Sermon No. 6

Enter At Your Own Risk

We are now beginning a new year, a new century, a new millennium. You are invited to enter at your own risk.

1999 has now bowed to 2000. We have said goodbye to the old and we have greeted the new. If hope comes with new beginnings, we stand at the threshold of abundant hope.

It seems there has been more attention given to Y2K concerns than to the celebration of hope. At the dawn of this new millennium, First World nations are urged to forgive the crushing debts of Third World nations. In the paradigm of the ancient Hebrew Year of Jubilee, our two denominations (Disciples/UCC) are among those calling for this debt forgiveness.

Last May, 70,000 activists converged on Birmingham, England to confront the G-7 meeting with facts and figures . . . like: there are fewer people who get health care and education, many girls are sold as "domestic servants," there is massive poverty born of exploitation . . .

According to Jewish law, God's people were to have a jubilee year every 50th year when they would free all slaves, forgive all debts and return property to its original owners. Even tho there is some question as to just how much of this was actually done, the idea seems in harmony with the concepts Jesus taught.

What would this world be like if every 50 years we cancelled all debts, forgave all wrongs, freed all prisoners?

What do you say we begin 2000 by forgiving each other all wrongs? No grudges, no hard feelings, no resentments and no prejudices carried over into the new millennium!

Are you ready to enter the new millennium? Are you willing to take the risk of a new year, a new century, a new millennium? Better yet, are you willing to begin a new experience in Christ? This is not just an academic question; this is a challenge for personal Jubilee Year observance.

There is a church in Ohio over the door of which is carved: "Enter at your own risk." Think about that. Think about the implications of that. Oh, how I pray that God will make this such a church, a church in which you will meet the Master . . . and never be the same again.

That is risky. But dear saints, now is the hour, this is the time. Now is the best opportunity you will ever have to begin a new life.

Listen to Anna Dillard:

"Why do people in churches seem like cheerful tourists on a packaged tour of the absolute? Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so lightheartedly appeal to for support? We are like little children playing on the floor with chemistry sets, mixing a batch of TNT. We should all be wearing crash helmets. The ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares. They should strap us to our pews, for the living God may draw us out to where we can never return."

The year 2000 is a challenge to risk your life on a new venture. Some people are challenged by skydiving, or rock climbing, or bungee jumping. The most exiting challenge I know is Jesus-following. Seriously, dear saints, there is nothing to compare with the challenge, the thrill, the excitement of Jesus-following.

The new millennium is an opportunity to risk your life on loving others in a radical new way. The new millennium is an opportunity to risk your life on living for Jesus in a radical new way. The new millennium is an opportunity to risk your life on some radical new concepts. They may indeed be very costly. They cost Jesus and most of the apostles their very lives. But along with the high cost comes the joy of faithfulness. In our Statement of Faith we say "He calls us into his church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship."

We rarely think of joy in terms of cost. Or put another way, we don't usually think of any joy in paying the cost of anything. But that is what Jesus offers. "To save your life is to lose it, and to lose your life for my sake is to save it." (Matthew 10:39) I like the Clear Word paraphrase: "If your only concern is to get the most out of life, you'll never be happy because happiness comes from giving yourself to others."

Next week we plan to accept new members into our fellowship. That is exciting to me. I hope it will be exciting to them, also.

One of the new members is Gerald Morgan. When we visited about their joining us, I asked, "What do you hope to gain from your membership here?"

Quick as a flash, he said, "That's the wrong question. It should be, 'What do you plan to do, to give?' Kathleen and I have discussed it."

He is correct. The challenge of Jesus-following is not what you can gain by becoming a follower, but what you can give. You who will join this church should not be asked what you hope to gain by church membership, but what you plan to contribute to the Body of Christ.

It distresses me to hear ministers and others talk about the growth of church or denominational membership. As tho our success in promoting Jesus can be measured in terms of names on the church books. A fundamentalist friend asked recently, "Have you converted any souls lately?" I wish he had asked, "What have you done recently to make life better for people, to make this a better world?" Jesus "went about doing good."

