The sisters are afraid Babette will leave them now. Babette says, "I cannot leave you. I have no money left. I spent it all on the feast!"

At the Kingdom feast we can expect to see all the Babettes of the world -- those who flee injustice, those who have been on the outside looking in. The poor, the crippled, those who have been overlooked, downtrodden, dispossessed -- they will all be there.

Some years ago Senator Bob Dole sent letters to prepossessing people he tho't could help his political career. The 21/2-page letter explained "The Republican Senatorial Inner Circle is made up of individuals who . . . discuss national and regional topics in a comfortable mix of business and social gatherings."

One of the letters was sent to Bosko Struminikovski, inviting him to join their august group. Bosko would really like to have accepted, but he was in prison, serving 23 years for firearms, drugs and bribery!

That political faux pas reminds us that the Inner Circle invited to the Kingdom feast will indeed include those whom you would hardly invite to a feast. We may be surprised to see some people at the feast we didn't expect would be invited. Even more sobering is the tho't that some others may be surprised to see you and me there! The guest list for that feast is determined not by one's power, prestige, position or title. Actually, everyone is invited. Few accept! The reason is that few really realize to what they have been invited!

Your name is on the invitation list. Maybe you don't deserve to be invited to such an auspicious banquet? That's exactly the point. We are not invited because we deserve to be invited, but because we know the right people!

The right people! Ah! It pays to know the right people! I wasn't asked to join Detroit Athletic Club because I have money or influence, but because I know someone who convinced half a dozen business friends to sponsor me.

My invitation to the exclusive reception for Cardinal Maida came not because I am well-known or significant, but because a very dear friend of mine is in his inner circle!

You and I have invitations to the Kingdom feast because we know the right person, Jesus! It pays to know the right people!

The New Testament God is a God who throws parties. A woman finds her lost coin -- and throws a party. A boy runs away from home, comes back -- his Dad throws a party. Jesus called himself the bridegroom at a wedding feast -- another party. Several times Jesus contrasted himself sharply with John the Baptist. John came fasting, Jesus came feasting. John was an acetic, Jesus was accused of gluttony.

Joseph Marmion said, "Joy is the echo of God's life and presence within us. Christianity stripped of joy is not Christianity at all." An unhappy Christian is an oxymoron. Feasting is by definition a happy event.

Some time ago someone said to me, "You never do anything for fun. You're always working." I guess the trouble is, that person doesn't know me very well. My work is fun, whether teaching, preaching, entertaining or anything else I do.

A group of us went to the Detroit Institute of Arts a while back. You should know I can thoroughly peruse the contents of any museum in about an hour, but my wife can't get thru in less than a week!

So after I was satisfied that I had seen everything, I sat on a bench near the entrance and watched people. You'd be surprised how much fun I have just watching people!

As I sat there, one of our group said, "You're not having any fun!" As a matter of fact, I tho't I was! I have more fun watching people than pictures!

What is fun? What do you do for fun? I really enjoy the ministry. I enjoy studying sermon material, and I enjoy challenging you to think new tho'ts and to consider new concepts. I enjoy visiting with you in the lobby, at church socials . . .
But that is my work, you say. What do I do for fun, for diversion, for recreation? I think you know by now what I do. I putter in the yard, tend my flowers and animals.

You who are play goers may remember Auntie Mame. She said, "Life's a banquet, but there are too many poor fools starving to death."

There's the secret to a happy life: to see life as a banquet.

Fall is a good time to consider our work -- what we do, why we do it. Summer is past, vacations are over.

Samuel Natale says, in his book Ethics and Morals in Business, that "devotion and dedication to work as the single unifying principle of one's life" causes burnout -- maybe that's what Jesus called losing one's soul!

Even when I was in secular employment (that phrase is really a contradiction in terms for a Christian) my job was a secondary part of my life. Christ was the "single unifying principle." Ministry was my preoccupation.

In his book, Working, Studs Terkel wrote, "I think most of us, like the assembly line worker, have jobs that are too small for our spirits. Jobs are not big enough for people."

So I say to you: Make Christ your calling, your "single unifying principle," and make your job just a part of your calling to be a Christian. That's your insurance against burnout, and that's the epitome of Christian witness.

