In a Capital campaign I look forward to meeting members of the parish. I’m also glad to be here with you today, because I learned we were making plans for this launch weekend, and that this is Jazz Mass weekend. And I love jazz. And as I thought of Jazz Mass weekend, I remembered an article I read back in USA Today in the middle of January, as a matter of fact is was the January 15 USA Today Publication and in the article, Winton Marcallous was interviewed. Do we all know who Winton Marceallous is? Renowned jazz musician, known for his musical abilities. Many may not know, however, that he was named one of "America’s best leaders" in 2006 by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He’s the artistic director of jazz at the Lincoln Center, and he was interviewed by USA Today and asked how he relates his ability in jazz to his leadership in business, and why he was named one of America’s best leaders in 2006. Listen to what Marcallous says in this interview, he says "You know when you listen to great jazz musicians, I would say many kinds of musicians, he says you hear the respect for one another’s abilities. During the performance, particularly in jazz, most of the musician’s time is devoted to listening to others. You see the trust that they have for each other because they are always making adjustments and improvising, based on what someone else does. Then he goes on to say, drummer Elvin Jones, articulated at best when he said, "In order to play with somebody on a profound level, you have to be willing to die with them." Marcallous continues, "You may not like your colleagues that much, but that’s jazz."

I love music of all different kinds and I believe music relates to the soul in ways that nothing else can. That’s why excellent music, as you have here, at St. Margaret’s, is so important to meaningful worship. For me, music engages the soul like nothing else can. To be honest with you, I really like jazz. And if I were to confess to you, I would have to confess times when I am alone back in our house in Cincinnati, you’ll often hear me playing jazz throughout the house at decibels that are a little embarrassing, if I had to admit it. As I travel across the country, I search out MPR stations, not just so I can get news reports, but so I can find great jazz stations as well. But I never realized, how closely aligned excellent jazz is with excellence in business and with congregational life until I read this article, this interview about Winton Marcallous. Did you hear the words Marcallous used to describe how beautiful jazz is created? He spoke of the respect musicians have for each other. He said they listen to each other and described the trust they have and then he said "Great jazz is played on a profound level only when the musicians are willing to die with one another." Respect, trust, willingness, do die, do those concepts sound at all familiar to you today? Aren’t they words that we use, concepts that we use to describe the church -- the body of Christ?

One thing Jesus made very clear is that we are to be a people of respect and trust one another who are willing to give up all that we are and all that we have to benefit one another and those who are around us. Love one another as I have loved you, Jesus said as he looked at the cross looming before him. What does it prophet one, if he or she gains everything, but looses the soul? Then as he describes the woman in the story we call the widow’s mite. He said, "The others gave out of their surplus, but she giving a few coins, she gave all that she had -- hers was sacrificial." Marcallous says that jazz as a result of living together with respect and trust and that kind of willingness -- is that basic unit of jazz is the swing and he said, in swing there is a belief in the power of collective ability and trust and concern for the common good.

You know, in the church when we live that way, we’re no longer just a collection of individuals, we’re no longer just an institution that we can choose from to make our lives busier. We become a community of faith and faithfulness where life’s decisions are directed, where faith is nurtured, where hope is restored. So St. Margaret’s is going to make the kind of music together that stirs the soul and transforms our world -- words like respect, trust and willingness to die with are all part of what will define us. How do we get there?

Let me talk about that for just a few minutes. Because I think there are three things that are very important if we are going to be there. First; we have to begin with gratitude. You live a life grateful for all that you are and all that you have? When you awakened this morning were you first thoughts, "Good morning God" or were they, "Good God it’s morning?" How did you begin your day? Do we acknowledge that all that we are and all that we have are from the God that we worship, or do we get caught up in thinking that everything that we have we’ve earned it, we’ve worked hard for it and it’s never really enough, we’re going to work harder and get more. You see, because one of the premises of our society is that you get what you earn, we easily fall into believing life isn’t about being grateful for God’s many blessings, but life is really about working hard to have the most toys. But life that is focused away from really being grateful for all that God is to us and all that God provides for us really causes us to spiral into being people who eventually become mal-contents.

