Yesterday's Old Testament reading was from the prophet Isaiah, in which he lends his voice to God who declares, "I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice for ever in what I am creating."  And it goes on from there to describe a place and time when "weeping shall be no more," and blessings will abound.  John restates this vision in Revelation 21, as he seeks to give encouragment and hope to the First Century Christians facing persecutions and other struggles.

In the television show "Good Times," James Evans tried to provide for his family in the projects of Chicago in the face of injustice and racism.  One moment I remember from the program portrayed James' frustration once again at being kept back, and someone -- perhaps his wife Florida -- reminded him of the vision from Isaiah.  She said, "Remember James, the Bible says one day the 'lion will lie down with the lamb.'"  James replied, "Yeah, and only the lion is gonna get up."

Skepticism is often our response to a new vision for life.  We see what we see, and sometimes it's difficult to imagine anything new.

Someone mentioned watching the recent Country Music Awards, noting there was a song by Brooks and Dunn called "God Must Be Busy."  It turns out Bon Jovi also has a song with a similar theme, "Hey God," and both songs talk about the difficulties of life and the bad things happening in the world.  They wonder why God doesn't fix it all, and make it right.

Neither is a praise song.

As I see it, though, the problem isn't that God is busy (although I can't imagine how that would NOT be the case), but that people are busy.  People are busy looking out for Number One.  We're busy acquiring "stuff" to fill the emptiness of our lives.  We're busy either ignoring others and their needs, or finding ways to put others down, hold them back, or prove they are no good, so that we can raise our estimate of ourselves.  We're busy forgetting our relationship with God, ignoring the possibilities and inspiration of a vision for life and the world such as we find in the writings of Isaiah.  We're busy shooting ourselves in the foot.

A vision for a better life and world doesn't just happen.  We have to embrace the vision, and live into it.

But that's difficult to do.

A church in South Carolina took an interesting approach to their Vacation Bible School this past August.  Their theme was “Sanctuary,” and they ended up using “Build A Better World” resources from Church World Service.  As the church reported to CWS, “It was quickly apparent that your lesson on landmines in Cambodia would fit in very well, especially when teaching that a Sanctuary is a place of refuge, a safe haven.”  They ordered 100 of the landmine bells and made wind chimes.

I heard about the landmine bells at a recent clergy gathering.  It turns out that there are people in Cambodia who take unexploded shells or defused landmines and have them converted into bells for their livestock.  Foundries melt down the materials of war and, and as CWS describes the process, turns them into “tools of hope.”

The bells can be purchased online for thirty cents a piece.  They also may be ordered by writing or calling CWS.  The bells come with a description of how they were made.

Our friends in South Carolina built a “sanctuary” as part of their Bible School program, and now on the church property there is an area with five pews facing a cross, with some of their homemade wind chimes fastened to nearby trees.

It sounds like a wonderful program, as the children learned about the meaning of sanctuary, were touched by the story of the lives of the people of Cambodia, saw a real life example of “swords turned into plowshares,” and even raised some money to help support the work of CWS in Cambodia.

Others in the congregation who didn’t participate in the Bible School were caught up in the tale of the “shells to bells” project, talking with Bible School leaders and participants and asking for bells themselves.

The cause of peace took a couple of small steps forward.

There actually is a place called Hurricane, West Virginia, and in that town there is a church employing robocall technology to proclaim the gospel.   Robocalls are the phone calls you receive that are nothing more than a pre-recorded message that plays when you answer your ringing telephone.

The church is the Hurricane Bible Church, and the voice in the recording is that of the pastor, Art Hage.   The message lasts ninety seconds, shares Bible verses and a prayer.  There even is an opportunity for the recipient to record a response at the end.  Pastor Hage’s voice says, “God bless you is my prayer.”  He says, “We’re not asking them for anything.  We’re giving away the love of Christ.”

The Hurricane Bible Church has not grown in terms of new members since undertaking this approach to evangelism, but they maintain that isn’t their goal.  They apparently see this as a way to share the Good News, and to let the results take care of themselves.