Some of you are retired. Alright, then get re-tired! Commit yourself to some new task. You don't need to get paid for it. You just need to take it seriously. Volunteer to serve, maybe in a hospital, the Evangelical Home, the Red Cross . . . somewhere. If you can't find anything to do, talk to me. I'll help you find something to do!

Retirement as a way of life doesn't suit everyone. That's why I'm here! I was absolutely miserable as a retiree. Ask Lucille about retirement. Her answer will be, "Don't!" Furthermore, a Christian cannot retire from the "single unifying principle" of being a Christ-follower, a Christian witness.

Age has too long been used as the primary criterion for retirement. Moses was 80 when he led Israel from Egypt. Caleb was 85 when he cried, "Give me that mountain." Colonel Sanders was 70 when he discovered "finger lickin' chicken" and Ray Kroc was 70 when he introduced the Big Mac. (As a vegetarian I could have given them much better alternatives!)

Casey Stengel was manager of the Yankees when he was 75. Picasso was painting at 88. George Washington Carver was 81 when he became Secretary of the Agriculture Department. (Incidentally, Carver wore a flower on his lapel every day!) Thomas Edison was 85 when he invented the mimeograph.

Pablo Casals practiced 6 hours a day when he was 90. When someone asked about his practicing, he said, "I think I'm beginning to get the hang of it."

Mortimer Adler published his 2nd autobiography when he was 91. He said "I wrote the 1st one when I was 75 and so much has happened since then. I have to tell you about it." You see, at 84, he was converted and made a commitment to Jesus Christ. It not only changed his life; it gave him something more to write about!

Then there is one of my heroes, John Wesley. He averaged 3 sermons a day for 54 years. He arose at 4 in the morning and worked until 10 at night. At 83 he was upset that he could only work 15 hours a day. At 86 he was ashamed that he could preach only twice a day! He was angry when he overslept until 5 am! He obviously enjoyed his ministry. He was having fun! What a hero!

God told Adam he would have to earn his way by working. I think he was telling us something in regard to the value of labor. Being the gardener in Eden must have been a pleasant job.

If you don't enjoy your work, maybe you should quit! (Or apply for welfare and food stamps!) There are so many enjoyable things one can do that it is a shame to spend your life doing something you don't enjoy.

But, of course, one must "make a living." True! In making a living most people want as much as they can get for as little as they have to do to get it. That's what we call "free enterprise" or "market economy" or whatever . . .

No matter what kind of work you do, you need to take some time for relaxation, for a change of pace, for what we call recreation. Re-creation. If your preoccupation, your "single unifying principle," is your commitment to Christ's Kingdom, you may suffer, but it won't be from burn-out! If, on the other hand, it is materialism, you will very likely burn out. Stress, the factor which causes burn-out, is also the main ingredient in profit-oriented labor.

Fun presupposes a sense of humor. God has a sense of humor. If you don't think so, just go to a zoo, or watch kittens or children at play, or look at the person sitting next to you!

Now I am not a Pollyanna. We live in a world of sin, sickness, suffering. All people suffer. And I am not trying to convince you that as a Christian you are going to live on a perpetual high.

I do remind you of that favorite verse, Romans 8:28: "In all things God works for the good of those who love him." All things! And I also remind you that the power of positive thinking can work to help you realize the fulfillment of that promise.

We all know that the power of suggestion can change us, for better or for worse. If I am feeling less than up and at it when you ask, "How are you?" I have two choices: (1) to admit I am not up to par, or (2) to tell you a little "white lie" that I am feeling great.

If I say that I am feeling great when I'm really not, I will probably (1) lift your spirits to some degree, and (2) lift my own spirits.

Eleanor Roosevelt and a friend were walking across Times Square one day. She noticed a young lady walking toward them with her head down. She said to her friend, "Look at that young lady. She looks depressed. Watch this." Then she stopped the young lady and said, "My dear, I like that lovely hat you're wearing. It is most becoming to you."

After they walked on, Mrs. Roosevelt told her companion to look back at the girl. She was walking taller, holding her head up.

When you smile, say "Good Morning," answer the "How are you?" with a cheery whatever (even if it is not entirely accurate) you are exuding an influence which Jesus called the Light of the world! And you are at the same time influencing yourself to feel better.

And, of course, the inverse is also significant, and just as powerful. If you answer, "O, I guess I'll make it," or "I feel lousy," or some other negative comment, you are (1) reinforcing your own bad feelings, making yourself feel even worse, and (2) spreading gloom instead of the Light of the world!

