It was 1987 and I was late for church. My mom and dad were in the car honking the horn and my brother was making fun of me, I had to act fast!

So I looked in my closet and all I could find was a pink shirt (I wore pink back then) and I pink tie. So I put them on and my best blue blazer and went to church. I encountered a few laughs but it was worth it, because I started "the look", the "Regis look".

Regis is king right now. The host of the popular game show "Who wants to be a millionaire" is on the top of the world.

He has everybody asking, "is that your final answer?"

And he is ruling the prime time ratings.

Regis has also started a renewed interest in television game shows. There was once a time when game shows ruled the tv, instead of watching ER or Survivor or Walker Texas Ranger we all tuned in to watch Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Family Feud, Classic Concentration, The Price is Right, and the popular Newlywed and Dating games.

But I don’t think there was any show more popular than "Let’s make a deal!". I loved watching Monty Hall giving out hundred dollar bills to people who kept toothbrushes in their pocketbooks,

And I would always scream at the tv for the person to pick curtain number 3! But they always picked curtain number 2 which revealed a bag of peanuts or something like that. If they only listened to me.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize how much Regis and Monty have in common. I realize that Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Lets Make a Deal share a common thread that seems to hold our attention night after night.

After all, Who wants to be a millionaire is the most popular show on television, so what is it that keeps us tuning in night after night? Why are we so captivated by people answering Regis’ questions?

I believe it’s the hope of something better.

I believe it’s the hope on what is on the other side which draws us time after time.

The contestants on Lets Make a Deal always had the option of keeping the money they’ve won or taking the chance of something better behind the curtain.

The contestants on Who Wants to be a Millionaire have the option of keeping the money they’ve won or taking the chance of correctly answering the question behind the card in Regis’ hand for a million dollars.

I believe it’s that hope of something better, a better world, a better life that keeps shows like Lets Make a Deal and who wants to be a millionaire so popular.

It’s that call from the other side.

It’s that call from the other side where the grass is greener and the sun is always shining.

It’s that call from the other side where life is better than the side we’re on now.

It’s that call that keeps people playing on those shows and it’s that call that keeps us watching.

The pilgrims heard the call three hundred years ago. How frustrating life must have been! Working and living near the shores of Great Britain, looking out over a vast ocean where they knew there was something better on the other side, where they knew there was a better life waiting for them.

If they only could get to the other side! If only they could cross that great expanse known as the Atlantic Ocean and find themselves behind that curtain that covered the New World, if only they could see that green grass that awaited them on the other side!

The slaves heard the call over hundred years ago. Working all day in the fields, picking and pulling, sweating and bleeding. And every chance they got they always looked north and dreamed.

If only they could find a way to make it up north. If only they could find a way to cross over to the other side, leaving hate and slavery behind, if only they could find themselves behind the curtain of freedom that was up north, how much greener the grass would be!

The Germans heard it ten years ago. Families separated by a large wall that ran through Berlin and the rest of the country making two Germanys. West Germany was modern and cultured, much like the rest of Europe, but across that wall was East Germany, a cold place void of freedom.

How life must have been for the East Germans, knowing that freedom and prosperity was only six feet away, if they could only cross over to the other side, if they could only tear down that curtain and run through the green grass on the other side!

If they could only answer that call to the other side!

If the Pilgrims and slaves and Germans could only look and see what’s behind that curtain.

IF they could just see the grass, and feel the sun, and bask in the peace that comes from the other side!

Oh, that call is just so annoying! Always and forever buzzing in our ears much like a misquito on a spring morning!

It’s a burning that comes from deep inside ourselves. We’ve all felt it, a call for a better life, a call for a better love, a call for a better peace! A call from the other side!

A call to take our chances and look behind to see what is behind the curtain that is calling us.

A call that was too great for some pilgrims, slaves, and Germans to ignore.

A promise that was worth the sacrifice.

A chance that was better than the status quo.

They were going to the other side, and that was their final answer.

The pilgrims set sail on the Mayflower headed west toward the New World. They sacrificed everything, their livelihoods, their families, and they all knew in the backs of their minds, that they may sacrifice their own lives.

Oh, but they could smell the grass and hear the waves crashing down on the beaches. It was calling.

The slaves took their chances on a railroad, the Underground Railroad. They would hide in homes and barns during the day and would press on north at night. They too sacrificed their families and their lives if they were caught, but freedom was calling……from the other side.

