George Burns once gave advice on how to give a good sermon. He said, "first you need a brilliant introduction. Second, you should have a dynamic conclusion. Third, be sure that your introduction and conclusion are not that far apart." Well, I can't speak for my introduction or conclusion, but with it being hymn sing Sunday, I thought I'd take his advise about keeping the introduction and conclusion close together.

I hope everybody had a good week. I was fortunate enough to be asked to speak this week on humor and religion at a big Baptist convention. And not just any convention, a Baptist convention…in Las Vegas. Baptist in Vegas??? That's like putting Episcopalians in an improv troupe!

Whew…Baptists and Vegas. That is a pretty crazy pairing. Vegas in general is nothing but a whole series of crazy pairings. I'm sure that most of you have either been there or seen photos. I mean look at Vegas itself -one of humanity's tackiest and most garish creations in the midst of the Mojave desert--one of God's most beautiful creations. You have gondolas in canals of Venice floating by sushi restaurants and Elvis impersonators. You have the Eiffel tower standing next to he Statue of Liberty. You have the sphinx and the great pyramids next to an IHOP. You have a billboard for the Mormon church next to one advertising an all male review from Australia, "Thunder down Under." (And no I didn't go…they were sold out). But from all these crazy things paired together that have NOTHING in common, there emerges this city-a community that seems to bridge all the differences into one festive, celebratory spirit.

Vegas brings together what we would otherwise NEVER put together. And it brings familiar things together in an unfamiliar way. By doing this, it breaks open our way of seeing the world-our expectations of what is "normal", what is "familiar", what is "acceptable." And guess where else you find this? The Bible-the Gospels-the story of the life of Jesus.

Jesus knew how to jar people out of their comfortable places and explode old images and understandings with what might have seemed like crazy pairings--the power in putting together familiar things in an unfamiliar way. The kingdom of God and a mustard seed; The kingdom of God and leavened bread; The weakest as the greatest; a banquet table where the honored guests are tax collectors, prostitutes and "sinners." His images jar us, make us stop, reconsider, reexamine and reevaluate.

Even Jesus' life as written about in our scripture today, is a series of odd reversals. As Paul says, "Jesus, who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death." Jesus life was spent bridging differences-linking the familiar and the unfamiliar. He made no distinctions-male/female-Jew, Gentile or Samaritan. He was the ultimate bridge for humanity and his spirit maintains that bridge to this day. If only we will dare to share in it.

In our scripture today, Paul calls us to share in this spirit. He says, "In humility, regard others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others." You know, I saw a bumper sticker out in Vegas. The author apparently was not a Paul fan. It read, "I can only please one person a day and today ain't your day."

Well, what if today were the day? What if today we truly attempted to live Paul's words, truly attempted to find the familiar in the unfamiliar-the common ground among us and, in humility, truly regard others better than ourselves?

Today, we are faced with so many factions, so many dividing lines, so much anger. We are constantly presented with our differences as people-but, never our things in common. The newspaper dwells on our political differences, the evening news rehashes on our geographic, cultural and religious differences, movies, books, magazines--our very conversations dwell on our differences. And after while, that is the only lens through which we see. Differences. Differences to a point where we begin to refuse help to each other, where we begin to withhold compassion from each other, where we even walk past and fail to see each other.

What if…we took Paul's words to heart? What if we truly searched for the familiar? What if we began to put the interest of others first. Would we not have a world more like Las Vegas? A world where all diversity, no matter how different or unsettling or crazy it may seem to us, is welcomed and embraced into one, energetic living spirit. I say, let's give it a try.

Here's the first step: between now and Sunday, I invite all of us to try one thing. I want us to identify one person with whom we think we have nothing in common. It may be someone you don't know, someone from an unfamiliar culture, it may be in your own family. Whoever it is--open yourself up to the unfamiliar in that person. Identify what is unfamiliar. Is it something we don't understand about them? Should we try and understand? Is there something to learn? Are the unfamiliar parts-maybe parts we just don't like? Do we see these parts in ourselves?

Then, consider what you may have in common with this person. What are their fears? What are their dreams? What do they laugh about? This week, I want you to find the bridge between yourself and someone with whom you believe there is no bridge. Find the familiar. I guarantee it is there. I'll give you a hint for a starting place: whoever they are, they are, like yourself--a child of God. The poet WH Auden said it best, I think, "Love your crooked neighbor, with your [own] crooked heart."

Jesus spent his entire life's work pairing familiar things in unfamiliar ways. He did so that he might bridge the gap within humanity and bridge the gap between humanity and God.

Baptists in Vegas? Well, perhaps this is not so strange, now, as we might think.

And the people said… Amen.