One is never too old nor too smart to learn. I often envy students this time of the year. Not the pressure that they are under to manage a busy life and the constant presence of tests and grades, which are very important. And don't kid yourself that they are not! But I envy their starting a new school term and are learning new things, for it is but one of the many ways that we show evidence that we are created in the image of God. Students are persons learning new things. A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who is constantly learning new things about the spiritual life.
Even Jesus gave evidence of leaning new things. In his growing awareness of his life as Messiah, Son of God, there were certain defining moments. In the story today in scripture, there is this Syrophoenician woman, also referred to as a Greek, Gentile, pagan, Canaanite woman meaning primarily non Jewish, who came to Jesus to ask for help and healing for her daughter. There is a rather ugly dialogue that takes place, which I, at first glance wish had not been included in our sacred scripture. Jesus is increasingly becoming aware of the implications and demands on his life, aware that he is the Jewish Messiah but one unlike many of the expectations of an authoritative and powerful military ruler who will cast out of the Mideast the Roman soldiers. No, Jesus would not be a soldier with drawn sword on a white horse, but more like the prophet Isaiah's vision of a "Suffering Servant" who would in fact die for the redemption of Israel. But Jesus is Jewish and at first perceives his life's purpose to be to the House of Israel and so when this Gentile, pagan female asks for help he says to her: "The Children must be fed first and the bread not be taken and thrown to the dogs." Has Jesus called this lady and her daughter, "dogs"? Less than human? Yes, that is embarrassingly exactly what Jesus seems to be saying. Surely, we think, we have a miss translation, but we must remember that we are reading the Bible knowing the whole story but at this point, it was a story in process. And Jesus was learning, just as you are a story in progress.
Jesus, in his growing awareness of the inner struggles at the beginning of his ministry, seeking to understand the implications of his calling as Son of God to the Jews, voices this limited vision, but meets his match in this Greek female who comes back at his less than tolerant statement "the food is for the children and must not be thrown to the dogs" and says to him: 'Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs. " (v. 28). It is a good answer — a soft answer with a sharp edge. The woman acknowledges the special place of the Jews, but calls attention to her own need, and turns Jesus' own words to press her plea for help. Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." This Greek lady did not feel inferior, although the prevailing attitude of the Jews at that time would have put her down. Someone had taught her that she was a child of God! Someone somewhere, a parent, a teacher, a Sunday school class in a Methodist Church, somebody had told her that she was a person of divine worth, and through her, Jesus was to learn something very important that day!
From this moment on, Jesus' attitude toward the Syrophoenician people, the Greeks, the Samaritans, the Romans, would be that of respect, equality, and they would be included. They were regarded as "Children of God" never again as dogs! It was a eureka moment! An Epiphany! A defining moment! From a socio religious perspective, Jesus’ encounter recorded here in the Gospel of Mark, universalizes the concept of Messiah in terms of geography, race, gender, and religion in a way entirely unprecedented in Judaism.
This encounter is followed by two miracles where Jesus heals blind individuals and then says to his disciples: "He who has eyes to see let him see.” He is trying to teach the disciples by saying to them, "Open your eyes. Listen to this new truth.”
As smart as he was, Jesus learned something that day so long ago from the Sycrophoiean woman-that all people were worthy in the site of the Creator — and for that gift, out of gratitude, he is recorded as saying: "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." And we are told that she went home and found the child lying in bed and healthy again.
Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury of the Anglican Church has said: "No one can be written off, no group, no nation, no minority; as we cannot assume that any human face we see has no divine secret to disclose." Jesus now sees his calling, so far as I can tell, for the first time as Messiah, Savior, for all people, not just the Children of Israel.
Looking back over 2000 years of Christian history, we realize that there have been times in our intriguing story that Christians have spoken in a despairing manner of others as Jesus does at first pass of the Pagan woman. The Crusader Church of the Middle Ages spoke of the Muslins as less than human. The Dutch Reformed Church spoke of Africans as less than human. Some in the Confessional German Church spoke of Jews as less than human. Irish Catholics spoke of the Protestants as less than human. And many in the Methodist Church of the South spoke of the black slaves as less than human justifying an economic system that was ended by the War Between the States. But know this for sure; these were all less than our best moments when human beings were regarded with little respect and no honor.
