I am a Christian because Christianity is at heart about Peace, Peace for me as an individual and Peace for the world. Shalom – a just and balanced Peace is the greatest calling we can have.

During the recall election my son Nicholas heard talk on the TV that Arnold was running for governor: "Dad, is Arnold Schwartzsenegger going to be our governor?" "He might be, if enough people vote for him." I was a little nervous. I was afraid because of Arnold’s star power, my son would turn into a Republican. And then he said, "I don’t want him to be governor." Not only was I relieved, I was proud. Here was my sophisticated ten year old who was smart enough not to be influenced by Hollywood and to understand that starring in "Kindergarten Cop" doesn’t necessarily qualify somebody to be Governor of the most populous state in the Union. "I don’t want him to be Governor," Nicholas continued, "because if he is, he won’t be able to make Terminator 4." So much for Hollywood not being an influence.

I have been surprised at how many people in Berkeley try to stay informed about politics. People take their citizenship seriously here. They put time and energy into knowing what is going on, and time in participation. The funny thing is that the opposite is the stereotype. The stereotype of people in Berkeley is that they take their citizenship and their country for granted. What I am reminded of is that just because you criticize current and past policies of the government or criticize the culture or economy doesn’t mean you don’t love America or consider yourself American "Four Score and seven years ago, our forefathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war…testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated…can long endure."

Created Equal – Abraham Lincoln understood the high calling of this great nation and he understood how far we fell short of that calling. Yet, and this is what makes reat people great, he challenged us to take the vision of the past, beyond the sins and blindness of the past.

I often meet people who have given up on the Church, and in our conversation they ask me, why are you a Christian in the Church and why do you think anyone else should become Christian? The Church has done so much wrong and there are so many Christian hypocrites. A wise old Christian woman responded to this accusation that there are hypocrites in the church, "Ya, and we could always use another" I can be a Christian the same way I can be an American, and someone can want to become Christian, just like immigrants want to come to the United States. The Church has many faults, but its conception gave birth to powerful truth that has transformed the lives of millions of people, and this truth has been dedicated through the powerful love and prophetic actions of thousands of great people. Even if I am in the minority I am not going to just give it up and go away and leave the Church to those who would distort and misuse the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Yet even I am a hypocrite of a Christian, because I subscribe to God’s vision of humanity that I cannot possibly fulfill. What should we do, lower our standards? "Do unto others as you would have them do to you," except when they are uncircumcised…or don’t have anything to circumcise.

"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal," but if a few States want to make slaves of certain people, we understand that truth is relative and one State’s truth is just as valid as the next. And as for illegal Mexican immigrants, just pretend you never read the word equality. Buy hey, thanks for picking our lettuce."

"I Max, take you Feliciana to be my wife; and I promise, before God and these witnesses, to be your loving and faithful husband; in plenty, joy and health, but if we get into financial difficulties, or if you get sad or sick, I could decide that this relationship is not serving my needs and bail out. I will love you, but don’t expect me to put any effort into unpacking my baggage…as long as we both shall live."

"Master, how hard is it for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven?" "It is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to sell cigarettes to minors."

" I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me, but if you want to shrink me down to fit into a box called the innerancy of scipture so that I will fit your narrow, bigoted world view, go right ahead."

Jesus came to show God’s love for all, until things got a little rough, and then he went off into the mountain to start a little commune. Jesus came to offer forgiveness, until that last sin of yours. Now he is going to whip out a nuclear bomb and blow the world to hell…Our standards must remain high.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is this: God’s love and grace are not backing down. Jesus came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly, no matter who you are. You are less than perfect, you are not like those other people, you are packaged a little different. You have made dumb decisions and hurt the people you love. Your father may have abandoned you. Maybe, no matter how hard you tried you were unable to please your mother. Maybe you are the father who is not there, the overly judgmental parent, the spouse who broke your marriage vows. Maybe you feel like nobody wants to be with you, that nobody would want to be with you. Even if our way of life depends on a system of belief that justifies oppression and exclusion and we decide we must crucify him to stop his revolutionary love and call for justice, his last words in our sorry presence will be, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Despite all the reasons to exclude and condemn Jesus the rock, He absolutely will not compromise his love for you or his call for a just and lasting peace. "He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to God our Mother through one Spirit."

Consequently, we are no longer aliens or strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and fellow members of God’s household, built on the foundation of all the faithful and courageous people who love us with God’s grace and inspire us to reach beyound what is comfortable and easy toward lives filled with peace and love.

The Church is a mess that falls way short of the Glory of God. On the other hand it is a house for us, where we can feel united together through the power of God’s love, where we can be inspired by the faithful like Jesus and Francis, Luther and Lincoln, Sojourner Truth, Romero, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa. This is a high calling that we hear at St. John’s surely fall short of, but all the more reason we should hole it high and that God’s light may strengthen our way.

Perhaps you will choose not to stay, and it is not my place to judge your choice. But God is sending you an invitation, "Mi casa es su Casa, take you shoes off. Make yourself at home, consider yourself a member of God’s family."

We come together to do God’s work, and we need each other, for we all have different gifts. Some are custodians, some are volunteers, some have gifts of administration or accounting, others are teachers or musicians. God is calling us to work together, to build each other up until we reach unity in the faith and the maturity that contains the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, blown here and there by every wind and teaching by the cunning craftiness of men and women and their deceitful schemes. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into God who is the Head."

This month is when we dedicate our time and resources to the house of God. If you are not a member with full awareness of the importance and power of this Gospel of Jesus Christ I would only suggest that you disregard this call for giving. Sometimes we just need to take things in and hang out.

For the rest of us, let me paraphrase the rest of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: "We come together to consecrate and dedicate our resources and work of this church to the work of God, which has been built on the foundation of Christ, who gave his life that we might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense, we cannot consecrate, we cannot dedicate, we cannot hallow God’s church. Christ Jesus, the apostles and prophets who have struggled for truth and peace even to the point of death have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, no long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what Jesus has done.