In fact, if someone had asked the Master, "How many have become disciples lately?" I think he would have been offended. The success of Jesus as a rabbi, teacher, minister was measured in terms of how many people he was able to heal, to teach, to love. His was servant leadership. That is precisely the message of Jesus: happiness comes from giving.

Do you think we can begin this new millennium with a radical new approach to living? Can we measure our joy, our happiness, our fun in terms of how much we can give, how much we can do? With no tho't of how much we get in return?

When Jesus said, "when you give money, let not your left hand see what your right hand does" he was annunciating a principle. Give for the sheer fun of giving. That is not even possible unless you are completely converted.

As we enter the new millennium I pray we will take Jesus literally and therefore take our commitment to him seriously.

This week we celebrate Epiphany. Epiphany means "manifestation." The glory of Jesus Christ was made manifest to the wise men, gentiles, in our Gospel story today. But the manifestation was a result of their giving. Here these wise men, these magicians from the East, saw the glory of Jesus by giving. What a story!

Magic has been a significant part of my life for the past 40 years. I have been honored to entertain all sorts of audiences all over the country, audiences ranging in from 5 - 5,000.

May I tell you why magic has been so much fun? I have been paid well, but I have never set a fee. I have never told anyone how much I should get! Not even as a suggestion!

You see, the principle of Jesus is to concentrate on giving, not getting. He promises that if you give, you will be rewarded many times over. Don't expect non-Christians to understand that. It simply is not the way of the world.

You remember I conducted a memorial last year for Karrell Fox, one of the best-known magicians in the country. One time at a magicians' convention in 1967 he said, "Felix is crazy. I get $150 (a lot of money back then) to do a show, and he doesn't even set a fee!"

One of my clients said the same thing. I built a display for him and charged him what he considered a ridiculously low price. Crazy? Well, if you just look at it from a money point of view, maybe so. But here I am, I've outlived both of them, I have more worldly goods than I need, I'm having the time of my life doing exactly what I love to do, I'm treated better than any other minister I know, I'm a living testimony to the power of prayer. What more could I possible want?

Giving is a principle. The good news is, Jesus never gave up on the world, never gives up on you and me. Despite the ills of society and the evils of people, he always seems to have regarded people with love and compassion, especially common people. I think Jesus wants us to never give up, on ourselves or on each other. Our call is to reflect the consistent, unconditional love of Jesus, and serve others with the uncompromising commitment which characterized Jesus.

The gifts of the wise men seem a bit impractical, don't they? What use does a baby in a poor family have for a chunk of gold? Or even less for frankincense or myrrh?

Some commentators speculate that these were elements used by the magicians in their secret incantations. That may be. But again, maybe these were symbols. Maybe in handing over the tricks of their trade they were giving gold to a King, symbol of royalty and power. Because frankincense and myrrh were used to embalm the dead, as perfume for a corpse, maybe these gifts foreshadowed the dark end of the baby's career Ñ the cross.

At any rate, we see a lump of gold and a couple of bottles of perfume as strange gifts for a peasant child. A far more practical gift would have been tickets to Egypt on the next caravan, or new clothes, or a diaper service.

I heard about a man who said, "I gave more than $5000 to this church last year." To which someone in the back muttered, "Great! God gave his only son and you gave $5000!"

One of you said to me some time ago, "Why is it you so seldom preach about stewardship? You tell us how joyful and fulfilling it is to give, but you seldom ask us to give. Are you sidestepping the issue? If giving is really fulfilling, I think you should ask us to give more."

I suspect this is a weakness born of personal experience. Yes, I believe that in giving and doing the work of the Master, we gain far more than we give.

BUT -- if we give only, or even primarily to fulfill a need, or fill an obligation, or to assuage a guilty conscience, we have missed the point of Jesus' teaching. If in 2000 and beyond we are going to find a new and exciting lifestyle, giving must come as one facet of a totally new experience.

You are the best gift you can give . . . to other people, to the church, to Christ. You are important. You are important to the church, to the Body of Christ, to the fulfillment of a better world. You can make a difference in the world. That is exactly what Jesus asks us to do -- to be lights to a dark world, salt in a bland world. You can do that. You are really somebody!