If you do in fact feel lousy, or are angry, then you may need to find someone who can help you by listening to you, and maybe offering some kind of antidote. That is what ministers are for. So whenever you want to explode in a way that will not likely damage your relationships, you are welcome to explode at me!

Syndey Smith was called by some of his contemporaries, the funniest man who ever lived. Did his sense of humor make him ineffective as a minister? No, no, no! He was largely responsible for getting the British parliament to pass an act in 1829 which permitted Roman Catholics to vote in British elections. And for getting the parliament to free the slaves in 1834. And later to give British Jews freedom to vote.

Some believe he did more than anyone else to prepare a background for the emancipation of American and Brazilian slaves and Russian serfs. And he did it with humor!

Abraham Lincoln was famous for his sense of humor. He used to break into laughter in the midst of cabinet meetings — this during the Civil War, which he took very seriously.

Solomon tells us that "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22) And he says "An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." (Proverbs 12:25)

Scientists confirm that a good belly laugh can raise our systolic blood pressure from an average 120 to 200. It can double our pulse rate from 60 to 120. It pumps extra adrenaline into the bloodstream. It stimulates endorphins, or painkillers, into the brain. Maybe sickness should more often be called a laughing matter!

No wonder G. K. Chesterton said "a good joke is the closest thing we have to divine revelation."

Father Michael Moynahan said God "made us in his image, looked at what he had made and laughed so hard that he had to rest up on the seventh day."

Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest of preachers. He was criticized for using too much humor. His answer was, "If you knew how much I hold back, you would be proud of me!"

We don't often think of Jesus as having fun. He carried the heavy burden of other people's troubles. But he also attended many dinner parties. And he spent a significant amount of time with "publicans and sinners." So much time that he incurred an unsavory reputation! If he had been a no-fun kind of person, he would not have fit in with what are usually called the lower class. They would not have invited him to their dinner parties.

Just as I have told you that a preacher must preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, I tell you that every Christian must live with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.

We cannot ignore the sad fact that during our worship hour today, 2000 children will die of preventable causes! And that 4000 crimes will have been committed in United States. As a Christian, I must feel the pain of such tragedies. But as a Christian, I must also learn to laugh at life, my life and yours. God laughs. So must you. So must I.

Let's have a party! If our fun at times masks some pain, then so be it. That is better than to spread gloom and doom. It is better than to increase our own pain by the power of negative thinking. Let us be all that we can be. Abraham Maslow once said, "If you choose to be less that you can be, you will be desperately unhappy." Let's be all we can be . . . and help others to be all they can be. Let's all be happy!

Let's have a party!

Let us pray . . .

Comments before communion:

John Ruskin said, "Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see." He also said, "The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something and tell what he saw in a plain way."

Believing is seeing. The wrong perspective is imprisonment; the right perspective is empowerment.

We must literally learn to see. Adults who have been blind since childhood find it difficult to learn to see.

A man in Oklahoma regained his sight at age 50, after 45 years of blindness. He could see but for awhile he couldn't "see"! That is, he couldn't register what he saw, couldn't put it in perspective. Without experience, it just didn't all fit into any perspective for him.

In fact, a month after surgery, he felt more "disabled" than when he was blind! He had less self-confidence and found the seeing experience "almost shocking."

After reviewing the recorded cases of adults who received their sight after being blind, Marius von Senden concluded that every one of them experienced a "crisis" which for most was very traumatic.

We have all at some time had something explained to us, something we did not understand; and then, "O, now I see!" Now I see! In this case, seeing is believing.

In Kent's Korner. the June Conference Connections, Kent shares a scripture he claims to have read "a zillion times" but never really saw!

So I read it. And I share his shock at not really having seen it before! Here is Mark 8:14 - 21:

"The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. "Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread."

"Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied.

"And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" They answered, "Seven."

"He said to them, "Do you still not understand?""

We will discuss this in detail in days to come. Today I want to challenge you to pray for open minds and hearts. If Jesus were here in person, maybe he would say to us as he said to his disciples: "C'mon, folks, must you be so slow-minded? After all the years in the church, don't you get it yet?"

Dear saints, we have much to learn. Today as we share the bread, the body of Christ, let us also share his mind. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."