"First Words" - January 8, 2012 Sermon

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Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

The Sermon:
Most of us are familiar with some FAMOUS LAST WORDS of historical figures: phrases like the Civil war General who, while sitting on his horse looking across at the enemy lines, said to his aide, "They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance". OR, Julius Ceasar when he said, "Et Tu Brutae" or Jesus when he said, according to the Gospel of John, "It is finished."

Typically, we pay more attention to "Last words" than we do First Words. However, there are some exceptions. How about Neil Armstrong’s first words as he stepped onto the moon: "That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." OR Alexander Graham Bell’s first words spoken over the telephone in 1875, "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." OR Samuel Morse’s first words sent by telegraph. Interestingly, it is from the Bible, Numbers 23:23..."What hath God wrought." (KJ)

Many of the First Words that have made the history books are related to some form of communications…the first e-mail…the first radio broadcast…the first t.v. words…the first tweet, etc. Of course, closer to most of us are the First Words our children said as babies. Research tells us that the 9 most said First Words of babies are: dada, daddy, mama, dad, mommy, mom, cat, no, and dog.

First Words usually announce that something new has begun. The First Words ever uttered were when God said, "Let there be light". God said those words at the beginning of a new project called Creation! Those words began the transformation from chaos to order…represented by God’s illuminating presence. The Light that God spoke into Creation, reveals God’s selfness and character…that is, "God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all." (1st Jn.1:5)

God speaks and the darkness and chaos of earth are put in their place. Paul, in his writings, urges all of us to, "Walk in the Light and live in it, so that we, too, might move out of the chaos of sin and into God’s ordered way of life designed for us and the whole of Creation.

If we walk in the Light, as he himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with the Spirit and with each other. No matter how we mess up in life, God continually invites us to walk in the Light. How do we break the darkness in our lives? By confessing our brokenness, our sins and by obeying our Creator’s commandments and by being Light-giving people in our relationships with others.

In Revelations, God speaks about the "new creation" in which He says that there will be "no more night"…that means we will experience Light all the time…The Light of Christ.

As we begin the journey into a New Year, and as people created in God’s image…we are called to 1st, recognize the Light in our own lives, and 2nd, to be Light-givers to other people. Make no mistake, we are the ones who choose whether or not we are messengers of doom and gloom and negativity OR we are messengers of the Light of Christ. AMEN.

"Baptism is Dangerous" - January 1, 2012

Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

The Sermon:
I really appreciate this portion of Matthew’s Gospel because it evokes stories and images from the Old Testament. It is very significant that Jesus was Baptized in the Jordan River. For Matthew and his Jewish audience, Jesus is revealed as the new Moses. You remember that Moses delivered his people from physical slavery under the Egyptians. Matthew reveals that Jesus is delivering us from slavery to sin and death. Let’s look at a few parallels between Moses and Jesus. Jesus, as an infant escaped death from Herod by hiding out in Egypt…Moses escaped death from the Pharoah by hiding our in a basket of reeds and being found by Pharoah’s daughter. Like Moses, Jesus comes out of Egypt…like Moses, Jesus crosses the water. Jesus goes into the desert for 40 days of temptation and preparation, which is a reminder of Moses leading the people in the desert for 40 yrs. So the Jordan is symbolic as a crossing point of liberation and of entrance into a new kind of “promised land” that Jesus would proclaim as the Kingdom of God.

While many Christians do not always agree on the mode of Baptism, that is sprinkling, pouring or immersion, we do understand that all the ancient stories of the Bible coalesce into a present reality for all Christians. In Baptism, we are liberated from slavery to sin and death through the forgiveness of sins. We become new person in Christ through a relationship with God, who is present at our Baptism as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At Baptism, we are invited to take on our vocation as people created in God’s image…a vocation that involves stewardship and care for each other and for God’s good Creation.

What we sometimes fail to fully understand, however, regardless of the mode of Baptism, is that it is also a dangerous act. It is dangerous because it marks us as belonging to Jesus and taking on the mission and message of the One in whose name we are Baptized.

Remember what happened immediately after Jesus was Baptized? He finds himself wandering in the desert, hungry and thirsty and being tempted by Satan. Satan invites Jesus to an easier kind of life…plenty of food and drink, etc. Once we are Baptized, we face similar situations regarding comfortable living…having enough wealth to be satisfied, instead of focusing on a life of service and sacrifice that God calls us to live. Baptism marks us as being set apart for a different kind of life…a life that often denies the temporal, pleasurable and consumable things that the rest of the world values. Jesus teaches us to live simply and generously in a culture of excess.

