| October 28, 2001 | Bruce Miller | |
| Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:31-35 | Three Questions for Life |
When I last stood here in front of you the focus was on the three-letter word WHY? - why tragedies occur and how difficult it is to answer that question. Personally I have read that sermon at least a half a dozen times over the last few weeks. A copy of that sermon sits on my desk at work as a reminder that "why" is not the right question to ask. There is no answer to the question why?
Today I want to suggest three questions that each one of us will have to answer in life. You will answer these questions some day. They are three fundamental questions that will define who you are and what kind of person you are going to be. The questions are: "What time is it?" "Where are you going?" "How are you going to get there?"
Whose answers are not as obvious as they might at first appear. For example, "What time is it?" I always have trouble with that one this time of year. Prior to last night when we turned the clocks back, in the morning when that alarm goes off it just seems far too dark to have to get up. And I ask myself, is it really time to get up? And I always check the clock to see if it really is that time. I also know that you do not always need a clock to tell time. For example, we all know what time it is if you travel along 25A this time of year! It is Pumpkin-picking time!
Charles the 5th abdicated his throne after years of frustration. He shut himself away in a room with hundreds of clocks. His greatest ambition was to get them all ticking in unison. As hard as he tried he could not get even two clocks to tick together. He later wrote: "It is no wonder I could not get people to cooperate since I cannot even get two mechanical devices to tick the same." You know what they say, if you have one watch you know what time it is. If you have two you do not.
They say that there are four time zones in the continental United States. I disagree. Anyone who knows a college student clearly knows they have their own time zone. They like to stay up half the night and sleep most of the day. What time is it? No two people are exactly the same. We have different biological clocks. We run on different cycles. It is a different time for each of us. Let's suppose, for example, that an average life of 80 years is equivalent to a single day from 7 in the morning until 11 at night. When you are ten years old it is ~9:00 am, time for a late breakfast. The whole day stretches before you. By the time you turn twenty it is already ~11:00 am. If you are thirty, it is now ~1:00 pm; time for a late lunch. You are hitting your stride. At forty, it is about 3:00 pm. At fifty, it is already 6:00, and time for the evening meal. At sixty the hour is ~9:00 It is time to relax and prepare for bed and maybe a late snack. If you are eighty, it is already the hour of eleven. You will soon be ready for a good long rest. So what time is it in your life?
It is not always easy to tell time. But we kid ourselves if we think we have all the time in the world to set our spiritual affairs in order and to do all the things we intend to do. Life is precious and short. As much as you may hate to admit it, you do not know what is in store for you when you turn the corner. We may call fifty middle age, but I do not know many people who live to be one hundred. It may already be later than most of us thinking. Time marches on. Life is short, and as we all know too well, full of unexpected events. It is past time for most of us to take seriously God's claim on our lives and to get our spiritual affairs in order. So what time is it in your life?
Which brings up the second question. Where are you going? We are all going somewhere. Where are you going? We have always believed that we should be going on to perfection. We do not think we are perfect. We know we cannot make ourselves perfect. Yet by the power of God's grace we can be made perfect. We believe people can change. We believe God can work a perfecting miracle in us. We believe God's grace can mold us into the person God wants us to be. It doesn't necessarily happen instantly as if at a revival meeting. Indeed, for most people that kind of change takes a lifetime.
Along the way, it is easy to get discouraged. There is a lot of imperfection in this world. Things don't always work out the way we think they should. An illness to a family member or a friend, a sudden loss to a family member or friend, a loss of a job, a failed relationship or marriage, a child born with a handicap. I could go on and on. We all know things do not work out as we like. A University professor wrote, "In view of the massive problems of over-population, the threat of nuclear disaster, the continuance of racial misunderstanding, and the progressive deterioration of the environment, can anyone but a mindless fool be optimistic about the future?"
Someone else said an optimist believes this is the best of all possible worlds, and a pessimist fears the same thing may be true. Which is why we need the vision of the book of REVELATION. We need its powerful image of HOPE. It shows us a new heaven and a new earth, and in its lines we hear God saying: "Behold, I make all things new." God doesn't say, "I make all new things." God says, Behold, I make all things new. God takes what is already here and transforms it into something new and glorious.
On September 11 God took an event and has made each and every one of us new. Look at the your life and thoughts today and compare them to yesterday: your faith and Christian love has been made new. That is where Christians are going. God is leading us on to perfection. God is working God's way in us. And God is promising us that in spite of over-population, nuclear threats, deterioration of the environment, uncertainties of world events, and the fact that things do not always work out the way we think they should, there is a future.