But, the grand tradition of the Christian movement moved from this brief encounter with the Syrophian woman and affirmed the sacred nature of all living things and all people. This new vision is ours.
It was 40 years ago that Martin Luther King spoke of his dream of a nation where people of color with all people would live in a free nation with respect and be limited only by their own visions and commitment to pursue their dreams.
Well I have a dream today for the people of First United Methodist Church:
First, that every person, every child we touch will come to know themselves as a child of God. That they will not be plagued with the burden of inferiority. That the children in our preschool, youth in our Youth Ministries building, kids in our colleges and every adult who visits our worship services will know themselves as God's child. That you will go from this service knowing that Christ died for you and that as you commit your life to him, you will be different. You are a person of Divine worth and created in the image of God.
Secondly, I have a dream that we together will carry on in our time the vision of God's universal love for all people. That we will as practicing Christians, reach across the boundaries of color, nationality, and liberal or conservative religious groupings and that we will as Jesus reached across the boundary of Jew and Greek, make visible God's Universal love of all.
You just have to know that divisions and negative attitudes, and malicious rumors, and hatred among people whom God has created, breaks the heart of the Creator. God doesn't like it when his people hurt one another; He doesn't like divorce. He doesn't like war, nor violence, terrorists, or killing. But he does like it when his people come together. He likes marriage. Family unity. He likes brotherhood. Forgiveness. Love. Peace. These are His big words.
The forces of darkness and the forces of light, the forces of division and the forces of unity, the forces of hatred and the forces of love are always at each others throat, but on some recent dark days, I fear that we are drifting in our nation in an apathetic way toward the way of darkness. I know that I will work till my dying breath and will invite you to join me in the Christ-like work of Reconciliation.
Let Us Make God's love visible:
Hush your mouth if you can't say something good about a child of God even when they are very different than you.
Do at least one act of human kindness every week if not every day to help someone who needs help.
Be generous and give to some cause working for reconciliation in the world.
Some ten years ago when a religious fanatic by the name of Paul Hill brutally shot and killed two individuals at a medical clinic on Ninth Avenue here in Pensacola, the nation saw the idiocy that religious people had stooped to the point of killing another human being in the name of protecting the life of the unborn. After that sad event, now ten years ago, the leaders of the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life movements in the community came together and met in our parlor to dialogue and establish some ways of communicating with one another, seeing that we lived in the same community and both in their own way sought to represent a loving God who is not pleased with divisions, and does not like violence among his people.
It was the same kind of thing done in the 1960's when in our educational building black and white leaders of this community met together and said, "We don't want our community to burn with the fires of racial hatred".
It was the same kind of phenomena that took place in 1821 when this church was first established to teach the faith and to reach across the chasm that separated the Indians and the settlers, the owners and laborers in this growing settlement that lived in Northwest Florida. It was the same kind of thing that happened 300 years ago when John Wesley founded the Methodist Movement and reached beyond the formal Church of England to the coal miners and field hands of rural England with the message of hope and God's love for all.
I have a dream today that we, God's people in this church, will always and daily be the kind of people who represent visibility the unity of the human race rather than the hated divisions which separate us.
As Jesus came to reconcile the world unto God, so also we are called to be "Ministers of Reconciliation." And we need to get on with it.
The disciples of Jesus had a hard time understanding him when he began to teach them that he was to die so that others might live. Mark writes of this “theme-suffering service” as basic to understanding Jesus. Perhaps the mothers in the crowd could have understood this teaching, for they knew sacrifice for their family, but the male disciples seemed to have no clue.