Just like the story of the ‘rich young ruler’, it is difficult for us to walk away from our possessions, our status and our former life… it is truly painful. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God and God’s justice for the poor, the infirm, the alien, the stranger, the imprisoned and the lost. His ministry took Him into back alleys and often hostile territories. He risked not only his reputation but also His life in order to bring Good News to those who needed it most. His calls for justice and the company He kept with outsiders and the unclean, made some angry enough to want to kill Him.

Whenever the followers of Christ stand for and with those who cannot stand for themselves, then those who seek to keep their power and the status quo will always react negatively… and as history has demonstrated, often violently. Jesus told His followers that their being identified as His followers would mark them as being guilty by association in the eyes of those around them.

Yes, being Baptized is being commissioned to a dangerous vocation, but when we live out our vocation, it is world-changing ! While our association with Jesus marks us in the eyes of the rest of the world, it ALSO marks us in the eyes of God as His beloved children. Children who are willing to participate with Him in the renewal of God’s creation. God is using us in what Dominic Crossan describes as , “The Great Divine Cleanup of the World”, through the ministry of Christ and His church.

Whether the tasks we are called to are easily do-able or imminently dangerous, the Baptized are called to follow Jesus out of the water and into the world !!!

AMEN.

"Truly, I Tell You" - November 20, 2011 Sermon

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

The Sermon:
There are a number of things this passage brings to mind, but I am only going to discuss a couple of things that I have found striking. I’ll begin by simply saying that for a shepherd to separate sheep from goats is an easy thing to do. They were often pastured together and when it was time to put them in their respective pens, it was a simple process.

As Jesus continues on with this story, it is evident that he is not actually talking about animals. He is using sheep and goats as an analogy for humankind, which will be separated into two groups t the final judgment…sheep-people on the right and goat-people on the left. (political?) The ones on the right are welcomed into the kingdom of God and the ones on the left are told to depart from Christ’s presence forever.

This begs the question as to what criteria is used to sort them out? I think it is clear that is has to do with whether or not one has been merciful and helpful to those in need. Jesus indicates that those on the right have actually ministered to Him by their compassion toward others…those on the left have actually ignored Him by ignoring those in need.

One thing that stands out for me is that, unlike sheep and goats, those who have loved their neighbor and those who have not can ultimately only be distinguished by the Son of Man…He is the Great Sorter in this story. Those who do good deeds and those who do not cannot accurately determine which are which…and, I am certain that there are members of both groups who will be surprised to find out which group they were sorted into!

Another prominent point is that we need to recognize that our sins of omission are equally as serious as our sins of commission. It reminds us that what we don’t do is as great a reflection of our commitment to follow Jesus…as what we do. Now, some may hear this story as a call to serve others in a specific way…such as found a mission or a relief organization. Many good things have been done by Christians who see in this passage a model of how love for one’s neighbor should be put into action.

However, not everyone is called to found a mission agency. Every Christian should be able to hear in these words of Jesus a reminder that doing good deeds is an essential part of Faith. Some critics have noted that, judging from this passage alone, a non-believer who is compassionate to his neighbor in need is on the same footing as a believer who does the same. Of course, Jesus was not giving a full description of the final judgment. He was making the point about not ignoring the poor, economically depressed and the oppressed among us. At least part of what this story implies is that having our sins forgiven should result in a greater willingness to love our neighbor.

Certainly the doing of good deeds does not eliminate the need for forgiveness of sin, but there can be no lasting faith, no love of neighbor without actual acts of doing good deeds.

This story also reminds us that the place we live out our faith is in the sheepfold of daily life. In other words, compassion belongs not only in the extraordinary events and circumstances of lie, but also in our ordinary, everyday encounters. We need to hear that because most of life is not played out on the big stage or in the kinds of things that make headline news. Actually, most of life is in the smaller things…the chance meetings, the routine places, those times when we do a good deed it seems so ordinary to us that it is not worth mentioning.

