CAN WE HEAL THE WORLD?

Readings: Psalm 78:12-25, Exodus 16:4-8, 2 Corinthians 9:8-15, John 6:1-14
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY on February 27 2011

A printable PDF file can be found here

Listen to the news on any given day and you will know that all is not well with the world. Such is stating the obvious. Equally obvious is that as Christian people an essential part of our calling is to work to make the world a better place. But in the face of such a great challenge it is easy to become discouraged and feel our efforts are in vain. Can we do anything to make the world a better place? Can we heal the world?

In considering such a question I’d like to look at John 6:9, part of the story of the feeding of the 5000; "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?"

I want to suggest this morning that we can make the world a better place, as individuals and as a church community;

• Firstly: Because everybody influences somebody.
• Secondly; Because influence is an active thing. As the old campfire song declares ‘It only takes a spark to get a fire going.’
• Thirdly; Because influence, like the ripples formed by throwing a stone into a calm pond, spreads.

Let’s look at the first of these.

1. You can make the world a better place because everybody influences somebody.

Picture that little boy sitting amongst the crowd of 5000 as Jesus preached and taught. He was nobody special. In fact he may have been rather bored, tired and fed-up. He must have been near the front. He hears Jesus asking the disciples how they intend feeding all these people. He sees the incredulous look on their faces, “Feed all these people, Jesus, you must be joking!’

So he gets his little brown lunch bag and pushes through the crowd to Andrew. ‘Excuse me sir, I’ve got some food here!’ And Jesus takes that rather comical and insufficient offering, raises His eyes to heaven and blesses it, and a miracle takes place. 5000 hungry folk are fed and go home satisfied.

It’s a miracle story and we do the text a great disservice if we try to over analyze or explain it. It’s a story about how one little insignificant person placed the little he had into the hands of God and it became a source of great blessing.

Most of us are small, insignificant and un-influential. Most of us don’t have vast resources to call upon or draw from. But if we can take what we have and allow God to use it, we become an influential force in making the world a better place.

There’s a child’s verse that says;
“I have a little shadow
That goes in and out with me
And what can be the use of him
Is more than I can see’

We all have a shadow and the shadow of our life falls on others and influences them.

We may never even be aware of the influence we are having. It can take place quite unconsciously. More things are caught than are taught. Which brings us to the second thing I wanted to share.

2. You can make the world a better place because influence is an active thing.

‘It only takes a spark to get a fire going’. But please bear in mind that fires are not always positive things. We can actively be a bad influence as easily as we can be a positive one. Scripture teaches us that if we sow seeds of unrighteousness they produce a corresponding harvest. In the world of computing ‘Garbage In’ results in ‘Garbage Out’.

I remember as a young person growing up in a church with an active youth group that was always ready to welcome new faces into our midst how somebody bought a friend along who started to become involved in the life of the church.

Then one day this guy was out on his bicycle and a man walked out in front of him as he approached a crossway causing him to fall off his bike. Rather than apologizing for causing an accident, the man cussed the boy out and walked away muttering something about “Irresponsible youth”.

This particular man was one of the elders of the church. The lad, who was starting to become involved in the faith, knew who he was. We didn’t see much of the lad after that. All these years later, he doesn’t go near a church and if you ask him why, he’ll relate that incident to you.

Actions speak louder than words. Influence is an active thing. It can promote a negative reaction or our influence can be actively for the good. Thankfully we can all point to many people who have influenced us in positive ways. Parents, Friends, Neighbors, sometimes even complete strangers or people whose names we have forgotten, who, influenced us in a good way that has helped us be the person we are today.

Even though we may not always be aware of it, the way we live our lives, how we react to the little things and the big things has an influence on others whom we are probably not even aware are observing us. We can help make the world a better place because influence is always an active thing.

This brings us to our third observation.

3. Influence, like the ripples formed by throwing a stone into a calm pond, spreads.

A woman once told a former university science teacher how he had helped her retain her faith. The professor was rather surprised because he could not recall the girl ever having been one of his students, or even attending the university where he lectured.

“I’m sorry” he said, “I don’t recall you being in my classes.”

“No” she explained, “I attended a different college altogether, I don’t even live around here, but one day my friend who was in one of your classes bought me to church and we sat behind you. She told me that you were her science lecturer. At that time I was struggling with how to relate my faith to all the new ideas I was absorbing.”

