MARK 1:21-28

MARK 1:21-28WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?
JANUARY 29 2006
READ SCRIPTURE

I’m going to ask you to imagine something with me for a few moments this morning.

Imagine with me that the event that occurred in our scripture passage – when the demoniac began disrupting the worship service — occurred here.

Imagine with me what might happen.

Let’s set the stage a bit here.

A Sunday morning.

Nothing extraordinary about it — it is much like today — we are gathered in worship as we are every Sunday — the same people are sitting in the same places looking the same as they do every Sunday — nothing extraordinary or different about it at all.

But — suddenly everything changes.
Suddenly everything is disrupted.

Someone bursts into the Church and cries out — passionately but incoherently. Everyone looks at this intruder as he raves on in his madness — and suddenly no one knows what to do.

What do we do?

A typical, ordinary Sunday has become extraordinary — and we are not sure what to do about it.

What do we do?

I think you know what we’d do.

It might seem like forever — but actually it takes only a few moments before some of us subdue this intruder. After only a brief interruption, he is escorted out — still ranting — still raving — still greatly disturbed. We then continue with our service — trying to act like nothing ever happened.

Don’t you think that’s how we’d handle it?
I do.

I’m not saying that’s the way it should be handled –
I’m not condoning handling it that way –
I’m just saying that’s the way we’d probably handle it.

But we’d still feel like our nice little worship time had been disturbed.

And we probably wouldn’t ever forget the day the crazy person had to be shown the door.

That’s the way we’d probably remember it — isn’t it?

Again — I’m not saying that’s how we should remember it — or condoning remembering it this way — I’m just saying – - that’s the way we would probably handle — remember — and label thesituation and the stranger.

Well — now that I have you thinking about how we would handle — remember — and label such a person and such a situation — –

How do you think those who witnessed the event Mark relates for us in our Gospel lesson for today — the worshippers gathered at the synagogue in Capernaum on that Sabboth almost 2,000 years ago — may have felt — may have wanted to react — may have thought about the situation when they gathered to worship — expecting nothing but the usual — and then suddenly very unusual things happen?

How do you think they may have felt — and wanted to react — — when Jesus came and began teaching with greater authority than anyone else they had ever heard — and then this demoniac appears — screaming — yelling — completely disrupting the service — and Jesus heals him?

How do you think they may have felt — and wanted to react — when — in the midst of a typical service of worship –

Jesus came — and things began to be disrupted.
Jesus came — and things began to change.
Jesus came — and nothing was same any more.
Jesus came — and suddenly the way things were was no longer good enough — for things had to be changed — things had to be different.

Everything was ordinary and commonplace — then Jesus came — and made everything extraordinary and no longer common.

What was it about Jesus that disrupted — that changed — that transformed everything about that service on that day?

Mark relates that it was the authority of Jesus that shook things up — that changed things — that made things different.
Jesus came and taught.
Not anything extraordinary about that.
People did that all the time.
What was extraordinary about Jesus was the authority with which He taught.

Jesus exorcised demons.
Contrary to what we might think, that was not all that extraordinary, either.
Historians of the time tell of many people performing exorcism in those days — or at least that’s how they explained it.
What was extraordinary about Jesus was the authority with which He performed this exorcism. No magical incantations — no secret gestures — no slight of hand — only the authoritative word.

What was extraordinary — what was disruptive about Jesus was that He had authority.

Authority that shook things up — that disrupted the way things were — that transformed things — that made things different. Jesus had authority — and wherever He went — His authority changed things.

I think Mark placed this event where he did in his Gospel to give illustration to what it meant that
The kingdom of God has come.
This exorcism is actually an illustration of what Jesus meant when He said: “The kingdom of God has come!”

The kingdom of God has come –
Jesus has the authority of God’s kingdom to change things — to take what is ordinary and make it extraordinary –
Jesus has the authority of God’s kingdom to change lives — to change communities — to change Churches — to change the world.
He has the authority to do all this and more!
Yea — He has authority!

The demoniac screams at Jesus: “What have you to do with us?”

Some would say this is merely a question from the demon — or demons — within him.

