Perception is a tricky thing. You may say something to me, and I may take offense at it. You’re puzzled because you didn’t mean it that way at all. Misunderstanding and even hurt feelings can be the residue of misperception. It happens all the time.

People will often comment on my sermons. Someone will say something, or I’ll get an e-mail. They might say share with me what touched them. Or, perhaps they take issue with something I said, and they comment about that. Sometimes my silent reaction is, "That’s not what I meant at all! You missed the point!"

Then, I think about it a little more, and I usually come to the conclusion that even though that may not be exactly what I meant, or perhaps even close to what I meant, I can understand how a person might have heard it the way they did. Perception is far more complex than me merely speaking words, and you merely listening to my words. Perception is a tricky and complex business. It not only has to do with what is said, but perhaps how it is said – sometimes mere inflection distinguishes between truth and sarcasm. Perception also has to do with how you are feeling when something is said, and the place you are in your life right now. Are you sad, happy, confused, searching, guilty, angry, feeling wounded and vulnerable, feeling very strong and self-sufficient? We each live with our personal set of fears and prejudices. The words I speak and how I speak them go through all sorts of filters when they hit your ears, and those filters can dramatically affect perception.

I am certified to administer and interpret the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator. Some of you have been to one of my workshops. (MBTI) The science of personality type is based on the findings of psychologist Carl Jung who advanced the notion, based on observing and working with thousands of clients, that we are each hard wired and have a default setting when it comes to things like perception and decision-making. And, we are not all the same. One purpose of the MBTI is to help you discover your unique personality type, and a second purpose would be to help you learn about the unique personality type of others, like your spouse or your co-workers.

I have learned through personality type that some of you sitting here this morning are looking to be "inspired," by this sermon this morning, while others of you are not looking to "inspired" so much as to be "taught" something very concrete and specific. They are not the same thing. It only complicates, even more, the task of communication and perception.

We simply cannot know, but what we do know is just this: Andrew spent time with Jesus. Andrew had a curiosity about Jesus. Andrew’s curiosity caused him to follow Jesus down the street. Jesus suddenly turned, caught Andrew off-guard and asked, "So what are you looking for?" Stumbling for words Andrew blurts out, "Where are you staying?" "Come and see," invited Jesus, and Andrew ended up spending the day with Jesus. At the end of the day he makes a confession of faith. He became so excited about Jesus he sought out his brother Simon Peter and brought him to meet Jesus.

Christianity is not merely something that I logically figure out and make total sense out of it ahead of time and then come to faith. Faith is always the result of being acted upon first. Faith is the result of spending time with Jesus.

When we baptize infants we are declaring that God acts first in the child’s life - even before faith. Faith results from God’s actions and initiatives upon the child, actions that only begin in baptism; and continue in the initiatives of loving and faithful parents who promise to nurture the child in the context of faith and the body of Christ. I am deeply saddened when I hear parents use this excuse for not bringing their children to church and not involving them in faith formation ministries, "Well, my kids can decide for themselves when they are old enough." Yes, they will decide when they get old enough, and 9 times out of 10 they will decide not to pursue faith and relationship with God because the decision has already been made for them, by their parents, years before. If the parents did not take faith seriously, why should the children? The child’s perception is shaped by the parents. Let’s face it. More than we are willing to admit, our children resemble us.

The Good News is that God never stops taking the initiative with us: through the sacraments; through the proclaimed Word, through the scripture, through the witness of a faith community and faithful believers; through the Holy Spirit. Perception is a tricky and complex business.

Andrew spent the day with Jesus, and at the end of the day he made a confession of faith, "I have found the Messiah."

When was the last time you spent a day with Jesus? When was the last time you included the Lord Jesus in on every aspect of your day - allowed him to inform every decision, every conversation, every interaction? When was the last time? I don’t ask that to make you feel guilty – not at all. I ask it to make the point that faith is kindled when we respond to the Lord’s invitation to "Come and see."

Jesus said some pretty amazing things, issued some incredible challenges and offended our conventional sensibilities. When were studying the Sermon on the Mount during Advent, Pastor Linda Henke said something that sticks in my mind. After reading Matthew 5, 6 and 7, she said, "Why would anyone want to follow this man?"

Think of some of the things he told us to do: "Love your enemies" "Pray for those who persecute you." "Take up your cross and follow me." "Forgive your brother and sister and be reconciled." "Don’t worry about your life, what you eat and what you drink, or what you will wear." "Don’t worry about tomorrow." "Do not judge." "If you do it to the least… you do it to me."

Think about it! Practically every one of those things makes very little logical sense and runs counter to our conventional sensibilities.

"Love my enemies?" Who is Jesus kidding? I want to hang onto my hate!

"Pray for those who persecute me?" I want to curse those who persecute me and find a way to even the score.

"Forgive my brother or sister and seek to be reconciled?" No way, my pride is at stake here.

"Take up my cross and follow." That sounds too tough to me.

"Don’t worry about tomorrow." My whole life is structured around planning and working to find security.

"Do not judge." But so and so deserves judgment! They wronged me!

"If you do it to the least of these… you do it to me." I always thought the least pretty much got what they deserve. I avoid them.

If I try to figure this man out ahead of time, I never really will. He makes no logical sense. My conventional sensibilities are scandalized.

We use mainly our eyes and ears to perceive the world around us. If we only use our eyes and ears to perceive to Jesus he will remain merely as an object of curiosity; someone that interests us, an unusual character with whom we are intrigued, but nothing more than that. He invites us to step beyond our curiosity, step beyond casual interest and spend some time with him. "Come and see," he says to you and me. It’s an invitation to get to know him.

"Love your enemies," he says. I can’t do that. But perhaps if I get to know the one who said it, the one who died on the cross for his enemies - for me - maybe something will happen to me. Perhaps I will begin to perceive with more than my eyes and ears, and my filters everything is processed through. Perhaps I will begin to see him with the eyes of the heart – the eyes of faith.

"Pray for those who persecute you." "Take up your cross and follow me." "Forgive your brother and sister and be reconciled." "Don’t worry about your life, what you eat and what you drink, or what you will wear." "Don’t worry about tomorrow." "Do not judge." "If you do it to the least… you do it to me." As long as I keep my distance, none of this makes any real sense. But if I go and spend some time with him, I may begin to see and perceive with something other than my eyes and ears.

I may perceive he is the One for whom I have been waiting and looking all my life. He is the One who touches me at the places of my deepest longings and needs. He is the One who defies logic, but yet was more alive that anyone I have ever known. He is the One who has something to give that I have never found anywhere else.