Sermon No. 5

How's My Driving?

"How's my driving? Call 1-800-U-tell-us."

Have you ever been tailgated by an 18-wheeler? Almost run off the road by a tanker? Cut off by a tour bus?

Not much you can do about it — unless it's one of the half-million trucks and busses with a "How's my driving?" sign on the back.

Drivers Check, Drivers Alert and Fleetsafe operators take hundreds of calls a week and report to the individual companies. About 80 - 90% of all truck drivers never receive a complaint.

As Paul traveled from Corinth to Galatia and back, complaints about him piled up in the anti-Paul movement — rival evangelists, Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentiles converting to Christianity must follow typical Jewish customs.

The 1-800 complaints about Paul were not that he drove too fast, that he cut other drivers off, nor even that he was rude, altho he may have profited by a refresher course in humility every so often!

The complaints included his basic comportment. He simply did not conduct himself like an apostle. He was too lenient with the Gentile converts. He was not polished in his sermons. He was, you might say, a bit boring, sort of Al Gore-ish! Sound ideas, but not the stirring rhetoric you would expect from a traveling evangelist. He spoke truth, but without the glitz and glitter which most people think should be part of the story of a miracle-working rabbi.

Paul had no decal, of course, but if he had, I think it would likely have read "How's my driving? Call 1-800-buzz-off."

The strained relationship between Paul and the Corinthians is evident to Bible scholars. Paul probably anticipated a reaction like, "O, there he goes again, bragging about himself."

Paul responded with an interesting, "Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? You yourselves are a letter from Christ." Have you ever tho't of yourself as a letter of recommendation for Christ, a living letter?

The point he makes seems to be one of competency and confidence. He had got his marching orders directly from Jesus, and the fact that some Corinthians were critical of him and his ministry was not going to deter him!

I would like to think that each of us here today is a letter of commendation for this congregation . . . and for Christ. We are letters, of course, letters either of commendation, or of condemnation. Our lives in the community tell the story of our faith, or lack of faith, our integrity, or lack of integrity.

Do our lives make people feel better about themselves? Do our words reveal that we are believers? Do our attitudes tend to make people smile?

Words have power. Villagers in the Solomon Islands have a curious way of cutting trees. If a tree is too big to be felled by an ax, the natives cut it down by yelling at it.

At dawn, the woodsmen sneak up on the tree and scream at it. They say if they do this every day for 30 days, the tree dies and falls over. They claim that yelling kills the spirit of the tree.

I'm not sure this tale is verifiable, but I am very sure that yelling can kill the spirit of people. And I am very sure there is another side to the coin. Words of love and encouragement can lift the spirit of people. The story of Jesus is primarily a story of loving and encouraging people.

Words to encourage need not always be profound exhortations. Simple phatic talk, conversation to express friendship, rather than to inform, is often more important than profound dialogue.

Sometimes our words are very significant. Billy Graham was in India. He talked to a man at length about Jesus. Then he asked the man if he would like to become a Christian. He said, "I like what you have said. If I ever see a real Christian, I shall likely become one." Telling the story, the evangelist added, "The most tragic aspect of that story is that when he said that, he was looking at me!"

When a U.S. Navy ship landed in Japan for a short stay, the commander lined up his men and said, "Remember that you are walking into another culture. Your customs and habits may not be welcome in Japan. They will judge your homeland by what they see in your behavior."

Tony Evans is a black preacher. He grew up in Baltimore. His parents had a rocky marriage, were often violent.

The year Tony turned 10, his father gave his life to Christ. His wife did all she could to irritate him. He arose at 3 am to have time for prayer and Bible study. He took the children to church.

After a year of this, Tony's mother gave in and also became a Christian. His parents went to church together. Tony was encouraged to go to college. He became the first black person to earn a doctoral degree at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Your life, even your appearance will testify to your faith. People will see "How's my living?" and be better for it.

Whenever Shirley Temple got up to perform, her mother would say, "Sparkle, Shirley." And sparkle she did!

A little boy wanted to visit God. He filled a suitcase with Twinkies and a 6-pack of root beer and started on his journey. He went about 6 blocks when he saw an old woman sitting on a park bench. She looked hungry, so he gave her one of his Twinkles. She smiled as she accepted it. Her smile was so pretty that he gave her one of his root beers. She smiled again. They sat there for a long time, eating Twinkles and drinking root beer.

