ALL MY LIFEI S A JOURNEY

Recently my wife and I boarded a chartered bus headed for New York City. From there we were going to jump on a cruise ship for a church cruise to Halifax, Nova Scotia and then four other ports. The chartered bus took us to within six miles of where I grew up. Bouncing along Rt. 78, the bus rolled down the highway cutting through the central Jersey countryside, splitting the hills, slicing through the familiar knolls of autumn leaves like a knife through butter. With each passing exit, old memories came rushing back to me.
Bouncing up one hill, I smiled, thinking of all the different times spent at the home of my aunt and uncle. Rolling down a hill, we passed the exit leading to the church I grew up in. Driving past the next exit brought me within a few miles of where I grew up: the house I lived in, the high school I attended, the garage I worked in, the home of my grandparents, where Sunday evening dinners with mounds of spaghetti and meatballs and loud conversations took place. Riding in the bus that day drove me back to another place in time.
That night in New York City we took in the Broadway play, ‘Jersey Boys’. Sitting in the theater, listening to the familiar music of the Four Seasons, transported me to another time of trips to the shore, of hanging out with old friends, of cruising up and down familiar roads. The musical led me on a journey back in time. Sometimes journeys take us back in time. Sometimes they are physical journeys, like going on a cruise. Sometimes they are spiritual journeys. Our entire life is a journey.
If you open the Bible to the Gospel according to Mark, you will see story after story of journeys. Sometimes the story takes place on a boat in the middle of a great lake. Sometimes the story takes place in a quiet solitary place or in a large and crowded city or on a quiet road. Throughout the Gospel of Mark we continually see the phrase, “on the road” or “on the way”. These words appear almost ten different times. One time, on a quiet road leading around the village of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus addressed His disciples. “On the way Jesus asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’” Mark 8:27. Not only are these people traveling down an ancient road to a new location, but they are traveling to a new place in their faith as Jesus asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’. With this question comes another just two verses away when Jesus asks Peter, as well as each of us, ‘Who do you say I am?’ On the way to a new place we are propelled to a new level in our faith with one simple question, ‘Who do you say I am?’.
‘On the way’ to a new location the disciples also arrived at a new place in their faith. Repeatedly these phrases, “on the way” occur throughout the Gospel of Mark. They are there, not only to tell us that Jesus and the disciples are on the way to someplace new, but that they are also on a spiritual journey. Jesus is showing us that a physical journey can be a spiritual one as well. And perhaps in the same way we too are reminded that our life is a journey of faith.
Like the Disciples traveling with Jesus, sometimes our journey is easy and familiar, like walking down the streets of New York City or across the moist grass of Central Park. Sometimes it is new and exciting like going on a cruise for the first time and traveling with friends from the church to places I’ve never been before. However, too often, our journey in life is hard, like when we lose our job from down-sizing, when lay-offs occur from reduced finances, when a sudden illness strikes.
Looking back over my life, I know all of my life is a journey. My physical journey took me from New Jersey to The Navajo Indian Reservation to Pittsburgh to Martins Ferry. I know this has been a spiritual journey as well, which has led to a deeper faith and a greater understanding. Through the years, I have discovered that our life is truly a journey of faith intertwined with the places we go and the people we meet. Our faith journey reminds us that it does not matter where we are in our journey of faith, but how far we have come. Our faith journey continually reminds us all that we are not there yet. Today, where are you in your journey of faith? How is your journey to a greater faith progressing, a journey that will carry you through both the difficult moments and those joyful times in your life?
We all need help in our journey of life and in our journey of faith. GOD has promised to journey with us, guiding, leading, directing and comforting. When we seek to answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?”, we learn that Jesus is that constant source of life, encouragement, power, strength and hope. When we walk with others in our faith family our journey becomes easier as we share our burdens with one another and celebrate our joys.
Let the journey begin!

The Art of Caring

Mr. Alter’s fifth grade class at Lake Elementary School in Oceanside, California included 14 boys who had no hair. But only one had no choice in the matter.

Ian O’Gorman was one of Mr. Alter’s 5th grade boys with no hair. In the spring, Ian was undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma. The brutal medicines were so harsh that he began to lose his hair. First, his hair loss was gradual. Then it began to fall out in small clumps. A little later in his treatments, he woke up in the mornings to find larger tuffs of blond hair covering his pillow. That’s when Ian went to his barber to get his head shaved. The next day the other 13 boys in his class went to their barbers and got their heads shaved too. They did not want Ian to feel alone and out of place with his shaved head.

