Jeanne is as successful as a speaker can be and funny is a weak description of her presentations. What strikes me about the article is this disclaimer, “Boring, rude, one-liners, profanity: these descriptions are simply not in Jeanne Robertson’s lexicon. She doesn’t use inappropriate language.” Writer Stephanie Conner states that Robertson knows that her audience wants tasteful humor and that’s what she delivers.

            Too many speakers use foul language to evoke laughter rather than developing cutting edge material. It’s a cheap short term solution. Jeanne has been entertaining audiences for forty-seven years and is more popular today than ever. When an organization books Jeanne, it knows that it will never have to issue an apology because someone was defamed or humiliated. She is a known quantity – trustworthy.

            This has been a banner year for inappropriate speech from politicians, church leaders, celebrities, community leaders and talk show hosts. As the debate about the possible mosque near Ground Zero continues to escalate and the mid-tern elections encourage hate speech, it is past time for everyone to take a step back and a time-out to think about the impact of what he or she is about to say. Perhaps we should send them all to one of Jeanne’s presentations to learn how to communicate without sinking to the lowest common denominator.

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            Jesus, of whom they have heard, comes close and they call out to him. “Heal us,” which he does. He then instructs them to go and show themselves to the priest. They believe him and as they start on their way, they notice that they are healed. One turns around, rushes back to Jesus and falls to the ground profusely thanking Jesus for the miracle. He is a Samaritan. The Jews hated the Samaritans in those days. Jesus asks, “Did I not heal ten?” Then he assures the one that that did return that his faith has made him whole.

            Ten were healed but only one returned to thank his healer. I saw a dramatic presentation of this story several years ago.  Dr. Don Flowers, pastor of Provident Baptist Church, while preaching on this topic stationed the ungrateful nine lepers throughout the congregation. At the appropriate time each one stood to explain his failure to thank Jesus. The dramatization made the experience real. Gratitude is a missing element in today’s society.

            Some people feel entitled to the benefits or gifts they receive. Others are dissatisfied with what they receive because in their mind it isn’t enough. They point to others who received more and claim that they have been treated unfairly. Gratitude is in short supply. In high school I helped several students prepare and rehearse their speeches for student body elections. I received a thank you note from one person. It made such an impression that I still have that note.

            I learned a very important lesson in college. My girlfriend’s mother invited me to have dinner with the family. It was wonderful having a home cooked meal in a warm friendly environment. Afterwards I wrote the mother a thank you note. That note resulted in many more nice dinners. Years later I asked my wife if I should write a thank you note for a kindness I had received. Her answer has stuck with me. “Why do you think that you thought of it?” Wow!

            Think about it. Try this. Think of your last success or happy conclusion. Now, think of all those people involved in getting you there. Write each a thank you note. It does not need to be elaborate. All you need to say is thank you. You might want to be specific. Thank you for introducing me to Carol or thank you for telling me about the job at Boeing. Handwriting is most effective even if yours is as bad as mine which is doubtful.

            There are so many important lessons to be gained from the story of Jesus and the ungrateful lepers, but it blatantly teaches us to live our lives with an attitude of gratitude.

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            Hurry away – that’s what the priest and Levite did when they encountered the man robed, beaten and left alongside the Jericho road. That’s the one Jesus talked about in the Gospel of Luke after being asked, “Who is my neighbor.” A stranger, the third man to come along, heard the injured man. He stopped, took care of his wounds as best he could and then took the injured man to where he could receive the care he needed. The Good Samaritan did the unthinkable. He aided a despised other. The Samaritans and Jews hated each other in those days. The Jews of Jesus’ day were astounded by this parable.

            The priest and the Levite were excused because to touch a dead body would defile them although there were circumstances that would permit them to do so. That’s what we think today. If we interact with unacceptable people, they will rub off on us. We will be defiled. In fact I was once told by a former missionary to the Philippines, “My husband will not eat with you because you eat with black people.”

