experiences in life that are so amazing that, if you tried to describe it to someone, you know that you couldn’t? All you can say at that time is, “you’ve got to see this.”
A.    I was a senior in college, minding my own business in my dorm on a Saturday afternoon.
B.    Heard footsteps coming down the hall (never a good sign).
C.    “Jon, you have got to see this – a guy 5’6” playing college basketball – and he DUNKS!”
D.    I am never one to put limits on people’s abilities – but, come on?
E.    My friends did not argue, they just said, “come and see…come and see.” And then they ran back down the hall.
F.    Spud Webb. I watched him steal a ball, take the length of the court, and dunk.
G.    Later, as a pro in 1986, he actually won the slam dunk contest at the all-star game. “You have got to see this.”

2.    Come and see. Words that we use when we have no words to describe what we want to share. Come and see.
A.    Philip had a rather busy day. A few of his friends encounter the messiah, the hope of Israel, the “lamb of God” as John the Baptist described him.
B.    John 1:35-42.
C.    Come and see. Jesus does not argue, or seek to persuade. He merely invites.
D.    The following day it is Philip’s turn to meet Jesus. And no sooner does Philip decide to follow Jesus, the very first thing he does – he does not go to Starbucks and talk with Peter and Andrew over a latte, he does not return to work and ask for some personal time off – the first thing he does is to seek out Nathanael.
E.    He tells Nathanael “we have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets have written.”
F.    Nathanael – skeptical. “Can anything good come from Nazareth.
G.    Statistically speaking, Nathanael had a point. Nazareth a small town, about 60 acres, with a population of only about 500 people. Not the center of Jewish culture by any stretch of the imagination.
H.    But, Philip does not argue, he does not debate, he does not judge. He merely invites. “Come and see,” he says to Nathanael. Come and see. You have got to see this.

3.    When something happens in our lives that is so powerful – so true. We naturally want to share it with others.
A.    Fritz Kreisler, the 20th century world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away.
B.    So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn’t able to buy it.
C.    Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector.
D.    Kreisler made his way to the new owner’s home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. “Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?” he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector’s emotions were deeply stirred. “I have no right to keep that to myself,” he exclaimed. “It’s yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it.”
E.    Come and see. There is something happening here that you have got to see.

4.    The movement that was to become the Christian religion was founded on the principle of “come and see.” It grew in leaps and bounds in the first years – despite occasional persecutions – because people were compelled to invite others to “come and see.”
A.    And in many places of the world – places not as comfortable or satisfied as America – this is still happening.
B.    In Korea, they cannot build churches fast enough. In Africa, the church is going crazy. There is no big mystery – it is “come and see.”
C.    In our own country, however, things are much different. The late Sam Shoemaker, an Episcopalian bishop, summed up the situation this way: “In the Great Commission the Lord has called us to be – like Peter – fishers of men. We’ve turned the commission around so that we have become merely keepers of the aquarium. Occasionally I take some fish out of your fishbowl and put them into mine, and you do the same with my bowl. But we’re all tending the same fish.”
D.    I worked at a Mobil gas station all four years of college. I worked with an avowed atheist. When I went away to Westmont, he became a Christian
E.    He was the embodiment of “come and see.” At Christmas, when people wished him “Merry Christmas,” he would proudly proclaim, “it’s my first one.”
F.    One day a man from his church came by – “we Christians need to stand together against the outside world.” My friend didn’t understand (neither did I).
G.    This wasn’t a response of  “come and see.” It was a response of  “go away.” It was not a response based on love. It was a response based on fear.
H.    It was fishing for people. It was being a keeper of the aquarium.

5.    But, Jesus calls those who would follow him to another way, doesn’t he?
A.    He calls us to be a people that say “come and see.”
B.    Did you know that 85% of people that come to church and stay come on the arms of a friend. They come because someone said to them, “come and see.”
C.    Many of us are afraid, maybe even a little embarrassed that we are Christian. But, it is not our job to change people’s mind. It is not our job to argue. It is our job to invite. “Come and see.”
D.    Many of us consider ourselves unworthy. We are not the best Christians – the best example, etc.
E.    We are like “Logan the Sky Angel Cowboy.”
F.    Logan is a 13 year-old boy who lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. Logan listens to Christian Radio station that broadcasts from Houston, TX.
G.    He called the radio station distraught because he had to take down a calf.
H.    In the midst of despair, in the midst of self-doubt, in the midst of personal pain, he wants to talk about God’s son. He wants to say “come and see.”