“It came to prayer time and I saw you bow your head in prayer. At that moment I realized that if a person like your self, a lecturer in the sciences, could have a life of faith, then it shouldn’t be too hard for somebody like me either.”

By being in church, by worshipping God with true and genuine hearts, we never can tell what influence we may be having. Influence has a rippling effect, like a stone being thrown into a calm pool of water. We cannot say how or when or where our influence will touch another’s life. It’s not something we can arrange or dictate. It is up to us to live our faith with integrity and commitment and with the awareness that consistent walk of faith has a way of spreading Christ’s love to others.

There’s a story I about an imaginary conversation that Jesus is having with the Angel Gabriel, sometime after the Ascension, but before the day of Pentecost, the birth day of the Church.

Gabriel is saying, “Jesus, what’s the plan? You died for the whole world down there didn’t you?

“Yes, that’s right Gabriel’

“You must have suffered much”

“Yes”

“And do they all know about it?”

“No, only a few in Palestine know about it so far”

“So what’s the plan? If you died for the whole world, how on earth is the whole world going to find out? There has to be a plan?

“Well” Jesus says, “It’s like this. I asked Peter and James and John and Mary and a few others to make it the business of their lives to tell others, and the others, others… and the others yet others, until everybody knows about it”

“That’s a plan” exclaimed Gabriel, “Suppose Peter fails. Suppose John decides not to tell anybody? What if Mary or James gets sick? Suppose their successors in the twenty-first century become so obsessed with their comfortable lives that they don’t see the need for passing on the Good News?’

“Gabriel” says Jesus, “I don’t have another plan. – I’m counting on them.”

Mother Teresa, the great missionary to Calcutta whose work continues to do so much to relieve the suffering of the poor in communities around the world, was once asked “What can I do to make the world a better place?” She replied, “Go home and love your families.”

John 6:9, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" What they were was a source of sustenance to over 5000 hungry folk. The little boy had no idea what kind of influence sharing his lunch would have upon the events of that day. A miracle took place.

As we seek to minister to a hurting world we need to realize that God is counting on us. That’s God plan. That by allowing the Holy Spirit to influence our lives, our lives can be a positive influence for Jesus Christ upon others.

So don’t be discouraged. Be aware that your contribution to making this world a better place is making a huge difference. We may not always see the effects, or even receive any thanks for what we do… but no matter… we are servants of Christ… called not to seek accolades but simply to love as we have been loved.

Every act of service, large or small, in Christ’s name brings glory to God. The chief end of humankind, according to the Westminster Catechism, is “to glorify God and enjoy Him for ever”. So enjoy your service of God, because such brings glory to God. Never feel that what you have to offer is too small or that you are too insignificant. After all… remember what Jesus could do with a little boy, five barley loaves and two fish?

Truly we serve a God of miracles who calls us to heal the world.

WHY ARE PRAYERS NOT ANSWERED?

WHY ARE PRAYERS NOT ANSWERED?
Readings: Psalm 5:1-7, Habakkuk 2:1-4, 2 Corinthians 12:1-9, Matthew 7:7-12
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, on February 20th 2011

A printable PDF file is available here

Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

In the light of such words, why is it our prayers often seem to be unanswered?

You knew somebody who was ill. You prayed fervently that God would heal them. They died. Was your prayer unanswered?

An opening came up in your job. All the pieces fitted together. You were prepared, a promotion was overdue, and it would do you and your family good. You prayed about that position. But they passed you over and brought somebody in from outside. Was your prayer unanswered?

You lost a stone out of your ring. It was a ring that had both actual and sentimental value. You prayed that God would help you find it. You never did. Was your prayer unanswered? Unanswered prayer is one of the challenges that we face as Christians. We believe in prayer. We practice prayer. We don’t always see answered prayers.

Let us start be putting the question in the right perspective. This is not God’s problem. This is our problem. A problem that stems partly from the fact that in asking the question, we show ourselves to have made up our mind what we believe prayer is and how prayer should work. Surely prayer is not just about asking, but also about listening and talking and meditating and thinking and dreaming and praising. Prayer is not begging favors from a big old Mr. Meanie in the sky!

If God is sovereign of the Universe, the all-powerful creator and sustainer, it seems fair to conclude that God is under absolutely no obligation to answer our prayers in the way we feel God should.

The Bible, that volume of 66 books that are designed to bring us to faith and to build our expectations in what God can do, gives us some startling examples of prayers that were not answered in the way people had hoped for.