Ten-year-old Kyle Hanslik started it all. He talked to some of the other boys and, before long, they were all at the barbershop getting their heads shaved. In an interview, Kyle said, “The last thing Ian would want is to not fit in – we just wanted to do something to make him feel better.” His classmates could not cure his cancer; they could not eradicate the lymphoma from his body, but they made him feel better.

The Apostle Paul instructs us in the book of Galatians, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Jesus Christ.” The law of Christ reminds us, “to love our neighbor as our self.” We are also reminded that, “The GOD of all comfort comforts us in all of our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort which we have received from GOD.” (2nd Cor. 13-4). In Mr. Alter’s 5th grade class at Lake Elementary School of Oceanside, California, those students showed us the art of caring as they demonstrated a new way to carry someone’s burden. There are other ways, like sitting in a funeral home and visiting with a grieving family. Sending cards and notes to neighbors shut in their homes by illness is a way we can show care. Then there is the way the late Sam Rayburn, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, showed the way he cared.

Sam Rayburn heard that the daughter of one of his friends was critically injured in a traffic accident far from home. Early the next morning, Mr. Rayburn went to his friend’s house and knocked on the front door. He said, “I just came by to see what I could do for you.”

The father replied that there was really nothing anyone can do – all we are doing is waiting.”

“Well,” Rayburn said, “have you had your morning coffee yet?”

The man shook his head saying that they just had did not feel like making breakfast.
“Well, then,” Rayburn said, “I’ll make some coffee for us.” With that, Rayburn went to work in the kitchen. While he was working in the kitchen, his friend asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be having breakfast with the President at the White House this morning?”

“I was,” Rayburn said, “but I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in need and that I could not come to the White House this morning.”

We can make a big difference in our world by acting more caring toward others. We can make a difference to our community if we take time to be with people who are in pain. We can have an impact on someone’s life by just taking time to be with them.

One cold Chicago night after a basketball game, Chicago Bulls’ super star, Michael Jordan, headed through a large crowd of fans toward his waiting car. As he opened the car door, Jordan noticed a youngster in a wheelchair some 20 feet away. The boy’s neck was bent at an unnatural angle; his eyes could not look directly forward. Jordan walked over to the boy and knelt down beside him. The youngster was so excited that he began to rise up out of the wheelchair. Jordan comforted him, talking softly to him, while putting his arm around the boy’s frail shoulder.
The boy’s father tried to snap a picture, but the camera did not work. Jordan noticed. Without being asked, he continued to kneel at the boy’s side until the father was able to take the picture. Only then did Jordan slowly rise and return to his car.

The boy’s eyes were glistening with tears. His dad was talking with his son about how Michael Jordan took time to come over to him. If nothing else, that boy will always remember the night Michael Jordan cared enough to include him in his world.

Is there someone you need to make time for and include in your world? How can you help to bear someone’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ? And when we do, we can Jesus whispering in our ear, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

Endings & Beginnings

Scheherazade was perhaps the best storyteller ever. She became the best storyteller out of necessity. Marriage to King Shahryar, the sultan, was not an easy life, but it was always a short life. The king, governing an unnamed island between India and China, believed he had been betrayed by his wife and so had her executed. Ever since that day, the king would marry a new woman in the evening and have her executed at dawn. This way, he thought, he could never be betrayed again. Now Scheherazade became his bride. And in the evening, she began telling him a story, a story filled with intrigue and mystery, a story that had no real ending, a story that went on and on until dawn. For the next 1001 nights, she told king Shahryar stories, spinning yarns until he fell in love with her and realized she would never betray him.

I like the Scheherazade stories. I like how one story ends with the beginning of a new one. 1001 Arabian Nights, known in Arabic as Alf Layla wa Layla, is a extraordinary collection of fables, tales, and stories which appear to reach an ending only to commence again. I like the stories because they remind me of this time of year, which is so filled with endings and beginnings. For us, sometimes the endings and beginnings are so closely linked together that while an apparent ending is taking place, a new beginning is starting up.

This week our youngest child moved back to college and began his sophomore year at WVU, ending a summer of working in the community library. Today our oldest daughter is moving back to law school after returning from summer study in Israel. Both are leaving their summer's behind and are returning to their school which is familiar to them. And yet, it unfamiliar as well, since each is starting a brand new beginning. Matt has ever been a sophomore at WVU and Sarah has never been a second year law student in Ada, Ohio. Each is now exploring uncharted waters. The unknown can be so scary.