I’m not sure I would hang in there for the whole ninety seconds if I were to receive such a call.  When I answer the phone and hear someone touting a political candidate or telling me I’ve won some glorious prize from a contest I never entered, I don’t listen beyond the point where I realize it’s a recording.  I figure if a live person doesn’t have the time to speak with me, then I’m not wasting mine on a tape.

The Hurricane Bible Church can do as it pleases, but it seems to me that true evangelism is more about genuine interaction than about blanketing a community with a recording.  Evangelism can take many forms, such as working on a mission project, mentoring a young person, listening to someone in distress, and sharing the story of your personal faith journey.  But, I think people are involved directly on both sides of the equation.

Churches do enough already to keep others at arm’s length.  I don’t see evangelism as something impersonal.

In the history of the establishment of my denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), there were slogans developed among the frontier folks attracted to the movement.  Included were:  “Christian Unity is Our Polar Star;” No Creed but Christ, No Book but the Bible;” “Bible Names for Bible Things;” and “Where the Scriptures Speak, We Speak, Where the Scriptures are Silent, We are Silent.”

For a church attempting to “restore” the New Testament faith and practice, these slogans helped remind people what the church was trying to do.  They illustrated the centrality of scripture to the approach undertaken by the leaders of the movement.

But, they also sometimes revealed the difficulty of the undertaking.  “Where the Scriptures Speak…” could be taken a couple of different ways.

Apparently, there was a congregation in St. Louis around 1867 that became caught up in a disagreement of interpretation.  The church had an organ in their sanctuary, but some felt that since the New Testament did not mention the use of musical instruments in worship, then it was not an appropriate practice.  Others believed that since there was no specific prohibition of musical instruments in worship, it was allowed.

The folks in favor of playing the organ in worship somehow lost out, and left the fellowship.  They started their own congregation, and eventually were able to build a meeting house.  They were not, however, ever able to raise sufficient funds to acquire an organ. 

So, it turned out that those who could, would not, and those who would, could not.

The fellowship was divided, the body broken, and it’s difficult to imagine that anyone was happy.  Their witness to those outside the church fell far short of what it could have been, for they allowed lesser matters to tear them apart.

This seems like an example of why the forbears of our church felt emphasis on doctrines and creeds detracted from Christian unity.  It’s ironic that such a division occurred within the movement.

But then, it’s ironic today when churches and Christians are divided, hostile, exclusive and judgmental.

Something has been missed, and even if we don’t realize it, the world isn’t fooled.

There appears to be some confusion among the Religious Right about what’s best for America.  At least, there is disagreement as to which Republican candidate for President is the best choice. 

First of all, only a Republican will do for them, so that narrows the possibilities.  Secondly, the candidate has to embrace their “values.”  Thirdly, they can’t find one.  

Or is it that they don’t really have an identified and agreed-upon set of “values” that are paramount and inherently “Christian.”  Maybe they just want to win the election and are seeking someone they think will do that.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has received the endorsement of former rival, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), who apparently is well-regarded among conservative Christians.  Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is touted by Paul Weyrich, the co-founder of the defunct Moral Majority.   Family values pro Gary Bauer is supporting Fred Thompson, who claims he is “right with God,” although he doesn’t attend church and refuses to discuss his “beliefs.”   Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) has convinced Rick Scarborough of the Southern Baptists that he’s the man for the work.

Thrice-married, pro-choice, advocate of gay rights, pro-gun control Rudy Giuliani, picked up the vote of Pat Robertson. 

No, really, he did.

According to an article in the Washington Post, Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio discovered that half of Republicans are turned off by a Robertson endorsement of a candidate, and that prior Giuliani supporters “view the endorsement negatively” by a margin of 3 to 1. 

It seems that Robertson is throwing his dwindling weight behind Giuliani based on anti-Islam sentiments.  Hating Muslims, at least those who exhibit “bloodlust,” has bubbled to the top of Robertson’s policy priorities.  

The same article states, “Richard Land, a senior official of the Southern Baptist Convention, said Robertson’s endorsement probably reflects a belief by the TV evangelist that Giuliani is the candidate most likely to beat the Democratic nominee.”  Land added, “I’m not going to vote for Rudy under any circumstances.”