            Our society is so busy, so desensitized, so fragmented that we do not see or hear one another. We pass each other. We might even speak or wave but we do not see. That is all anyone really wants: is to be noticed, to be heard, to be acknowledged, to be valued.

            Did you speak to a stranger today? Did you offer a word of encouragement to anyone? Did you walk by or just step over the wounded person?  Did you bind up or put ointment on any wounded hurts today? It’s just a question.

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            An observation by the president of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, William J. Carl III, caught my attention. “There is only one verse in the Bible that tells us to love our neighbor, but love the stranger is mentioned thirty-six times.”  With the debate over a mosque being built near Ground Zero heating up, perhaps his statement deserves more attention. How do we show hospitality to the stranger in our midst? In just one minute you can make a real difference in the life of someone.

In just one minute, you can:

Greet someone.

Say – thank you.

Write a “thank You” note.

Pray for someone.

Encourage someone.

Smile at someone.

Compliment someone.

Hug someone.

Say, “I love you.”

Forgive someone.

Shake hands with someone.

Welcome someone.

            None of these are very hard or take much time, but try to incorporate any or all of them into your daily life and see the difference your actions make in the lives of those you meet.

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from Pastor Greg Moore, Director of Christian Education St. Peter Lutheran Church

 An Encouraging Read.

Every once in a while my reading includes a book that touches me, moves me, so that I want to share it with you.  Such a book is “Christian Civility In An Uncivil World”.

One way to think about Christian education is that it is about two primary goals.  One goal is to teach or share the Word of God, especially the Good News of Jesus Christ, in order to create a faith in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit.  The other goal is to nurture and grow / mature the Christian faith in a believer by the Holy Spirit.

This second goal of Christian education, is what Jesus was speaking about when he said as recorded in John 14:26, “ (the Holy Spirit) will teach you all things … “.   Another way to express this second goal would be to say Christian education leads us, teaches us, what it means to be a believer in Jesus Christ in the setting we live in, how to live our Christian faith in our culture.

This second goal of Christian education is addressed in the book “Christian Civility In An Uncivil World”.  I picked up this book edited by Mitch Carnell, with articles by numerous Christians, from our Lutheran Seminary library in Columbia.  I believe that you can ask for a library card and take the books out also.  Originally I saw this book highlighted in the library and picked it up due to what I was hearing and seeing on the television news, in terms of politics.  There was much name calling, I thought some telling of untruths, distortions, by politicians of other politicians, of politicians by news commentators.  This did not seem like civil behavior, like honoring behavior.  I believed that the Word of God teaches us as much as possible to honor all people.  I wanted to learn if these articles would shed any light on, any direction by the Spirit, about how to live our faith in our culture of political competition by honoring all people.   It did do this but it did much more.

The articles highlight the importance of being civil to, honoring, fellow Christians, especially when we are different, disagree, even strongly.  This is not an easy read, but it is an important read, and an encouraging read.  I was again encouraged to believe and hope for Christian civility toward, honoring of, all people during political campaigns, and fellow Christians at all times, even in times of disagreement, even conflict.

One of the most memorable statements in the book is about a quote from Dr. Martin Marty, a Lutheran Pastor and professor at University of Chicago.  It dealt with civility and convictions about issues.  He noted that in the Christian church, we often have people who have a strong conviction about something but aren’t very civil to others who disagree or don’t understand.  On the other hand we also have people who are very civil toward others but who don’t have strong convictions about anything.  What we need Dr. Marty said, and can have, are people with convictions who are also civil.

I liked this book of articles partly because it gives practical suggestions that can be learned and put into action.  I liked it because it does not suggest that we be marshmallows and allow ourselves to be walked on by others with a different opinion, nor that we do it to others.  Without giving too much information about the book, let me say that it shows where civility is strongly encouraged in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  With regards to our responsibility to fellow Christians, it shows that our primary task is to love them, to practice Christian friendship, no matter the situation or disagreement.  Obviously this is a very challenging task at times.

This is a relatively short book for a summer read or at any time of the year, and I encourage it because it is an encouraging read.

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