In the prevailing culture of today, sacrifice and dying for someone else is a bit hard for us to swallow. It is not the modern way. The modern tendency is for everyone to look out for themselves and forget everyone else. Although I must say, since Sept 11, 2001, we have had some outstanding persons who have illustrated the Christ-like principal of "Dying so that others might live.” Some have worn the uniforms of firemen, others policemen, and still others the uniform of Marines. I have often wondered which way on the stairways I would go.
On August 14, at 4 p.m. , Jane and I were in New York City when the lights went out in what would prove to be the largest electrical blackout in history. We were fine as we were on the 26th floor of a hotel just off of Times Square, rolling our bags into the room. We were soon to discover that this was no blown fuse in the basement of the Hotel, but a major disruption of electricity which put the North Eastern Section of the United States in the darkness and would radically change for 24 hours, the lives of more than 50 million people. It would not have been so bad if it had happened say 60 years ago, but now all the communication and transportation systems were affected and frankly, it was emotionally too close to September 11, 2001.
Jane and I sat tight, not knowing what was happening, and watched a fascinating drama take place on the streets 26 floors below us. The Port Authority was just down the way, which meant that bus terminals, ferryboats and subway trains all converged at the center of this transportation base. Thus, thousands and thousands of people were soon on the streets, beginning what would be long walks to vacate the center city and to return to their darkened homes in the suburbs.
A somewhat similar situation occurred in 1977 and at that time there were fires, looting of department stores, fights in the streets, and people were killed. One wondered what would happen as we began to realize the possibilities, which were inherent in the uneasy situation of August 14. But this time you have to factor in the implications that had occurred on September 11, 2001. Of course at first, no one knew what had caused the electrical black out but it awakened especially for New Yorkers if not all of us, suspicious questions about what would happen next. When would the next shoe fall? But tragedy often will strengthen character. The awareness of our immortality becomes a doorway to a stronger life. Knowing death will come to us all, you learn to cherish the precious moments of each day of life. I have seen it in so many of you and we have seen it in the character of our nation since September 11, 2001.
This week Americans have remembered September 11, 2001, which was a day in infamy as it witnessed one of the most brutal and dastardly deeds in human history, when Muslin religious fanatics took the lives of hundreds of civilians using commercial airlines. But you will also recall that in the midst of that day of darkness and death, there were shining lights of bravery.
On September 11, policemen and firemen, as Mayor Giuliani said: "Just Doing their job" went into the World Trade Center and up the stairs to assist the evacuation of hundreds of workers, and as a result, they lost their lives. Kevin O'Riley, Anthony Rodgers, Michael Edward Roberts, George Howard, 500 of the 2,000 persons who would die in the world trade center buildings on Sept. 11, were firemen. These individuals, died to offer life to others. We visited the World Trade Center site where construction work is now proceeding but in the center of the process is a large cross-formed of twisted steel as a reminder of the sacrifice of those who died now 2 years ago.
These individuals died to offer life to others. They died to live!
Jesus set the principal of "Dying to Live" as the basic principal of Christian discipleship:
"If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it." Dying to Live-it is the way of Christ and of his people.
Sometimes I see some of you sacrificing for your children, for the church, for your job, for the community; and I am proud.
On August 14, after some four hours of no electricity and increasing heat and the approaching darkness and we walked down some 26 stories of the hotel to the lobby to discover that the black out was across the city, and a number of states, and that no one was looking for it to come back on anytime soon. But that's when we began to see amazing things happening. People were helping people. Civilians were outside on the streets directing traffic; people were helping the elderly through the crowds. Ice cream parlors were giving away their ice cream. And hotels were passing out pillows on the street to hundreds of stranded workers, now bedding down on the curb. We made our way down a back street off of Times Square and found a Pizza Parlor cooking on gas and turning out pizzas for 10 bucks apiece. Now you try to buy a large Pizza for 10 bucks in New York-good luck. So, people in the darkness were smiling and laughing and eating pizza. An older lady came in and sat down at the piano and started to play show tunes. Later I asked her if she worked there and she said, “Oh no, I just have bad arthritis and sometimes they let me come in a play their piano to limber up my fingers. I live just down the street. And then some kids came in with their adult chaperones and they gathered around the old lady at the piano and we were to discover that they were some of the kids from the cast of the Broadway Musical “Annie.” Well they started singing and dancing and we had a grand old party right in the middle of the night in a dark and foreboding city.