Let me ask you this question: if you went down to the beach this afternoon and found a bottle, rubbed it and out popped a Genie, and the Genie said if I could grant you one wish right now, what would you want? Think about it, what would you want? Marjorie Higgins, a Pulitzer Prize winner, tells of being behind the lines during the Korean War with 18,000 Americans who were resisting 100,000 Koreans. She approached an American GI who was standing in a temperature that was forty degrees below zero, with pants frozen stiff as a board. She asked, "If I were God and could grant you one wish, what would you want?" The sergeant replied, "Give me tomorrow, give me hope for the future."
We need hope to keep us going. As you look at pictures from Sept.11 it is a picture of a massive bombing of a civilian population. Pain and destruction are everywhere. You feel the horror of suffering humanity. It is not the image we want to see at the start of every day. Yet those images are not hopeless. In the midst of death there are clear signs of new life, of Him making things new, a Life of Christian Love as we know it. In one corner a small flower struggles to grow. Oh not the flowers you grow in your garden. It is the flower of Christian life, Christian hope, Christian love, and Christian faith. In the midst of chaos there is always God, God standing by us, and God pointing us toward a heavenly future. Where are you going? Are you going on to God, or just where are you going?
You not only have to decide what time it is. You also have to decide where you are going. Then finally, if you want your life to go toward God, how are you going to get there? Going /drifting away from GOD is easy. All you have to do is to stop paying attention. When you wander aimlessly, it is easy to get lost. No wonder so much Christian theology speaks of being LOST and being FOUND or SAVED.
A Christian intentionally turns toward God. It doesn't happen by accident. Jesus charted the course in our Gospel lesson when he said, "A new commandment I give to you that you love one another; even as I have loved you." If you want to draw closer to God, you have to love one another. This commandment comes at a crucial moment in Jesus' ministry. He is preparing to leave his disciples. He knows what time it is in his life. It is time for him to die. But before he goes, he gives his disciples some simple directions on how to follow him. He tells them to love one another.
Our faith journey begins when we accept God's love for us. It is fulfilled when we love one another. When Saint John the beloved disciple was on his deathbed, his disciples asked him for some parting word of wisdom. The old saint simply said over and over again, "Little children, love one another." Finally, one of them asked, "But isn't there something else you want to tell us?" "No," the dying saint replied, "It is enough. For it is the Lord's commandment.
Love is the essence of Christianity. John had watched many of his friends die. He had personally survived years of persecutions. He knew it is tough to keep on loving those who hate you. But that's the kind of love Jesus tells us to have for one another. Mother Teresa of Calcutta put it this way, "Let everyone understand that real love of God does not consist in tear-shedding, nor in that sweetness and tenderness for which usually we long, but [real love of God] consists in serving God in justice, fortitude of soul, and humility." What does that mean in real life?
Cynics say, "You can't change human nature," but they are wrong. Of course, people change. Christ works that miracle every day. No matter what time it is in your life, you can be changed by the power of God's love. Have you been in the stores lately? They have Christmas decorations for sale. Do you remember the story of Ebenezer Scrooge? Well the following is a true-life incident, which I call the real Ebenezer Scrooge. It happened to a man everyone called "Horrible Hank." His real name was Henry, but he had a reputation for being the meanest man around. His nickname testified to the way 99% of the locals felt about this bachelor for the first 50 years of his life. It sounds like what the world thought of New Yorkers. But something happened to Henry. Gradually he became known as a helpful, kindly person. Soon he was recognized as a quiet, but substantial backer of good causes. He aided four young people with their educational expenses. People wondered what brought about the change. Then one day Henry, alias "Horrible Hank," drowned while fishing. In his wallet, they found the words of a hymn. Those same words were posted on his dresser mirror, in his barn, and over his kitchen table. The words begin: "They will know we are Christians by our love."
People change. That is the good news of the gospel. It is not something you do for yourself. It is always something you can only have as a gift. We are changed by the power of God's love. That change begins when you answer a few questions. "What time is it in your life?" "Where are you going?" And "How are you going to turn your life back toward God?" The answer for me is simple. As I love my daughters, so God loves us. God cares for us. And God's love can still work a miracle in your life. When we love one another the way God loves us, we discover the way that ultimately leads us to our eternal home. For it is better to walk with God's Love than to walk alone. What time is it in your life? Where are you going with that life? Grab hold of God's hand and let Him walk with you. Walk with God today and tomorrow. There is a future, there is hope, God is making everything new with you, if you let Him.
Let us pray:
Precious Lord, help us to use our time wisely, to take advantage of the opportunities we have to be just the type of Christian you want us to be. The life you have provided us is precious. Thank you. Help us to reach for your hand so that we may walk hand in hand in our journey; to make faithfulness a priority for beginning our day, throughout our day, and to thank you at the end of each day for being with us. Guide us so that we may have our spiritual affairs in order, to take seriously your claim to our life. We need tomorrow, give us hope for the future. Finally may we fulfill your commandment to love one another as you love us. Make us new. Amen