fasting

1/31/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Isaiah 58:6, "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?" This passage has long seared itself onto my soul. Fasting is not just a hollow spiritual discipline. It is not just some internal navel gazing. Fasting has an outward, measurable, healing content. The passage goes on to say that true fasting means feeding the hungry, finding shelter for the homeless, and clothing the naked. It sounds a lot like what Jesus says in Matthew 25 where he states that as we have done it unto the least of these, we have done it unto him.

Love,

Lynn

wisdom and strength

1/27/11 My breath prayer is from I Cor. 1:25, "For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength." I am pretty smart. I was valedictorian of my high school class. I graduated magna cum laude from college. I received the Hebrew prize (highest grade) in seminary. I am pretty strong. I have never been very big, but I still walk, lift weights, bicycle, swim, etc., here approaching 58 years of age. But God is wiser; God is stronger.

Sometimes I can't sleep at night. I run over all that is wrong in the world, all that is wrong in my life. Then I imagine the universe and how vast it is. I imagine God's wisdom and God's strength and how vast they are. Then I imagine them in comparison to how small my problems and the problems of the world are. Then I figure God's wisdom and strength can take care of them.

Love,
Lynn

Who

1/26/11 My breath prayer is from Psalm 15:1-2, "O LORD, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart." As I walked and prayed this morning, these questions continued to ring in my soul. Who indeed is worthy to come into God's presence? Who qualifies to live with God? As you read the rest of the psalm, you see all of the entrance requirements: walk blamelessly, do what is right, speak truth, don't slander, do no evil, stand by their oath, don't practice usury, don't take a bribe. Who meets those standards? Anyone? Only Christ! Thank God we enter into HIs presence by what He has done through Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can usher us in.

Love,
Lynn

gospel in miniature

1/25/11 How would you explain your faith in 25 words or less? What is a concrete condensation of what is the essence of the good news? One example from the New Testament is John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. In the Old Testament you can't do much better than my breath prayer for the day which comes from Micah 6:8, What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Love,
Lynn

proud

1/24/11 I am proud of my congregation. On Saturday, we hosted the Austin District UM congregations in an event called Re-Think Leadership. We had close to 300 persons at our facility, filling our sanctuary for a plenary worship session and breaking out into some 10 focus groups. Our Westlake UMC folks were the epitome of hospitality. They came early. They stayed late. They stood out in the cold helping people find parking spaces. They directed people to get registered. They helped set up and clean up. I wish I could I manufactured all of this, but I realize that it is pure gift. The folks made themselves available to be the face of Christ, welcoming the stranger. I am proud to be associated with them.

Love,
Lynn

wisdom and finances

from my sermon on 1/23/11 from Proverbs

Wisdom and Finance, this is the 3rd in a series of 6 sermons from Enough: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity. There is also a book you may obtain and small group discussions in most of our Sunday School classes.

I appreciate the many positive comments you have offered. Some are facing retirement, and this series has helped to frame that transition. Some have debts left over from college loans. Some are trying to save for college for their kids. Some are underwater in their home loans. Some of lost jobs, or been furloughed, or been downsized.

I appreciate those of you who have questioned the study, especially those who have asked, Is this just a sneaky way for the church to ask for more of my money? Full Disclosure at this point, the Stewardship Committee chose this study at the suggestion of Texas Methodist Foundation. There is a commitment card coming on Feb. 13. However, the Stewardship Committee realized that this end of year/beginning of year period was a good time for people to review their spending patterns. We are getting our W2's in the mail, we are looking at our credit card bills, and we are preparing our income taxes. Furthermore, the Stewardship Committee understands that we are stewards, managers of all that God has given us. We are just borrowing this stuff for a little while. As long as it is only our money, we will be challenged in this study. If it is God's money, we may find a blessing in this study.

So today when we consider Wisdom and Finance, we remember that line that is used over and over again in Proverbs, The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD. Fear means awe, respect, honor, worship.