While new beginnings are truly new to us, GOD’s love for us is not new. GOD has promised that He has a plan for us. The prophet, Jeremiah, addressing a group of scared and frightened people reminded them that GOD has a plan for them. In Jeremiah 29:11 it is recorded, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The prophetic words of Jeremiah are not just for the hurting people of Israel, but for all our graduates. These are also powerful words for every one of us. Every evening puts an end to an old day and each morning brings a new beginning, a new day filled with promise, a new day filled with hope. All this is because GOD has a plan for each of us - a plan to prosper us, a plan to give us hope. God has a plan for our future.

Back in 1978, a video series was produced by the United Methodist Church, titled Begin with Goodbye. This series talked about saying goodbye to one area of your life before beginning another. A family moving away from their old, familiar home, a construction worker laid off, a teacher retiring, a wife grieving the loss of husband, a student graduating from school, are all situations where we must say goodbye before we can move on. We celebrate the past and we move confidently and joyfully into the future God has prepared for us.

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“An Attitude of Fortitude”

Recently I read a biography about Nicolo Paganini, the colorful and talented 18th century violinist. In 1891, when Paganini was just 9 years old, he made his concert debut in Genoa. At age 13, Paganini began to compose concertos for the violin. While he may be remembered for his writing, today he is best remembered for his colorful playing and showmanship.

Paganini was truly a gifted violinist. He could play mournful, lamenting pieces so that the violin sounded as though it was weeping. He could play passionately sweet, soft melodies that moved people to tears. He could play hard, fast and forcefully and the audience thought it was magical. Magical was an excellent way to describe his showmanship.

There is a story about Paganini standing before a packed concert hall performing a complicated piece on his violin. Supported by a full orchestra of talented musicians, Paganini stood center stage demonstrating his magic. Paganini was playing hard. Vigorously, he pushed the bow back and forth across the delicate strings as if he was sawing the violin in half, when one of the strings suddenly snapped. The snapped string hung limp from the tailpiece. Beads of perspiration popped out on his forehead. Frowning, he continued, concentrating, improvising magnificently on the remaining three strings. Then, without warning, a second string broke. Without missing a beat, he played on, again improvising on the remaining strings. Then a third string snapped, breaking away. Still Paganini played on. The conductor looked over and saw the three limp strings dangling from Paganini’s violin. The conductor focused on the three broken strings. Paganini focused on the one remaining. The conductor, seeing the three broken strings, wondered what Paganini was going to do. He worried that Paganini would stop playing. He worried that the violinist would quit the performance, stop playing and walk off the stage leaving the orchestra playing alone. As the conductor worried about Paganini and what he might do, Paganini continued playing. He remained focused on what he was doing. He remained attentive to that one remaining string. He concentrated on what he had, and not on what he did not have. Paganini kept improvising, playing the piece on the one remaining string.

Finishing the piece, Paganini triumphantly twirled the violin up in the air holding it high above his head as the audience jumped to their feet applauding, and shouting in grand Italian fashion. As the applause died down, the violinist asked the people to be seated. Even though they knew it was impossible for an encore, they quickly settled back in their seats.

Paganini again held up his violin high for everyone to see. Dramatically he pointed to the dead, limp strings dangling from his violin. Plucking the one remaining string, he turned to the conductor, nodded, ready to begin the encore. Turning to the crowd, with a broad smile, he shouted, “Paganini, and one string!”

Placing the Stradivarius under his chin, he played the final piece on one string as the audience, conductor and the orchestra shook their heads in disbelief and amazement. Paganini, and one string. Paganini, with an attitude of fortitude.

I believe the single most significant decision we can make on a day-by-day basis is our choice of attitude. It is more important than our education, our work experience, our bankroll. It is more important than our past failures or successes. Attitude is what keeps us going or cripples our progress. Our attitude powers us or incapacitates us when all we seem to have left is that ‘single string’ to play on. Our attitude alone fuels our fire, or assaults our hope. It energizes us or weakens us. When our attitude is right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too low, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great to achieve.

Having the right attitude is the ability to keep going when all we have left is one string.
Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl knew what it was like to have one string left. He knew how important it was to have the right attitude in life. Frankl once said, “Life is 10% of what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it.”