Moses prayed that God would allow him to enter the Promised Land, but he died on top of Mount Nebo. The prophet Habakkuk begins his book with the words, “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?” (Habakkuk 1:2)

Paul prayed three times for the removal of a thorn in the flesh that was hindering his missionary labors, but as far as we know the problem haunted him for the rest of his life.
Jesus, the Son of God and our Savior, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that the Father would remove His cup of suffering. But He drank that cup to its bitter depths!

How are we to understand these instances? Was God simply not listening, taking no notice? Again we have to question our own assumptions about how God should act. For some reason we expect God to say ‘Yes’ as an answer to whatever we ask.

There are other absolutely reasonable answers. Such as;

• “Yes, but not in the way that you are thinking of”.
• “Yes, but not yet”.
• And of course, “NO” is also a valid response!

“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” But you may not receive exactly what you are asking for, (particularly if you are demanding a ‘yes’)… seek and you will find an answer, knock and the door will be opened, but behind it may not be precisely what you expected.

Unanswered prayer, I say again, is our problem, not God’s problem. God always has an answer; our problem is that it’s not the one we asked for. Now there is a biblical rationale to this.

God operates on a different agenda to our agenda. The things we count as all important, things such as money and possessions and status… God tells us these are insignificant… the things we invest with little significance, things such as solid relationships, honoring and respecting all peoples worth and dignity, looking to the needs of others as much as our own… God tells us that these are the big things about life on planet earth.

Listen… here is the answer in a nutshell. “Why are prayers not answered?” Because prayer is not all about asking. It’s about submitting our wills to the will of God. That’s why Moses died on mount Nebo. That’s why Habakkuk felt God would never come around, that’s why Paul never had the thorn in his flesh removed, that’s why Christ had to struggle and sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane…prayer is about disciplining our lives that the will of God may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Prayer is an attempt to line up our agenda with God’s agenda.

An illustration. Mum and a child are going shopping. So Mum makes up her list of what they need. Food. Drink. Bread. New socks. And so it goes. Maybe even a few treats thrown in. Meanwhile the child has heard they are going shopping and is making up their own list. Bike. Skateboard. Fishing line. Sponge Bob Square pants X-Box game, all the Disney DVD’s they have in stock, a dog, a monkey (if they sell monkeys... who wouldn’t want a monkey?)... .so the list grows.

It is obvious which list of items is going to make it to the check out. The child is going to be very disappointed if they expected their list to be fulfilled. Sad thing is, sometimes our prayer lists are more comparable with the shopping list of the child than the mother, more filled with wants than needs, more concerned with what we want than what God wants for our lives.

Now, if mum and child sat down together and made the list, then you know what? The child would know what to ask for! This also applies to prayer. In prayer we are called to line up our agendas with God’s agenda, in order that our service and worship of God may be effective and real and alive!

Rather than talking about unanswered prayers, let me phrase the question slightly differently; and ask, “How can we take steps to pray about the right things?” I suggest 3 steps;

1) Pray with Persistence

Be assured, God wants us to pray. Out text makes it clear it is a good thing to ask things of our Father in Heaven. Jesus tells us ASK, SEEK and KNOCK.

ASK: When we ask of God it means we see our need of Him. It means we believe God can meet our needs.

SEEK: This indicates there is some effort involved in our asking. We can pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”, but that does not remove from us the responsibility to work for our daily bread. We can pray “Thy Kingdom Come” but we still have to work to bring the values of God’s Kingdom to bear upon the kingdoms of this world.

KNOCK: When you were in school you wouldn’t go and casually knock on your principals study door, unless you had something you really needed to talk about. You wouldn’t go in there and say in a random fashion, “Hey dude, did you see the game last night!”

It’s not that God is too busy to hear our prayers, rather that our prayers have to be from the heart. ‘Knocking’ implies persistence in prayer. It doesn’t mean we have to go on and on and on about things to God. It does mean that when we pray, we have to be serious about the task.

2) Pray with Patience

The preacher C.H. Spurgeon said waiting was like a long sea journey that brought back treasure from distant lands. ‘Coasters’ were small boats that carried coal and ordinary things from port to port in the same country, hugging the coastline as they traveled. But the great treasures came from the larger ships that sailed out of sight on great oceans. The point being… some thing’s are worth waiting for.

Be patient. Prayers are answered in different ways. As we’ve seen “Yes, but not now” “No” or “Well, Yes but nothing like in the way you expected” are all valid answers. God’s agenda of importance differs from ours. Pray with persistence, pray with patience. And thirdly…

3) Pray to a Person.