But what if he were representing everyone present there that day?
What if he were saying:

“What have you to do with us who are gathered here today, Jesus?”
Or –
“What are you going to do to us?”

Then — Jesus showed what He had to do with them.
He showed what He would do to them.
He showed what He could do to them.

He changed him.
He healed him.
And everyone there was changed, too — for Jesus indeed had the authority.

He had the authority to change lives — to heal — to take what is ordinary and make it extraordinary — to disrupt what was and make it what could be!

Now — you know what the next question is –

What about for us?

Could it be that the question from the demoniac is our question, too?

“What have you to do with us, Jesus?”
“What are you going to do to us?”
Jesus has the authority of the kingdom of God to change lives – - to change communities — to change Churches — to change the world — just as He had the authority to change the demoniac and those gathered at the Synagogue on that Sabbath.

He has the power to change — to transform — to make things new.

That’s what He has to do with us!
That’s what He can do to us!

He can change us!
He can transform us!
He can make us new!

But — will He?

I guess the more appropriate question here is –

Will we?

Will we be transformed?
Will we be made new?
Will we follow Jesus’ authority?
Will we let Jesus change us — transform us — and make us new?

That’s a question each of us have to answer for ourselves.
Each of you have to decide if you are going to let Jesus change and transform you.
Each of you have to decide if you are going to let Jesus make you a new person.

He has the authority — but will you let that authority change you?
He has the authority — but will we let that authority change our lives — change our community — change our Church — change our world?

Will we?

Will you?

Will you let the authority that is in Christ change you — transform you — and make you a new person?

Will you let the authority that is in Christ be your authority as you begin living a life of commitment to God — to going in God’s ways — to supporting the work of the Church by your attendance and all you have to offer — by your money — by your abilities?

Will you let the authority that is in Christ be your authority as you begin reaching out into the world with the authority of God’s love?

Will you let the authority that is in Christ be your authority as you let it change you — as you experience the life-changing love of Christ for yourself — then share it with others as you become involved in the Church — active in the Church — and active in showing God’s love to the community?

WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?

That was the demoniac’s question — and ours!

WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?
WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?

You know — the demoniac had a need.
A need that Christ could meet.

You may be in need right now.
Your life may not be going as God wants it.
For that matter your life may not be going as you want it.
There may be a demon within you — crying out for healing — crying out for change — crying our for transformation — crying out for Christ.

WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?
WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?

Change.
Healing.
A completely changed life.
A completely changed community.
A completely changed Church.
A completely changed world.

That’s what Christ has to do with us.
That’s what Christ can do for us.

WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?
WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?

Let the authority that is in Christ heal — transform — and change you.
Let the authority that is in Christ make you a different person.
Let the authority that is in Christ make us a different community.
Let the authority that is in Christ make us a different Church.
Let the authority that is in Christ make this a different world.

WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?
WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?

Change.
Healing.
A completely changed life.
A completely changed community.
A completely changed Church.
A completely changed world.

That’s what He has to do with us!

But — the first step — is letting the authority that is in Christ completely change — completely heal — completely transform — your life — the way you live it — your soul.

We are always in need of being changed — being healed — being transformed.
Tha world is always in need of being changed — being healed — being transformed.

Christ has the authority.

WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?
WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?

Change.
Healing.
A completely changed life.
A completely changed community.
A completely changed Church.
A completely changed world.

You know — may times we try to change things — to change ourselves or others — to heal things — either ourselves or others — — to heal and change the world — from what I call “the outside in” — we take some new gimmick — some new idea — some new plan that we feel will help us change — change the world — will change someone who needs help — and we try to force these gimmicks — these ideas — these plans upon ourselves or others — without letting it really change us first on the inside — then taking the change that is within us to others.

WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?
WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?

Change.
Healing.
Change and healing — not from the outside in — but the inside out.

Change and healing that can take place within our hearts — within our lives — within our souls — on the inside –

then change and healing we can share with others – - with the world — as we live that changed life Christ can give us.

WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?
WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?