I read about a hard-of-hearing man who was turning away from a bank teller who called out to him "Have a nice day" - he looked back at her and said, "No thank you, I have alternate plans. There are people that live that way. We begin living each day being grateful for the gifts God has given us.

Second; I believe we are called to be a people who care for what God provides religiously. The word religion is an interesting word. Religion comes from two words --- re - which means to do again, and ligio, the word from which we derive our own word ligament - it means to connect or attach. Religion actually means to re-connect, to re-attach --- to what? To whom? To God. If we care for all that God has given us religiously, then we are going to care for all of God’s blessings for all that we have experienced that is good in life in ways that re-focus us and re-connects us with a God who provides. Well, I don’t know about you, but I think it’s easy to go through life forgetting that God is the provider and not caring for all that God provides in ways that actually remind me of God’s creation, remind me of God’s generosity. I think that if we care for what God provides religiously, we’ll care for all of God’s creation in ways that prosper a wholeness and an integration and a completeness with the creator. And you know the best way too really re-connect with God is through prayer, isn’t it? Through conversation with God.

You may have read about the man who prayed one day, "Dear Lord, so far today God, I’ve done alright, I haven’t gossiped, I haven’t lost my temper, I haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or over indulgent. I’m really grateful about that, but in a few minutes God, I’m going to get out of bed, and I’m going to need a lot more help." Oh, real prayer is probably more along the lines of something that the great preacher Harry Emerson Bosnick once wrote, when he said, "You know if God has left some things contingent on our thinking, and some things on the contingent on our working, why might God not have left some things contingent on our praying?" And then he goes on saying, "Something never without thinking, never without using the mind, some things never without working, never without using the hands. Some things never experience without praying."

In the Gospel lesson this morning, we read about Jesus in that transfiguration in all that those who were with the experience, and then when it was over the voice came and said, "This is my beloved son and whom I am well pleased," what is the next step? He’s found alone, why is he alone? He’s praying. He’s connecting with his very source of being. Recall to be a people who re-connect with God constantly with all that we are and all that we have.

And finally the Third building block. We want to be a people who respond with respect and trust and that willingness to sacrifice. Recall to use God’s blessings propitiously, in ways that bless others, in ways that encourage others. Receiving with gratitude carry for religiously using what God provides propitiously, you see giving is in the very nature of God, from that very first moment when God breathed life into creation and humanity was born, God has not stopped giving. When we begin to realize that, we begin to realize that we have been created with a fabric through that it is woven that need to give, to give of our self, you know one of the wonderful things about being a guest speaking is you kind of walk in, incognito. And when you do that, you can over hear conversations, nobody knows who you are. And as I was coming in I heard a couple of gentlemen talking about giving. I think it’s about money, I ‘m going to steer my way away from that sort of thing. Let me tell you why you don’t want to do that. God has created us the fine fulfillment in life when we give of ourselves and our resources and benefit others. We use what God provides propitiously, we’ll experience life in ways that cannot, until we do. And at times we’re even called to give sacrificially. So this is my point, friends. If you want to join and make music that sirs the soul. It requires a people deeply connected with respect and trust and self sacrifice. And the music created by the body of people who come together around Jesus Christ, and call themselves the church, well, it’s no less stirring and no less demanding.

Paul Harvey the radio commenter once told the story of a woman who called the Butterball Turkey Company and said to the customer service representative, "We have a turkey that has been in our freezer for 23 years -- we wonder if it would be O.K. to roast it?" The customer service representative talked to a couple of others in the office and came back to the caller and said, "We’ve talked about it, we have an answer for you, but we need to ask you a couple of questions first, #1, are you sure it’s been frozen all 23 years? Oh yes, she said. #2, is it still securely wrapped? Oh, in fact we doubled wrapped it some years ago. Well, the customer service representative said, we think it would probably be O. K for you to roast it. We do not however, think that it would have much flavor though. And to that the called said, well, that’s kind of what we thought and I guess we’ll just go ahead and give it to the church then. Now, what’s wrong with that picture? What’s wrong with the picture is that it’s giving the left-overs isn’t it? And you know what? St. Margaret’s is not who you are because people have been giving the left overs.

Let’s make soul stirring music together - AMEN