Charlie Brown had just become a brother to baby sister Sally. He was concerned what kind of world Sally was born into. Linus says, "I think the world is a better place than it was six years ago."

Charlie answers, "How can I believe that? Don't you watch TV, read the newspapers? How can you say the world is better now than it was six years ago?"

Linus simply replied, "Because I'm in it now!"

This world can be a better world just by your being in it, saints. The light you shed, the salt you add, can and will make for a better world.

When Maria Taft was a little girl, she said, "My great-grandfather was president of the United States. My grandfather was governor of Ohio. My daddy is ambassador to Ireland. And me? I'm a Brownie!"

You don't have to be a president to be important. I don't have to be a governor to be important in the Kingdom. God didn't call me to build a large, impressive church. I simply don't have the talent for that. But God has called you and me to enlighten the world in our community by doing his will in his way.

Let your light shine. Say a word of encouragement and love to someone every day.

Dr. Tourneau, famous Christian physician, frequently ate at a certain restaurant. One evening his waiter looked troubled. He tho't he should speak to the young man about Christ, and hope, and meaning. Well, maybe later!

Isn't it revealing how anxious we are to speak out about some sports team or some political party or some social matter, but how reticent we are to speak out about our faith?

When he got outside, his conscience bothered him. He really should have spoken to that young man.

It was near quitting time, so he decided to wait until the young man came out. Then he would speak to him of Jesus.

He waited, and waited and waited. Finally the manager came out and locked the door.

"Where is the young man who waited on me tonight? I've been waiting to talk to him, but he hasn't come out yet."

"Oh, he won't be coming out. You see, he lives in an apartment upstairs."

Just then they heard a shot. The waiter had committed suicide! If Tourneau had spoken to the waiter, could he have prevented the suicide? He'll never know. We'll never know.

We do know, without a doubt, that words of love and encouragement are precious. I beg you to make 2000 a year of positive Christian witness. You can make a difference. I can make a difference. Let's do it.

There is and will always be risk in following Jesus. Enter 2000 at your own risk.

Let us pray . .