Not long ago I read a quote from Ezra Taft Benson:

“The Lord works from the inside out, not the outside in.
Instead of taking people out of the slums, Christ takes the
slums out of the people — then they can take themselves
and others out of the slums. Instead of changing people
by changing their environment, Christ changes people –
who then change their environment. Instead of shaping
the behavior of others, Christ can truly change their
nature — which then changes their behavior.”

WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?
WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH US?

Change.
Healing.
A completely changed life.
A completely changed community.
A completely changed Church.
A completely changed world.

Change from the inside out.
Change in the only possible way it can truly be done.

Let Christ change you — on the inside.
Let Christ heal you — on the inside.

Let Christ change you –
Let Christ heal you –
so that through the change — the healing He works in you –
others can be changed.

Now friends –

That’s what He has to do with us!
That’s what He has to do with us!

AMEN

MARK 1:14-20

MARK 1:14 – 20IT’S TIME!
JANUARY 22, 2006

I remember a Bible Study group I was teaching at Smyrna not long after I began my ministry there.
I thought I had come up with a provocative question to span the gap of the “there and then” of the scripture passage and make it a “here and now” for the members of the church sitting around me that evening.
I don’t remember which Gospel we were studying — but we were looking at one of the passages where Jesus calls the disciples — and they drop all and follow.
I wanted to get those there that evening to start thinking about their response to the call of Christ — so I asked:
“If Jesus were to come up to you and say: “Follow me!”
what would be your response?”
Without hesitation, one person looked at me and said:
“I know what yours would be”
“You do?” I innocently asked.
She laughed and said “You’d say — ‘I’ll have to ask Sally.’”
My provocative question had backfired on me.

Our gospel lesson for today is Mark’s version of the call of Simon, Andrew, James, and John.
Jesus appears on the scene preaching that the kingdom of
God had come — it was time to repent — to believe — to live a new life — to respond to God.
It was time.
The Jews had prayed and waited for centuries for the Messiah.
Years had passed.
Many may have even quit praying or believing it was ever going to happen — that the Messiah was ever going to come.
But – then – it happened.
Jesus appeared.
It was no longer time for waiting — it was time for acting.
It was time.
The kingdom was among them.
God had acted in a new way.
The Messiah had come.
Salvation was a reality — not just a prayer or an idea.

And — it was time.

It was time to repent.
It was time to change.
It was time to live a new life.
It was time to follow Christ.
It was time.

Jesus calls Simon and Andrew — and what do they do?
They don’t seem to turn the question.
They don’t even ask their wives!
No — they act!
Immediately they drop their nets and follow.
It was time!

Jesus calls James and John — and what do they do?
They don’t seem to turn the question, either.
They don’t ask their wives!
They don’t even ask their father — who is sitting in the boat with them.
No — they act.
Immediately they drop their nets — and follow.
It was time!

Not time to think — not time to get advice — but time to act.
Yes –
It was time!
It was time!

The kingdom of God had come.
It was time to respond.
Either they were going to follow or they weren’t — but the decision had to be made.

It was time!
It was time!

But — was it only that time?
Was that time a special time — never to be repeated again — when people were called to follow Christ — to decide — to repent and let Christ change their lives — and the world?
It was time — yes — but was it the only time?
Was it the only time?
No — God’s call — Christ’s call — comes again and again to each of us — and each time we hear the call — it is time. Each time we hear Christ call us to repent — to let our lives be changed — to follow Him instead of our own will — to serve Him and serve others instead of ourselves — to live the life He calls us to live — it’s time!

It’s time to decide which way we are going to go.
It’s time to decide how we are going to respond.
It’s time to decide what we are going to do.

The call of Christ to repent and follow Him is just as urgent now as when He first gave it.
Yes — friends — now — here –
It’s time!
It’s time!

It’s time to decide how you are going to live.
It’s time to decide how you are going to respond.
It’s time to decide if you are going to leave all — and follow Christ.
It’s time!
It’s time!

I’m afraid we don’t feel the same urgency for following Christ as Simon, Andrew, James and John must have felt. Simon — Andrew — James — John — others Jesus called — must have felt that there was some urgency to what Jesus said — or they would not have responded as they did. Jesus’ call to repent and believe must have struck a chord within them to show them that He was the one to follow.

