| January 26, 2003 | Christopher Cook | |
| "Within and Without These Walls" |
As I stand here before you this beautiful morning, I look around and recognize all that I have grown and realized within these walls. So many memories come rushing back to me. All of the epiphanies I have had in this church. All of the friends I have made. All of the joy I have felt here. I do not doubt that many of you share similar recollections.
I think about the comfort I have felt as a result of being surrounded by the good people of this church. I think about the comfort I have sought, after tragic deaths have struck a chord close to my personal life. I recall all of the painstaking weeks that have brought me to church. The times when I have sat within these walls, pleading for God to provide my life with some kind of meaning.
Within these walls so many realizations and events have had special meaning to me, and presumably to so many of you. I have witnessed the revival of life that comes to each and everyone of us, as we welcome the announcement of a new born child, who, by the grace of God, has brought new light to our church and spiritual community.
I have been present within these walls, perhaps sitting in one of the seats you are sitting in today, as Pastor Vibert spoke about the essential quality of love. His talks always provoking the very familiar realization, that while 'Love' is the most abundant word in the Bible, it is also the key to so much happiness.
I have looked down from up there, as I watched the children of this congregation, perform the story of Jesus' death. I sat amazed and heart warmed by their wonderful performance. But even more so I sat astounded by the beauty of the children, as they reminded me of the innocent existences we all have nostalgia for.
Sitting right there, square in the middle of the front row, I have listened to thousands of prayers, many of them my own. I have bowed my head as we have asked each other to pray for family members, who may have crossed over in sudden or long forthcoming death. I have prayed with you for friends who have been seriously injured, and for acquaintances who have fought long battles against terrible sicknesses.
And it is within these walls that we have all prayed together with thanksgiving for all God has given us. It is within these walls where we are motivated again and again to return the gift of life, with our own selfless acts.
Like you all, I have prayed with all of my heart. Like you all, these recollections are oh so familiar to me. Within these walls I have learned about forgiveness, caring for others, and about the beauty of life.
Sitting within these walls every Sunday morning whether it be up top, on the sides, or right in front, have helped me find meaning and value. The recollections of the moments I have spent within these walls have poured nothing but great juices into the cup of my life. Surely, many of you would agree with this consideration of this church.
However, I stand in front of you this morning to tell you that the moments within these walls are not enough to fill my cup to the top. I need more. Sadly, I am coming to believe that staying within the walls of any church would not fill me. Gratefully, I do not believe I am alone. The quaint quarters of churches would not be enough to fill many of us.
Some of you might be moving back in your seats, wondering what I am doing preaching within these walls, if I have reservations about the church. My answer to you is that I do not have reservations about the church. I am not fulfilled entirely by the church because I do not believe that the one hour a week I spend here was intended to fulfill me. I believe it should act as a foundation, and it does, for my fulfillment. It should not be what fulfills me. It should be a stepping stone of wisdom, from which I seek my life fulfillment.
The Greeks didn't ask much about a man when he died. They didn't even write obituaries. They asked but one question: "Did he have passion?" If I was asked this question about myself in relation to my life within these walls, I would be able to emphatically answer the question, "YES!" For what is passion except for a deep, undeniable, indefinable love for something. And I, like so many of you, deeply love this church.
When I am within these walls I feel confident about myself, I feel strongly about helping others, I feel hopeful about carrying out God's will. But even more importantly, I feel passionately about the love I have for life, for all of you, for my friends, for my family, for my self, and for God.
There is no question that all of the experiences I shared with you already today have helped me feel passionately about my time within these walls. Sadly however, if one asked the same question, "Did he have passion?" without the comfort of the walls of this church, the answer would presumably not be as emphatic a "Yes!" Rather it would be a more moderate, maybe, sort of, kind of, some of the time. The fact is, I feel passionately about all that is good about me, all that is good about the world, and all that I can become, while I am within these walls. But, when I step outside of these walls, my memories and willingness to live by the will of God diminishes. Apparently there are two "me's." There is the Chris Cook within these walls, and there is the Chris Cook outside the comfort of this sanctuary.