Finally it began to get dark. The boy realized he was getting tired, so he started home. He went a few steps, turned around and ran back and gave the old lady a hug. She gave him the biggest hug he had ever had.

When he got home, his mother asked, "What did you do today that made you look so happy?"

"I had lunch with God. And you know what? She has the most beautiful smile I ever saw!"

Meanwhile, the old lady went home. Her neighbor said, "What did you do that made you look so happy?"

"I ate Twinkles in the park with God." Before her neighbor could respond, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected!"

We are about to experience another Lent. Lent is our yearly trip into the desert.

God's people were a desert people. Moses made a covenant in the desert. In fact, every time God's people got out of the desert they seemed to get into trouble. We need this annual trek because the cross seems to get fragmented in our lives. We chop the cross into manageable pieces and play spiritual Scrabble with them.

That is only a word game. Religion that is not deeply experienced is just table talk. Lent in an invitation to take seriously our Christian commitment, an invitation to renew our vows to Jesus.

Jesus was glorified after he was humiliated; entered the ministry after he endured the desert; rose from the dead after he died.

I invite you to be ready for a Lenten experience. Be ready to go into the desert. The desert is a place to think about life in a new way. The desert is a place to commune with God in a new way.

We will not spend 40 years in the desert, like the Israelites. Nor 3 years, like Paul. But we will spend 40 days, like Jesus did. Not in a literal desert, but in an earnest endeavor to address questions and search for answers.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, the Spirit sent him into the desert. At his baptism the voice had said, "You are my son." In the desert, another voice said, "If you are the son of God . . ."

Jesus went to the desert to prepare for his ministry. Later, Paul went to the desert to prepare for his ministry.

Let us go to the desert to find ourselves and to lose ourselves. To find our real identity as sons and daughters of God, and to lose our lives in commitment.

Jesus does not call us all to lives of austerity, but to lives of exuberance. As lights in a dark world, salt in a bland world, we represent Jesus by living "more abundantly." The abundant life is a life in perspective — carrying a cross, but also exuding joy. The divine paradox!

Then Jesus gives us an intriguing lesson: "And no-one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." (Mark 2:22)

To me, that says we need to rethink our lives, our priorities. Both as individuals and as congregations. Jesus invites us to "make all things new." The way we've always done things is no reason to continue in the same old ruts. Which is why Jesus caused such a stir whenever he showed up. He just didn't do things "the way we've always done things." And that upset the religious community.

In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus stirred up the Pharisees by not fasting according to their custom. His aberrant behavior challenged the traditions, disrupted the patterns.

People like Jesus cause anxiety in every age. There are some people, some whole congregations who have left our denomination because they perceive us to have forsaken our traditions.

In this congregation there are ideas emerging which may cause anxiety. That is nothing new. The early church community discovered this. Acts 15 chronicles controversy as it swirled about Jerusalem. They needed new wineskins if they were to welcome Gentiles.

As we wander thru the desert of Lent, please be open for God to lead us. Jesus called a tax collector to join his select band of iconoclasts. Matthew was not one of the "proper people." Jesus was using new wineskins!

If Jesus is a Jew, why doesn't he act like one? That question haunted many of the sincere people who were genuinely disturbed by his lack of orthodoxy.

Do you suppose people look at us and ask, "If they are Christians, why don't they act like Christians?" Herb Miller says the average church member has heard 6,000 sermons, 8,000 prayers, sung 20,000 hymns over and over . . . and asked 0 persons to accept Christ! We may have good excuses: too shy, wouldn't know how to ask, no training . . .

The most logical excuse is, I think, that we are embarrassed by some who display their "faith" on T-shirts and bumper-stickers. Even worse are those televangelists who have been described as the "pro-wrestlers of religion."

However, don't castigate public preachers. Henry Ward Beecher preached very publicly against slavery in pre-Civil War days. There have been some every public preachers among our forebears; Reinhold Niebuhr, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Henry Hitt Crane among them.

By the way, Henry Ward Beecher is the preacher who entered his pulpit and found a note with only one word: "Fool."