But — these days — it seems that following Christ is just an option for our lives we can choose if we wish — but certainly don’t have to choose. Following Christ has lost its urgency for many — it’s just one of many options for life that can be chosen or not.

We treat the call of Christ to repent — to live a new life — and to follow Him as just another option for life to choose or not — at our peril. The truth is that following Christ means life as God intended — while not following Christ means a separation from God and forsaking the life God has planned for us.

You can’t see Christ’s call to repent and follow as an option among many and still find salvation.
You can’t see Christ’s call to repent and follow as an option to choose or not choose and still find real life.

It is not an option for life among many.
If you want to live in God’s ways — and find salvation — it is the only option.

It’s the only way.

And friends -
It’s time!
It’s time!

It’s time to decide!
Right here.
Right now.

It’s time.
It’s time.

Repent.
Turn to God.
Turn away from Your ways — Your excuses — and turn to God.

Leslie in was a Missionary to Africa. He tells the story of a day he truly learned what repentence — turning and following God — truly meant.
One day he and some comrades were going to make a journey into the jungles of Africa to another village. They got up early — before sunrise — so they could get most of their journey underway before the African heat became unbearable. As they began their journey — travelers they passed heading in the opposite direction were trying to see in the darkness — just as they were. Soon, however, Newbigin noticed that the faces of those traveling in the opposite direction seemed to be shining with a glow he did not understand.
He finally asked one what made that glow.
The traveler laughed — and said –
“Turn — my friend — and face the light!”
Newbigin turned — and saw the most beautiful sunrise he had ever seen.

That’s what repentence is all about.
Turning our lives around — and facing God’s light.
It’s about saying “Yes” to God — and dropping all else.
That’s what salvation is all about.
And friends –

It’s time.
It’s time.

It’s time to repent — to turn to the light of God for your life.

It’s time.
It’s time.

So — are you going to live your life saying “Yes” to the call of God to repent — to change — and follow Him — or are you not?
Are you going to repent — to change — to quit doing the things that separate you from God — or are you not?
Are you going to support the work of God in the world — or are you not?
Are you going to support the work of the Church by your money — your abilities — your attendance — or are you not?
Are the things of God going to be important to you — or not?
Is attendance at worship — at Sunday School — at Bible Study — at fellowship times — going to be important to you — or not?
Are you going to accept God’s gracious invitation to repent — to change — to live a new life – - and experience salvation — or are you not?
It’s time to decide.

It’s time!
It’s time!

Maybe you never decided to repent and follow Christ.
Maybe you never decided to live in the ways of God instead of the ways of sin.
Maybe you never decided to repent — to change — and experience salvation.
If so –
It’s time!
It’s time!

Maybe you have accepted Christ as your Savior — but never let Christ totally change your life.
If so –

It’s time!
It’s time!

Maybe your life was changed by Christ at one time — and you were doing well in living in God’s ways — showing God to the world — supporting the work of the Church — but at some point you lost your excitement and you need to recommit to Christ and His ways.

If so –
It’s time!
It’s time!

Simon — Andrew — James — and John dropped all they had and followed Christ into a new life of faith — of devotion — of discipleship — where Christ guided them and they followed.

Have you decided to do the same?

It’s time!
It’s time!

Christ is calling.
It’s time you made your response.
It’s time!
It’s time!
AMEN

JOHN 1:43-51

WHEN GOD CALLS
JOHN 1:43-51
JANUARY 15, 2006

In times such as they are — when unemployment is high and its burdens experienced by many – many people think about matters of job and career. Finding a job – “making ends meet” – reaching out to those who have been laid off their jobs or who are unemployed for other reasons – these things seem receive more attention than usual in times of – as the financial folks like to say – ‘economic downturn”. Indeed, even when the economy is less troubled, we tend to be preoccupied with matters of career and job.

And we think we know what these things mean.

A job, we think, involves paid employment — or maybe any significant responsibility we take on.

