Good Work, Bad Days

November 30, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

If you’ve ever had a day you wished you could do over, reading some pages out of the journal of John Wesley might give you a bit of perspective. His entries offer vivid portrayals of a man struggling to do God’s work in the midst of people who wanted little to do with it. On Tuesday, April 22, 1736, Wesley records this exchange from one of those harsh critics, a man Wesley identifies only as “M____.”

“Tuesday, April 22, 1736. Observing much coldness in M____’s behavior, I asked him the reason of it. He answered, “I like nothing you do. All your sermons are satires upon particular persons, therefore I will never hear you more; and all the people are of my mind; for we won’t hear ourselves abused.

“Besides, they say, they are Protestants. But as for you, they cannot tell what religion you are of. They never heard of such a religion before. They do not know what to make of it. And then your private behavior: all the quarrels that have been here since you came, have been ‘long of you. Indeed there is neither man nor woman in the town who minds a word you say. And so you may preach long enough; but nobody will come to hear you.”

Talk about a tough day at the office, huh?

We know very little about the true identity of M____. But we can tell he was a pretty angry man who did not mince words or keep opinions to himself. Wesley records his response to M___ at the end of his journal entry, which we might find altogether appropriate: “He was too warm for hearing an answer. So I had nothing to do but to thank him for his openness, and walk away.”

Time and again, Wesley suffered harsh, and sometimes violent, criticism for simply doing God’s good work. Angry rioters disturbed his worship services in towns like Bristol, Leeds, Birmingham, and London. On two separate occasions, mobs released oxen and bulls into the congregation, in an effort to disrupt his preaching. And someone in Drumersnave had the nerve to swipe the hat of Wesley’s head and stomp it to the ground. At every turn, Wesley calmly and coolly continued his work, perhaps turning to his journal for a daily catharsis from his miseries. On Friday, October 19, 1739, after preaching in an open field in Wales, Wesley recorded:

“I preached in the morning at Newport on “What must I do to be saved?” to the most insensible, ill-behaved people I have ever seen in Wales. One ancient man, during a great part of the sermon, cursed and swore almost incessantly; and, toward the conclusion, took up a great stone, which he many times attempted to throw. But that he could not do. - - Such the champions, such the arms against field preaching!”

Now, you and I may never have been subject to such harsh treatment. But I suspect there is a part of each of us that can relate to Wesley’s struggles. You might agree that some of our toughest days aren’t just the ones in which troubles arise unexpectedly or undeservedly. It’s the days when difficulties come as a direct result of our doing the right thing, speaking a truthful word, or performing a decent deed, that seem the most overwhelming. When injustice is coupled with irony, when the cosmos’ system of rewards and punishments seems grossly inverted, we question why we should bother doing the right thing to begin with.

Why confront a loved one about their self-destructive behavior when you will only be repaid with anger?

Why advance a posture of peace in a world so addicted to violence?

Why work for equality and tolerance when society is so warped by prejudice and ignorance?

Why bother speaking a word of truth when there are people waiting to release the bulls, pick up the stones, and stomp on our hats?

We can imagine that another man named John, some 2,000 years ago, found himself asking those same kinds of questions. On this second Sunday of Advent, the lectionary gospel turns our annual gaze toward the wild Nazarite in camel hair. Like Wesley, John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher sent by God to preach an uncomfortable message to unwilling ears.

Never does an Advent season go by without John the Baptist’s disruptive words that challenge our preferred Christmas comforts. Instead of lacing us with lovely tinsel and pretty garland, John shouts at us, “Repent, you brood of vipers!” Rather than listening to “Silent Night” and “White Christmas,” we hear his shrieking call: “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” John the Baptist was all business, from his leather belt to his locust lunch, and was the furthest thing from Perry Como or Currier and Ives.

Yet, we need John to be part of our Advent journey. He not only confronts our own apathies and challenges our own comforts; he encourages us to take up the elusive mantle of prophetic justice, and be unafraid to defy the stubborn powers of darkness around us. He calls us to stay fixed in our resolve to speak truth to family and friends who are reluctant to hear it. He stokes a passion for us to work for integrity and impartiality in our systems of government, economics, politics, and social structure. He would tell us not to quit, and not to give up. For there is someone coming, someone whose sandals we are not worthy to untie, who will fill every valley, raze every mountain, straighten every crooked path, and smooth every rough patch. And everyone, all flesh, Luke says, will someday see the salvation of God.

Thank God for John the Baptist. And thank God for the bit of John the Baptist inside each one of us.

Ultimately, may John’s message remind us of the best and most proper way to prepare for the coming of Christ: not through gift buying and party planning, not through Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays, but through daily, sober reevaluation of our priorities and a realignment of our values with the kingdom of God.

So, join us this Sunday as we continue our journey to Bethlehem, and let’s hear once again from the wild man from the wilderness.

(And, please, by all means, leave your oxen and bulls at home!)

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org




YOUTH SERVICE PROJECT TO MIDWEST CHRISTIAN CHILDREN’S HOME
All youth grades 7-12 are invited to join us for our annual service project to the Midwest Christian Children’s Home, a facility for troubled boys, near Peterson, Iowa. We will meet at 2:00 at the church and head to Kmart to purchase Christmas gifts using the proceeds from their recent cinnamon roll sale. We will then head up to spend the afternoon with the boys, and return to the church by 4:30. If you are willing to help drive, please contact the church office.

NEW WINTER OUTERWEAR MINISTRY
The Administrative Board has approved our lower basement to be used as a distribution site for people in need of cold weather outerwear. Every Saturday, from 12pm to 5pm, people in need can pick up items for use this winter. You can help by donating your new or gently used coats, jackets, snow pants, mittens, gloves, scarves, and hats to the donation table in the hallway outside the church office. You can also volunteer a small bit of your time on Saturdays to help with the distribution. Contact Kara Beasley or Karen Long to volunteer.

SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGING
For the first time, the Missions Committee is sponsoring a service project for anyone interested in ringing bells at Fareway, K-Mart, and Hy-Vee to collect money for the Salvation Army this Advent. In the narthex you will find a full schedule for the Saturdays from November 26 to December 24. One or two-hour shifts are available, and you can share a shift with a friend. This effort helps fulfill one of our initiatives from our 20/20 Vision Plan adopted in 2008.

ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS GIFT CATALOG
This holiday shopping season, consider giving a gift that will make a real difference. Our Alternative Christmas Gift Catalog features many ways that you can make a charitable donation in honor of a loved one. Agencies include Heifer International, Church World Service, and Self-Help International. Your gifts are tax-deductible and help us achieve our Rainbow Covenant Missions goal for the year. Fill out the order forms included in the catalog and turn it into a member of the Missions Committee on Sundays to receive your personalized gift card that you can give as a gift.

NEW MEMBERS JOINING DECEMBER 11
We have a number of people joining the church on Sunday, December 11, the last opportunity before the end of the year. If you are interested in joining, please respond to this email or contact the church office.

WORSHIP VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Do you want to make a difference in a meaningful way on Sunday mornings? Our worship team is looking for people to serve in 2012 as lay liturgists, children’s sermon providers, ushers, greeters, and people to provide altar flowers. Consider using your gifts in any of these important ways. To volunteer, contact the following schedulers: Sue Parker and Kim Luetkeman (lay liturgists and children sermons); Nancy Knapp and Myrna Goodwin (altar flowers); Church Office (ushers and greeters).