How are you responding to old troubles and new problems in your life? Do you have an attitude of fortitude when rumors circulate of lay offs and plant closings? Do you have an attitude of fortitude when forced to deal with a sudden illness, or chronic sickness?

Since my mother-in-law moved in with us, I have seen strength beyond a linebacker, endurance beyond a marathon runner. Crippled with osteoarthritis, weakened by polio, wounded from previous surgeries, she strains daily to perform simple movements I take for granted.
Struggling through the house, climbing a few steps up to the curb, for her rivals the ascent on Mt. Everest. Watching her struggle, I see not only determination, but also an attitude of fortitude. I see her struggle and think how easy it would be to give up to the effort and give in to the pain. I think how easy it would be to stay put, remaining in the house, in a recliner. It would be tempting to give up. However, when you have an attitude of fortitude, there is no quitting, even when you have but one string to play on.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Thanks be to GOD! He gives us victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Therefore, stand firm. Let nothing move you.” Do not be moved to defeat even when you have only one string to play on. Develop an attitude of fortitude.

“A Mother’s Wisdom”

“Share with others.” “Always say, ‘Please and thank you.’” “Leave things better than you found them.” “Be nice to everyone.” These are wise sayings. These are some of the words and oneliners my mother used to say to my brother and me when we were growing up in New Jersey. She had others, too! Like a Mother’s Book of Wisdom, the Book of Proverb is filled with oneliners. The book begins with the line: “Listen my sons, do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” I can hear the king saying to his kids, “Hey!, Listen to what your mother says!” Not much has changed in 2,000 years. I wonder how many of the teachings in the Book of Proverbs are actually instructional words from mother to child?
2,000 years ago, mothers had valuable advice to pass on to their children. They had wisdom to hand down, which they learned the hard way, through their own mistakes. They had knowledge to give which they received through life experiences much as the mothers of today.
I can hear my mother yelling up the stairs, “Keep your room clean!” I can hear her say, “Put things back where you found them. Clean up after yourself.” Words of wisdom.
“Say you’re sorry when you hurt someone.” “Always wear clean underwear in case you are in an accident.” “Make your bed in case of a house fire.” More words of wisdom. Maybe you heard words like this from your mother. And maybe you passed them on to your children and grandchildren. Maybe you can hear your mother saying, “Wash your hands before you eat.” Maybe she warned, “If everyone else jumped off the bridge, would you jump too?” But then, she did not know about bungee jumping.
The last chapter of the Book of Proverbs begins with the statement of a mother to a son. The chapter begins as the king remembers the statement his mother passed on to him. He remembers his mother’s oracle.
Chapter 31 begins: “These are the sayings of King Lemuel – an oracle his mother taught him.” He remembered his mother’s words of wisdom. He remembered her words of inspiration, motivation, and love that shaped him and his career. Then the king passed his mother’s wisdom on to his family and eventually to his country. The king’s mother said, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” She taught him, “Defend the rights of the needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9).
A mother’s words to her children are valuable. These two verses influenced a king, shaped a nation, molded a country to search for peace and work for justice. Through the years these words from a mother to her children have motivated others. These words inspired an old Albanian woman, who grew up in Yugoslavia, who became a Roman Catholic Nun, who lived in poverty in India, who the world knew as Mother Teresa, who struggled for peace and worked for justice.
In Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 1980, this small, stooped woman in a faded blue sari and worn sandals received the Nobel Peace Prize. Mother Teresa’s weapon against injustice was a caring heart. Her message for the world was a message of peace. A tough, vibrant peace that came from a Mother to her children was demonstrated through genuine gestures of love as she cared for the sick and dying, the forgotten and the poor.
A few years later Mother Teresa spoke at a conference on Quantum Physics and Religious Mystics at the Oberoi Towers Hotel in Bombay, India. In a firm voice she spoke as a mother to her children. To the assembly, Mother Teresa passed on her words of wisdom, “We can do no great things; only small things with great love.”
The book of Proverbs ends with a description of a faithful woman. It says: “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the day to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.”
On this Mother’s Day, give thanks for your mother and for all the women who have made a difference in your life. Celebrate their lives and love. Thank GOD for the grace they have shown and the forgiveness they have poured out. Give thanks for their intelligence and insight, knowledge and wisdom. Then pass that wisdom on to the next generation. A mother’s wisdom never goes out of style!