A career, we reason, is what happens as a person undertakes a series of jobs over time. Career carries with it a sense of increasing experience, and often-greater responsibility and reward.

But a third term – or a third reality – has to be joined to fill out this picture.

That third term is “calling”.

A job might describe as paid employment.
A career might be described as a series of jobs or experiences in one job that lead to greater responsibility and greater reward.
A calling can be a job – and it can be a career. But it is different. It is more than a job – and more than a career.

The celebrated sociologist Robert Bellah sees it this way:

A calling links what we do to a larger community wherein we contribute to the common good.

Let me repeat that:

A calling links what we do to a larger community wherein we contribute to the common good.

A calling links the person to the world.

Another way to look at it is that someone would still follow a calling even if he or she has no need for the money or position that accompanies it. Even if we do not need a job – even if we do not need a career – we would still follow a calling.
We would follow a calling because we would believe it is right for us to do so. The work may be hard for us and not particularly successful, but we would find it rich with meaning and significance.

Here again, Robert Bellah is helpful. In his book Economics And The Theology Of Work he writes:

“The notion of calling is an effort to make real the reign of God in the realm of work.”

Again: “The notion of calling is an effort to make real the reign of God in the realm of work.”

He then writes that when we have a calling, we realize

“that we all need each other, and that our real reward is our sense of contribution to the common good.”

We all need each other – and our real reward is our sense of contribution to the common good.

We can have a job – we can even have a career – but once we come to that realization – we have a calling.

The Presbyterian minister and author Frederick Buechner makes a similar point when he asserts that

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

Where your need for fulfillment and satisfaction and the world’s need for what you have to offer meet.
Where the gifts God gives you to give and the world’s need for the gifts God gives you meet.
Where what you can do and what God and the world need you to do meet.

That’s more than a job.
That’s more than a career.
That’s a calling.

A job is temporary.
A career won’t last all your life.
A calling can span through a job – a career – and beyond.

You see – you can have a calling – even when you when you don’t have a job.
You can have a calling even when you’ve never had a career.
You can have a calling when you’ve never had paid employment or – even if you have been laid off from paid employment – or even after you’ve retired from paid employment.

You have a calling because God calls you, and keeps calling you, so that that “phone” in your heart rings incessantly.

Jobs and careers can be offered to us by people.
The pay for jobs and careers can come from people.

A calling, however, comes from God.

It is God who calls us, calls each one of us by name. The one who sustains us in existence also calls to us, so that we may enter into fuller and more authentic life.

This is all well and good — but for many people, the notion of calling does not “jive” with their experiences. Their work experience has been unhappy, and though they may make a living, it drains them of their life.
Or if they have known success and satisfaction, they still have difficulty talking about it being a “calling”.

But – you know what?
God keeps knocking on their door –
God keeps calling –
God keeps asking them to do what they can do –
God keeps asking them to somehow be partners with Him in working in the world so that it more closely resembles His divine will.

Indeed, there is something about a calling that almost guarantees we will find it hard to recognize. God is mysterious. The divine voice speaks with power, but often softly. We must entertain possibilities, and be open to surprise.

Think about Nathanael in our Gospel passage for today.
One day Philip shows up, waving his arms and exclaiming that he’s just met the one long promised in the law and the prophets. Nathanael’s answer is a sneer. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
He must have been thinking something like:
“When the messiah arrives, certainly it won’t be in a crossroads too small to have its own McDonald’s.”

But his own encounter with Jesus spins Nathanael around fast and pushes him in the right direction.

From his conversation with Jesus we get the feeling that Nathaniel had felt God present one time while sitting under a fig tree. Maybe he had told no one about it, yet Jesus mentions the incident right away.
Nathanael becomes a disciple. Jesus calls him — invites him to follow, and that is what he does.

Nathanael is surprised. It was not easy – but he recognized his calling. The purpose of his life comes to light.

This means – among other things – that there’s hope for the rest of us.

