In the mid-Victorian era, Bishop Samuel Wilberforce was a righteous man. Then he experienced a real conversion. He was definitely one of the good guys. But he was genuinely concerned about the other guys, the bad guys.

One night he stayed up all night and prayed fervently for the evil people, those deserving the divine punishment. He prayed that God would save all the terrible people from their terrible destiny. As he knelt in prayer, he begged God not to destroy the world.

Finally, in the early hours of the morning, he heard God speak to him: "Why don't you go to bed now, Sam, and let me take care of the universe the rest of the night!"

Two ex-college classmates met by chance after many years. They updated each other on their lives. One said, "I got married 15 years ago. My husband is a perfect angel."

The other replied, "Really! You are fortunate. My husband is still living!"

Among those of us who are still living, not one of us is a perfect angel, a perfect saint. We are streaky. But as flawed as we are, we are redeemable. We are still in the growing stage; we are all still under construction.

We are in the midst of a political battle. You must realize that George W. Bush is a good guy. He loves his family, he's good to his dog, he treats his children well. He's a good neighbor. He probably goes to church once in a while. He smiles at children.

The other guy wears a black hat. He kicks the dog, maybe beats his wife, hollers at the neighbors, whips his kids.

Or is it the other way around? Is it Al Gore who wears a white hat, loves his family, goes to church. And the "other guy" who wears the black hat?

If we were to meet both of the presidential candidates on a social level in which politics were out of the picture, we would likely find them both to be nice men, good neighbors.

I know people who are very nice people, good Christian people . . . who are Democrats! Can you believe it?

I know people who are very nice people, good Christian people . . . who are Republicans! Can you believe it?

Am I oversimplifying the matter? Yes, of course I am. There is a very big difference in the basic approach of Democrats and Republicans. I am going to vote. Since you know I was once a right-wing Republican and am now a left-wing socialist, my vote will not surprise anyone!

There are huggable Democrats, and buggable Damocrats (misprint?). There are huggable Republicans and buggable Republicans.

On a broader level, we have been watching Jews and Palestinians shoot each other, and blame each other for firing the first shot! They have been doing so for a long time, and it appears they will be doing so for a long time to come, in spite of all the peace proposals.

If you consider the situation from the view of the Palestinians, you can understand why they are bristling because Israel just came in there and took their land some 52 years ago! No wonder they are angry!

Now look at it from the Jewish point of view. They were given the land, the "promised land," and those Arab kids just keep throwing rocks and stirring up everyone's emotions.

I know people who are very much on the Palestinian side. They may be anti-Semitic. We all know that Jews are shrewd and greedy . . . aren't they?

I know people who are very much on the Jewish side. After all, God promised that land to the Jews -- didn't he (or she)? Their views may be influenced by the Arabs' traditional treatment of women. And those fiery Palestinians want what doesn't belong to them. Why, the Muslims built their Dome on the Rock mosque right over the Jews' Temple ruins!

I can't think of anyone more evil and detestable than Adolph Hitler. Yet he considered himself a Christian. He had "Gott mit uns" (God with us) inscribed on the belt-buckles of his army. He was a health enthusiast (would you believe a vegetarian!) who discouraged smoking and drinking, insisted that his soldiers exercise regularly.

So much good in the worst of us, so much bad in the best of us . . .

So the first lesson for us today is to realize we are all huggable . . . and buggable. We are all good . . . and bad.

It ill behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us. Judge not, Jesus said.

One of the great thinkers said, "Every man is a damn fool for 5 minutes every day. Wisdom consists in not exceeding that limit."

In line with non-judgmentalism is the principle of equality. We are all equally loved by God. Wow! Does that mean that I stand no better in the sight of God than Charles Manson? Does that imply that I must not judge him as an evil person?

This is the sticky point. We must not judge people as people, but maybe we must judge actions. We are not qualified to judge others because we cannot know their motivations; we must judge beliefs, points of view, frames of reference. Beliefs lead to actions, and we need to consider why we do what we do, why others do what they do. That is a fine line, a line we can only draw by the grace of God.

In no way does that imply that we should be "soft on crime (sin)." The whole issue of punishment is another matter.

Jesus was quite explicit in telling his followers that to be first, they must be last, "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all."

I believe hierarchy is patently anti-christian. Everything Jesus and Paul taught seems to have fostered equality, egalitarianism. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

"One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas'; still another, 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided?"

Many years ago this bit of gossip was printed in a London newspaper: "James McNeil Whistler and Oscar Wilde were seen at Brighton, talking as usual, about themselves."

When Whistler saw it, he clipped it out and sent it to Oscar Wilde, with a note: "I wish these reporters were more accurate. If you remember, Oscar, we were talking about me."

Wilde sent Whistler a telegram: "It is true, Jimmy, that we were talking about you, but I was thinking about me."

Neither of those colorful celebrities showed any embarrassment over their ego-centered conversation.

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)

Whoever wants to be great must be a servant!

Franciscan Brother Phillip Kelly ministered to a large group of migrant workers who came from Puerto Rico to pick tomatoes for a canning factory. You know they didn't make much money. Each December they would meet in the basement of the church for a party and a drawing. The winning family would receive an all-expense-paid vacation back home to Puerto Rico.

To make it possible, each family threw in $5. As they came to the party, each family would drop their $5 into a box together with a slip of paper with their name on it. Last December, Walter Jansen came to the party. He was their foreman, and was retiring.

He had been very good to them, had befriended them many times in many ways. He loved them and they loved him.