Finally, one thing we should NOT hear in this story is the idea of God as a Cosmic Scorekeeper… with a data base that tallies up the number of our good deeds. We should also NOT rummage through our memories and conscience trying to figure out the last time we did a good deed so we can score ourselves and decide whether we are sheep or goats. I really do not think that Jesus was trying to scare us about the Final Judgment either. I believe He was trying to get our attention, perhaps in a dramatic way, and to remind us that God really does want us to love our neighbor as ourselves. He wants us to keep working at it… to not excuse ourselves…to not assume that someone else will do it…and to not act as if it doesn’t matter. It does matter!

That may be the reason that Jesus used such dramatic language. To those on the right, who have unknowingly served Him through good deeds to others, he says, "Come, inherit the kingdom." To those on His left, who have unknowingly ignored Him by ignoring the needs of others, he says, "Depart into the eternal fire."

Depart and come are very strong words, but rather than get all caught up in them, the best words to remember from this story are these: "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these, who are members of my family, you did it to me." AMEN

"On Saying Thank You" - October 16, 2011 Sermon

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

The Sermon:
How many of you were taught, as a child, to say "Please" and "Thank you"? I suspect that all of us were taught those phrases or something very similar. We were being taught the most simple and basic courtesy… Please and thank you. I am equally sure that as we grew, there were times we were told to say ‘thank you’ when we really did not mean it. As adults, there are times when we say "thank you" with the same feeling as when we say, "good morning" to someone we pass on the street or at the post office. It has become a phrase that society sort of expects but that has nor real depth to it. It’s almost mechanical.

Guess what… A recent study was released after a ten yr. period and over 200,000 managers and employees were interviewed regarding saying "thank you". The results are interesting to say the least. When people are thanked for what they do, they are more productive and motivated. Of course, this translates into more profits, so CEO’s and managers are utilizing these phrases such as: "Your contirbution is important" and "I’m truly grateful" and "Thank you for your attention to detail".

Presenting it like this makes it sound like nothing more than a good business pratice. The researchers say it still works, if it sounds sincere. An added benefit is that the more often we say it, the more we become aware of when real thanks should be given. So, even if we start out saying "Thank you" simply because it is societal convention and is expected, after a period of time, we actually begin to realize that we truly are thankful!

Now, in the letter writing conventions of Paul’s time, it was common to include an expression of thanksgiving in the opening section of the letter. Paul did this in all his letters except one, the letter to the Galatians. We can only surmise that he must have been really distressed about the problems in that church and could not think of anything to give thanks about. Which indicates that Paul was not giving thanks out of simple courtesy or routine… he truly believed it was warranted.

In the letter to the Thessolonian church, Paul not only gives thanks at the beginning of the letter, he also thanks to God again for them about halfway through the 2nd chapter, and again in the third chapter. At least part of the reason he was so thankful for them is that he and Silas had founded the church… then they were run out of town by a mob. So, in those hostile surroundings, the church they had started continued to grow in their faith and witness. Paul says, "And you became imitators of us and the Lord and in spite of persecution, you received the Word with joy… inspired by the Holy Spirit, and you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

We need to notice that Paul’s expressions of thanks are addressed, not directly to the Thessalonians, but to God on their behalf. Paul continues, "We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father, your work of faith and labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

Paul is not simply thankful that the Thessalonians are nice people. He is much more specific. He says he is thankful for their "work of faith, their labor of love and their steadfastness of hope." In essence, he is saying: They are living their lives according to the precepts of Christianity! Their Faith is grounded in the salvation presented by Jesus, and is translated into what they do, how they act toward one another, the way in which they face the troubles of life, and their attitude about how things will come out in the end. In other words, Christianity permeates all they say and do!

So when Paul thanks them for what they have done and for their attitude, he is at the same time encouraging them to continue on that course of thought and action. He wants them to keep on living their Faith wholeheartedly. I think Paul also benefits from his giving thanks to God for them, because he recognizes the ways in which God is blessing his work, as a servant. He is joyful… and thankful, joyful people are usually happier people.

Think about this for a moment. You know when you go to a restaurant or a stor of some sort. You may say thank you to the waiter or to the person at the check out counter… but it is really a courtesy "thank you", you really have no bond with that person as a person. They are more anonymous, someone who is waiting on you, more of a ‘something’ instead of a someone. However, when we sincerely thank someone, looking them in the eye, we acknowledge that they are a person, someone of value. Not only do they get a self-esteem boost, but we are better for it as well.