The difference this time, as compared to the l977 black out, was that on September 11, 2001 we had the example of persons who had shown us a better way. The way of sacrifice rather than the way of looting. The way of dying to live.
When you begin to live as Christ lived, you will see extraordinary things happen. You will see the end of selfishness and the beginning of charity. You will see people looking out for others rather than for themselves. You will see the emptiness of selfishness as the only way.
Isn't this what Jesus was saying: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it."
Let me suggest the following:
1. First of all, commit yourself to Jesus Christ. Although for him sacrifice meant suffering and death, it led to his resurrection. Your commitment will mean sacrifice, but for most of us it will mean giving up something that was not important anyway.
As Larry Morris has taught me, "Sacrifice is but the flip side of Blessings.”
You may suffer, but you commit your life to Christ and the floodgates of heaven are ultimately opened upon you.
2. Secondly, knowing you can't do everything, but that you can do something, choose one small area in your family, in the church and one area of the larger community and be proactive and volunteer and give yourself. Start small. Everything good and bad starts small. One act of kindness, one act of evil. And a life is built. What we discovered about the black out in New York, was that it all began with one sagging electrical line near Cleveland, Ohio connected with a tree branch, beginning a chain of events, which fed through one transmission line after another and knocked out the grid or pool of electricity thus the result: history's largest blackout. But it began with one limb and a sagging line. Similarly, seemingly small actions and choices can end with devastating personal consequences. Sin often starts with one small choice, but the end result is ruined families, ruined churches, ruined lives, ruined nations. The Indians used to say, the time to cross a river is when it is but a small stream. The time to deal with evil is when it is small, a little act.
Some time ago this fellow said to me, I just don't know why all of this is happening to me. And I thought, to myself: well, lets see: “You have lied to your family and employer, you often curse out loud, you have stolen, not big things, but just a little thing here and there. You have stopped keeping Sabbath. You have never given your tithe to Christian causes. You are not a real bad person, but you have compromised the basic commandments.” What’s the problem here!
You can take the Commandments of Stone out of State Capitals, but when you take them out of your life, you will begin to have blackouts. The power will cease to flow.
Just as bad things begin with small acts, so also do wonderful things. Start this week and find something to do in the church and something in the community, and watch where it leads you. Watch as things begin to open before you.
Take thirty minutes to pray for someone, write them a letter, call them on the phone. If you have children, do as John Wesley's mother did, pray for them and give them exclusive time for 30 minutes each week. If you don't have a child, then adopt one. There are single parents in our community who need some help with their children.
Give a child 30 minutes. The columnist Nancy Stahl wrote: "When I was 15 I was given to spending upwards to a half hour in front of the mirror, experimenting with makeup trying to look 21. Now, at 39, I am still spending upwards of a half hour each day in front of the mirror experimenting with makeup trying to look 21. "Give 30 minutes to someone else and you will start looking better.
3. Give sacrificially to the church and to some community organization that is making a difference in the lives of people. Write a weekly check and as you are writing the checks, pray for the church and the community organization you are supporting
In summary, as in the case of Jesus, so also in our life, the way of sacrifice, of suffering service, is the way of hope for all future generations. It's the way to turn a black out into a party.
Jesus said to Peter: "You do not have on your mind the things of God, but the things of men." This was a definitive time for the disciples as Jesus was to be all over this issue of "What's on your mind?" in his teachings during the last part of his life.
The disciple Peter did not see the glory of sacrifice as Jesus could. Peter saw only suffering and death, whereas Jesus saw sacrifice as the way to resurrection and life. So Peter had on his mind what he could see, feel, taste, hear, spend; as most of us do but Jesus at times was on another page. He saw beyond what was to what could be.
Richard Foster has written a rather insightful book entitled: "Power, Sex and Money" saying basically: "That's what is on the mind of individuals in our culture."