He announced, "I have received letters from people who forgot to sign their names, but this is the first letter I ever got that was signed, but the writer forgot to write his message!"

Dear saints, I do not know what God has in store for this congregation. But I do know we need to be ready. The city of Miami has gone thru more changes in the past 30 years than most any other city. One denomination had 3 large churches in Miami, outstanding in the community. They had trouble coping with the racial and cultural changes in the community. They are no longer there!

One has been replaced by a high-rise, one by a condominium and one by a college office building.

We may surprise the community if we change our image. We may shock our loved ones if we make radical changes in our lives. That is to be expected. Change is not only surprising, it is the source of fear and anxiety.

I told you about the man who left work one day and got to thinking he had not been as attentive to his wife as he should have been, so he stopped at the florist and bought a dozen roses. Then he bought a box of candy.

When he got home and handed them to his wife, she began to cry. "It's been a horrible day. Billy broke a tooth, I lost my wallet with $30 in it, the washer just broke and flooded the basement . . . and now you come home drunk!"

Change may surprise us, and others! We just don't like to change! There is comfort in traditional ways. New ways scare us. Some of you have found it hard to change our wording of the Lord's Prayer! I don't know what would happen if we really used modern language for the whole prayer!

A university professor asked his class to evaluate his teaching. One of the students wrote, "I like the class, but you put too much of the responsibility for learning on the students."

We like God's class — we wouldn't be here today if we didn't — but maybe God puts too much responsibility for learning on us. Now is the time for new ideas, new ways to live our lives.

A woman told her counselor, "I hate my husband. He makes my life miserable. I want a divorce, but I want to make it a miserable experience for him."

The counselor said, "Begin by showering him with compliments. Give in to his every whim. When he realizes how much he needs you, then ask for the divorce."
The counselor saw the lady months after their session. "Well, did you follow my advice? And have you filed for a divorce?"

"You must be kidding. We are divinely happy. I love him with all my heart."

Dear saints, try new wineskins. Try returning good for evil. Try praying for your enemies.

Remember that you are indeed the light of the world. You are indeed the salt of the earth. You are a letter from Christ, "written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God."

Make sure you are one of the truckers about whom no one ever calls to answer "How's my driving?" in the negative.

Let us pray . . .