Paul’s practice of thanking God for those among whom he worked was not just a habit, it was a genuine expression of gratitude. It encouraged the people in the churches and it made Paul a better person.

We, too, can help our church and make it more vital by thanking God for the faith, hope and love of our fellow worshipers, and by thanking them directly as well ! So let’s do that, right now…turn to someone next to you or across the aisle and say "THANK YOU" for being here today…thank you for your faith and love. After all, we really do have a lot to be thankful for.

AMEN.

"Sorry, I'm Too Busy" - October 9, 2011 Sermon

Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14

The Sermon:
I want you to think back to a time when you were in school or college. Were you ever late with some homework or a term paper? Did you try to come up with an excuse or a reason for not having your work completed on time? I read about one young boy who had failed to do his term paper on time and gave the following excuse: "I got mugged on the way to school. I offered the mugger my watch, my money and my gold necklace, but all he wanted was my term paper." Certainly more elaborate than, "My dog ate it."

We have all made excuses for not doing something! As adults, we sometimes make excuses for not attending a professional seminar or someone’s anniversary party or a funeral or a wedding…or any number of gatherings that may interfere with something else we would rather do. We are continually confronted with opportunities to either say "YES" or "NO".

This brings us to today’s parable. A king was having a banquet for his son, who was preparing to marry. No expense was spared, his oxen and fattened cattle were butchered and everything was ready. He sent out his servants to those who were invited, to tell them to come now, but they refused. One went to his field, another to his business and some even mistreated the servants and killed them. The king was enraged…he sent his army and destroyed the murderers and burned the city.

Then, the king told his servants, "Those I invited did not deserve to come. Go into the street corners and invite anyone you find." So, the servants obeyed the king and went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

I know you probably recognize this story, but what you may not know is that something very similar actually happened. A Ms. Kathleen Gooley was all set for her wedding. A non-refundable deposit of $4,000 dollars had been given to the caterer. Then she learned that the groom had changed his mind…he was a no show. She decided, that since everything was already paid for, she would contact the local homeless shelters, and the drug and alcohol rehab centers and the salvation army center and invite all of them.

She wanted someone to enjoy the banquet.

The meaning of this parable is that the so-called righteous people of that time rejected Jesus as the Christ. So what does God do?…He gave an open invitation into His kingdom to all who would come, righteous and unrighteous alike.

What really touched a nerve with me, personally, is the excuses that were used by those who refused the invitation. They did not refuse the invite because they were mean or wicked…they were absorbed by the activities of their daily lives…all of which they deemed more important than the call of Christ. This begs the question, "Are we so absorbed with living our lives that we miss the call of Christ? " How often does our day to day conversations revolve around the weather, new cars, price of gas, clothes, furniture or sports or restaurants? These are all really trivial when compared to discussion about human destiny or our claims as Christians. Most people are uncomfortable talking about such things and when serious sickness comes or the dark shadow of death is near, they are tongue-tied, because they are only used to talking about mundane things.

Many times in life, we find ourselves allowing "worldliness", that is, material affairs to take precedent over our relationship with Christ. We find ourselves constantly exploring the path of material goods and wealth, looking for the happiness and joy that we all want, not leaving time to seek out God and embrace His promises. However, God’s plans are not defeated. The Banquet is still held for those who want to learn the ways of true Joy! The heritage of the Jews was extended to the Gentiles !

Of course, our number one excuse for not attending "Gods Banquet" is that we don’t have enough time. It makes me think of the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland when she said, "It takes all the running you can do just to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you have to run twice as fast." We get so caught up in a hectic lifestyle… so busy doing things…that we don’t have time for God’s Banquet!

At some point in life, we have to decide what really matters most and make certain that the important things get done. We can sit sown and make a list of the things we deem important…and it can be a long list: family, job, self-improvement, service in the community, relaxation time, etc. However, our first priority should be time with God. If you are too busy to listen for God, then you are too busy…If you are too busy to help out in God’s kingdom, then you are too busy!We must all remember that there will come a time when our relationship with God is the only thing that will matter.

I’ll end with this anecdote: A mental hospital had a unique way of determining if some of its patients were ready to be returned to society. They would bring the patient into a room that had a sink overflowing water and the faucet was still running with water. They would hand the patient a mop and ask them to clean up the mess. If the patient turned off the faucet before starting to mop, they would be released. If the patient started mopping first, more treatment was needed.