6.    My friends, we don’t have to be perfect to invite someone to church. In fact, it is not who we are but what Christ has done that we are inviting people to “come and see.”
A.    We do not have to be perfect. We simply have to be willing.
B.    Hey, there’s this guy who is only 5’6” and he can do a 360 degree dunk. You have to see this.
C.    Hey, there is this violinist that plays with such passions and beauty, it will bring tears to your eyes. Come and see.
D.    Hey, there’s this guy I know, he was an avowed atheist. And now he celebrates Christmas with true religious passion. He once called me and told me “Jon, I am going to do two things I never thought I would. I am getting married…in a church.” You’ve got to come and see.
E.    Hey, I have turned my life and my will over to Jesus Christ, and nothing is the same. I go to this church that has this crazy pastor, this great band…they are incredibly warm and friendly and will help you along your spiritual path. Come and see.
F.    Come and see.
G.    Amen.

Sermon delivered 9/28/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church – Anaheim Hills.

Psalm 119:105-112

1.    I was hiking in Chino Hills State Park a few weeks ago and I had an interesting experience. Walking blissfully along when I came to a junction that I did not think should be there.
A.    (Not a “design” issue). It wasn’t that way on my map, unless of course I was not at the place on the map where I thought I was.
B.    My first thought – wouldn’t it be great if that big red “you are here” dot could follow you around wherever you are.
C.    My second thought, which way do I go? Got out my map, my compass, looked at the sun (that’s what they do in the movies), mentally retraced my steps – and determined that I should go right (which was south).
D.    That’s what I should have done. I went left (north). Why? Because I just “felt” that I should.
E.    As I walked, two more thoughts came into my head. One, I have never been to this place, so why should I have any “instinct” about it at all.
F.    Two, I remembered a quote from a book on hiking I just read that said, “Never trust your instincts. They are usually wrong. Trust your map and your compass.”
G.    I stopped…thought about it…turned around and went the other way. Which, don’t you know, turned out to be correct, after all.

2.    When you’re a rebel without a clue – like me – it is very difficult to trust anything but my own vision, what my own eyes see. But, sometimes, it is important to yield to something else.
A.    Our instincts, our impulses, our interpretations, are usually pretty sound. But, we must remember what they are based on – the cumulative total of the wisdom that we have collected over the course of our lives. And this will always be incomplete.
B.    So, what then, can guide us as we travel through life?
C.    The psalmist declares to God, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
D.    A couple weeks ago – Alyssa Hanson sang this song to open worship in honor of Christian Education Sunday.
E.    It is appropriate for that Sunday – knowing God’s word is the cornerstone of Christian education.
F.    Helps us to “observe God’s righteous ordinances.” Helps us to “not stray from God’s precepts.”

3.    These are good and noble aspirations. But, if we are truly going to “incline our hearts to perform God’s statutes,” as the psalmist declares, we must learn how to understand the truth of God’s word.
A.    Because, unfortunately, when we get it wrong, we usually are behaving in a judgmental manner toward others – and not only have we not understood God’s will, we have hindered others from understanding it, as well.
B.    A century ago, a well-known and well-respected bishop pronounced from his pulpit and in the periodical that he edited that heavier-than-air flight was not only impossible; it was contrary to the will of God.
C.    How did he know that?
D.    So, it’s a little ironic, I think, when you consider that Bishop Wright had two sons, Orville and Wilbur!
E.    Bishop Wright was wrong. Sure of himself, but wrong.