Christian prayer is not asking that the “Force will be with you.” We are not channeling supernatural forces or seeking to be a conduit for some divine stream of consciousness. We address our prayers to ONE Jesus described as a heavenly Father, a Father who wants only the absolute best for all of His much loved and cherished children. In prayer we are seeking to meet with God up close and personal.

Why are prayers not answered? Well... it all depends on what you mean by prayer and what you mean by answering. If you are asking; ‘Why doesn’t God give us everything we ever dreamed of and run the world in the way that we think is best’… then the answer is simple. There is a God. And it’s not you.

Prayer is not trying to force God’s arm to do what we want, but an attempt to align our lives with the will of God. In that process the desires of our hearts often need to be refined and redefined. Such a process can not be determined by ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ answers.

The problem of unanswered prayer is best approached by seeking to deepen our personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. The “Who’ of prayer, is a whole lot more important than the “Why?” of prayer.

Trust that when you pray, God knows best! It is in that framework that Jesus offers to us these words. "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Rev Adrian J Pratt

DOES IT PAY TO BE GOOD?

Readings: Psalm 37:1-24, Romans 8:35-39, Matthew 5:21-26
Preached at First Presbyterian Church Baldwin, NY February 13 2011

A printable PDF file can be found here

Many times in our lives we are faced with the question ‘Does it pay to be Good?”

When you first leave home and are no longer under your parents authority. When you are confronted with a temptation that seems to hard to handle. When you try and give up a habit that you know is doing you more harm then good. When business is going badly and an opportunity comes along that look’s rewarding but questionable. When problems in a relationship have appeared and somebody appears on the scene that offers everything your current relationship doesn’t have. When you have to make an honest decision that nobody else will ever know about.

I read recently of a woman who was mad at her husband for being good. He was a sales manager in a large firm and they lived well. One of the directors asked him to start pushing a household appliance that had been remade from defective products. He wouldn’t do it. He lost his job. His wife was bitter. She didn’t think that it paid to be good.

It’s not a new question. The ancient Hebrews throughout their history always felt that there should be an equation between conduct and reward. That when you did good you should be rewarded for it. Correspondingly, when you did bad you should be punished.

As they looked around they started to realize that life’s not like that. Some people served God wholeheartedly and seemed to get nothing but trouble. Others were out and out rogues and prospered. As we look at peoples experience today we may conclude that nothings changed. Does serving the Lord count for anything? Does it pay to be good?

To seek an answer I’d like to look at verses from Psalm 37.

The Psalm begins “Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers.”

It starts with a warning. Do not become jealous of people who appear to be doing well but are living immoral lives. Do not emulate them or admire them. Don’t allow envy to cheapen your lifestyle or make you compromise your values. Just because somebody else appears to prosper from doing something you know in your heart is not right, that is not a call to follow their example. The Psalm goes on to say harsh things concerning wicked folk who prosper.

Verse 2 “They will soon fade like the grass”
Verse 9 “The wicked shall be cut off” (cut off that is from God’s love)
Verse 10 “Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.”
Most cutting of all…
Verse 13 “The LORD laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.”

Every action we take produces results. Decisions towards unrighteousness or wickedness in this life do not take place in a vacuum. Life has eternal consequences. What goes around comes around, if not in this life then for sure in the next.

Presbyterians believe in salvation by faith, not by comparison. We believe that saying to God, “Hey, I was just going along with the crowd”… is not a good reason for God to pat us on the back and say, “Good job!” We believe that God’s Word teaches that we are not to mould our lives according to any pattern of twenty first century morality but by dwelling in God’s love. We believe that whatever we welcome into our lives in the immediate future not only effects the way we live tomorrow but also the welcome we should expect in eternity.

Consider Psalm 37, verses 14 and 15 “The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly; their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.”

These verses are similar to the words of Jesus to Peter at the time of His arrest, “Those who live by the sword, shall die by the sword”

Maybe we are asking the wrong question. Instead of asking “Does it pay to be Good?” we should ask, “Does it pay to invest our lives in half-truths, deceit, violence, immorality, or prejudice?” Sometimes the short time answer may be, “Well it got me what I wanted!” but always the long term repercussions outweigh any temporary benefit.

When we want to take money out of the bank, we have to draw that money from funds that we have invested. Money lending agencies encourage us to take out money we don’t yet have so as they can profit from the interest we will return to them, but eventually we have to pay it all back.