But Jesus saw the things beyond the obvious, beyond that which was visible, and that was what was on his mind.
In the scripture this morning, Jesus warns the disciples of his coming time of suffering and death, but the disciples would not listen, but are rather debating who was the greatest among them. Like a bunch of 10 year olds, they were playing "King of the Mountain." “I'm stronger than you.” “I’m bigger than you.”
Jesus is talking about his coming death and they are playing games. Understanding Jesus was a real stretch for the disciples as it is for us when we take radically seriously Jesus' call for total commitment. What's all this about, they wondered? And Jesus said: "If you will get your mind off of the things of men and think about the things of God, you will get it."
This leads me to bring to the table today the question, "What should be on our mind?" Jesus says to Peter: "You have the things of men on your mind, not the things of God." What are "The things of God" over against "the Things of Men"?
One of the ways you discover what was on Jesus' mind is to thumb through the Gospels and see what he talked about. You can usually figure out what's on anyone’s mind when you pay attention to what they talk about and where they spend their money.
If you ask the Bible "What was on the mind of Jesus", you are led by what the gospel writers tell us by what he did and what he said:
Matthew depicts Jesus as God’s anointed king and traces his family back to King David. Thus, Matthew says that the "Kingdom of God" is on his mind. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all other things will be yours as well.”
Luke emphasizes Jesus’ role as priest who brings reconciliation and healing to the people. Thus, Luke says, "Jesus heals the sick, reconciles the sinful.”
Mark depicts Jesus as God's prophet so he is often seen as pointing out the shortcoming of false religious people. Of the Pharisees he said: "You strain a gnat and swallow a camel." So he had on his mind "Religious hierocracy or falseness of any kind or the flip side of this would be integrity and truthfulness.”
John sees Jesus as light and life so you hear him saying things like "I am the resurrection, I am the Light of the World, I am the Door, I am the Good Shepherd. I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly..."
Elaine Pagels, the author of her book Beyond Belief, maintains that in the fourth century of the Christian era, there were these Gnostic gospels of Thomas and Phillip which were hidden and later discovered in the 16th century which maintained that each and every person was created like Jesus in the "Image of God" and as they followed the inner guide, God would reveal truth to them. So what was on Jesus' mind was people becoming their full Godlike potential. That's often on my mind and in my preaching or call to you. "Become What God Has Destined You To Become! And Stop Wasting Your Time And Energy! And stop acting like an idiot!”
What was on Jesus' Mind? Faithfulness to God as the King of your life, love and care of your neighbors. How can I love God with my whole heart and my neighbor as myself?
As you drift away from early lessons of what was right or wrong, and slip away from the church, and worship doesn't call you weekly back to Godly thinking and faithful living, you begin to get under the powerful influence of the things of the world, and your mind becomes consumed with such passing emotions and realities as money, power, violence and sex. Looking out for number one becomes a priority for those who do not have “The Mind of Christ.”
When Albert Einstein went to Princeton in the 1940's he was given a very fine office for his studies. The other faculty members accepted the arrangement grudgingly. Everything went along fine until Einstein died in l955. The Princeton faculty was assembled and told that Professor Einstein had died in the night. There came a gasp of surprise and sadness. But then, from the back of the room, came a voice: "So who gets his office?" In such moments you discover what's on some people's mind.
A week or so ago, there was an estate sale at Mabel Byrd's house. Going to an estate sale puts things in perspective. Mabel had lived with the things of God on her mind and died that way. She had grown up in Greenville Alabama with her sister Kathryn and she had loved sports and had become a PE teacher. She gave herself to the children of this county for almost a half century. In retirement she served on one committee after another here in the church trying to strengthen the church's ministry to the children and to the older adults. She willed 1/3 of her entire estate to the church. In life and in death her faithful support continues. You can see in some people's lives, "The mind of Christ;" in others you see reflected the mind of this passing world.