There’s hope that we can start to understand our calling.
There’s hope that we can discover that place where – as Buechner writes – “our deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
There’s hope that we can discover that place where our need for fulfillment and satisfaction and the world’s need for what we have to offer meet.
There’s hope that we can discover where the gifts God gives us to give and the world’s need for the gifts God gives us meet.
There’s hope that we can discover where what we can do and what God and the world need us to do meet.
There’s hope that we can discover that particular thing that for us is more than a job — more than a career — but – is a calling.

Maybe you’ve begun to recognize it. If so, I pray that you can continue to recognize it. But – be aware that — almost certainly — it will involve surprise.

The reason for the surprise is that God has better things in mind for us than we can ask or imagine.
Better things than our society says to us.
Better things than our family says to us.
Better things than we say to ourselves.

Notice I did not say that these things would be profitable or glamorous or respectable.
I said they would be better.

Again, as Buechner puts it, there exists that place where our deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. God wants to lead us there, and calls each of us by name.

Maybe you know people who have responded to God’s call – and seem to be aware of that place where – for them – their deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.
Maybe you are such a person yourself.
Maybe you’ve discovered that place where your gifts seem to match a need perfectly. The job may not pay well, and the career may not be anything to write home about. But God keeps returning you there where you do something significant to meet the meet a need in the world. You realize you are doing something that meets a hunger in the world – and in the process you are experiencing a gladness deeper than you think you deserve. You realize may not be there because it’s prestigious to be there – but because you have been called by God to be there.

But – like I said – the path may be littered with surprises.

Albert Schweitzer was a theologian and scripture scholar whose work was bold and innovative. He was an organist of exceptional ability whose recitals drew enthusiastic audiences. You’d think somebody of this sort would figure he had found his calling, and that would be that.
But Schweitzer didn’t stop listening, and God didn’t stop calling, and the surprises kept coming.
In his late thirties he abandoned his promising academic career and headed off to equatorial Africa to serve as a medical missionary. He went to a place where there were no great universities where he could teach, no great organs for him to play, but plenty of sick people for him to help. Later his hospital was destroyed, but that did not end his commitment to Africa. He recognized his call to build it a second time.
The world’s deep hunger and his deep gladness met repeatedly through the decades of his life.

We can look at how others were called, and learn from their example. We can profit from the stories of Nathanael and Albert Schweitzer. We can be inspired by the stories of those who led our nation to greater freedom and justice: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr. — Rosa Parks. We do well to take courage from how they responded to God’s voice speaking to each of them.

Finally we must hear and heed our own call. Each of us can listen intently, for God speaks to us, perhaps through a still, small voice; perhaps through the turmoil of daily events. To hear our call is always an instance of grace.

Listen for God’s call.
You have gifts that God has given you – and is calling on you to use.
There are needs in this Church where God may be inviting you to use your gifts and abilities to make a difference.
At the very least God is calling you to evaluate your commitment to the Church – and how you respond to the needs in the Church with your time, your abilities – and yes – your financial commitment. You all know the financial straits of the Church – you’ve read it in the newsletters and others places and have heard it discussed. I would invite you to consider how God might be calling you to respond to that need.

Listen.
Listen for God’s call.
Listen.

There are needs in the community where God may be calling on you to use your gifts and abilities to make a difference.
The poverty level is high – organizations like the Outreach Center, Salvation Army, Red Cross and others need volunteers and also need donations of food and money. Other organizations such as Hospice need volunteers and donations. Or you can just look around and see those in need around you.

Listen.
Listen for God’s call.
Listen.

There are needs in the world where God may be calling on you to use your gifts and abilities to make a difference.
The Friendship Group is making a difference in the world through it’s afghans that are sent to Warm Up American and the Red Cross.
Look around you and see what you can do to make a difference.

Listen.
Listen for God’s call.
Listen.

Listen again to how Frederick Buechner defines a call:
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

There is a place like that for you.
God has given you a calling – whether you realize it or not.
Listen.
And when you hear God’s call – respond.

Amen.

