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In an old Family Circus cartoon by Bil Keane, the oldest little girl, Dolly, comes into the house all hot and sweaty and says, "Boy, it sure is human out there!"

We know what she meant. Even though she got the word wrong, she made a very profound statement. Sometimes we act so Christ-like. We do and say all the right things. As the Church, as the body of Christ and individual Christians, we claim to be on the narrow path, and sometimes it really does shine through. And then there are the other times when we're just so, well, human. Our humanity hangs out for all to see. Our fallen nature just pokes its ugly head through and reminds us just how much we have to depend on God's grace and how much we and the whole world still need the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Dolly is right, not just about us but about the whole world. "It is human out there!" And that's both a blessing and a curse. It's both a joyous statement of our worth in the Creator's eyes; for as humans we were created in God's own image. And that's really something to be thankful and joyous about. "It is human out there!" But unfortunately that is also a head-hanging statement of shame for what we've done and how we've rejected God's will. It is a statement of shame on how we have wounded, broken, fractured, and nearly destroyed that image of God within us. We've so wounded and broken that image, that link between us and God, through our disobedience and sin, that we are estranged and alienated from God. "It is human out there!"

But the Good News is that through Christ, through his personal appearance and his obedient sacrifice on the cross for our sakes, we are no longer estranged and alienated. Through our acceptance of Christ we are forgiven, reconciled to, and brought back, bought back, into relationship with God. The image of God that was broken and wounded has been repaired, renewed, and healed through the power of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.

That's our story. That's why we're here this morning. In some part, whether in fullness or not isn't important. But in some part we have been touched by and experienced that Good News. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sake has impacted our lives and we have become new creations in Christ. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God, people of the rolled stone and the empty tomb. We are the Resurrection people who have been raised to new life in Christ. And that is what brings us here. That is what empowers our lives, our work, our relationships with others. The seeds of faith have grown and blossomed and born fruit in our lives.

Back in the days when you rang the operator to put you through to the person with whom you wanted to talk, an elderly lady received a notice in the mail that she had won a sizable amount of money. She was so excited she rang up the operator and said, "Oh, just get me anybody!"

We know how she felt. God's grace, God's love has touched and renewed our lives. We have experienced the Good News, but there is more to do. It's not just enough to receive the Good News. So, what do we do? What do you normally do with Good News when you receive it? You pass it on, you tell someone else. That's our job.

We Are Sent

The Apostle Paul had been breathing murderous revenge upon the followers of this upstart Jesus. The disciples and the entourage which had witnessed the resurrection and whose lives had been changed, were bursting at the seams to tell someone, anyone, the Good News that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. They were bursting at the seams to tell anyone and everyone, so much so that they risked persecution. They were champing at the bit. Their engines were all revved up ready to go. They could hardly contain themselves.

And into this enthusiasm walked Paul. He couldn't believe it. These followers of Jesus were corrupting the faithfulness of his people. These followers of Jesus were leading people astray. They were giving them misinformation. That was dangerous to their spiritual health. Paul pleaded with the authorities to let him arrest these so-called Christians and put an end to this madness.

But little did Paul know of the power of Jesus. In a sense, Paul had become a religious bounty hunter. But he never got the chance to cash in his first bounty. God had other plans for Paul. On his way to make that first arrest, with warrants in his pocket, he was confronted on the road to Damascus by the Risen Jesus, the very one whose message he was trying to eradicate.

The irony of that encounter is that Paul had a life-changing moment. He was literally blinded by the Light of the world. And in a twist that only God could think of, Jesus called Paul into the same ministry as the disciples. God gave Paul the Holy Spirit and the authority needed for his office. And then God sent him out to carry the Good News of Jesus Christ and God's Kingdom. God sent Paul out to preach, to teach, to heal, and to confront evil wherever he found it, in the name of Jesus. Jesus sent him out to be a missionary to a world not so different than ours. It was "human out" back then, too. It was a world filled with the same sort of suffering and pain, the same sort of burdens that we face every single day. Paul was reborn that day and called to a different calling.

Oh, he had some preparation to do, but he would never be the same. And neither would the Church. He was born and called. He dropped his warrants and picked up his passport. He loaded his backpack and took off to spread the Good News throughout the known world. Just as his life was transformed, that warrant was transformed into ordination papers and a mission statement.

Just like Paul, just like the early disciples, we too are sent out with the Good News. We too are commissioned through our baptism and membership in the Church. We too are commissioned and given the authority to preach and teach, to heal and confront evil wherever it is found. We are born and called. We are sent to proclaim the faith and bring glory to God.

"It is human out there." We are all so bogged down with our own personal burdens that we can barely get out of our own way. We all drag so much baggage around with us that we can hardly even live. Often times we are so preoccupied with this baggage and these burdens that we can't focus on anything else. The truth is "it is very human out there" and we're called to help bear the burdens of others and to proclaim the Good News so that Christ can not only help bear but also lift the burdens from their hearts. We're sent as missionaries for Christ. We're sent to share the story and the glory of our faith in Christ with others.

In the sheep country of New Mexico, the shepherds were having trouble losing lambs in the late winter and early spring. It seems the ewes would take their lambs out to graze and late in the day it would start to snow. The temperature would drop and the ewes would continue to graze. Being tired, the lambs would lie down on the ground. But before long, because of the drop in temperature and the snow, the lambs would freeze to death. The shepherds got together to discuss the problem. The ewes, covered with thick wool didn't feel the temperature change. They didn't feel the cold. So, the shepherds came up with a unique solution. They took shears and sheared just the top of the head of the ewes. Then when the weather changed, they felt it and headed back to the barn, thus saving many of the lambs.