Surely you don’t think your prized possessions will last. Will your title at the office, be remembered 25 years from now? Do you remember who the VP of the United States was 25 years ago? The President of General Electric? The Speaker of the House of Representatives? The Mayor of Pensacola? The things of this world are passing and there are other things more important.
While Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of God and suffering for others, the disciples were talking about who was the greatest. Who was the most important? That was what was on their mind.
Jesus says:
"Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." And then Jesus took a child and put it among them and said: "Whoever welcomes a child, welcomes me. And Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
"Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."
When I was a kid, I would spend a week in the summer at Camp Grist 4-H Camp. It was a week of mosquito bites, sweaty t-shirts, stumped toes, and little sleep and wonderful memories.
One of the many activities was shooting arrows at the archery range. Shooting arrows at home was not possible. So at summer camp, it was such fun and there was always a long line for the archery range. As I remember, there was a sign over the line which read: "God first, others second and I'm third." We had a race to the Range and more fights over who would be third in line, but the sign reflected the teaching of Jesus as to the proper order of things. “Whoever wants to be first, must be last.”
“And Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
There is something about children that demonstrates unrestrained trust, unrestrained enthusiasm, and unrestrained love. Nobody can love like a child. That's probably some of the reasons Jesus placed a child in the midst of the disciples.
I have enjoyed the "Children's letters to God" that are published from time to time. For example:
"Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God than you. Well, I just want you to know that I am not just saying this because you are God already." Signed Charles.
"Dear God, please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up." Signed Jackie.
"Dear God, is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his golfing words in the house?” Signed Anita.
"Dear God, I would like to fly. I know this is out of the ordinary and you might not be interested in my flying, but I sure am. But you know best.” Signed Jason.
What should be on our mind? I would suggest the following:
Loving God not the things of God. Placing God first, others second, and yourself third.
A real challenge for us is living in a materialistic world and not letting it consume us. I read devotionally, The Upper Room, and one day last week the devotion was on things that hinder our daily walk with God. The scripture was about the time Jesus told the rich man to sell all that he possessed and give it to the poor if he wanted eternal life. The problem that Jesus sensed was not in the wealth, which the young man possessed, but in being attached to the wealth. It's not what you possess that's the problem; it's what possesses you.
This past week, Forbes Magazine released their list of 400 of the wealthiest persons in America. You have to possess 600 million to make their list. I don't think I saw any of your names, although I just glanced at the list. But one of the new names is Houston's oil tycoon Patrick Taylor, who is proudly using his $700 million to send hundreds of kids to college. It is not what you possess, but what you do with your possessions. When you love God you want to please him and generosity is one of the things that please him so you look for ways to bless others.
Summary: In the new book about President Ronald Reagan, there is a letter, which he received from a small boy not long after he moved into the White House. The letter read: "Dear Mr. President, You have been elected President of the United States. Now go to the Oval office and get to work."
That is what I think Christ is saying to each of us. Greatness is not determined by trying to be Number One. Greatness is not measured by our possessions or our positions of authority, but by what we do with what we possess and how we handle our possessions.
Greatness is determined by our willingness to get to work at loving God and serving others. How to please God and how to use our gifts to help others, are some of the things that should be on our mind. Well,” What’s On Your Mind?"
Jesus said: "If anyone gives you a cup of water in my name, he will certainly not lose his reward."
Here Jesus explains how simple a Godly 's act can be, as simple as a cup of water. Later he says it can be as simple as "a visit to the sick, a plate of food for the hungry.”