You and I need to stop mopping long enough to see if the faucet is still running! We need to center our lives on God and God’s purposes, and we will discover that life truly is a feast. We all have been invited to His feast…let’s RSVP with a strong "YES".

AMEN

"We Are Tenants" - October 2, 2011 Sermon

Scripture: Matthew 21:33-46

The Sermon:
Jesus is in his final week of life. He has just told a parable about two sons, which I spoke about last week. It was directed at the religious leaders. Today’s parable of the Wicked Tenants is also directed at the religious leaders.

My personal opinion is that Jesus was intentionally increasing the intensity of his ministry in an attempt to remove any doubts people had about his mission and message. He turned the burner on the stove up to high and brought his ministry to a rolling boil! His message was clear!

Let’s go through this together…Who is God in this story? (Landlord)…ok, now, what does the vineyard represent? (God’s kingdom) Who were the tenants representing? (Israel…the religious leaders). Who were the servants? (God’s prophets) Finally, who is the ‘heir’ to the vineyard? (Jesus)

One more thing we need to do is understand what the responsibilities of Tenants were… in fact, let’s talk about what a Tenant is. A Tenant, in those days, was a person or family that farmed a landowner’s property. They had to raise a crop and give the landowner a share of what was produced. In today’s world, it’s like a landowner leasing their property to someone and being paid a fee. After the Civil War, sharecroppers did essentially the same thing. The key factor in this story, however, is that a crop MUST be produced. What do you think the crop is? I want you to think about as I go through the story.

God is like a landlord who has leased his vineyard-his kingdom- to Israel as laborers. The time has come for God to demand His share of the fruit from the workers. The fruit being faith in Him and His promises…repentance of sins and trust in His messengers. He wants His vineyard to produce wine that leaves the boundaries of the kingdom walls and fills the whole world with the goodness of His love and Word!

The problem is that the laborers did not produce a crop…and they ignored His warnings of eviction and murdered His servants, the prophets whom He had sent to represent His interests. Not only that, they murder the Heir, His son. This is called “foreshadowing”, that is, revealing what is yet to come.

Jesus basically says, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. The time was at hand when the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. Israel had been an unfaithful tenant…it was time for new tenants!

You want to know how I understand this parable? It is really a parable about STEWARDSHIP. Think about it. It’s about managing God’s stuff on God’s behalf. There are two aspects of stewardship:

1. the first is what we have been entrusted with
2. the second is what in the world are we supposed to do with it.

As tenants, each of us has been entrusted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ AND our personal, worldly goods. Both come from God and both are to be used in service to God. The Gospel is the message that, despite humankind’s universal rebellion against God’s will, God still desires a reconciled relationship with us. Reconciliation has been made possible through the sacrificial death of His Son on a cross. Because of that, the entire world is invited to enter the vineyard and labor under God’s Love!

We not only have been blessed by God’s message but we are also been made dispensers of God’s message. We also need to recognize that everything from the clothes on or backs to the money in our wallet or purse to the roof over our head belongs to God and are on loan to us from God. We will take none of it with us into the next life. As Psalm 24 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” We are simply leasing or renting for a period of time.

There is more in the parable than just knowing we are blessed and knowing who the owner is. In order to be a FAITHFUL steward, we have to DO something with the Gospel and with our worldly goods ! We have to be sure that we treat the vineyard in such away that brings blessing to the whole world.

With that in mind, I am going to ask a few questions for all of us to ponder. I do not want this to sound accusatory, but I do want it to be something you give thoughtful consideration to and maybe even be challenged a little bit.

1. When was the last time you invited someone to church with you?
2. How long has it been since you last read Scripture with your children, then talked with them about it?
3. Have you matured in your Faith enough to pray for others?
4. How about helping in the ministry of this church?
5. If you were called upon in a gathering, could you talk about your Faith?
6. Do you feel that you have produced a “crop” for the Lord?

We can ask the same questions about the church, collectively. Are we producing a crop? What do we have to show for the vineyard we are in? What kind of tenants have we been? You know, we have been entrusted with a lot, it’s time for all of us to be good stewards.