The first passage we look at is Prov. 3:9 Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce. It is the context of worship in which we make our gifts. I have collected a lot of quotes for this series. Here's one: As we make our offering, no matter hwat else we say or do, this morning Lord, this tells what we think of you. The passage talks about first fruits, a concept that is found all through the Bible. First means first in time. You don't wait until the end of the harvest to see if there is enough left over. First also means first in quality. You don't say, That lamb has 3 pretty good legs. You give to God an unblemished lamb, not the culls. You find today and at our website, 6 KEy Financial Planning Principles. The first one is to put God first. It is amazing how this stance prioritizes all of our fianancial decisions.

The next passage is Prov. 21:5, The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to want. Any of you grow up on a farm? Or admit it? How long does it take to bring in the harvest or raise a flock? Success does come quickly. Get rich quick schemes often lead to nothing. I got to attend the UT-A & M basketball game Wednesday night. It was mostly wonderful. The family had a parking place right next to the Drum. We had a lovely meal right there with short walking distance of the entrance. We had courtside seats. I could have leaned forward and touched the Aggie players. You might have seen my on TV on ESPN 2 with my head in my hands as the Aggies never showed up to play and got slaughtered on national TV. This family has worked with many student athletes over the years. Some show great maturity and restraint. But some just can't handle the new found riches. People will give them multimillion dollars because they can run fast or jump high. You know what often happens. They wrap their sportscar around a tree. Much money is spent on cocaine up the nose. Family members manipulate them. Diligent plans lead to abundance. Haste leads to want. There is a Life and Financial Goals sheet in your insert and on our website. It is good for individuals, for couples, for families. Wisdom includes making plans.

Another passage comes from Prov. 21:20 Precious treasure remains in the house of the wise, but the fool devours it. The literal words for precious treasure are choice oil. Extra virgin olive oil seems to be it. It represented the standard for wealth and luxury. The wise make it last. Fools squander it. Where does the money go? We have included a budget worksheet for you to chart your income and your outgo.

The next passage comes from Prov. 23:4-5, Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist. When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle towards heaven. It wold be funny if not so true. We wear ourselves out seeking wealth which only sprouts wings and flies away. Another author says, Possessions are sparrows in flight, which can find no place to alight.

Cathy and I are frugal. We have managed very well on pastor's and teacher's salaries. We have gotten 2 boys through college with no debt. We have many material blessings. We do not have a poor me attitude. But there is a line in the book that has really nailed me, We can be wasteful, because we can get away with it. The more you have the more you tend to waste. Cathy and I are really being challenged by this study. It is causing us to slow down, to pause, to pray, to question do we really need this.

Proverbs is a book of wisdom collected over hundreds of years. As you read some, you will be struck that they come from the hardscrabble life of peasants eking out a life from the land. As you read others, they will be from the royal court, probably from King Solomon himself. And others will sound like they came from school which they probably did as in an instruciton text. But if you read closely, you will find Proverbs saying one thing here and a direct contradiction later on. Let me illustrate in the financial realm. Prov. 10:15, The wealth of the rich is their fortress, the poverty of the poor is their ruin. Prov. 28:11 says, The rich is wise in conceit, but an intelligent poor person sees through the pose. So which is it? You want rules to cover every situation. You want to follow the Bible literally. Proverbs doesn't do that. Why? You have to take responsibility, you have to choose for yourself. No one else can do it for you, not the pastor, not your financial advisor, only you. I can't make you do any of this homework on these sheets. The responsibility is yours. Proverbs 22:2 says, The rich and the poort have this in common, the LORD is the maker of them all.

What are you going to do? I am going to tell you a story. You all are so helpful in sending me good illustrations. Here's one.


Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.' The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?' 'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'..'I am old, and she lives so far away.. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone...' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear..I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

Wisdom and finance. I wish you enough.

being saved

1/20/11 My breath prayer for today comes from I Cor. 1:18, "For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." We United Methodists have a good word in our theological vocabulary; that word is sanctification. It means we are being made holy our whole lives long. John Wesley said it thus, "We are going onto perfection." I like what Paul says in his letter to the church in Corinth, that we are being saved. It is not just about being baptized, or making a profession of faith, but it is about a life where the power of the cross is ever being realized. We are being saved.

Love,
Lynn

cry aloud

1/19/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Psalm 27:7, Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! I am uncomfortable doing this, speaking my prayers out loud. Oh, I pray with people all of the time, nearly every day, and that is out loud. But my personal prayers I usually pray internally, like an inner voice. Luckily where I usually walk in the city park behind our house there are very few people up and about in the early morning. So today, I spoke the prayers....well not out LOUD....but at least out soft. It does make a difference, maybe not to God, who hears and answers our prayers no matter we deliver them, but a difference to me.

Love,
Lynn

when dreams become nightmares

from my sermon on 1/16/11 from I Tim. 6:6-10, 17-19

When dreams become nightmares...that is the title of this message and the title of the chapter in the book by Adam Hamiliton. We are in the 2 nd week of a 6 week series on Enough: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity. I get way ahead on my sermons, working months ahead, thinking I know where I want them to go, but this one got away from me.

First, when I was preparing months ago, I didn't have it in my head that tomorrow was a holiday upon which we celebrate a famous American's birthday....yes, Martin Luther King. He gave a famous speech on Aug. 28, 1963 that had a line....yes, I have a dream. It is not that dream that has become a nightmare. Nine times in the speech, he says, I have a dream. That dream has not been fully realized. That dream continues to challenge us, convict us, call us to be more the people God intends us to be. Remember that line, I have a dream that my 4 little children will one day live in a nation where they they will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I went back and re-read that I have a Dream speech. We forget that it began quietly with a lot of economic metaphors. Today the Negro lives on an island of poverty in a vast sea of plenty. We have come today to cash a check, a promissory note. We trust that it is not a bad check with insufficient funds. The bank of justice is not bankrupt. As Americans we have riches of freedom and security of justice.

Just 4 1/2 years later, MLK was assassinated at age 39 on April 4, 1968. I believe that his dream is not a nightmare but still holds hope for us.

The second way this sermon got away from was around the events of this past week, when a congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, about the age of MLK, had an assassination attempt made on her life. It is ironic that she was trying to engage the public, meet them where they were. It is further ironic, that she was shot in front of a supermarket, with the name, Safeway. We have spent the past week grieving. Six died, including a 9 year old girl, who was born on 9/11. A federal judge was killed. Thirteen were wounded. We have heard the stories of husbands covering their wives with their bodies to protect them from gunfire. There was the congresswoman's intern, on the job for just his 5th day, rushing to her to practice his limited EMS training, making sure she had an airway open, and staunching the flow of blood. Ordinary people like us tackled the gunman and disarming him.

We don't know the motive behind the shooter. I certainly don't make the link to the vitrolic speech in politics, that antagonistic spirit in our country. What got me were the reports that dreams played in this troubled man's life. It was reported that he kept a dream journal, that his nihilism, his attempts at chaos, came out of feeling that nothing existed except his subconcious, that the dream world was the only reality. That is a nightmare.

Thirdly, we get to what the book by Adam Hamiliton says. He states that the American dream of "more is better" has become a nightmare. Our love of wealth has gotten us into trouble. Note that the scripture passage doesn't say money is evil, but that the love of money is a root of all evil. The book talks about Affluenza, that bloated feeling that even when we have too much, we still are not satisfied. We also suffer from Creditis, that desire to buy today and pay for it tomorrow. We have been bitten by the covet bug, as we heard in the children's sermon. I heard put another way: In the beginning, God gave us people to love and things to use. Maybe our problems begin when we start loving the things and using the people.