GENESIS 1:1-5, MARK 1:4-11

Is It Real?
Genesis 1:1-5, Mark 1:4-11Baptism of The Lord
January 8, 2006

Most of you know that Sally and I have an older model Nissan Pathfinder. It’s not a luxury SUV at all – you have to roll down the windows by hand ( and I don’t mean by putting your finger on a button – I mean rolling down the windows by hand) –- lock each door separately by hand ( you have to unlock the front doors with a key then reach into the back to unlock the back doors) – and stomp on the gas to get it to go because the accelerator doesn’t “respond” very well.
Besides these “minor” points, however, we love it. Sally says she can see the road better driving it than my Camry because she is higher up – and it’s great for transporting her pottery stuff – even if sometimes there is so much pottery stuff in it that she has to “make room” in the front to be able to sit in the driver’s seat. We did clean it out, though, to make room for all our gifts, luggage, food (we have to have snacks, you know) – and all 3 dogs that rode in it to South Carolina for Christmas. And yes – we somehow fit the 2 of us in amongst the gifts, luggage, food, and dogs! Yea – we love our old SUV !
Our Pathfinder ever made it into a story our niece wrote about Sally for school entitled “My Aunt”. On one page it read:
Some aunts drive economical cars – but my aunt drive a 4 wheel drive SUV!
Yea – we love our old SUV !
But – if you happen to turn on the TV – especially during sporting events like the College Bowl games the past few weeks or now the NFL Playoffs – you’ll see commercials touting the “next generation” of SUV’s.
Each commercial looks about the same — attractive people load up their oversized 4×4 to head out over some terrain negotiable only by Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, throwing up dirt and gravel all the way. The automotive action is usually followed by an image of the same folks setting up camp or jumping into a kayak or dangling off a rock.

Looks like fun — “looks” being the operative word here.

Actually analysts say that only about 5 percent of SUVs are ever taken off-road, which means that you’re more likely to see a Range Rover at Starbucks, for example, than anywhere near a mountain lake. For most SUV owners, the look and the possibility of one day actually locking in the four-wheel drive are worth the extra bucks in the purchase price. I think we have used 4 wheel drive once (maybe) on the Pathfinder to get out of the drive one winter when the snow was piled up behind it where the road had been scraped. But as for rugged camping – well – that same story our niece wrote included a page that read:
Some aunts like to go camping in the woods. My aunt camps at the Holiday Inn.
A lot of SUV owner prefer the Holiday Inn over the woods.
Of course, with the current debate about rising gas prices, oil shortages, environmental impacts and alternative energy, many SUV owners feel they have to explain themselves to their those who may object to their driving such a “gas guzzler” when they won’t even take it off the road. Why have four-wheel drive if the only dirt those four wheels will ever touch is the fringe of the kids’ soccer field?

Well, I have discovered the perfect product for those who want to look like they take their SUV “off road” – even if they don’t! I was walking through Target before Christmas – and found “Sprayonmud” — a spray on concoction that creates the illusion that their SUV has, on more than one occasion, been baptized in mountain mud.
What will they think of next?
For a mere $14.50 per quart-sized bottle you can buy actual mud to spray on your vehicle in order to make it look as though you’ve just bumped back from a wild ride in the wilderness when, in fact, you’ve been merely hiking through the aisles at Target.