There is disarray among those who think we live in a “Christian nation.”

In the October 30 issue of Christian Century there is an article about the use of children as combat soldiers by a number of countries, eight of which receive money from the United States.  If you pay taxes, you are supporting this crime.   The eight countries listed in the article are Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

An estimated 300,000 children currently are soldiers, some no older than eight years of age.  The figures include both boys and girls, many of whom suffer sexual abuse on top of everything else.  The article indicates that often the children are drugged as they are sent to kill, and that sometimes they are used as human mine detectors or sex slaves.  The children also engage in killing other children.  The physical, psychological and spiritual effects are obscenely devastating.

When I was reminded of all of this by the article, I couldn’t decide what to say about it.  Several thoughts flashed through my mind:  the idiocy of war and of those who promote it; the common reality of sending the most “expendable” members of our society to “take out the trash,” as William Sloane Coffin once described it; and, the origins of Mother’s Day as a protest against war and its destructive impact on children and youth.

Most of all, I think, war is an offense against God.  The creation God deemed as “good” comes under assault in times of war, with no regard for the environment or wildlife.  And those created in the image of God are demonized and destroyed in horrific fashion, with more “advanced” and torturous means being developed all the time.

What would it be like if we took seriously God’s sovereignty over matters of life and death?  How would life in this world be different if the resources currently devoted to war, war “education,” war preparation, war equipment, and everything else on which we waste our brainpower, time, and money so we can destroy others and their land, were instead channeled toward sharing food and natural resources, promoting health, sustainability and economic/racial/environmental/gender justice?

Maybe when we run out of expendable people, and those who decide to send them off to fight their wars are the only ones left, things will change.

When I heard today about yet another manhunt in Florida for a man who shot and killed a police officer, this one a sheriff’s deputy who was transporting the criminal, it got my attention.  Twice within the past year or so, two other cases of officers shot and killed resulted in the suspect being hunted down and shot to death as officers swarmed into the area from all across the state.  Both of the suspects were African-Americans.  One of the two faced an especially brutal execution, as he was ripped to shreds by over 100 rounds fired by the police officers when they found him.  Instant justice.

Today’s situation had a different outcome.  He was Caucasian.  He already was serving two life sentences for armed robbery.  Today the sheriff’s deputy was driving him to court for trial on at least two other charges.  He also had a history of drug arrests, and was injured and endangered other people while eluding police when they previously tried to capture him following a robbery.

The man he killed today was 76 years old, and four hours later the suspect was captured carrying the dead officer’s weapon.  Apparently, no shots were fired when the arrest was made, and I read nothing in the account of officers high-tailing it to the area from other jurisdictions.

Does this mean the procedures have changed since the last time?  Or does it indicate a different standard of “justice?”

You figure it out.

I heard on the radio that Art Garfunkel recently celebrated his 66th birthday.  It made me think of two things:  in the song Old Friends, sung by Simon and Garfunkel there is a line about how strange it is to be 70; and, my wife, who was a student at the University of Virginia at the time when Garfunkel lived in that area, once encountered him in a shop there in Charlottesville.  She said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Garfunkel."  He just looked at her.

When I shared this story with someone, she relayed a story of her own.  A friend of hers happened into an ice cream shop in a town where Robert Redford was filming a movie.  The woman saw that Redford was there in the ice cream shop and became very flustered.  She ordered her cone, paid for it, received her change and left the store.  She returned very quickly, saying to the cashier, "I paid for my ice cream cone, and received my change, but I never got my ice cream."  Redford himself spoke up and said, "It's in your purse."

Indeed, she was so unnerved by the presence of a celebrity that she didn't realize what she was doing.

Probably my favorite story of someone interacting with a celebrity was told by someone I knew in high school.  He lived in Boston for a while, and once attended a Boston Celtics basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks.  Prior to the game, he and some friends were outside the arena when the Bucks arrived.  The star of the Bucks at that time was Kareem Abdul-Jabaar.  This was when he still was known as Lew Alcindor.