I have some illustrations. One from the NY Times Sunday magazine a week ago in an article by Kim Walters. He talked about algorhythms used to anticipate what we might like next. Did any of you shop over Christmas, online, with a credit card? You might want to buy bike shorts. A popup ad will appear suggesting bike jersey and bike gloves and bike glasses. Kim has a friend who was shopping for books on Amazon.com. You know that it will suggest another book you might like to purchase. Amazon suggested to this friend the book, The American Idea, an anthology of articles from the Atlantic Monthly magazine. It turns out this friend had edited the book! Kim said, the only thing worse than being misperceived by this math equations is being expertly perceived.

The second example is something I heard on NPR on their tech report. Our smart phones will soon let us know when we are passing by a store that has a sale on the product that we might be interested in. There is even a word for this process: it is called pre-emptive gratification.

The scripture passage talks about how the love of money can lead to a downward spiral, can plunge us into ruin and destruction, where we are pierced by many pains.

Christian practice is not about making a church budget, but about saving our souls from this addictive behavior. The scripture talks about a way of our financial hell: practicing godliness, doing good, being rich in good works, being generous and ready to share. The scripture witness is that this is the path to life that really is life. This is the way out of the nightmare.

I believe that God has a dream for us. It looks a lot like a 9 year old girl getting up on a Saturday morning to see her government in action. It looks a lot like a modern day prophet calling us into accountability. God's dream is not a nightmare. What does God dream for you?

what do you seek

1/13/11 My breath prayer for today comes from John 1:35, Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, What do you seek? It is a good question, one that clarifies our priorities. It is interesting what the would-be disciples answer. They reply, Rabbi, where are you staying? Their answer is not a what, but a who. They seek Jesus. They seek a teacher. But more than that, they want to be where Jesus is. Jesus will take them all the way to the cross....and then to resurrection. What do you seek?

Love,
Lynn

testify

1/12/11 My breath prayer for the day is from John 1:34, "And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God." Last night we had our first meeting with the new church council. I have a strong bias against making church meetings look like business agenda items. I build in songs, the passing of the peace, scripture, and prayer. I also like to have a time when folks can share a God sighting, a closeest moment to Christ, or a word of encouragement. At the meeting last night, one shared about the woman who asks for help at the corner of I-35 and 51st street. She has only one leg. Her sign reads, "I am down to my last leg." Another person shared about the somewhat mentally challenged person who not only takes tickets at the theater but also hands out hugs. I can get through a lot of business agenda when I hear people testify.

Love,
Lynn

world weary

1/11/10 The news of these days has worn me out. A lone gunman has attempted to assassinate a congresswoman in Arizona, killing 6 others in the process including a federal judge and a 9 year old child, and wounding 12 others. Brisbane, Australia, where we visited our friends this summer is being flooded. Sudan is voting to split into 2 countries. The elected president of Ivory Coast can't take office. Haiti is one year out from its earthquake and still caught in a quagmire of government ineptitude and cholera fever. A man in our church with ALS has now been diagnosed with cancer. On it goes.

The Old Testament lesson for this week is from Isaiah 49. He says in a world weary way, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity." And then in the next verses, he reverses his tone, "I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength."

That's why I pray. That's why I practice this Christian walk. God transforms my weariness into his strength.

Love,
Lynn

faith in the midst of financial crisis

from my sermon on 1/9/11, from Matthew 3:13-17

Who are you? What are you worth? Today we begin a 6 week series on Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Today we also celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, a day when we remember that Jesus was baptized. I believe the sacrament of baptism has answers to the questions who are you and what are you worth.

Who are you? I have been reading Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller. It is the story of his coming to faith. In his chapter on money, he had a line that really got me: We are our possessions, you know.

So who are you? Are you your house? I remember when Cathy and I were able to purchase a house in San Antonio. Members of the church would ask us where it was. We would say 134 Hiler. What zip code is that? We would say 78209. They would say, "Oh, you are oh niners!" Does our zip code determine who we are?