		Enter At Your Own Risk
		We are now beginning a new year, a new century, a new millennium. You are invited to enter at your own risk. 1999 has now bowed to 2000. We have said goodbye to the old and we have greeted the new. If hope comes with new beginnings, we stand at the threshold of abundant hope. It seems there has been more attention given to Y2K concerns than to the celebration of hope. At the dawn of this new millennium, First World nations are urged to forgive the crushing debts of Third World nations. In the paradigm of the ancient Hebrew Year of Jubilee, our two denominations (Disciples/UCC) are among those calling for this debt forgiveness. Last May, 70,000 activists converged on Birmingham, England to confront the G-7 meeting with facts and figures . . . like: there are fewer people who get health care and education, many girls are sold as "domestic servants," there is massive poverty born of exploitation . . . According to Jewish law, God's people were to have a jubilee year every 50th year when they would free all slaves, forgive all debts and return property to its original owners. Even tho there is some question as to just how much of this was actually done, the idea seems in harmony with the concepts Jesus taught. What would this world be like if every 50 years we cancelled all debts, forgave all wrongs, freed all prisoners? What do you say we begin 2000 by forgiving each other all wrongs? No grudges, no hard feelings, no resentments and no prejudices carried over into the new millennium! Are you ready to enter the new millennium? Are you willing to take the risk of a new year, a new century, a new millennium? Better yet, are you willing to begin a new experience in Christ? This is not just an academic question; this is a challenge for personal Jubilee Year observance. There is a church in Ohio over the door of which is carved: "Enter at your own risk." Think about that. Think about the implications of that. Oh, how I pray that God will make this such a church, a church in which you will meet the Master . . . and never be the same again. That is risky. But dear saints, now is the hour, this is the time. Now is the best opportunity you will ever have to begin a new life. Listen to Anna Dillard: "Why do people in churches seem like cheerful tourists on a packaged tour of the absolute? Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so lightheartedly appeal to for support? We are like little children playing on the floor with chemistry sets, mixing a batch of TNT. We should all be wearing crash helmets. The ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares. They should strap us to our pews, for the living God may draw us out to where we can never return." The year 2000 is a challenge to risk your life on a new venture. Some people are challenged by skydiving, or rock climbing, or bungee jumping. The most exiting challenge I know is Jesus-following. Seriously, dear saints, there is nothing to compare with the challenge, the thrill, the excitement of Jesus-following. The new millennium is an opportunity to risk your life on loving others in a radical new way. The new millennium is an opportunity to risk your life on living for Jesus in a radical new way. The new millennium is an opportunity to risk your life on some radical new concepts. They may indeed be very costly. They cost Jesus and most of the apostles their very lives. But along with the high cost comes the joy of faithfulness. In our Statement of Faith we say "He calls us into his church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship." We rarely think of joy in terms of cost. Or put another way, we don't usually think of any joy in paying the cost of anything. But that is what Jesus offers. "To save your life is to lose it, and to lose your life for my sake is to save it." (Matthew 10:39) I like the Clear Word paraphrase: "If your only concern is to get the most out of life, you'll never be happy because happiness comes from giving yourself to others." Next week we plan to accept new members into our fellowship. That is exciting to me. I hope it will be exciting to them, also. One of the new members is Gerald Morgan. When we visited about their joining us, I asked, "What do you hope to gain from your membership here?" Quick as a flash, he said, "That's the wrong question. It should be, 'What do you plan to do, to give?' Kathleen and I have discussed it." He is correct. The challenge of Jesus-following is not what you can gain by becoming a follower, but what you can give. You who will join this church should not be asked what you hope to gain by church membership, but what you plan to contribute to the Body of Christ. It distresses me to hear ministers and others talk about the growth of church or denominational membership. As tho our success in promoting Jesus can be measured in terms of names on the church books. A fundamentalist friend asked recently, "Have you converted any souls lately?" I wish he had asked, "What have you done recently to make life better for people, to make this a better world?" Jesus "went about doing good." In fact, if someone had asked the Master, "How many have become disciples lately?" I think he would have been offended. The success of Jesus as a rabbi, teacher, minister was measured in terms of how many people he was able to heal, to teach, to love. His was servant leadership. That is precisely the message of Jesus: happiness comes from giving. Do you think we can begin this new millennium with a radical new approach to living? Can we measure our joy, our happiness, our fun in terms of how much we can give, how much we can do? With no tho't of how much we get in return? When Jesus said, "when you give money, let not your left hand see what your right hand does" he was annunciating a principle. Give for the sheer fun of giving. That is not even possible unless you are completely converted. As we enter the new millennium I pray we will take Jesus literally and therefore take our commitment to him seriously. This week we celebrate Epiphany. Epiphany means "manifestation." The glory of Jesus Christ was made manifest to the wise men, gentiles, in our Gospel story today. But the manifestation was a result of their giving. Here these wise men, these magicians from the East, saw the glory of Jesus by giving. What a story! Magic