Consider good actions and bad actions as a form of collateral. Bad actions contribute to a pool of negativity. Good actions reinforce our relationship with God. We can only draw strength from what we have invested in. If our actions create a pool of negativity then we are going to be lost when trouble comes. If we have invested positively in other peoples lives, then when trouble comes we have the strength of God to draw upon.

Verses 18, 19 and 24 illustrate this well.
“The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever; they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance.”

Verse 24: “Though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand”.

In the work God has called me to do I have had the opportunity to observe people from many different backgrounds in many different circumstances. I have observed one undeniable fact... it is those who have a mature and longstanding Christian faith that are stand the firmest when the hard times come along. There is no guarantee in Christianity against trouble, but there is a guarantee against defeat.

In times of illness or bereavement or tragedy, it is those who know themselves children of God, not because of any merit of their own, but because of Christ’s death and resurrection… it is those who have invested their lives in seeking to do things God’s way, who stand firm. They know, from accumulated experience, that God will not abandon them. Yes, they may fall, but they know God is able to pick them up again. Paul, a man well acquainted with setbacks and troubles, wrote to a Roman Church struggling with persecution;

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans 8:35-39)

It is those who grow in the knowledge and love of God who gain an understanding that those who cut moral corners never find. ‘Good actions’ build resources into our lives that can hold us when the storms come along. Good actions do not earn for us our salvation. We are saved by grace alone through faith. Good actions, and by good actions I mean actions that are a response and reflection of the goodness of God, reinforce our relationship with God.

Verse 3 through 7 of Psalm 37 outline three principles that can guide people who desire to do good things.

The first principle is found in verse 3 “Trust in the Lord”

That’s the place to begin doing good. Trust that in God’s hand your life will come to no harm. That it will be fruitful and grow. That God only wants the best for you. That God’s love is the love of a perfect parent. Good actions grow out of a good relationship with God.

The second principle is found in verse 4 “Take delight in the Lord”

Some modern translations have, “Seek your happiness in the Lord”. Not everybody associates delight with God. They think of God - and words like service or holiness or wrath or judgment come to mind. They look for happiness elsewhere, in material things, in films or books, food or drink. The verse continues, “Take delight in the LORD, and God will give you the desires of your heart.”

Until our hearts find their true home in God they will always be restless. Until our hearts find their center in Christ we will always be off-center. Until we find the joy of the Holy Spirit we will always be seeking happiness in other places.

A third principle is verse 5 “Commit your way to the Lord”

Wholehearted, unreserved commitment to God results in God’s will being done in our lives and through our lives transforms the world. We may not see immediate results… verse 7 counsels us… “Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently” for God to act.

You may sometimes feel that by holding to God’s standards you are missing out on the things of this world. No matter. The things of this world are temporary and passing. Tempting, yes, but fulfilling, no. We must wait on God, relying on God’s timing. To wait on the Lord is to declare our dependence on God for all we need in life.

Three principles:-

• Trust in God
• Delight in God
• Commit yourself to God.

Does it pay to be good? It’s a question we ask almost every day in numerous ways. The Psalmist points us towards an answer.

I’ll be honest, there have been times when I have doubted, when I’ve contemplated how, if my life had taken a different path, I could have earned higher wages, had less responsibility, had more influence, gained more ‘stuff’. I have questioned whether it pays to be good, whether whole hearted commitment to Jesus Christ pays off in this world.

But times of doubt have been outnumbered by times of blessing. I have discovered things about the love of God and the provision of God that have left me awestruck. I have a wonderful inheritance as part of the family of God. I have a life with an eternal perspective that goes far beyond anything this world can offer.

Following Christ pays great dividends, particularly when times of struggle and trial come our way. Does it pay to be good? There’s only one way to find out. Do it. Try it. Stick with it. Hold to it. Do the kind of good that reflects the goodness of God. Do the kind of good that brings glory to God and makes others feel they are also God’s children.

To God be all praise for His great goodness revealed in Jesus Christ through the action of His Holy Spirit in our midst, Amen.

Adrian Pratt

WHEN JESUS CAME TO CHURCH

Readings: Psalm 112:1-10, Micah 6:6-8, 1 Corinthians 2:1-16, Matthew 25:31-40
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, February 6th 2011

A printable PDF file can be found here

SouperBowl Sunday is a day when youth groups across America raise money for a charitable cause that they wish to support, by asking their congregations to drop a dollar (or more) in a soup bowl as they leave church. The money our youth collect will go to support our local food pantry in Freeport.