I want you to do a memory exercise. Get a picture of the house you grew up in. We had mom and dad and four kids in a 3 bedroom, 1 and 1/2 bath house. Today Cathy and I live all by ourselves in a 5 bedroom, 2 and 1/2 bath house. What happened? I googled this info this morning: since the 1950's, the average U. S. house has doubled in size. Today the average house is 2400 sq. ft. Are we the size of our house?

Who are you? Are you the designer labels on your clothes, your shoes, your handbag, your fragrance? In the early service, Jay, who is quite rotund, called out that his clothes designer was Omar the Tentmaker!

Who are you? Are you your car? Are you know by its size, its safety rating, its price?

Who are you? Are you your stock portfolio? In late 2007, the stock market started falling. How far did it fall? 54%....you say. I wonder, did that make you 54% less than you were? Can you be 54% less a person?

Who are you? We have a great fear of identity theft. This is no laughing matter. A young man in our former church named James went into the Army, went to Iraq as a chaplain's assistant, came back, and someone got his bank acct. number, and cleaned him out. It has been a real mess trying to recover from that.

We are known by all kinds of numbers. You have your social security number, 9 digits. You are cautioned not to give it out. You have a bank acct. number, 10 digits. Then you have PIN to access that acct. Then you have a credit card number, 16 digits. Whenever you give it, you are asked for the expiration date, then on the back that security code.

We have passwords to protect our identity. And if you forget the password, you have a security question. What is your mother's maiden name? What is the name of your family pet?

Who are you? Are these numbers who we are? Can one really steal our identity by gaining access to these numbers? Is this who we are?

Who are you? Today, we say, you are baptized! We are not baptized in the name of Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and AIG. We are baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are not baptized in the name of Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. We are baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In this baptism scene in Matthew, we have the Son coming to John in the wilderness to be baptized by him. The Holy Spirit comes down in the form of a dove. The Father speaks, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Only Matthew tells the story this way. It is not the Father speaking to the Son, You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, but the Father speaking to the crowd, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. It is not Jesus who needs to hear these words, but us. We find out who we are by knowing who Jesus is.

Jesus joins us in baptism. Therefore, he joins us in our fear so we may know his freedom. He joins us in our brokenness so we may know his healing. He joins us in our sin so we may know his salvation. That's why Jesus is baptized.

Who are you? In debt...you are baptized. Well off...you are baptized. Stressed...you are baptized. Confident...you are baptized. Out of work...you are baptized. Gainfully employed...you are baptized. Market up....you are baptized. Market down....you are baptized.

God tells us who we are in our baptism. This identity is indelible. It doesn't wash off. Our identity is sure. That's why we are baptized once for life. Today we will be given the opportunity to remember our baptism...to remember who we are...as we come and touch the water.

What are you worth? We have several financial planners in this church. They may take you through an exercise where you list all of your assets: stocks, bonds, savings acct., checking acct., real estate, insurance policy cash values, etc. Then you would list all of your liabilities: mortgages, loans, debts, etc. The difference between the 2 is your "Net worth." But is that what you are worth?

Jesus is baptized to show us what we are worth. Only Matthew has this dialogue. John says, I need to be baptized by you. Jesus responds, Let it be in order to fulfill all righteousness. Righteousness doesn't mean rules and regulations; it means right relationships. Jesus is baptized to stay in right relationship with the Father. He is baptized to stay in right relationship with us. He does not follow the conventional wisdom, nor what the religous authorities want, nor what the politicians dictate. He follows righteousness. By being baptized, He sets in motions a series of events that lead him to a hill outside of Jerusalem. Jesus says in the gospels, "I have a baptism to be baptized with." He was talking of his death on a cross. What are you worth? You are of infinite worth. As it says in the credit card commercial, "Priceless."

