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Unlike many businesses today engaged in the process of "downsizing," it was time for Jesus to "upsize." Too much happening, too many demands, too many needs, too much illness, too many people sapping Jesus' strength. So, he called the twelve. Did he have any idea what he was doing? What a pathetic band of characters, at least by society's standards. In a choose-up-sides baseball game, the captain probably would have picked them last. They looked and acted like the "Charlie Browns" of the first century. Yet, he must have seen something in them, despite their quirks, that they could not see in themselves.

Without Jesus' initiative, the disciples perhaps would have had a lifetime experience similar to Mary-Alice in Patricia Ryan's George and Other Parables. "Mary-Alice had potential. It was the first thing anyone noticed when they met her ... After a while, Mary-Alice became frightened. 'What if I should lose my potential ...' So ... Mary-Alice kept her potential stuffed under the mattress. She soon discovered that the lump under the mattress made it difficult to sleep. Mary-Alice packed up her potential and took it to a bank on the far side of town. She rented a large safe-deposit box and locked her potential away in the vault. Faithfully, on the third Tuesday of every month, Mary-Alice would visit her potential. Cautiously, she would peek into the box ... Then she would lock it up again and store her potential safely back in the vault. Feeling quite content, Mary-Alice would take the bus home ... secure in the knowledge that if nothing else, she would always have potential."1

Thank God, somehow, in some way, God sends us persons who see in us what we do not see in ourselves. Jesus had that uncanny ability to see a person's potential, and so do many of Jesus' followers.

I

All of the biblical characters spent considerable effort and energy denying their potential, and thus, their use to God, God's church, God's world. Listen to a few. Moses complained, "Who me? I can't do it; I'm no public speaker; I've never been to Toastmasters." Abraham groaned, "Who me? I can't do it; I'm too old." Jeremiah whined, "Who me? I can't do it; I'm only a kid." Jonah grumbled, "I can't do it; I just don't wanna." Peter moaned, "Who me? I can't do it; I'm no Ph.D."ÊPaul grieved, "Who me? I can't do it; I'm a murderer!" And the list goes on, ad infinitim, ad nauseam, right into the present moment. We, too, raise the "who me?" question, and plead, "I can't do it; find someone else." Our rationalizations and justifications remind us of a Saturday Evening Post cartoon, in which one primitive man, observing a pagan religious ceremony, says to his friend, "It's impressive, but I find dial-a-prayer more convenient." With some of us, our faith commitment reflects that spoken by Earl Loomis. "We refuse to recognize our assets; because once recognizing them, we are required to use them." God calls and we rebel, "I won't, and you can't make me!"

II

Yet, God refuses to drop us like a hot potato. Psalm 23:6, in the Hebrew language, promises, "Of a certainty! My covenant grace and my steadfast love shall hotly pursue you all the days of your lives...." God, having created us in God's image, tracks us down, as a bloodhound tracks down a wanted criminal. God pursues! The Old Testament characters, despite digging in their heels, finally offer a reluctant "yes," and bring a new dimension to the world of their day. The disciples, sometimes screaming and scratching and struggling, offer a hesitant "yes," and change the world for all time. God still pursues! And how do we respond?

A Presbyterian pastor one day said to his mother, "I hate God about fifty percent of the time. God disturbs me, forces me to change, to select priorities, to remain disturbed with the status quo." He reflected Martin Luther's words, "I hate God"; and that of the preschool child, "I don't like Jesus; he makes me brush my teeth every night." Such honesty will never defeat God.

We need to recall that God's Spirit startles us, rocks us at the core of our life, for God sees something in us that we do not see, maybe, do not want to see, in ourself. When we recognize our potential, and receive God's Spirit, God sends us out into a frightened, confused, anxious world -- and not alone. God promises us, provides us with Holy Spirit, the power, God's power, which enlivens, enthuses, energizes us. God transforms us from kittens to tigers, from minnows to whales. God takes us where we are, with our insecurity, our fears, our cowardice, and sends us into a new direction, with a new heart, mind, will. One of the early church fathers insists that the "glory of God is man/woman fully alive!" That's the kind of person God remakes when we get beyond the "Who me? You've got to be kidding!"

Our stewardship of life, resulting from a thanksgiving/thanksliving response, becomes a reflex action of the gift of agapé, the gift of Holy Spirit. We breathe in God's presence; we breathe out God's power. Have we ever wondered if Barabbas, the one whose place Jesus took, ever asked the question to himself, if to no one else, "How will I now live my life?" Do we ever ask that question because of what God in Christ has done, is doing, and will continue to do for, in, with and through us? How does the giving of ourself respond to God's gift of Self?

III

How well do we listen to God's call? How well do we act on what we hear? To share what's going on with us, we need to know what's happening in us. Continually, we need to take a good look at ourself, and take responsibility for what we see. In God's Kingdom, we no longer need to search for scapegoats. As God's person, we risk ourselves, despite our fears; because we believe that in our every contact with one another, we encourage him/her to live or die. Let me say that again: As God's person, we risk ourselves, despite our fears; because we believe that in our every contact with one another, we encourage him/her to live or die. Let's think about that for a moment. In God's power, we can stop discounting our power. The power reminds us that "no act of kindness ever goes unheeded."

A church member found herself waited on by a grumpy saleslady. Judith decided to put her faith into practice. She knew that how she related to that lady, in those few moments, could and would influence the day for both of them. So, she made eye contact, smiled, spoke pleasantly. And, at least for a few minutes, the saleslady's demeanor changed. God has given us similar gifts. We choose how we relate to one another, no matter how the other relates to us. Thank God for Jesus who chose to relate in caring ways, even as they slapped him in the face, slapped him on the Cross, slapped him in the ground, and slapped him into the tomb.

One church member looks at us church people as manure. If we fail to spread the manure, it sits in a pile. Either it gets dry and brittle and breaks apart; or, it gets wet and soggy and rots. Neither response suits Christians. In response to God's act on our behalf, we are called to live in and to share Christ's love with the world around us, beginning in our own home and congregation. We do this by example. Not enough. We do this with words. Not enough. As Christ's people, we put them together.

So, do we believe that God calls, energizes, sustains us? Do we know that we have received "The Gift Incomparable"? If we do, we share it. If we don't, we won't. That choice, we make every day of our lives, both verbally and non-verbally, consciously and unconsciously. In obedience to the living Christ, who matches our potential with his power, lives the reality of a revolution. You are invited to participate, in the Name of God, the Creator, Liberator, Sustainer, Energizer.

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1. Patricia Ryan, George and Other Parables (Allen, Texas: Argus Communication, 1972). Used by permission of Pricilla Wyman.