My goal in life is to implement all that I learn within these walls, into my total life. My total life being the days I spend here, and the 313 days a year I spend without the comfort of these walls. As of today I have only been partially successful. I can only pray, hope, and act so that the discrepancy between my two beings continues to decrease.
I love my life here. But it is nothing if I do not apply it to who I am everyday. For most of us we come here every Sunday because the time helps us feel alive. The time within these walls creates meaning and purpose to what we often think to be our otherwise profane existences.
But let us be reminded of the simple truth. We do not spend 313 days a year within this place. That leaves a maximum, holiday services withheld, a total of 52 times a year when we sit within these walls. And out of those 52 days a year, we merely spend a couple hours, at most, within this church. So we spend less than a 100 hours a year in this place. That does not even add up to one week. That doesn't even add up to five days. I do not say this to you today to discourage you from seeing the importance of this place. I encourage you to see the impact one hour a week can have on your life. One hour a week has changed all of your lives for as long as you have been coming to church. One hour a week has changed all of your lives for as long as you have recognized the significance of the lessons we can all learn here.
I do not even think I have to ask how grateful you are that the experiences within these walls have been a part of your life.
As we come full circle today and recall all that we have experienced within these walls, remember it is not within these walls that we carry out the will of God. I think most of you would agree that God intended for us to live out the true meaning of our lives without the comfort of these walls, and in the world that surrounds us every day.
Today, I am pushing myself to recognize this. Today, I want to let out all of the ideals that have been established within these walls, helping them seep into my life outside of this church. Indeed, it has been here where I have learned about love. It is here where I have learned about forgiveness, turning the other cheek and respect. It is here that I have learned about caring for others and staying true to myself. Here I have learned that there is a plan for me. Here I have learned about kindness, and about the good nature of people. And it is here I have learned about the beauty of life.
I have learned all of these things by listening to sermons, by developing relationships with all of you, by praying with you, and by watching the children of this church do amazing things. It is undeniable that here great things have come to me. However it is not here, that any of the lessons I have learned really matter. I want to let what I have learned escape from the confines of these walls. While I feel passionately within these walls, I want to have that same passion burst out of my chest and into my actions everywhere.
When we sing the words "Let there peace on earth and let it begin with me," I do not want to allow them to stay only here. I want to let them scream out of my mouth and land on all of the streets and buildings where I walk. I want the words to land in my every action at home. And, I want to see the idealism that comes with this phrase to fill my every passing thought and all of my dreams. I want them to land in my heart. I want this idea to become the breath of my life.
I hope, these are not idle words. I hope, they do not only sit within me, within these walls. I pray that we are able to show that the wisdom we have acquired here does not sit only here. I pray that in my life, in all of our lives, we can shout out, I believe in God, I believe in doing what is right, and I believe in who I am.
I will not bow down to anything around me which argues I am wrong or who gawks at the importance of this church. I hope we will not allow the magnificence of who any of us are to remain trapped in quaint quarters of these rows and these isles. I will let my emotions spill out in all of my life so that when that one question arises I will be able to answer it the way I want to.
When the ancient Greek question arises as I sit on my death bed, which I have learned can be at any moment, and I am asked "did I have passion?" I will be able to answer it with so much confidence that not only did I have a undeniable passion for God's will within this church, but I have passion in all that I do, in every aspect of my life. I want to be able to say "yes, I have filled the cup of my life." These are the words I pray we are all able to say. I want to examine myself within these walls and compare it to myself without the comfort of these walls. When I do this I want to say "yes," I have eliminated the two beings, and I have turned them into one person whose has full intent on doing all I can to fill the true meaning of my life. Today, I do not know if I will get there by the time I die. Whether or not I get to the point of being able to say any of these things, whether or not any of you are able to get to the point of being able to say any of these things, I cannot answer. But if we take risk, and endeavor to carry what we have learned within these walls and apply it to our total life, and...
...and, I guess what I am trying to say is that, "There is this choice." Shall we try to leap off of the foundation of this church and fill our lives in all aspects with what we know from within these walls, and by all means live out what we believe in well I guess that is up to each and everyone of us.
Good luck. God bless. Thank you.