Racing Toward the Target

In high school and college, I used to love to run. When my wife and I moved to Tuba City on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona, I had some great runs. Living in that small town, which rose up 5,000 feet in elevation on the western edge of the reservation near the Grand Canyon, in the magnificent Painted Desert, I had opportunities for spectacular runs. Sometimes I would run a loop around the town, maybe down to the Hopi Indian village of Moenkopi, or simply into the quiet desert. And sometimes, my wife would drop me off in the desert and I would run home.
One time my wife dropped me off on the side of the road 20 miles from town in the tranquil desert. The road rose and fell with the desert, twisting around canyons and dry washes before it turned into a long straight stretch of hot pavement that seemed to go on forever. On a 15-20 mile run by yourself it is easy to get discouraged and become disheartened. Standing on the sand covered shoulder of the road, knowing the distance that needs to be covered, it’s easy to become overwhelmed, feel tired and fatigued and beaten. It is easy to get discouraged when you are alone with no one pushing you to reach your goal.
Sometimes it’s hard to race toward your goal when you’re running uphill for 2 miles. It’s hard to keep your sights on the your target when you can not see it. It’s hard to keep going when you are alone, in the desert and the sun is starting to set, your lungs are burning, your legs are getting heavier, your feet are blistering, your shins are throbbing and you know there are still several hills and miles to go. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep going toward your target.
Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged. It’s easy to get discouraged when we’re shoveling snow, waiting to hear about a job interview or the results of medical tests. In our moment of discouragement, we have to keep our eyes fixed on our intended goal. We have to head toward the target; we have to press on toward the goal.
‘Pressing toward the goal’ is what the Apostle Paul wrote about to the people of Philippi. In his first letter to the church in Philippi, Paul pictured himself running a race. He pictured himself racing like a long distance runner with bulging veins, straining every nerve and muscle, exerting every ounce of strength in his body, straining, and extending himself so that he would not fall short of the goal. Paul’s goal was to live a life that was pleasing to God in every way.
Paul knew the race of faithfulness he wanted to run. He was determined to reach his goal. But getting there, Paul knew, was going to be long and difficult with many barriers popping up in his way. Each obstacle was trying to prevent him from reaching his goal. But Paul kept his eyes fixed on heaven. Paul kept following Jesus Christ, His words, His teachings, His example, despite the ongoing pressure to give in. Paul struggled to remain faithful, despite being put in prison. He battled to remain true, despite floggings and beatings. Paul remained faithful, keeping the goal targeted in his mind as he raced onward, toward his goal and ultimate victory.
Prizefighter, James J. Corbett once was asked, “What is the most important thing to become champion?” Corbett replied, “Fight one more round.”
“Fighting one more round, pressing on toward the goal” is the secret for success in living a life of faithfulness. Thomas Gray, the great English poet, wrote 75 drafts of, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” before he was satisfied with it. When it was published, it quickly became a poetic masterpiece.
George Gershwin composed almost 100 melodies before he sold his first one. During his first five years as a writer, Zane Grey could not sell a single story. It’s easy to become discouraged. It’s easy to feel like giving up. I have noticed there are many people who see only the obstacles looming in their path, and not the goal beyond it. Therefore, they never reach their goal. I have also noticed that successful people keep their eyes fixed on their target. They see their goal and the hope that lies beyond the obstacles. They press on toward their target. For they know that the victory goes to those who are willing to fight just ‘one more round!’ This Lent, don’t give up. Press on toward your goal. The rewards are out of this world!

Killing Me Softly

In 1974 Roberta Flack's song, 'Killing Me Softly, With His Song' was an enormous victor at the Grammy Awards. The hit which went gold, as a single as well as an album was named song of the year, and record of the year. Roberta Flack also won for best pop vocal by female. The song was a huge hit.

The song sang about how words were embarasing her; embarrasing her to the point that if felt like she was dying. Words have a powerful impact on us. And this is what Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:21-22.