AMEN

"Intrinsic Value" - September 25, 2011 Sermon

Scripture: Matthew 21: 23-32

The Sermon:
I remember an incident that happened in 1969. I was a college Freshman and I was living in the dormitory with a roommate. His name was Steve and he was an 18 yr. old Freshman… I was 22. I had just gotten out of the Army only 5 days before entering college. I had been back from Viet-Nam only a few months. We had nothing in common…except that we were both Freshman.

He was a "follower"…in fact, he followed me everywhere I went. I was more of a "leave-me-aloner"…I was still trying to adjust to society. One day, as we were walking to town from the college, we came upon an elderly man, about______’s age. He was reaching in the trunk of his car and pulling out a jack that he could barely lift. His wife was standing on the sidewalk. I looked down and saw that he had a flat tire. We had walked about 4 or 5 steps past his car and I stopped and told Steve that we should help that man change his tire. Steve did not want to help. I went to the man and said, "sir, let me do that for you." He gave me the jack and tire tool…I changed his tire. When I was finished, he offered me some money. He had several dollar bills in his hand. Steve started to reach for the money. I stopped him. . I said, "no thank you, although I do appreciate the offer.

As we walked away, Steve said, "You’re crazy, man. We could have had some extra money. Why didn’t you take it?" I said, "Steve, sometimes in life you do things just because it’s the right thing to do."

Here it is, 42 years later, and I am using an incident that happened to me as an illustration in a sermon. The Lord works in mysterious ways in our lives!

The point of this illustration is similar to the one Jesus was making in today’s Scripture passage. One son is asked to go to the vineyard to work…the son says he will go and do as his father asks. Anyone observing would say that the son made the correct choice, and would assume that the son will do what he says.

Another son, when given the same instruction says "no, I will not go." His refusal to do what his father asks would certainly seem to be the wrong response. From the beginning of the story, one son would clearly be labeled in the right and the other in the wrong.

As we all know, however, appearances are often deceiving. What is said today and what happens tomorrow are often contradictory. The son who appears to be right, because of what he says, actually does what is wrong. He fails to go to the vineyard. The son, whose initial refusal makes him seem in the wrong, in the end, does what is right.

So, the act of doing what is right speaks much more loudly than mere words. Jesus tells the chief priests and elders that they exemplify the behavior of the son who said "Yes" but did not do as he said he would. As spiritual leaders, they have all the appearances of righteousness. They say the right things and even act in strict conformity to the Law, but they ridicule tax collectors and prostitutes and all those labeled as outcasts in society.

Yet, it is those very people, those looked down upon by decent society, who are open to the Lord’s call. They are the ones who have the courage to place their faith in Jesus. Those who appear to be "wrong" , in the end do what is right. They are not looking for status in society, or compliments or the best seat in the house. They are simply following the Lord and listening to his words because it is the right thing to do.! In this story, Jesus tells us that it is these people who will enter eternal life before any who perceive themselves to be righteous.

We live in a world where status, name, achievement and perception of ’good and righteousness’ are greatly rewarded. We are told over and over again that we need to finish first and in the process make certain that what we say and do appears to be correct, positive and profitable. We don’t want people to perceive in us anything that is not perfectly acceptable with the contemporary mindset. To hold unpopular views or to stand up for one’s convictions in the face of opposition is not the image we have been trained to portray… yet, it is often the right thing to do. It is of intrinsic value, that is, doing what is right, simply because it is right…without expecting any reward.

Humility is essential when doing things that are intrinsically right. John the Baptist was humble enough to "decrease" as he knew Jesus would "increase"…Jesus was humble enough to wash His disciples’ feet, giving them an example of how they were to become Servant Leaders. Humble enough to perform the duties of a slave, yet confident enough to be obedient to God. Jesus was humble enough to be obedient unto death on a Cross.

We, like the son in the parable and Jesus, must do what is right BECAUSE it is right! Most of the time we want a reward or a compliment or some benefit. Now I recognize that we all need some positive feedback to nourish us and keep us going, but that must not be the reason we do what we do. I know it is not always easy to "do the right thing", but we must realize that the Christian life is not always easy. Doing what is right may cause us problems, even with our friends or co-workers or those with whom we share a pew.

Actually, to be a follower of Jesus, we have no right to expect in better treatment than He received. We should not be concerned about status, or perks of a position or even individual accomplishment. We can only do that which is right…BECAUSE it is right and be satisfied with that.

AMEN