The promotional material says:
“If you’ve got a 4X4 or off-roader, Sprayonmud will send a message to anyone who disapproves or is just plain envious — you use your off-roader, off the road as well as on it.”
Inside each quart-sized plastic container is real dirt from the Britain (where the product originates), mixed with water and a “secret ingredient” which helps the mud stick to the vehicle’s body.
A few strategic squirts on the fenders and you’ve got an Escalade that’s dirtier than a mudslide.
Real off-roaders, though, know that the best mud is free and generally available. Their vehicles wear that mud as a badge of honor, marking them as adventurers.
Fake-mudders mark themselves as, well, fakers. To be real you have to go where the dirt is.
When Jesus burst on the scene in first- century Israel, one of his first actions was to mark his life and ministry with some real mud. He traveled way off-road, all the way out into the Judean wilderness, to see his cousin John, the quintessential rugged individualist. In the manner of other ancient Israelite prophets, John lived a solitary life amid sand and snakes but preached a message so compelling that people were willing to get their feet dirty to go find him.
Standing there in the notoriously muddy water of the Jordan River, John offered a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” Now –0- first-century Jews were used to ceremonial washings, but the only one that involved immersion was for those converting to Judaism. But John called everyone, even ethnic Jews, to be baptized — or “marked” — as being in need of forgiveness and salvation. What John called for was that the mud and muck of human sin needed to be washed away and replaced with a real mark of repentance and confession. John’s baptism was, in a real sense, a great equalizer, declaring that rich and poor, Jew and non-Jew, righteous or roustabout all must turn toward God.
Now – I have learned through the years that you don’t wash dishes in dirty water. Yet John calls for people to be “washed,” marked, or cleansed in the dirty waters of the Jordan.
Baptized in dirty water.
When Jesus came to the edge of the water, John recognized that He was “the one” who “is more powerful than I … I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals”
If anyone needed to skip this particular mud bath it was Jesus. Yet Jesus willingly steps down into the brown water to take on the same muddy mark as others John is baptizing.
When we’re baptized we take on that same mark as Jesus did.
Jesus’ baptism is the prototype for those of us who would follow him. But — what does our baptism say about us?
We understand baptism as a mark of God’s favor.
Jesus came to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. For him it was a form of anointing — not just with water but with the Spirit. Here we see the Trinity in action: the Son receiving the blessing, the Father expressing his love for the Son, and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. Baptism marks Jesus as “the Beloved” in whom God’s own nature is revealed and with whom God is “well pleased.” It’s a powerful expression of the intimacy of God’s own relational nature.
For us, baptism is a sign of God’s favor as well, but it is favor that is unmerited.
We can’t fake out God and look like we are something that we’re not — so we “come clean” through repentance and confession and simply receive the love of God who created us and sees us as being “very good.”
But — there’s more.
The baptism of Jesus was a form of anointing by which the Messiah, the promised One, would save Israel and the whole world. Israelite kings were marked as a symbol of their office and their responsibility. For Jesus, and for us, baptism is preparation for ministry.
Baptism is a sign that we pledge allegiance to a different kingdom — the kingdom of God. And that allegiance is worked out in our service to others. Baptism marks us, sets us apart as different from the world’s idea of power.
It’s not fake – like the “Sprayonmud” some people might spray on an SUV to make it look used. It’s the real thing.
When the great reformer Martin Luther was tempted, he would often put his hand on his head to remind himself that he was baptized — that he was different, that he could resist temptation because of his connection with Christ. Our baptism into Christ calls us to be a different, peculiar and passionate people who are sent out to follow Jesus in changing the world.
In other words, we’re called to “go” into the world and get dirty serving others. There’s no room for pretending or keeping to our own side of town. Our baptism is a commission and a call to go into the wilds of a hurting world.
Jesus, God in the flesh, lived and moved in the world but was not “of” the world. He was tempted like us, human like us, but recognized that His kingdom was beyond the human realm. Jesus didn’t merely call people to get straightened up so that they could fly off to heaven when they died. The real good news that He preached is that God’s kingdom, in the person of Jesus, had broken in — a new reality was coming to the forefront. Jesus saw heaven not as being far away but rather quite close at hand, active, working, engaging, breaking into human history.
What we do now matters — to be agents of the in-breaking kingdom where we are today, be it on an urban street or a rural back road. We can experience the promises and purposes of God in our present lives. Our baptism, then, invites us to live in that new reality — a heavenly, God-ordained reality, seeing eternity not “out there” somewhere but seeing God at work here and now.
Living as baptized followers of Christ is something we can’t fake. No amount of spray on mud or religiosity can hide who we really are. As Jesus waded into the muddy water, he set the example for us.
The bottom line is this: If the Son of God is willing to get dirty changing the world, we who follow need to do the same.
So – how about it?
Is your commitment to Christ – who was willing to get Himself dirty – willing to go into the world and bring the Good News of Salvation to all people – real?
Are you willing to follow Jesus into the world – showing His love to all people – even if it means going “off the beaten path” at times – and even if it means really “getting dirty” for His work?
Is it real?
A “spray on commitment” won’t work. It has to be the real thing.
Amen.