A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her small daughter
was very sick with a fever.

She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication.

She got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in the car.
She didn't know what to do, so she called home and told the baby sitter what
had happened.

The baby sitter told her that the fever was getting worse. She said, "You
might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."

The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been
left on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time had locked
their keys in their car.

She looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this"

She bowed her head and asked God to send her help. Within five minutes a
beat up old motorcycle pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was
wearing an old biker skull rag on his head.

The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?"

But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful.

The man got off of his cycle and asked if he could help.

She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some
medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please,
can you use this hanger to unlock my car?

He said, "Sure." He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute the
car was opened.

She hugged the man and through her tears

she said, "Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man."

The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today.
I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour."

The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud,

"Oh, Thank you God!

You've sent me a Professional!"

God sent a professional. There are a lot of messages here in this little story. We have prayer. We have a story about God meeting needs. We have the very practical instruction that one should not lock their keys in the car. For the cynics there is the underlying difficulty in accepting that there just happened to be a coat hanger in the parking lot. In fact there might be many more interpretations out there. We all do not hear the same thing. A humerous joke about what we hear and how it can be so different from others is the following.

A doctor decided to give a talk about the effect of alcohol on the digestive system. To demonstrate he took out some 100 proof vodka and a common garden worm. He placed the worm in the vodka and the worm quickly disolved. The doctor asked the audience. "Now what does that teach you?" A medical student in the front got up and began explaining how alchohol eats away at the intestines. A drunk in the back of the room gets up and interupts the medical student..."no, no, no (hic) thats not it. What that demonstrates doctor is that if you drink enough good alcohol you won't get worms"

We all do not perceive the same thing. There is more to the story. Through the eyes of faith things are not always what they appear. In Christ our greatest sins can become strength...foolishness can become wisdom.

So the emphasis I would like to focus on this morning is the Professional... the biker. In this story he is like the the fearsome angels of the Bible who bring deliverence. In this simple story the mans greatest defect and sin is transformed and becomes grace. In this simple story he is the definition of a saint. He brings his whole being to the task. The mother perceives correctly. It is not only the man who acts in this story but God. In his honest transparency so much more can be seen. What is brought to light becomes light.

A few weeks back I had a thought.

Yes, I know some of you may find that statement miraculous but it is true. It was during one of the services that sunlight was playing outside of the stained glass windows. As the light intensified the glass intensified. The figures became more full. While each figure in the stained glass became brighter their individual shapes and features became more distinct. They became in that moment, as the son backlit the stained glass, quite literally, agents of the light. The light did not destroy or overpower who and what they were. Yet it was evident. Something other than just the glass could be percieved. It is the transparency of the glass that better allows for the sun to be seen. It takes perception to acknowledge that the glass is not acting alone. For without light nothing could be seen.

In the book of Ephesians there is a line that is quite simply, devestating. It is in its implication one of the most profound beautys of the bible. It suggests that there is absolutely nothing that we can do that can stand in the way of God's Grace. It suggests that reconciliation is possible. It supports the understanding that Christ was crucified to attone the sins of all. It can even lead us to understand that as agents of God's Creation we can play a part in God's redemption. As Church we are a unique community established by God to do just that.

In Ephesians 5 it says, "For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light- for in the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them...but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light"

The darkness exposed to light becomes light! Darkness can not overcome light. The light does not simply expose but transform.

But if the windows teach us anything, we are not to become something other than we are but allow God to transform all that we are to good.

Are there parts of you you would rather not think about? Have there been situations where you have hurt others? Are there areas in your life you need to bring to God? This is not about works but remaining open to transformation. For Ephesians suggests that all is open to transformation. Our greatest sins, our biggest difficulties, the infidelities and wacked out schemes and plans can all become light if exposed to the light. Our deeds which used to keep us in fear if found out, can be transformed by Christ to become our assets. Our bondage can become our liberation.

And I think that is why I like the saints. I like the saints not because of what they accomplished but from where they came from. They often are a motley crew of rougues and nardowells. They personally may not like me saying so but I think recognizing their humanity, it is the point. Did not the religious leaders of Jesus day condemn him for hanging out with a rough crowd? And what does he say? A doctor goes to the sick. How much more does God shine through the man or woman who was thought to be a lost cause? The Christian faith is not about pulling ones self up by owns own bootstraps...It is about allowing Christ to carry us.

We have Paul, the righteous Jew convinced that the Christians were committing blasphemy, who through transformation goes to the end of the earth proclaiming the gospel.

We have Peter, the bumbling fisherman whe swears up and down he will be faithful who rejects Christ and then, in spite of his lack of loyalty, is chosen to lead the church.

We have Augustine of Hippo, a man convinced in his youth he will figure it all out. Augustine the same man who can't stop having affairs with woman is transformed into an agent of fidelity...his witness and work helps the church survive when the rest of society was breaking apart.

The saints are all around us. In coming to the light they become light revealing that this Christian faith of ours is true.

The point here is not to compare our life with theirs but identify. Can we too be willing to allow our darkest dark become our greatest light?

They do not save us because of what they accomplished but that their transformation can be our own. We to are invited to become the people that we are called to become. The question becomes will we allow it? Will we allow the light to better transform our lives? Will we become evidence for others that this life does mean something? Will we be witnessess to the light so that others may come to see?

As I look out at this moment I can begin to truly see. I begin to perceive the truth. I can begin to see the light, not streaming through the windows but coming from these very pews. As you become who you were called to be, as you seek repentence for sin, as you love your neighbor, as you reach out of this strong house to bring this gospel message, I begin to see the SON! LOOK! Look around you!

Look at the light around you. I see it in my brother and sister. It is there...there... and there...

Surely there is a God who reigns down light.

Shine well....Shine well