		How's My Driving?
		"How's my driving? Call 1-800-U-tell-us." Have you ever been tailgated by an 18-wheeler? Almost run off the road by a tanker? Cut off by a tour bus? Not much you can do about it — unless it's one of the half-million trucks and busses with a "How's my driving?" sign on the back. Drivers Check, Drivers Alert and Fleetsafe operators take hundreds of calls a week and report to the individual companies. About 80 - 90% of all truck drivers never receive a complaint. As Paul traveled from Corinth to Galatia and back, complaints about him piled up in the anti-Paul movement — rival evangelists, Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentiles converting to Christianity must follow typical Jewish customs. The 1-800 complaints about Paul were not that he drove too fast, that he cut other drivers off, nor even that he was rude, altho he may have profited by a refresher course in humility every so often! The complaints included his basic comportment. He simply did not conduct himself like an apostle. He was too lenient with the Gentile converts. He was not polished in his sermons. He was, you might say, a bit boring, sort of Al Gore-ish! Sound ideas, but not the stirring rhetoric you would expect from a traveling evangelist. He spoke truth, but without the glitz and glitter which most people think should be part of the story of a miracle-working rabbi. Paul had no decal, of course, but if he had, I think it would likely have read "How's my driving? Call 1-800-buzz-off." The strained relationship between Paul and the Corinthians is evident to Bible scholars. Paul probably anticipated a reaction like, "O, there he goes again, bragging about himself." Paul responded with an interesting, "Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? You yourselves are a letter from Christ." Have you ever tho't of yourself as a letter of recommendation for Christ, a living letter? The point he makes seems to be one of competency and confidence. He had got his marching orders directly from Jesus, and the fact that some Corinthians were critical of him and his ministry was not going to deter him! I would like to think that each of us here today is a letter of commendation for this congregation . . . and for Christ. We are letters, of course, letters either of commendation, or of condemnation. Our lives in the community tell the story of our faith, or lack of faith, our integrity, or lack of integrity. Do our lives make people feel better about themselves? Do our words reveal that we are believers? Do our attitudes tend to make people smile? Words have power. Villagers in the Solomon Islands have a curious way of cutting trees. If a tree is too big to be felled by an ax, the natives cut it down by yelling at it. At dawn, the woodsmen sneak up on the tree and scream at it. They say if they do this every day for 30 days, the tree dies and falls over. They claim that yelling kills the spirit of the tree. I'm not sure this tale is verifiable, but I am very sure that yelling can kill the spirit of people. And I am very sure there is another side to the coin. Words of love and encouragement can lift the spirit of people. The story of Jesus is primarily a story of loving and encouraging people. Words to encourage need not always be profound exhortations. Simple phatic talk, conversation to express friendship, rather than to inform, is often more important than profound dialogue. Sometimes our words are very significant. Billy Graham was in India. He talked to a man at length about Jesus. Then he asked the man if he would like to become a Christian. He said, "I like what you have said. If I ever see a real Christian, I shall likely become one." Telling the story, the evangelist added, "The most tragic aspect of that story is that when he said that, he was looking at me!" When a U.S. Navy ship landed in Japan for a short stay, the commander lined up his men and said, "Remember that you are walking into another culture. Your customs and habits may not be welcome in Japan. They will judge your homeland by what they see in your behavior." Tony Evans is a black preacher. He grew up in Baltimore. His parents had a rocky marriage, were often violent. The year Tony turned 10, his father gave his life to Christ. His wife did all she could to irritate him. He arose at 3 am to have time for prayer and Bible study. He took the children to church. After a year of this, Tony's mother gave in and also became a Christian. His parents went to church together. Tony was encouraged to go to college. He became the first black person to earn a doctoral degree at Dallas Theological Seminary. Your life, even your appearance will testify to your faith. People will see "How's my living?" and be better for it. Whenever Shirley Temple got up to perform, her mother would say, "Sparkle, Shirley." And sparkle she did! A little boy wanted to visit God. He filled a suitcase with Twinkies and a 6-pack of root beer and started on his journey. He went about 6 blocks when he saw an old woman sitting on a park bench. She looked hungry, so he gave her one of his Twinkles. She smiled as she accepted it. Her smile was so pretty that he gave her one of his root beers. She smiled again. They sat there for a long time, eating Twinkles and drinking root beer. Finally it began to get dark. The boy realized he was getting tired, so he started home. He went a few steps, turned around and ran back and gave the old lady a hug. She gave him the biggest hug he had ever had. When he got home, his mother asked, "What did you do today that made you look so happy?" "I had lunch with God. And you know what? She has the most beautiful smile I ever saw!" Meanwhile, the old lady went home. Her neighbor said, "What did you do that made you look so happy?" "I ate Twinkles in the park with God." Before her neighbor could respond, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected!" We are about to experience another Lent. Lent is our yearly trip into the desert. God's people were a desert people. Moses made a covenant in the desert. In fact, every time God's people got out of the desert they seemed to get into trouble. We need this annual trek because the cross seems to get fragmented in our lives. We chop the cross into manageable pieces and play spiritual Scrabble with them. That is only a word game. Religion that is not deeply experienced is just table talk. Lent in an invitation to take seriously our Christian commitment, an invitation to renew our vows to Jesus. Jesus was glorified after he was humiliated; entered the ministry after