Oh, they could feel the cool air filling their lungs, clean air, free air. It was calling.

Some Germans tried to go over that imposing wall that separated them from a new life. They risked the bullets and the dogs from the guard who patrolled the wall all for what lied on the other side! They were tired of looking at the grafiti on the wall and wanted to see the beauty that was freedom, the beauty that was prosperity.

They could feel sun shining, warming everything and everybody, a sun that didn’t shine on their side, but on the other side. It was calling.

And then the thunder rolled in.

The pilgrims encountered diseases and other sicknesses on the way to their new life. Many people died on the way to the New World.

The slaves encountered ambushes and traps that either sent them back to the hard south or sent them to die. The train on that Underground Railroad wasn’t always a safe ride.

The Germans who tried to scale that wall were many times met with razor sharp barbed wire and bullets from the guard high up in their towers that left them only inches from their dream, from their hope.

And the thunder rolled on.

It seems that storms always brew during journeys. The wind, rain, lightening, and thunder always come when we are searching for clear skies and the songs of birds.

Clouds always follow those of us who are dealing with tragedy.

Clouds always follow those of us dealing with love, family, work, relationships, and finances.

Clouds always follow those who journey towards God.

Those of us who are trying to reach the other side.

It seems storms counter our every move.

It seems that whenever we try to love, the thunder of hate drowns us out.

It seems that whenever we try to help, the rain of pride washes us away.

It seems that whenever we try to have faith, we are blown away by doubt.

It seems that whenever we try to pray, we are blinded by our own selfishness.

If we could only reach the other side! If we could just silence those storms!

We can see the grass and feel the warm beams of sunlight of the other side, but we can only see them because there is a storm keeping us away!

If we could only show our love to our family. If we could just break down those feelings of hate and resentment that resulted from something that happened years ago, if we could just put it behind us!

IF we could only break down the walls that were built by silence and free ourselves from the slavery of ignorance!

If we could just learn to love ourselves and be happy with who we are! If we could only smile and really mean it!

If we could just weather the storm, We could reach the other side!

We can hear the call of faith, we can feel the burning that is coming from deep inside, but the sacrifice seems to great sometimes!

If we could only trust in God and realize that there is something greater than ourselves.

If we could only understand that it is okay to question, that by questions come the answers and from the answers come the truth!

If we could only embrace that truth! If it wasn’t for that thunder and lightening, and the wind and rain pouring in, we could see the other side, we could play in the grass and bask in that sunlight!

If we could only be who and what God wants us to be. If we could only sacrifice and have faith and hope we could see the other side, but the thunder is too loud, the lightening is too bright, the wind is too strong!

How can we see the other side much less make it?

How can we quiet the storms? WE can’t.

Jesus called the disciples to the other side. He called them to a place of love, a place of hope and peace. A place that nurtures faith and gives it strength. The grass is green and skies are always clear.

Jesus called them to the other side, he called them to the Kingdom of God through himself. He called them to begin a journey, a journey away from themselves and to God. The same place where he calls us.

But in their journey, the encountered the wind, rain, lightening and thunder of a storm.

And the twelve were overcome with fear, with doubt, with despair.

And in their fear, they looked toward Christ for help, they looked toward Christ to show them what to do, they looked to Christ to help them make it to the other side,

Quiet, be still, he silenced the storm.

The skies were clear and the seas were calm.

Quiet, Be still.

The pilgrims weathered the storms of disease and sickness and established themselves in the New World.

They made it to the other side.

Quiet, Be still!

Thousands of slaves on the Underground Railroad made their way up north and helped others after the emancipation. They made it to the other side.

Quiet, Be still!

The wall that separated East and West Germany is now in pieces, and there is unity once again. They made it to the other side.

Christ is calling us to the other side, he is calling us to the Kingdom of God through him and to the service of his beloved church.

He knows we will face the storms; that we’ll hear the thunder, hide from the lightening, and shiver from the wind and rain. But he’ll quiet the storms.

It’s calling, that hope of a better life, a better love, and a better peace, that place on the other side!

Christ is calling us to the other side of hate, pride, and doubt.

Christ is calling us to love, to serve, and to hope in faith.

It’s a sacrifice, the costs are high, but the skies are clear, and we’ll find more than a bag of peanuts behind the curtain, a lot more. And that’s an incredible deal.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy, Spirit, Amen.