One of the most brilliant, passionate, and compassionate Christians I ever met was J. Benjamin Bedenbaugh, the New Testament professor at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, my alma mater. I clearly remember my first day as a new student. Tim, quite frankly was intimidated! I had met the seminary president, George Anderson, who later became Bishop of the ELCA. An imposing man, and on first impression, very stern. I had also met another George during my first day on campus, Dr. George Schott. Also the buttoned-down-professorial look; also rather intimidating. Maybe you can recall your own feelings the first day in a new setting: school, congregation, job, neighborhood, military basic training, whatever. It can be an anxiety provoking experience.

And then I met Dr. Bedenbaugh. J. Benjamin Bedenbaugh. As my classmates and I waited for his grand entrance into the classroom, we all had the dazed look of first year students during the first days of a brand new, grand new venture. And then he arrived. And another adjective was added to "brilliant, passionate, and compassionate." Frumpy.

J. Benjamin Bedenbaugh, (we soon called him "Benny,") arrived for our first class dressed to kill - and we almost died: blue jeans, a Peanuts T-shirt, partially covered by an orange Hawaiian shirt, unbuttoned at the tummy due to his paunch. His hair looked carefully combed by an egg beater. In the classic words of Tom Brokaw describing Tim Russert, Benny looked like an unmade bed! In no way was he intimidating. He was brilliant, passionate, compassionate and frumpy!

I had J. Benjamin Bedenbaugh for several classes during my seminary career - and even though I'm still only scratching the surface of the New Testament, any lack in that area does not reflect any deficiency in the teaching skills of Benny. One of the most important things I learned is this, and it fits so well today as we honor Peter and Paul. Dr. Bedenbaugh taught us, "The function of theological education is to give you a broader base of ambiguity." That's a mouthful: "The function of theological education is to give you a broader base of ambiguity."

From time-to-time Dr. Bedenbaugh would remind us, "Gentlemen (and we were all male back in the dark ages of the last century), "Gentlemen, you may think you know God and how it is that God works in the world. You may think you have a pretty good idea of what's up and what's down and what's good and what's evil. Be careful what you label white or black - there's a lot of gray in God's wonderful world, much ambiguity. Always keep in mind, God won't fit into your boxes. Anytime you think you have God figured out, God is going to surprise you. You think the Samaritan, whom the Jews despise, will end up the hero of a Rabbi's story? You think the old eye-for-an-eye and tooth-for-a-tooth is the last word on the subject? Stayed tuned to God, Gentlemen. Remember, "The function of theological education is to give you a broader base of ambiguity."

Now that was pretty intimidating. Why? We students had come to seminary for answers ... and in no uncertain terms J. Benjamin Bedenbaugh was telling us we'll probably have more questions by the time we graduate seminary than we had the very first day in the classroom. And Benny, of course, was right. Just another reason I love this statement of faith: we worship not the God we understand, but the God we stand under! It's more than a mere play on words. It's an affirmation that even as we strive to grow in faith and understanding, we do it from the point of view, we will never have all the answers this side of the Kingdom. But. But, but, but - we don't need answers, we need only Jesus and his amazing grace.

Peter and Paul ... this two-some at the very beginning of Christianity shared the faith and shaped the faith with the Power of God's Holy Spirit with them every step of the way. I picture Paul as the intimidating one, a brilliant mind and a pastor's heart, dressed in fine robes as he debated some of the greatest minds in the ancient world ... sharing Jesus with the Gentiles, literally, the outsiders. I picture Peter as a bit less intimidating. The frumpy fisherman without a formal education but again, the heart of the pastor ... as he sought to share the Gospel with the insiders, those raised within the Jewish tradition.

Are any of you familiar with the names Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard? They played some pretty fair football about seventeen miles from here. Army was undefeated for three seasons in the mid-forties with Davis and Blanchard as running backs. Glenn Davis was labeled Mr. Outside, because he'd take the ball and run around the opponents; Blanchard was Mr. Inside, as he'd run the ball up the middle of the field, through the opponents. What great teammates, and team players, they must have been!

Now look back further to the team of Peter and Paul. Peter being "Mr. Inside," sharing the Gospel within the ranks of the Jewish faith. And why not? He was Jewish. Jesus was Jewish. What a great place to start the conversation and the conversion: Jerusalem. What a marvelous audience: the People of the Promise - the Jewish people who had heard the promise of God to send a savior from the lineage of King David.

Paul, Mr. Outside, also was Jewish. He had been a Pharisee who got a kick out of persecuting Christians until Jesus knocked him off his high horse on the way to Damascus, and Saul changed names (Paul) and Saul changed teams! Paul turned his conversation and conversion compass toward the Gentiles, the outsiders. Like a theological Johnny Appleseed, Paul planted churches throughout the Mediterranean world. What a team, these two! What a team. And like Davis and Blanchard, what teammates ... each knowing their own role. Each respecting the role of the other. However, the proof is in the pudding: were they successful in their ministries? Well, think of it: from a cross on an outcrop of rock in Jerusalem ... followers of the crucified rabbi now number in the billions, due in no small part to the Holy Spirit mentoring Peter and Paul.

You know, of course, these two were undefeated! Well, from a human point of view, Peter being crucified head-down might be seen as a defeat. And from a human point of view, Paul having his head removed by a sword might be seen as a defeat. But from our faith perspective, the greatest victory ever told, the return of Jesus from the grave, that victory claims victory for all who follow: Peter and Paul to you and me! And billions in between.

I'm sort of ending at the beginning, but one thing that Peter and Paul, Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside had to learn early on was that thing about ambiguity: don't put Jesus in a box. A tomb could not hold him, nor can our puny minds and intellects. Initially Peter and Paul were so black-and-white ... until God called them to color outside the lines. Remember the dream Peter had in Joppa? Peter was kosher. Of course. Kosher. To love God as a Jew means to eat only certain foods. Clean foods. The word kosher means clean. Peter had a dream (you can look it up in Acts 10) in which he saw all kinds of animals and he clearly heard God say, "Eat Peter." "Oh no Lord," Peter backtalked, "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." Again Peter heard a voice, "Don't, don't (the second "don't" is my emphasis, not that I need to emphasize a command of God), "Don't, don't call anything unclean that God has made clean."

Gosh think of the people that we have a tendency to label unclean. Political labels, racial labels, national labels, sexual labels - as if any persons (with all their complexities, created in the very image of God) - as if any person can be summed up and beaten down with a label. And you know the variety of labels as well as I do. Please, be careful with your labels - and how you might want to box in people who see life from a perspective different than yours. You box in a person, you may just box in Jesus. Think of the dream of Mr. Inside, Peter. Think of the Samaritan - Christ called good.

And then there's Saul. That is, the late Saul - the new Paul, who could never consider that the God of the universe would ever end up nailed on a cross in Jerusalem. That is, until he met Jesus on the road. Think of Mr. Outside and think outside the box when it comes to trying to decipher, best we can, the nature and the will of our God. A wonderful, inexplicable God. A God Whose Mercy and Grace will follow us all the days of our lives. A God Whom we so often meet through the teaching and writing of the two men we honor this day, Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside, Saints Peter and Paul.

And finally, please say an "Amen" with me as we give thanks that I, your pastor, had such a wonderful mentor, frumpy Benny, the Rev. Dr. J. Benjamin Bedenbaugh. The man who encouraged his students to live life and preach God with a broadened ambiguity.