he endured the desert; rose from the dead after he died. I invite you to be ready for a Lenten experience. Be ready to go into the desert. The desert is a place to think about life in a new way. The desert is a place to commune with God in a new way. We will not spend 40 years in the desert, like the Israelites. Nor 3 years, like Paul. But we will spend 40 days, like Jesus did. Not in a literal desert, but in an earnest endeavor to address questions and search for answers. As soon as Jesus was baptized, the Spirit sent him into the desert. At his baptism the voice had said, "You are my son." In the desert, another voice said, "If you are the son of God . . ." Jesus went to the desert to prepare for his ministry. Later, Paul went to the desert to prepare for his ministry. Let us go to the desert to find ourselves and to lose ourselves. To find our real identity as sons and daughters of God, and to lose our lives in commitment. Jesus does not call us all to lives of austerity, but to lives of exuberance. As lights in a dark world, salt in a bland world, we represent Jesus by living "more abundantly." The abundant life is a life in perspective — carrying a cross, but also exuding joy. The divine paradox! Then Jesus gives us an intriguing lesson: "And no-one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." (Mark 2:22) To me, that says we need to rethink our lives, our priorities. Both as individuals and as congregations. Jesus invites us to "make all things new." The way we've always done things is no reason to continue in the same old ruts. Which is why Jesus caused such a stir whenever he showed up. He just didn't do things "the way we've always done things." And that upset the religious community. In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus stirred up the Pharisees by not fasting according to their custom. His aberrant behavior challenged the traditions, disrupted the patterns. People like Jesus cause anxiety in every age. There are some people, some whole congregations who have left our denomination because they perceive us to have forsaken our traditions. In this congregation there are ideas emerging which may cause anxiety. That is nothing new. The early church community discovered this. Acts 15 chronicles controversy as it swirled about Jerusalem. They needed new wineskins if they were to welcome Gentiles. As we wander thru the desert of Lent, please be open for God to lead us. Jesus called a tax collector to join his select band of iconoclasts. Matthew was not one of the "proper people." Jesus was using new wineskins! If Jesus is a Jew, why doesn't he act like one? That question haunted many of the sincere people who were genuinely disturbed by his lack of orthodoxy. Do you suppose people look at us and ask, "If they are Christians, why don't they act like Christians?" Herb Miller says the average church member has heard 6,000 sermons, 8,000 prayers, sung 20,000 hymns over and over . . . and asked 0 persons to accept Christ! We may have good excuses: too shy, wouldn't know how to ask, no training . . . The most logical excuse is, I think, that we are embarrassed by some who display their "faith" on T-shirts and bumper-stickers. Even worse are those televangelists who have been described as the "pro-wrestlers of religion." However, don't castigate public preachers. Henry Ward Beecher preached very publicly against slavery in pre-Civil War days. There have been some every public preachers among our forebears; Reinhold Niebuhr, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Henry Hitt Crane among them. By the way, Henry Ward Beecher is the preacher who entered his pulpit and found a note with only one word: "Fool." He announced, "I have received letters from people who forgot to sign their names, but this is the first letter I ever got that was signed, but the writer forgot to write his message!" Dear saints, I do not know what God has in store for this congregation. But I do know we need to be ready. The city of Miami has gone thru more changes in the past 30 years than most any other city. One denomination had 3 large churches in Miami, outstanding in the community. They had trouble coping with the racial and cultural changes in the community. They are no longer there! One has been replaced by a high-rise, one by a condominium and one by a college office building. We may surprise the community if we change our image. We may shock our loved ones if we make radical changes in our lives. That is to be expected. Change is not only surprising, it is the source of fear and anxiety. I told you about the man who left work one day and got to thinking he had not been as attentive to his wife as he should have been, so he stopped at the florist and bought a dozen roses. Then he bought a box of candy. When he got home and handed them to his wife, she began to cry. "It's been a horrible day. Billy broke a tooth, I lost my wallet with $30 in it, the washer just broke and flooded the basement . . . and now you come home drunk!" Change may surprise us, and others! We just don't like to change! There is comfort in traditional ways. New ways scare us. Some of you have found it hard to change our wording of the Lord's Prayer! I don't know what would happen if we really used modern language for the whole prayer! A university professor asked his class to evaluate his teaching. One of the students wrote, "I like the class, but you put too much of the responsibility for learning on the students." We like God's class — we wouldn't be here today if we didn't — but maybe God puts too much responsibility for learning on us. Now is the time for new ideas, new ways to live our lives. A woman told her counselor, "I hate my husband. He makes my life miserable. I want a divorce, but I want to make it a miserable experience for him." The counselor said, "Begin by showering him with compliments. Give in to his every whim. When he realizes how much he needs you, then ask for the divorce." The counselor saw the lady months after their session. "Well, did you follow my advice? And have you filed for a divorce?" "You must be kidding. We are divinely happy. I love him with all my heart." Dear saints, try new wineskins. Try returning good for evil. Try praying for your enemies. Remember that you are indeed the light of the world. You are indeed the salt of the earth. You are a letter from Christ, "written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God." Make sure you are one of the truckers about whom no one ever calls to answer "How's my driving?" in the negative. Let us pray . . .