When they drew the winning name, it was, believe it or not, Walter Jansen! The workers cheered and danced and hugged each other.

During the commotion, Brother Kelly looked thru the rest of the names. On each slip, in different handwriting, was the name: Walter Jansen!

"He who would be first must be slave of all!" It works, dear saints. In practical terms, the plan of Jesus works!

It is important at this point to remind you that in the program of the Kingdom, the priority must be on principle.
That is to say, we must do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not because we expect a reward. When you look at the statement of Jesus -- "So the last will be first, and the first will be last" -- it is tempting to choose to be last so that we will be first.

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:3, 4)

Greek scholar Lenski says, "As vicious as is the secret desire for the praise of men, so vicious is the secret mercenary desire to trade our good works for far greater rewards from (God)."

To be honest with God and with ourselves in this respect is difficult. To put our priorities in order is a challenge.

Jesus tells us to deny ourselves. What does that mean? How does that relate to the Me-generation concept that we must be self-fulfilling, independent thinkers?

The last few years I taught at Lincoln Park High School I taught an adult education class, "Intensified Self-fulfillment." It was not a class in how to build a big ego, but in how to become and be the very best YOU possible.

You were created in the image of God. You can not reflect that image by putting yourself down, by abasing yourself, by groveling. That is not humility. And that is certainly no credit to the Creator, and no way to be a light of the world.

I saw a cartoon in which a little boy was trying to lead a St. Bernard dog. In fact, the dog was dragging the boy in the opposite direction. Bracing his feet, the angry boy said, "Let's get this straight! You are my dog. I'm not your boy."

Roswell Dwight Hitchcock said, "The secret of all success is to know how to deny yourself. Prove that you can control yourself and you are an educated man."

Psychologist William James once suggested that by voluntarily practicing self-denial we might eliminate the need for war! Unfortunately, his high ideal did not get very far. War is more attractive to us than self-denial. The mores of the world are more attractive to us than the morals of Jesus.

We may be tempted to remind God, "OK, Lord. I gave in secret. Now I'm ready for my reward." Maybe like the businessman who gave a large check to a charity, "I want it to be an anonymous gift . . . but be sure they know I gave it anonymously"!

If a reward is even a subconscious motive, it isn't really giving, but rather, it is investing.

There is a big difference between giving and investing. There is a big difference between self-confidence and arrogance, between self-fulfillment and ostentation.

God created us each as a unique individual, and we do him an injustice if we fail to use our talents. My goal as a preacher is to induce you to stretch your spiritual/mental psyche to the limit. I see that as a biblical mandate.

I very much hope you can see the difference, the fine line between the message of Jesus and Paul to identify and use your talents, your gifts . . . and the health-and-wealth gospel: just trust in Jesus and you will be successful and healthy and wealthy. That was the Jewish concept -- that prosperity was a reward for living a godly life. Quite the opposite from what Jesus lived and taught.

Philip Reiff described a sort of pseudo-gospel as the Christian faith tamed into self-help therapy, salvation reduced to just feeling good, the church transformed into theater, sermons as emotional striptease, liturgy as maybe a psychodrama, church music as simple entertainment . . . and no prophet left to denounce the idle rich.

That is a sad commentary on our spiritual status. I sincerely pray that will never be a description of our worship.

James Hunter examined novels written by and read by contemporary evangelical Christians, now as compared to a few decades ago. He found that today's evangelical literature tends to portray God as a therapist. Sin seems to be downplayed. Traditional themes of conversion, redemption and salvation are de-emphasized.

The prophets of old, John the Baptist, Jesus and Paul "called sin by its right name."

They all exemplified the call of Jesus to deny ourselves. If they were at times somewhat abrasive, they were surely not "soft on crime" (read sin).

In no way must I disparage the human potential movement. I have spent years teaching, preaching self-fulfillment. The danger is an either-or mentality, and that is neither biblical nor practical.

Jesus asked, "Who do say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the long-awaited Messiah. You are the one who will run the Romans out of Palestine and set us Jews up as the legitimate kingdom.

"You are the one who has come to meet our needs and fix what's wrong." Or was it "You are the Christ, the living way"?

Stanley Hauerwas was holding a retreat for ministers. A young pastor told how in his first church he preached against racial injustice. The church was not happy with his message and asked the bishop to move him. He did. In his next parish the young preacher tried to keep his head down. But there was an incident in the local mill, and he addressed the situation from a biblical point of view. Again the congregation turned on him. Now in his 3rd church in 6 years, he was again in trouble for his prophetic preaching.

Hauerwas said, "You're working for a tough boss. Yours is a living God. Sometimes mean. Now, are there any questions?"

Dear saints, you have no idea how that mind-set scares me. The call of God is a call to preach the straight truth, to "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins." (Isaiah 58:1)

One of my heroes is Reinhold Niebuhr. In 1928, after 13 years he left the Bethel congregation in Detroit. He was quite sentimental about leaving. He seems to have felt guilty that he had enjoyed such a comfortable relationship with his congregation. "Here I have been preaching the gospel for 13 years and crying, 'Woe unto you if all men speak well of you,' and yet I leave without a serious controversy in the whole 13 years."

The prophets were martyred for their preaching. John was beheaded for his preaching. Jesus was crucified for his preaching. Paul was killed for his preaching.

I am not a masochist. I have no desire to become a martyr. But above all, I want to be faithful to the call to preach prophetically. I ask for your prayers.

Remember, each of us is both huggable and buggable.


Let us pray . . .