 My friend said, "Hello, Lew."  And according to him, Alcindor replied, "Hello, you stupid jerk."

It's fun to encounter a famous face -- but you never know what will happen.  My advice is always be polite, respectful -- and not easily disappointed. 

On a recent Sunday morning, I welcomed some visitors to our church who arrived fairly early.  They sat together in a pew and quietly waited for the service to begin.  Several moments later, a long-time member of the church arrived and told them to move.  They were sitting in her pew.

She was early, as well, and no one was sitting anywhere near "her pew" in front, behind, or on either side of the center aisle.  But, the visitors were required to get up and find another place to sit.  They did so graciously, and when I apologized to them, they laughed it off.  This is not the first time something like this has happened.

In my sermon preparation last week, I found it interesting that there are numerous stories in Luke 18 about followers of Jesus trying to keep people away from him - much to his chagrin (probably a polite interpretation of the accounts!).  These stories lead into the familiar episode of Zacchaeus, in Luke 19, and it seemed to me that rather than talk about poor little us with all of our struggles and challenges, and how, if we just try hard enough, Jesus will notice us and help us, it was more important to wonder aloud whether the church has become adept at keeping people away from Jesus.

Luke tells us Zacchaeus climbed the tree in order to see Jesus, because of the crowds, and because "he was short of stature" (Zacchaeus?  Or Jesus?  It isn't clear!).  Whoever was short, the fact remains that the other people wouldn't let Zacchaeus through.  They blocked his access to Jesus.

Zacchaeus, as we know, was a tax collector -- persona non grata among the fine folks of the temple community.  He was a bad guy.  He was a traitor.  He wasn't their kind.  He didn't deserve to see Jesus.

It turned out, that even though the fine folks tried to keep Zacchaeus from seeing Jesus, Jesus wanted to see him. Jesus somehow knew that this was a person who was hurting, who needed love, and who was ripe for healing and restoration.

Who do we prevent from seeing Jesus today?  How do we block the path of those who could stand a blessing in their lives? And more to the point -- why do we do it?

It seems to me that this story raises these questions for people of faith today -- people called to make known the Good News of Jesus Christ, and to be a blessing to others.

When a building or room is dedicated to God as a “sacred space” where members of the community of faith will gather for worship, study, and the administration of sacraments, what are the limits of what is allowable or appropriate to occur there?  In other words, what can or cannot be done in sacred space?

Hateful words often are spoken in sacred spaces.  Sermons vilifying groups or individuals are not uncommon in some churches.  I once was included in a conversation, held in a church sanctuary, in which a denominational leader uttered the “N-word.”  Nasty glares, filled with daggers, get tossed around if a child makes a noise, someone says “Amen” during the sermon, or if a young person isn’t dressed according to standard.  Is there sacredness in these occurrences?

Once, at the chapel at the Disciples conference center at Bethany Beach, Delaware, I observed from a distance as a local production of The Wizard of Oz was underway.  Through the screen along the side of the building I could see “backstage,” where someone provided sound effects by pounding the communion table with a broomstick.  On another communion table in another sacred space, a not-so-young mother changed her baby’s diaper.  Sacred or not sacred?

It seems a lot of the vagaries of life take place in church buildings.

Some churches across the continent are opening their doors to a court-sponsored program whereby fugitives can show up for “Safe Surrender.”  According to reports, “The program does not offer amnesty, but gives people a chance to resolve cases amid promises from authorities of ‘favorable consideration.’”  Temporary “court rooms” are set up, participants are assigned defense lawyers, and judges hear the arguments.  For some of the defendants, this seems less of a threatening experience than actually showing up at a courthouse, and it helps to close out unresolved matters for both the courts and the accused.  Not that everyone is allowed to wiggle off the hook, however.

Is this an appropriate activity for a sacred space?  I think it is.  But for some, it’s also a reminder that more sacred work needs to occur in churches.  One person, an elder in a church where Safe Surrender was taking place, remarked that folks “in government and the church…have to continually find ways to connect with people before they make bad choices.” 

“We dropped the ball somewhere,” he said.  “I think we could have done more.”