How much is enough? Today we believe that a little bit of water in baptism is enough to tell us who we are and what we are worth.

traffic

1/6/11 The last 2 days I have taken MoPac into work. This highway is also called Loop 1. The last 2 days it could have been called a slow moving parking lot. I am so glad that I have acquaintance with the life of prayer. Yes, I get frustrated, but I have tried to view the traffic as a call to pray. I have tried to view the traffic as God's way of slowing me down. So for the last 2 days, I have used that traffic as an opportunity to breathe and to pray. The traffic did not so much get in my way as provide my a way to pray.

Love,
Lynn

swearing in

1/5/11 I have just come back from the swearing in ceremony of our State Comptroller of Public Accounts, Susan Combs, who is a member of our church. It was held in the Texas Senate chambers. I led the pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag and to the Texas flag. I then offered the following prayer:

Gracious God, we trust, we honor you. You alone are Lord. We ask you to bless your child Susan, who seeks to serve you and the great State of Texas as our comptroller of Public Accountants. Help her to stand tall as a witness to you. Give her wisdom, integrity, and a cool head in the midst of hot debate. Bless her and Joe in their marriage, work, and play. Dear God, save us from a lack of civility; rescue us from the tyranny of the tiny. And dear God, as much as long to know what the budget numbers are for this next biennium, we long to know you more. You are ever faithful, so we make this prayer in confidence. Amen.

One of our church members, Margaret, was there. I first met Susan at Margaret's house at a Christmas party 3 years ago. One of the youth from the time I was associate pastor at St. John's here in Austin, now a man named Robert, works in Susan's office. He is all grown up, married, has kids, and has a new church home. It was great to visit with him. As I was walking to my car, I saw Carolyn, a visitor to our church, who works in Susan's office too. I also met another church member, Will, when I first arrived. I was happy to be part of the swearing in.

Love,
Lynn

a new year blessing

1/3/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Psalm 29:11, "May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!" I can't think of any better way to begin this new year and new decade than with this verse. It is my prayer for you and all of God's creation.

Love,
Lynn

Aha! Herod!

from my sermon on 1/2/11 from Matthew 2:1-12

At a former church I had a member who had been on regional staff in the United Methodist Church. I asked her to come in as a consultant with our local church staff, as another pair of eyes to see how we could function better. After visitng us, she said, "One thing you could do as a staff is to share 'God sightings,' places where you experience the presence of Christ." I said that 'God sightings' sounded a lot like epiphany, where Christ is revealed, unveiled. One of my staff members said that epiphany was too big a word. As an Aggie, I said that epiphanies were 'aha' moments, places where we knew it was Christ in our midst.

I had an 'aha' moment this past week. We had a reunion of some of us Aggies who met at the Wesley Foundation, the Methodist campus ministry, some 35 years ago. We gathered in Mason, where one couple has a B & B right on the square. We reminisced. At the very first work project we did, Bob had gone to the bathroom right as we were leaving and got locked inside the building! He had to phome to get himself out of the double-keyed dead bolt locked doors. We had meals together.

I led a worship service in the chapel of the Fist UMC of Mason, a room that used to be my office when I did my internship there in 1978, I asked the 14 of us to witnness to the presence of Christ in our lives today. Bob and Lisa have a 29 yr old daughter with autism. they have tried group homes that didn't work out. They have taken their daughter back into their home, found her a job, and started a Sunday School class at their church for persons like her. Brent and Monica have a son who was in a head on collision with a drunk driver. Their son has survived thanks to good medical care, many prayers and support from their church and community. Russell has never been married. He quit his job to care for his father in his dying. For 3 years he was his father's nurse. Today, he volunteers at the UMC across the street from his house, including folding the worship bulletins on Thursday afternoons just like we do here. It was holy time. For an hour and 15 minutes I knew Christ was in the room. Aha! I wanted to place the experience in a bottle, put a label on the front, and say, "When you need the nearness of Christ, here it is!"

Of course we can't do this. We can't manufacture 'aha' moments. We cannot manipulate God into coming on our terms. It is always a gift, at God's initiative. But if I read this passage correctly, the 'aha' moments can come to absolutely anyone. They are not necessarily wise men in the story. They are certainly not kings. They are magi, from which we get magic. They are sorcerers, astrologers. Our Old Testament doesn't have a good word to say about such folks. They are gentiles. They are foreigners. They would have been voted least likely to see an epiphany.