4.    In our drama this morning, our two young people pondered how cool it would be to have a “life map” to guide through.
A.    Of course, that is only helpful if we know where we are on the life map.
B.    We don’t want to make a mistake. We don’t want to arrogantly push a personal agenda – like Orville and Wilbur’s dad.
C.    So, what can we do? How can we discern God’s will for our lives and for the church?
D.    In the United Methodist tradition, we have a tool that the church recognizes to help determine God’s truth for us. It is called the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.
E.    Four points (hence, the name). The pinnacle, the most important point of the Quadrilateral is the bible – scripture.
F.    John Wesley – “God himself has condescended to teach the way: for this very end he came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price give me the Book of God!”
G.    Scripture tells the story of God and God’s interaction with humanity.
H.    So, the quadrilateral takes as its main focus the interpretation of scripture.

5.    The other points of the quadrilateral serve that end. The first of these is “tradition.”
A.    United Methodist, Christian, and even Jewish. What did the bible mean to the people who heard it first…etc.
B.    This teaches us to put our own interpretation of the bible into its proper context.
C.    Recognizes the reality that we read the bible in a certain context.
D.    A blue-chip investment firm recently flew a representative from the high-rise canyons of Boston to the mesas of the Navajo nation to explain to a group of Arizona Navajos why they should invest for old age.
E.    95 Navajos gathered, and the salesman laid it on thick. He gave them his pitch, the best he could. No one reacted.
F.    The Bostonian wasn’t able to cross the cultural divide with the Navajo where they don’t even have words for “savings” or “retirement.” A local resident explained that for the Navajo, “Money is different. It’s there to be spent. If you have some, you help your family.”
G.    The salesman didn’t know the story – the narrative – of the people that he was selling to. And, so, he totally missed the point.
H.    Tradition – What narrative defines how we read the narrative of God?

6.    The next point on the quadrilateral is reason.
A.    This is a sticky one. By “reason”, I do not mean that we simply ask the question “is faith reasonable?”
B.    Because the answer is “no.” We follow a savior that died on a cross.
C.    Matt Neely – “Jesus was a loser” t-shirts. Mark 8:35 - “because whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it.”
D.    This is certainly not “reasonable” by today’s standards, but it is the gospel.
E.    Reason (from the Enlightenment) = results of cumulative human study into nature, etc.
F.    This is very tricky, but it must be a part of the equation.

7.    The final component – experience. This does not mean the experiences of our lives (that would go under the cumulative wisdom of reason).
A.    John Wesley’s question – Does the witness of God’s spirit bear witness to your spirit that this is true?
B.    This is obviously subjective. But, we do have a standard to measure this by. Galatians 5:22-26.
C.    This is also a tricky one because it I subjective. But, it is a crucial element of discerning God’s truth.

8.    Why is all this important? Why is Pastor Jon wasting our time talking about this Quadrilateral thing? Because, my friends, the way that we seek truth has a profound impact on the truth that we believe. Our process for discerning God’s truth must have integrity, openness, faith, and it MUST leave room for the work of the God’s holy spirit.
A.    Quadrilateral – keeps us honest.
B.    Story of a man who went to the doctor. Receptionist asked what did he have. “Shingles.” She gave him some forms and asked him to take a seat.
C.    Fifteen minutes later, nurse’s aide called him, what did he have? “Shingles.” Took his height, weight, and medical history and sent him an examining room.
D.    Half-hour later – nurse. “Shingles.” Took his blood and asked him to wait for the doctor.
E.    Hour later – doctor. “Shingles”. The doctor asked, “where?” He said, “Out in my truck, where do you want ‘em?”
F.    We all have a predisposition to interpret reality a certain way. We all see and hear things through a filter that is personal to all of us.
G.    Quadrilateral – a tool to add wisdom to the process of discerning God’s truth. The wisdom of the church before us, the wisdom of scientists and seekers of truth, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
H.    All of these – help us to discern the truth that God revealed to us in the bible.

9.    Life does not come with a simple set of directions – a “life map.” That would be cool. But, we do have a map and a compass, of sorts, that can help as we begin the search.
A.    Scripture, informed by tradition, enlivened by reason, and affirmed by experience.
B.    It is the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. It is not everything that you ever needed to know about God but didn’t know who to ask.
C.    But, it is a wonderful tool that helps us all along our way. Amen.

Sermon delivered 9/21/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church – Anaheim Hills.