has been a significant part of my life for the past 40 years. I have been honored to entertain all sorts of audiences all over the country, audiences ranging in from 5 - 5,000. May I tell you why magic has been so much fun? I have been paid well, but I have never set a fee. I have never told anyone how much I should get! Not even as a suggestion! You see, the principle of Jesus is to concentrate on giving, not getting. He promises that if you give, you will be rewarded many times over. Don't expect non-Christians to understand that. It simply is not the way of the world. You remember I conducted a memorial last year for Karrell Fox, one of the best-known magicians in the country. One time at a magicians' convention in 1967 he said, "Felix is crazy. I get $150 (a lot of money back then) to do a show, and he doesn't even set a fee!" One of my clients said the same thing. I built a display for him and charged him what he considered a ridiculously low price. Crazy? Well, if you just look at it from a money point of view, maybe so. But here I am, I've outlived both of them, I have more worldly goods than I need, I'm having the time of my life doing exactly what I love to do, I'm treated better than any other minister I know, I'm a living testimony to the power of prayer. What more could I possible want? Giving is a principle. The good news is, Jesus never gave up on the world, never gives up on you and me. Despite the ills of society and the evils of people, he always seems to have regarded people with love and compassion, especially common people. I think Jesus wants us to never give up, on ourselves or on each other. Our call is to reflect the consistent, unconditional love of Jesus, and serve others with the uncompromising commitment which characterized Jesus. The gifts of the wise men seem a bit impractical, don't they? What use does a baby in a poor family have for a chunk of gold? Or even less for frankincense or myrrh? Some commentators speculate that these were elements used by the magicians in their secret incantations. That may be. But again, maybe these were symbols. Maybe in handing over the tricks of their trade they were giving gold to a King, symbol of royalty and power. Because frankincense and myrrh were used to embalm the dead, as perfume for a corpse, maybe these gifts foreshadowed the dark end of the baby's career Ñ the cross. At any rate, we see a lump of gold and a couple of bottles of perfume as strange gifts for a peasant child. A far more practical gift would have been tickets to Egypt on the next caravan, or new clothes, or a diaper service. I heard about a man who said, "I gave more than $5000 to this church last year." To which someone in the back muttered, "Great! God gave his only son and you gave $5000!" One of you said to me some time ago, "Why is it you so seldom preach about stewardship? You tell us how joyful and fulfilling it is to give, but you seldom ask us to give. Are you sidestepping the issue? If giving is really fulfilling, I think you should ask us to give more." I suspect this is a weakness born of personal experience. Yes, I believe that in giving and doing the work of the Master, we gain far more than we give. BUT -- if we give only, or even primarily to fulfill a need, or fill an obligation, or to assuage a guilty conscience, we have missed the point of Jesus' teaching. If in 2000 and beyond we are going to find a new and exciting lifestyle, giving must come as one facet of a totally new experience. You are the best gift you can give . . . to other people, to the church, to Christ. You are important. You are important to the church, to the Body of Christ, to the fulfillment of a better world. You can make a difference in the world. That is exactly what Jesus asks us to do -- to be lights to a dark world, salt in a bland world. You can do that. You are really somebody! Charlie Brown had just become a brother to baby sister Sally. He was concerned what kind of world Sally was born into. Linus says, "I think the world is a better place than it was six years ago." Charlie answers, "How can I believe that? Don't you watch TV, read the newspapers? How can you say the world is better now than it was six years ago?" Linus simply replied, "Because I'm in it now!" This world can be a better world just by your being in it, saints. The light you shed, the salt you add, can and will make for a better world. When Maria Taft was a little girl, she said, "My great-grandfather was president of the United States. My grandfather was governor of Ohio. My daddy is ambassador to Ireland. And me? I'm a Brownie!" You don't have to be a president to be important. I don't have to be a governor to be important in the Kingdom. God didn't call me to build a large, impressive church. I simply don't have the talent for that. But God has called you and me to enlighten the world in our community by doing his will in his way. Let your light shine. Say a word of encouragement and love to someone every day. Dr. Tourneau, famous Christian physician, frequently ate at a certain restaurant. One evening his waiter looked troubled. He tho't he should speak to the young man about Christ, and hope, and meaning. Well, maybe later! Isn't it revealing how anxious we are to speak out about some sports team or some political party or some social matter, but how reticent we are to speak out about our faith? When he got outside, his conscience bothered him. He really should have spoken to that young man. It was near quitting time, so he decided to wait until the young man came out. Then he would speak to him of Jesus. He waited, and waited and waited. Finally the manager came out and locked the door. "Where is the young man who waited on me tonight? I've been waiting to talk to him, but he hasn't come out yet." "Oh, he won't be coming out. You see, he lives in an apartment upstairs." Just then they heard a shot. The waiter had committed suicide! If Tourneau had spoken to the waiter, could he have prevented the suicide? He'll never know. We'll never know. We do know, without a doubt, that words of love and encouragement are precious. I beg you to make 2000 a year of positive Christian witness. You can make a difference. I can make a difference. Let's do it. There is and will always be risk in following Jesus. Enter 2000 at your own risk. Let us pray . .