March 22, 2008
There was a football coach at an agricultural school who was desperate for players that he put up signs all over the school announcing tryouts. To his astonishment, a large turkey waddled out onto the field the next day. The coach tried to kick him off the field, but the turkey said, “Listen. At least give me a chance.”
The coach agreed, and put the turkey in at quarterback. On the first play, the gobbler grabbed the ball with one wing and heaved a 40-yard pass. On the next play, he ran a quarterback sweep for another 25 yards. On the third play, he bootlegged around the left for a touchdown.
The coach was ecstatic. He went up to the turkey and said, “You made the team. If you play for the full season, I’ll give you a four-year scholarship.”
“Forget the scholarship,” the turkey said. “All I have to know is, does that full season last until after Thanksgiving?”
We know that Wes likes sports and likes to watch especially Cal football. But Wes also knows what to do with a large turkey!
When we think about Wes Chan, we are immediately aware that here stands a person who is as close to a renaissance man as we would get to meet. Wes played sports and likes to watch sports. He is a great cook and rises to the challenge when he is asked to cook for over 300 people at our annual church picnic. He gives people a reason to smile when their teeth are straight and white. Wes makes the Bible come alive when he leads the South Bay group in creative studies. When you have the privilege of traveling with Wes, whether it’s to faraway places like Japan or as close as the technology museum in San Jose, Wes has already researched the pertinent facts and highlights. When we think that if there was anyone with the wide-range intelligence and experiences like a Benjamin Franklin today, we can see those attributes in Wesley Chan.
Ben Franklin once said, “Were it offered to my choice, I should have no objections to a repetition of the same life from its beginning, only asking the advantages authors have in a second edition to correct some faults of the first.”
Like Ben Franklin, Wes is also a very humble person recognizing that he too have some faults. He knows that his source of strength and the gifts that he has been blessed with have all come from God. Wes knows that God continues to transform his life to be Christ’s servant as a loving husband to Sheryl coming up to 36 years, a caring father to his children, a doting grandfather to his grandkids, a trusted good guy to his friends, and a loyal disciple through Christ’s church.
The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:12-16,
“Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it on my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.”
Getting to be 60 may seem to be an easy task when you have gotten up 21,900 times to greet the morning sun. My prayer for you, Wes is that there are many more morning suns to greet you each day. The Apostle Paul said, “forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead.” There is so much more life ahead for you especially when you know Jesus who has blessed you with Christian maturity and many gifts and abilities. And we thank God that through your life, we who have gathered here today have been so blessed by you and the person God is still creating you to be.
Since I know that Wes likes to cook and that Major League Baseball is just about to start its 2008 season, I heard that Tim McCarver, a former St. Louis Cardinal catcher and now sports announcer once said,
“I remember many years ago, a pig was walking around in the outfield and when the next batter hit a ball right in his direction, the pig got the ball before the center fielder and swallowed the darn thing!
The batter ran all the way home, and they called it an inside-the-pork home run.”
Wes, you have been hitting homeruns for the past 60 years! May God bless you. May God makes his face shine upon you. And may God lift up the heavens and grant you his peace. Amen.
Grace and Blessing
Dear God of ages past and years to come, we thank you for joy of life and the many ways that you have blessed us to live our lives fully in love and hope. We celebrate today for the many gifts and talents that you have bestowed upon Wes Chan who have used these blessings to proclaim the truth of Christ, to give people a higher quality of living, to serve as a sage and leader of his family, and to be a humble servant in Christ to everyone he meets. Lord, continue to bless Wes with good health and a long life and use him for your glory and purpose in the world.
We ask, dear Lord for you to bless this wonderful abundance before us representing the abundant love that comes from you. May this food for our bodies, the spiritual food for our faith, and the warm fellowship in this room nourish us to become a generous and faithful people. All this and more, we thank you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.