In another place I served, Fayetteville, WV, their church was near a main highway that attracted traffic on the way from Ontario to Florida and everywhere in between. Sometimes vehicles would break down or people would find themselves stranded with nowhere to stay. So the church used the ‘Souperbowl’ money to establish a fund to help those who were ‘passing through’ get a room for a night. You never knew who they might be!

I arrived home from a meeting, to be greeted by Yvonne telling me I needed to get over to the church, because there was a man there saying wouldn’t leave till he had seen the pastor.

Arrive I did and found him sitting in the sanctuary. He was wearing denims, quite dark-skinned, almost Spanish in appearance, sitting on the back pew reading a small bible. After reading a few verses, he would close the book, kiss the bible then bow his head in prayer, before returning to another reading.

Some brief introductions and he made his request, “I will sleep here tonight”. “Well, I said (realizing that I had some money from the SouperBowl Fund for just such a purpose), “Let me see if we can get you a room somewhere”

“No pastor” he explained, “I will sleep here, in this special place” pointing at the church around him. I said something about it being more comfortable in places where there were beds, but again he spoke up.

“Pastor, I’m sure you know your bible. Does the Word not say, ‘In my Fathers house’. I don’t want to go elsewhere. I want to be here, in my Father’s house”.

“Hmmm” I thought, this could be a tricky one. The man obviously hadn’t a shower for a while, nor I suspected had a decent meal. It would be a liability to leave him unattended in the church overnight because I knew nothing about this man at all, apart from his own recommendations. He could be on the run, could be an arsonist or an axe murderer. I didn’t know him from Adam. Or he could be totally genuine.

We spoke some more. He explained how God had commissioned him as a church worker and that he was traveling the country taking the Good News with him. He considered himself a bishop appointed to build up the body of the church. He would stay with whomsoever would welcome him and teach them the things of God.

Bishop or no bishop I really didn’t want him camping out in the sanctuary. So after some persuasion he agreed that a night in the Comfort Inn wouldn’t be so bad after all. The poor fellow didn’t have two cents to call his own, so that’s where the fund came in handy. We could also get him a good meal.

When we got up to the Comfort Inn he had to register for a room. He needed some identification.
“Name” the lady asked.
“Jesus” he replied.
Unfazed the lady said, “I need to see some I.D.”
So he pulled out a driving license and sure enough, there was his name, ‘Jesus,’ followed by a Mediterranean sounding second name.

We found him a room and then I stayed to talk with him a while about a whole range of topics. From what he told me he was from a Jewish background, but had converted to Christianity. He’d spent some time traveling in Israel. He had particular views about a whole host of things, varying from the role of the church, Middle East politics and the end of the world.

By the way he spoke and some of his actions, rocking to and fro as he talked, sometimes being a little incoherent, it was apparent that this was a man who had his share of problems. I don’t mean that in any condescending way; he was polite, gentle, reasonable and intelligent, yet at the same time he was someone who needed help.

Driving home I reflected on the situation. Jesus had come to stay at a church where I was the pastor, a place he called ‘His Father’s house’ but I’d thrown him out. In a reversal of the Bethlehem story, there was room at the Inn, the Comfort Inn! Because of the money in the Souperbowl fund, not only did he get a bed for the night but also a good meal inside him as well.

There are always people in our own community and beyond who have material needs. There are those who need food from food pantries, help with bills, help with clothing for themselves and family and numerous other things. The amount of requests for help seems to be increasing, rather than decreasing.

I’m grateful for those who seek to offer support through initiatives such as Souperbowl Sundays.

I can’t help but think of those words from Matthew’s gospel, (Chapter 25) 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' (37-40).

Later today two teams will be battling it out on the football field. One of them will go home knowing they are the winners, they are the champions. They deservedly will have their moment of glory.

Life’s not a football game. Yes, there are those who make it to the top of their personal dreams, there are winners. We rejoice with them. But there are also losers. There are those who never even make it onto the field.

So please be generous in supporting the SouperBowl fund, to help those like the roaming Jesus who wanted to sleep in the church. I realize that whatever we do is but a drop in the ocean. But oceans are nothing more than lot’s of drops of water. Every drop has significance and matters and counts.

With God’s help may we know the privilege of helping others in some practical, Holy Sprit inspired, Christlike way.

And To God’s name be the Glory.