This is the Sermon on the Mount. What has become known as Jesus Inaugural Address stretches from Matthew 5:1-7:29. His message begins in Matthew 5 with a litany of blessings, known as the Beatitudes. After that Jesus explainged how Christians should live their daily lives, all the while pointing that He is the Messiah. In this section, from 5-7:29, six times Jesus busts some old myths about living. Each section begins with, "You have heard it said . . ." Then Jesus counters it with a radical change that starts with, "But I tell you . . ." In Matthew 5:21-22 the old 'myth to be busted' was murder. Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder.' But I tell you . . ." Jesus is quickly referring to the 10 Commandments. The audience then and us today recall (Deut. 5:17) that we are told, "You shall not murder." With His line, "But I tell You . . ." does not mean that Jesus is condoning murder or getting ready to say that it is alright to take a life. Infact, Jesus makes a stronger comment on murder. Instead of talking about physically murdering someone, Jesus talks about the way we murder people daily just by the words we speak. Jesus reinforces His idea that words kill, later in Matthew 12:36 "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be aquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." Words and the use of words are very important to Jesus. And Jesus, in both cases is condeming abusive language.

The Movie 'Atonement' is set primarily in England during the late 1930's and early 1940's. The film focuses on the British class caste system through one wealthy family and one servant family. It also demonstrated how ugly words and a lie brought ruin to the two families. Briony, the 13 year old precocious younger sister of Cecilia, is drawn to Robbie, the caretaker's son. Thanks to Briony's wealthy family, Robbie is able to attend Cambridge and plans on a career in medicine. Briony, angered and confused by the mutual attraction between Robbie and Cecilia, creates a fanciful story which eventually annihilates Cecilia and Robbie while destroying both families. The destruction, the murders were not committed by sword and gun, but were are all caused by ugly words and vicious rumors set by a 13 year old.

Jesus tell us that there is power in the words we speak. We have the power to heal someone who is hurting by kind words, or the power to destroy, by our hateful words. We have the power to encourage someone, or discourage someone. We have the power to change the world, simply by the use of the words we use. We can halp bring victory or defeat to someone struggeling. We can lift someone up who has fallen, or crush them just by the use of the words we choose. We have a choice. But Jesus commands us not to murder anyone, even by the words we speak. As my grandmother use to say, "If ya aint got nothing good to say - don't say it."

Disturbing Calls

Sometimes we receive calls at inconvenient times. Sometimes when we are eating or relaxing we receive a phone call and we are forced to get up, leave our comfortable place and go and receive our call. We know phone calls and GOD's call to us can come to us at inconvenient times. And just GOD's call can come when we least expect it, GOD's call can come where we least expect it as well - at work.

We expect to hear GOD talking to us, and calling us into service, in mission and ministry and into a deeper relationship with Him during worship. We expect GOD to talk to us in the beautiful surroundings of the sanctuary. We do not expect GOD to speak to us at work. But GOD does.

Simon, who later became named, Peter, had been fishing all night. He and his fishing partners, Andrew, James and John had worked all night fishing. They worked through the night, like many people do today. The labored through the night shift. And when morning came, and their last nets were hauled aboard their boats the had a 'net' return of zero. All night they worked. All night they tossed their nets overboard, sailed the boat in a tight circle and began hauling the nets back into the boat. It was hard work. It was back breaking. And at the end of their shift they had nothing to show for all their work. They must have felt very discouraged and defeated. They would have to return home with not fish and no food. They would have not fish to sell in the market. The people who were counting on them to provide a meal would have to go without fresh fish. When the returned to the water's edge, the men began to clean their nets, wash them and repair them. Carefully they replaced the weights and floats. With skillful fingers, they repaired the snags stitched up the rips in their nets. Then they carefully folded them and stowed them away for the next night's fishing.

As the fishermen were finishing the tedious job of their cleaning up, Jesus came by walking along the shoreline. As He approached, a crowd of people began to follow Him. Soon they were pressing in around him. At the edge of the water, Jesus got into one of the fishing boats owned by Peter and Andrew, James and John. The boats gets pushed out a little from shore and then Jesus, acting like a Rabbi, sat down and began to teach the crowd. Jesus taught and preached. His teachings I'm sure stretched on through the morning as the fishermen wondered how long this itinerant preacher was going to talk. I'm sure the fishermen, after coming off their night shift of fishing were exhausted and hungry and ready to go home. And Jesus continued to teach.

