I believe that there are many paths to God and many styles of Christian life. I’d like to suggest three paths, and as I do you might reflect on your own style. Here I am borrowing terminology from that venerated organization: the 4-H Club. Now I wonder how many of you urban sophisticates can name what those four H’s stand for. Heart, hands, head, and health. Historically, the first three were heart, hands, and head. The fourth was actually added later. Do you know what that additional fourth "H" originally was? (You’ll never guess). It was "hustle". It was later changed to "health." I’ll return to health and hustle later. Now let me say a little about each of the first three H’s as a valid path to God.

First is the path of the heart. This is the path of devotion to God. It is devoting oneself to a personal relationship with God. As Christians we have been given the gift of knowing God through the person of Jesus Christ. We talk of Jesus as God incarnate. That is to say, all one needs to know about God has been revealed to us in the teachings and life of Jesus of Nazareth, and in his death and resurrection. He taught love and embodied love. Through his death and resurrection the historical Jesus became the Risen Christ. The Epistle to the Colossians says that the Christ is the "image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation." The Risen Christ rules over all thrones and dominions, principalities and powers. We know this Christ through Jesus. The path of devotion leads us to the feet of Jesus. It invites us to a relationship with the person, Jesus the Risen Lord, as a kind of window into the depths of God, and as a mirror in which we see reflected the depths of God in each of us. Worship, prayer, and meditation are vitally important to the follower of the path of the heart. Here at CCC, meaningful worship, our meditation room, our spirituality committee, spiritual direction; all provide opportunities for those on this path.

Second, there is the path of the hands. This is the path of simply helping one’s neighbor. The path of service. A follower of this path is eager to offer a helping hand in very down to earth and practical ways. In our church such a person can be counted on to volunteer to serve meals at Shepherd’s Table, to wield a hammer at Rebuilding-Together Christmas in April, attend a work retreat at the Retreat House, fold and assemble the Newsnotes every other week, teach church school, bring meals through Referral and Service, or drive for ASSIST. A follower of the path of the hands will say simply, "Give me something helpful to do. That is how I find God."

The third path is the path of the head. On this path it is very important to think through and understand who God is and what God is calling us to do in the world. Theological investigation and discussion, and the serious study of the Bible and how the Bible’s teaching impacts on the world of today is critical. How are Christians to relate to the principalities and powers? What is the prophetic message in our own age of "wars and rumors of wars"? How is the Church to be faithful to its call to be the Body of Christ in the world? How do we grow beyond our childhood concepts of God into a mature faith that helps us deal with the complex challenges of life today? How do we truly discern the will of God? For the follower of the path of the head, these are not idle abstractions, but concerns that are central to self-awareness and God-awareness. As in the Jewish tradition, this path of the head can be seen as profoundly spiritual, even mystical; the invitation to a wisdom that is deeply intuitive. Our emphasis on adult education, contemporary theology, and the Jesus Seminar attracts followers of this path.

Let me stop at this point and ask this. Which of these three best describes your personal path – heart, hands, or head? I don’t think there is anything wrong with saying that one of them is your preferred path. If so, follow it. And, of course, be tolerant of those who choose another path. Celebrate our diversity. At the same time, I think it is possible to see one's life as striving to live all three in balance. From the standpoint of the church, there should be opportunities available for followers of all these paths.

This brings me to the fourth "H" as "health". I like that. For our purposes, we could call the path of health the path of wholeness. I would define wholeness as balance; balance in our lives as individuals and balance in the life of the congregation. I would also define health as always keeping God at the center. Each of these paths – heart, hands, and head – carries within it the danger of forgetting about God, the goal of the journey. If on the path of the heart, we forget about God, we become self-preoccupied and sentimental. Some of the worse excesses of evangelical Christianity reduce Jesus to some chum with whom we casually chat, a powerful friend whose sole purpose is to answer my personal prayers. But the Christ at the end of the path of devotion is the Savior and Lord to whom we fully surrender our being in love and trust. The danger of the path of the head is that one can get so bound up in intellectual debate that God becomes something that is always talked about but never really encountered. The temptation is to arid intellectual discourse, however enthusiastic. The God at the end of this path is there to be "known" not just talked about. And the risk for the follower of the path of the hands is that one can become caught up in results – the desire to be successful, to win praise and appreciation, to see the positive fruits of our labor, to win God’s approval. This path reminds us that it is God working through us, and that it is to God that we are to offer up all the fruits of our labors. We are called not to be proud do-gooders, but humble instruments in God’s hands.

This was, I think, at the heart of Jesus’ gentle rebuke to Martha. She followed the path of the hands. She busied herself with serving others, which was fine. Jesus did not condemn that path. He only noted that he was already there. She had indeed arrived in his presence but was not benefiting from that presence. Having made him comfortable, it was now time to drop everything and join Mary at his feet.

In closing, I mentioned that the original meaning of the fourth "H" in 4-H was "hustle." As I think about it, hustle is the Holy Spirit. It is the energy that infuses all these paths. The Gospel of Mark says that after Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit "drove" him into the wilderness. The Spirit is portrayed in Celtic Christianity as a wild goose – prodding, poking, and honking us into action. The Spirit says "Get up! Wake up! Pay attention! God is calling you to your path. And God is waiting for you at journey’s end." AMEN.