Isiah 5:1-7,   Hebrews 11:29-12-2,   Luke 12:49-56

A most perceptive gentlemen named Holbrook Jackson made this observation about dogs. He said, "Man is a dog's idea of what God should be". The dog lovers among us can see the wonderful truth in this statement. As an analogy, I propose for our reflection today this thought. "Jesus is our idea of what God should be". Or stated in a slightly different way, "Jesus is our best example of what God is like and of how God thinks and acts". Going a bit further with these thoughts we could say, "Jesus is God's idea of what we should be". Thus we could then say, "Jesus is God's idea of how we should think and act".

In reflecting on all of this, it made real sense to me. Since the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus is within each of us, we can then, if we choose to do so, think and act just as Jesus did. For it was this same Spirit that guided and empowered Jesus to act as He did. For me then, this was the good news today in Paul's letter to the Hebrews. Paul said, "...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith..."

Perhaps some of you are beginning to wonder where I am going with this. Where I am going with this is to explore, along with you, several facets of what is involved, as Paul suggests, in seeing Jesus as our role model, and then thinking and acting accordingly.

As a first part of this exploration, I see the difficulty of doing this. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to see that life is difficult for each of us, whether we are using Jesus as our role model or not. This is for me now, and has been for a long time, one of my major concerns about our lives here on earth. This is the kind of concern one has more time to reflect on in the latter years of life. Perhaps some of you have this same concern about life.

Why do our lives here have to be so difficult and so painful? Why do all have to suffer in so many different ways? When I see God face-to-face, as has been promised, these are questions I want to ask of God. Life was difficult for Jesus. Jesus acknowledged these difficulties in today's gospel. Jesus said, "I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed." Life was also difficult for Paul. Life was difficult for each of the Old Testament Heroes Paul mentioned in today's Epistle-Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.

And life is certainly difficult for each of us living in our world today. Even in this wonderful country and community where we live, life is difficult. Each of us who has been around for very long has experienced serious illnesses, death of loved ones, loss of jobs, divorce, alienation or separation from one's family members and friends, or serious financial problems. I suspect that each of you could add other difficulties to this list.

In my own life I have faced the difficulty of dealing with the deaths of both parents, the death of my first wife, Marilyn, after Her long struggle with cancer and alcoholism. I faced the problem of being laid off twice while raising 4 small children. I have on several occasions faced life threatening health problems. I am now concerned that my financial resources will not support me until the end of my life. I ask again, why does life have to be so difficult for each of us?

In reflecting on this question I have come up with some preliminary answers on my own. First, it seems to me that major difficulties are just a part of everyone's life here-past, present, and future. Some will experience fewer and less serious difficulties but all will get some share of pain and suffering here. Perhaps this is the way we become stronger and smarter and continue to evolve as human beings-that is by confronting and dealing with our painful situations as well as coming up with solutions to our difficult problems.

I think it is much more useful, however, to reflect on the way that Jesus dealt with the difficulties in his life as well as discerning his direction and actions in life. First and foremost I see that Jesus relied fully on the Holy Spirit to guide him and empower him in dealing with the difficult times in his life. In fact, Jesus did not begin his ministry until he received the Holy Spirit when he was baptized. Jesus called on the Spirit of God Help him when he was tempted by Satan to stray from the difficult paths he saw before him. Jesus called on the Holy Spirit to empower him in his miraculous healing acts. This is most vividly demonstrated when Jesus called upon the Spirit of God to restore his friend Lazarus to life after he had been dead for three days. And Jesus called upon the Spirit of God to help him in the garden at Gethsemane to determine what he should do and how he should act in those final hours of his life there in Jerusalem.

This is the same Spirit that is available to each of us today in facing and triumphing over the difficulties we face in our own lives. It is such a shame that more people in the world today are not aware of this wonderful, free gift that is available to them from God to help them live their lives to the fullest in spite of the difficulties here. It is also a shame that many of us who are aware of this gift do not use it or trust it more fully.

And what were some of the ways Jesus maintained his close and powerful relationship with the Holy Spirit? In his times of greatest need, it seems that Jesus would withdraw from others into the desert or to some other quiet place to seek guidance and strength from the Holy Spirit on what he should do and how he should act. It seems that Jesus also was acutely aware of the Spirit of God in those around him as well as in nature. It seems that Jesus was able to call on the Spirit within him as well as the Spirit outside him to accomplish the wonderful acts in his ministry. And it also seems that the greatest joys in the life of Jesus came when he was helping others with their difficulties and troubles. He seemed most fulfilled when he saw that he was doing those things that he was born to do-such things as healing, teaching, forgiving, encouraging, accepting and welcoming all others. Do you think it might be the same for each of us?

Perhaps some of you are wondering how using Jesus as a role model has worked out for me? How has this approach worked out for me in running my race in life as I come nearer to the end of my life? How has this worked out in helping me deal with the major difficulties I have faced in my life?

I can say with great fervor that this approach has never failed me! After the death of my parents I began to see how blessed I was to be born in the place that I was, at the time that I was, and with the parents God chose for me. I saw how their actions gave me an opportunity to prepare for a career that was perfect for me. After the death of my first wife I was blessed to find Patricia who is now the joy and love of my life. When confronted with serious health problems I was led to the right physicians and therapists to restore me to full health. On one occasion I was miraculously healed when physicians were unable to help me. When I was laid off from one job I was led to the job that was a major fullment of my life.

So in conclusion, let's reexamine Paul's advice about using Jesus as our role model. Paul said, "...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,"

In reflecting on this advice from Paul,

What race do you see before you?
What difficulties are you facing now or do you see in your future?
In what ways do you see that the Spirit of Jesus can help you on your way?

Amen