<html><body><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> One of the really aggravating things about Jesus is that, apparently, He lost His temper so seldom. We <b><u>DO</u></b> know that He <b><u>DID</u></b> lose it on a number of occasions. But I, at least, wish that He’d been much more belligerent. If only Jesus had been more sarcastic; if only He’d been more cynical; if only the Gospel writers had whole sections in their work, whole chapters of one-liners which we could use to shut up a family member, or our pew-companion, or our car pool member.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> If only Jesus were a little more down and dirty, we think that life would be that much more simple.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Yet all that He did was to warn us about some of the upcoming verbal battles and emotional roller coaster experiences among the people we might expect never to trouble us. All that Jesus did and said was that we had to be ready, at all times and in all places, to keep our own faith firm while being open to the possibility that something said by someone in anger may actually have more than a grain of truth in it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> So, if we’re not to evade such confrontations <b><u>AND</u></b> we’re not to be afraid when they <b><u>DO</u></b> occur, what are we to do?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Well, let me be blunt. There’s nothing like coming to participate in the life of a church congregation. This isn’t to say that no one ever fights in church. Far from it. But congregational life is supposed to be constructed around the fact that no one has a corner on the truth. Questions and debates are the bread and butter of any congregation. Just look at the New Testament Letters! But with each new question, with every debate, there is the possibility of growth, of understanding, of building up of practical compassion. Yes, all of that can, and does, happen outside these four walls here. But, in a congregation’s corporate life together in worship, in being fed in body, mind and spirit, sometimes there’s the possibility that our eyes, our hearts, our minds will be blown wide open, possibly because we may least expect to be challenged - or sheltered – in such a way here.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Some of you may remember the Carol Burnett show.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> “Now, Mama,” said Carol Burnett’s character on her TV show, “you don’t have to go to church to go to heaven.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> “Well,” replied Carol’s mother, played by Vicki Lawrence, “you don’t have to wear a parachute to jump out of an airplane, but it certainly helps.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Then there’s what happens outside just because we’ve been here; because we’ve heard difficult words; because we’ve been brought to some wonderful moment of experiencing God. Away from here, we take the message of love, and the understanding about <b><u>MIS</u></b>-understanding, and the confidence of God’s Presence being with us, as we go to engage others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> I’m sure you remember some of the words of the hymn “I sing a song of the saints of God”, and the description of where we see these saints – on boats, on trains, over a cup of tea.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Last week, my friend Anne LeVeque wrote about what she experienced. She began, “<span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Lesbia Scott nailed it: ‘You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea.’</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41);"><br><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> “She neglected to mention hotels off the interstate, but had she known of their existence, I'm sure she might have included it in an additional verse.</span><br><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> “As you all know, this has been one of the most difficult weeks of my life. My younger sister died on Monday, and I immediately drove to Akron, Ohio to be with her young daughter and help with arrangements. I checked into the Quality Inn in Fairlawn, Ohio on Monday evening. On Tuesday,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/zoeharrison138"><span style="color: rgb(54, 88, 153); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Zoë</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">and I were stopping at the hotel for some faxing or printing of the endless stream of forms that needed signing. A housekeeper was just coming out of my room - a tall, slender, striking looking African-American woman named Victoria - and from the parking lot below the second-story balcony where she was I said, ‘Oh hi! that's my room.’ She said, ‘This is your room? When I came into this room, I fell on my knees and prayed!’<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> “I was, to say the least, stunned. She said, ‘I saw your Bible (it was really a Book of Common Prayer, friends, but I didn't correct her), and I knew there was a spiritual woman staying here, so I prayed for you.’ I thanked her, and we all<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">continued with the endless business at hand.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41);"><br><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> “The next day, Wednesday, I saw her again and stopped to say, ‘You have no idea how much that meant to me yesterday. My sister died on Monday, and that's why I'm here, and I was so thankful for your prayers.’ She gave me a big hug and assured me of her continued prayers.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> “On Thursday morning, I checked out, and went to stay my last night in Ohio with<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/rebeccascottwilson"><span style="color: rgb(54, 88, 153); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Rebecca Wilson</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">(who is being AMAZING helping<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/zoeharrison138"><span style="color: rgb(54, 88, 153); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Zoë</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">with one thing and another). Victoria saw me checking out and gave me a big hug.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41);"><br><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> “Not your usual hotel experience.” <sup>2</sup><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> Now <b><u>THAT’S</u></b> family!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> Brother David Vryhof wrote, “</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(32, 32, 32);">What a gift it is when we can inspire others to have courage and to hope, when we can raise another’s confidence, when we can instill in them life and energy and vigor. How important it is for us to express care for one another regularly and explicitly, to commend and cherish one another, to work actively to build up the Body of Christ by our words and actions, and not to undermine its health by bitterness and complaining.” <sup>3</sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"> Let’s remember how <b><u>EVERY</u></b>one, without exception, those we like and those we dislike, and those from whom we may run a mile; <b><u>EVERYONE</u></b> is charged with the responsibility of speaking and being the Gospel, no matter <b><u>HOW</u></b> hard it is.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> That’s family!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">NOTES:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">[1]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <i>“Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes”</i> by Kenneth E. Bailey. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Ill. © 2008. Page 194.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Anne LeVeque <a href="https://www.facebook.com/maleveque?fref=nf">https://www.facebook.com/maleveque?fref=nf</a></span><span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">3</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(32, 32, 32);">Br. David Vryhof <a href="http://ssje.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=344ed142b391b2b520df4080c&id=860d333092&e=d3bff814a3" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(43, 170, 223);">Society of Saint John the Evangelist</span></a> <i>“Brother, Give us Word”,</i> </span><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 102, 33);">ssje</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 102, 33);">.org/<b>word</b>/</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: gray;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(32, 32, 32);">7<sup>th</sup> August, 2016</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: gray;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>