Then when Jesus was finished teaching, to told Peter, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

Peter, exhausted and probably a little frustrated went along with Jesus. He said, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything." Then Peter, maybe skeptical about what this preacher knows about fishing said, probably with a tired voice and with a slight sarcastic tone, "But, because you say so, I will let down the nets again." With the nets already cleaned and stored away, Peter did something contrary to his own experience, he got out the nets, set them up and toss them into the sea. And what a shock followed. The net filled and filled to the point that when they tried to land the nets into the boat, the boat (27 foot long x 7 1/2 feet wide) began to list with sea water spilling in. Now that's a catch. This catch was straining and breaking their nets. The catch was pulling them further and deeper and lower into the waves. The other boat came to their rescue, and that boat began to struggle under the weight of the fish. These were not tiny row boats. These were large fishing boats. And in order to have these boats to have struggle as they did, it is estimated that the weight of the catch exceeded several tons of fish. A few hours earlier the professionals caught nothing. All night they worked and had nothing to show for their labors. Now, with one drop they hauled in a huge catch! With this Peter became amazed and puzzled, frightened and scared all at the same time. As a professional fisherman, he has never seen anything like this before. And his puzzlement gave way to fear.

Recognizing Peter's fear, Jesus said, "Do not be afraid." I like that line. This has to be one of my favorite lines in the Bible, "Do not be afraid." We find this line all through the Bible. It is there to truly dispel our fears and apprehensions. Right after Jesus tells Peter, Do not be afraid;" Jesus continues without taking a breath and says, "From now on you will catch men." It is as if Jesus is telling Peter, "You trusted me for fish, now trust me for everything else." This is Peter's calling into full time ministry. Now Peter was turning and trusting Jesus for everything. We see that Peter meant it with the last line in this passage (Luke 5:11). "So they (Peter, Andrew, James & John) pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Jesus." From now on they would trust in and on Jesus for everything. Everything in life and everything in and for ministry would provided for them by Jesus. Everything they need to succeed would by provided by Jesus.

The tired fisherman heard Jesus calling them even at work. And just as they heard it then, I believe Jesus is calling people today at their place of employment. He is calling you, maybe right now to follow Him. Maybe right now, Jesus is calling you go deeper with your faith and trust Him for everything. Maybe right now, you can hear - feel - experience Jesus calling you to trust Him for all your needs. Jesus call us, not only when we least expect it, but sometimes where we least expect hearing from him, at work. Be open to GOD's leading. Keep your eyes and ears open to the new possibilities in your life. Because maybe right now, Jesus is calling you to follow Him.

It's Your Call

I have noticed that the telephone always rings at the wrong time. The call never comes at the right time. We can be just seated to eat dinner and the phone rings. Answering it the caller wants to speak to me. "Rev. Webster?", the caller asks. "I'm just calling to tell you that you are pre-approved for a new credit card. You must be thrilled. . ." Thrilled was not one of the words I was thinking about. I was thinking how my dinner was getting cold, how I had an appointment in less than an hour, how my time was being wasted answering this call.

I have discovered that calls never come at the right time - the comfortable time. Calls come on GOD's time. This was the case with Noah. He was happily working around the house repairing broken furniture when GOD's call came to him. "Noah, I want you to build me an ark." Whenever I read the call of Noah, I hear in the back of my mind Bill Cosby's comic routine - I hear the funny conversation between GOD and Noah. GOD's call to Noah did not come at the right time. But Noah, being obedient to GOD, answered and responded to GOD's call.

We see GOD's call never seems to come at the right time. Look at Jonah. He was happily doing his thing when GOD told him to do the ridicules - "Go to Nineveh and preach to them." Jonah was not a preacher. He had never been to seminary. He was not an ordained Elder in the church, and yet, GOD called him to do something really bold - GOD called him to preach to the people of Nineveh. And so Jonah went. Jonah went not to the east to the troubled city in the desert, but west on a boat bound for Tarshish. Jonah tried real hard to run away from GOD and GOD's calling. Eventually, Jonah responded and made it to Tarshish. He did something there he didn't know he could do - preach. And the people responded. Sometimes the call from GOD comes at the most unexpected time with the most unexpected tasks.

GOD called Isaiah. And, unlike Jonah who ran away from his calling, Isaiah said, "Here am I, Lord. Use me." How great and relieved GOD must have felt when someone HE called answered 'Yes!" instead of coming up with excuses.

GOD is calling each of us. And for each of us the call to serve Him may come at an unopportune time. But GOD is still calling us. GOD is calling us to serve; to bring hope to the people who feel hopeless. GOD is calling us to bring peace to people who are living in pain. GOD is calling us to give grace and mercy to people who are living in guilt and shame. GOD is calling. GOD is waiting to hear the words, "Here I am, Lord. Use me!"