Sometimes our hearts get all warm and woolly. It's not wrong; we like that warm fuzzy feeling and we get comfortable with it. The trouble is, when we are so engulfed in that warm fuzzy feeling we can't feel the hurt and pain and discomfort others are feeling.

That's partly what was wrong with Paul. In a sense, it wasn't his heart so much as his eyes. In a sense, the wool had been pulled over his eyes and he couldn't see the truth. That was when God brought out the shears. The Holy Spirit needs to shear our hearts of some of that wool so we too can feel the hurt and pain and discomfort of those around us. When we share that pain and discomfort, then we can share the Good News and the healing power of Christ.

We are called to spread the Good News of the one who has lifted our burdens and set us free. We are called to spread the Good News of Christ who has sheared our hearts and lifted the wool from over our eyes. We are called to share the Good News of the one who will lift the burdens and baggage of life from the hearts of all who call upon him. What better message could we bear than one of forgiveness and new life?

We Don't Go Alone

It is exciting to think that you bear a message that can change the life and lift the burdens of those with whom you share it, isn't it? It is exciting and a little bit frightening, too. It is frightening to talk about something as personal as faith. It takes faith to talk about faith. And yet, we are sent to talk about faith, to preach Christ. And while that may be scary or frightening, we are not sent alone.

You did notice, didn't you, that Paul didn't go of his own volition. Paul was sent and he had a very special companion. No, it wasn't Silas or Barnabas. It wasn't Timothy or Titus. No, this companion is promised to each and every believer. This companion is the one promised by Jesus. The one who blew into the lives of the disciples and every believer on the day of Pentecost. This companion is the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew the kind of fear and anxiety that would come up when we mention the words evangelism or witnessing. Jesus did promise to be with us, even to the end of the age.

Jesus is with us, through the presence of the Holy Spirit. We never go alone because we go in the power of the Holy Spirit. That's awesome. It's mind boggling. Christ sends us out into the world to proclaim the Good News, equipped as he was equipped, with the presence and power of God's Holy Spirit. I personally can't think of any better companion, can you?

And not only is the Holy Spirit our companion, but through the Holy Spirit, Christ has already been where we are going. Jesus sent the seventy to where he intended to go. Jesus sent the twelve to where he intended to go. And Jesus sent Paul to where he intended to go.

Through God's prevenient grace, the Holy Spirit was and is already there whispering God's love song and preparing the hearts and souls of the people we will meet for the Good News which we carry. The Holy Spirit is already at work in the lives of any we might meet, any to whom we might have an opportunity to witness. God is already at work in their lives preparing the soil of their heart and soul for the planting of the seeds of new life which we bear in Christ's name.

A Gallup poll, taken in the spring of 1980, of people who don't belong to anyone's church, asked: "Would you join a church?" More than fifty percent indicated they would. And when they were asked why they hadn't joined a church, the response was, "No one has asked us."

That shows that God is already at work in their lives. Knowing that God has been there ahead of us and has been at work preparing their hearts for the message we bear takes much of the fear and anxiety away. Now all we have to do is like the Nike commercials say, "Just do it."

Just Do It

And you see, that's really all there is to it. We can give excuse after excuse, but in the end, that's all they really are -- excuses. Jesus didn't say go and preach only if you're not scared. Jesus didn't say go and preach but only if you feel secure. That's not acting on faith. That's depending on safety. Jesus instructed Paul, who had been the chief enemy of the Church, to step out on faith and preach the Good News. Paul was called to trust in God's grace to see him through.

There was a young man who came to a pastor's office and said he wanted to be a Christian but he didn't know what being a Christian was all about. The pastor told the young man to read the Book of Acts as preparation, then come back and they would talk about what he had learned and how to apply it. A week went by and then another week and then another. The preacher began to think that he'd made a serious mistake in his suggestion.

Finally, almost a year later, the young man finally appeared. When the surprised pastor asked where he had been, the young man said, "You told me to read the book of Acts. Well, every time I started to read it, it told me to go do something. So, I went and did it. I've just been too busy to get back."

That's the attitude we're supposed to have. We're sent to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and to invite others to join us on this journey of faith. We're sent to tell others about the one who will lift their burdens and give them new life. We're sent to live and act like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That alone may very well be the most profound evangelism we can do. In many cases, the most effective message we can ever preach is the one we preach with our lives. We are sent by Christ.

The pundits say that e-mail has replaced the water cooler. People used to hang out at the water cooler and exchange news about the company or the people. They shared recipes and tips for getting along with the boss. In times of strife and change in the workplace people would often come to the water cooler and ask the same question. "What do you hear?" or "What have you heard?" They were looking for some news, good news, they hoped.

We have that Good News people are looking for. It's not our message but the message of the one who has saved us and sent us. It is the message of those who are born and called like Paul. "It's human out there!" This passage challenges us to be like Paul and to be about the business of sharing the Good News.

Who have you shared that message with recently? Are you living as one who is sent? Are you living so there's no doubt that you are one of the messengers? If not, then become one. Step out in faith. Let the wool of your heart be sheared so you can feel what others feel. Step out on faith and share the Good News. Join Paul and help others to glorify God because of you.