This summer Jane and I were traveling from Barcelona Spain to Leon, France and missed a fast train and jumped on one that stopped at every crossroad. The day ran out and darkness came and the train pulled into a place called "Narbonne". It was a small French village with one hotel that we could find and they had plenty of rooms, which always makes me suspicious. We arrived around 9:30 at night, there was no place to get anything to eat, but we did fine some ice cream and a glass of the local vintage, before settling in for the night. The next morning I was up early and jogged the town, which didn't take long, and I was glad it didn’t, as my stomach was a little queasy. After breakfast of a hard bread roll that could have doubled as a baseball and coffee so thick you could have cut it up and eaten it in cubes, I told Jane I was going to the small bank in the village to exchange some money before we got back on the train to continue our journey. While at the bank my stomach begin to act like Mount Vesuvius and I became dizzy and standing in the line of French customers, I passed out. Apparently I went straight down on the marble floor of the bank. I know that only because of the knot that appeared later on the front of my head. Now what happened led me to conclude what hell must be like, looking up from the floor into the faces of 15 Frenchmen talking in a language I could not follow. Finally someone said something that sounded like “aqua,” and I said: "aqua," having just come from Spain I used the only foreign language that came to mind which was "Si, Si, Muchas Gracias," which didn't seem to win approval with the Frenchman. This very kind fellow smiled down at me and produced a cup of cool water. The next thing I heard was something like a siren, so I was up off of the floor and out the door headed to find Jane, whose side I never should have left in the first place. The point is "the gift of water" was a gift from God.
Sometimes it doesn't take a lot, just a little something. A smile. An extended hand, a letter, lunch, a book, a cup of water…and we demonstrate hospitality which is a valued by God and religious people of every nation and variety.
1. To show hospitality to another human being is one of the ways we give pleasure to God.
While I was gone this summer, I met Rick Warren who is the author of the Book "The Purpose Driven Church" and new a New York Times best seller entitled, "The Purpose Driven Life". Warren is the pastor of the Saddle Back Church in Anaheim, California. Warren states: "Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of your life."
You know how much pleasure your children bring you, sometimes, so you have to know that our heavenly father, takes delight when we please him. When our behavior is such that he is not embarrassed or disappointed. For a period of time of 40 days, I intentionally tried to bring pleasure to God. I noticed that I was quieter, I was more generous both to family and strangers, and I was more helpful to those around me. I was easier to live with, even easier for me to live with myself.
The Psalmist says: "The Lord is pleased only with those who worship him and trust his love." God is pleased with you today as you are in worship. I believe God is pleased with our worship. You come to worship to say thank you to God, to praise him. You see worship is not something you go to get something out of it. Someone said to me "Well I just don't get anything out of worship anymore." Excuse me, was worship designed for you to get something or was it created for the church to express to God our gratitude and love of him.
Fred Pratt Green has written one of our great hymns "When in our music God is glorified, and adoration leaves no room for pride, it is as though the whole creation cries: Alleluia! Alleluia!"
2. Secondly, hospitality is one of the ways we demonstrate to others our love of God.
The Sisters of Mercy regard their ministry to the poor and the broken as ministry to Jesus himself. He did say "When you do good unto the least of these my brothers, you do it unto me."
Acts of kindness and helpfulness are very specific ways we please God.
In the Tour de France bicycle race, did you see when Lance Armstrong went down, the other bikers slowed down, rather than taking advantage of his fall, and let Lance Armstrong catch up before he resumed the race. You don’t take advantage of a fallen comrade. God is pleased when we don’t take advantage of fallen comrades.
Today in Talladega they will have a big race. In North Alabama, there is a monster speedway called the Talladega 500. Several years ago (1979), as a hundred thousand fans watched, Richard Petty ended his 45-race losing streak and picked up stockcar racing's biggest purse-$73,900. Petty's win, however, was a complete surprise. Going into the last lap, he was running 30 seconds behind the two leaders. All at once the car in second place tried to pass the No. 1 man on the final stretch. This caused the first car to drift inside and force the challenger onto the infield grass, and slightly out of control. What happened next was incredible. The offended driver pulled his car back onto the track, caught up with the leader, and forced him into the outside wall. Both vehicles came to a screeching halt. The two drivers jumped out and quickly got into an old-fashioned slugging match. In the meantime, third-place Petty cruised by for the win. The point is, those who win are not those who fight their way to the top, but those who win are those who do their job and take advantage of the opportunities that come to them.
3. Thirdly, hospitality is one sure way of claiming eternal life. Jesus said: “When you do it unto the least of my brothers, you do it unto me.”