If I read the story correctly, the world is filled with 'aha' moments. They can come in a star , a dream, a little boy in a house in Bethlehem. They can come even today.

You open the email. It has a link included in it. You receive 10 of these a day. Most of the time you delete them. This time, you go to the link. It is of a food court in a mall in Minneapolis. People are chowing down on their KFC and Chinese noodles and burgers and fries. There is Muzak playing. But it stops. An organ starts to play familiar chords. A beautiful soprano stands up and sings, "Hallelujah!" Then a tenor, and bass, and an alto. Soon a whole choir is singing. It is Handel's Messiah, the Hallelujah Chorus. People stop eating and talking. They stand and start singing too. Aha! In a food court in a mall in Minneapolis Christ comes!

You go to a Habitat for Humanity house blessing. You have driven nails, dug fence posts, hung drywall, painted, and now the house is done. On this day, you stand on the driveway, and the family is there. Someone comes and hands them the keys to their new house. It is the first house they have ever owned. Their smiles are so big. Aha! Christ is revealed!

Even in morning worship, sometimes we have 'aha' moments. It happened on Christmas Eve, at the 4 p.m. pageant service. We had sung a carol. The Christmas story was read. A little person just couldn't hold it in. They clapped and shouted "YEAH!' Aha! Christ comes even in worship.

I know you have made New Year's resolutions, and that is fine and dandy. You are going to lose weight. You are going to diet and exercise. Great! But hear this, beyond your resolutions, God has resolved to try to reach everyone, and has soaked the universe in 'aha' moments.

When you have an 'aha' moment with Christ, it won't be long until you have an 'aha' moment with Herod. He is lurking in this story. How many times is he mentioned in the passage? He says he wants to worship the new king, but he doesn't really. He is threatened. He is plotting. He is evil. This Herod is not the same king as the one at Jesus' death. But this Herod is an unsavory character. I did a little research. He murders a wife. He murders some sons. He kills a brother-in-law, among other bad deeds.

I hate to tell you this, but there is evil in the world. And not just out there in institutions. There is evil right at the door of your heart.

I have reading Blue Like Jazz, a story of Donald Miller's coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Don is going to classes at Reed College, a "party school" in Portland, Oregon. I know none of you have gone to a party school. At Reed, they actually set aside a weekend for sex and drugs and rock and roll. Don and his Christian friends were trying to come up with a response to this rave. Don suggest in jest that they set up a confessional booth on campus. One of his friends thought that was perfect. No, Don said, I was only kidding. No, the friend said, we will build and confess to others.

So as they were building the confessional booth, they attracted some attention. "What's that?" "A confessional." "Really?" "Yeah, come by later." Don drew the first shift. He hoped nobody would come, but someone did. "What is this?" "It's a confessional." "Oh, so I am supposed to tell you all the wicked things I have done?" "No, I want to confess to you how sorry I am that we Christians have messed up so badly. I am sorry for the Crusades, and everything." "I don't think you are responsible for the Crusades." "I know, but I don't represent Christ very well. He said to feed the hungry, and I don't much of that. He said to clothe the naked, and I am not good at that. He said to heal the hurt, and I don't. He said to bless those who persecute you, but mostly I lash out and try to get revenge. I am sorry." The dude responded with tears in his eyes, "I forgive you." Aha!

The dude asked about the cross. Don responded, "It means that we are broken, messed up, sinners. We can't fix ourselves, so God has come in Jesus to take our sin away, to heal us, to restore us, to rescue us from ourselves."

Aha! That how Christ comes, even when we confess. So the act of confession in the worship service is not a hollow one. It is where we see Christ at His best.

The good news is that Christ wants to be revealed to absolutely everyone and has bathed the universe in 'aha' moments.