SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 43:16-21, Philippians 3:4b-14 & John 12:1-8
CLOSE YOUR EYES AND PRETEND YOU ARE WALKING INTO THIS SANCTUARY ON EASTER SUNDAY MORNING. THE RESPONSE TO THE YEARLY REQUEST FOR FLOWERS HAS BEEN UNUSUALLY LARGE, AND THE ONLY FLOWER ANYONE ORDERED WAS THE LILY. THERE ARE THREE TIMES THE NORMAL AMOUNTS OF LILIES PLACED ALL OVER THE SANCTUARY AND THE ENTIRE SPACE IS PERMEATED WITH THE SWEET, TANGY AROMA THAT NEARLY SHOUTS THE GOOD NEWS OF THE RESURRECTION. YOU CAN OPEN YOUR EYES NOW!
THIS IS WHAT I THINK OF AS I READ THE GOSPEL LESSON FOR TODAY.
MARY BROUGHT AN EXTRAVAGANT AMOUNT OF SWEET, TANGY SMELLING OINTMENT INTO THE VERY SAME ROOM THAT STILL SMELLED OF HER BROTHER’S DEATH. YES, THIS MARY IS THE SISTER OF LAZARUS, THE SAME MAN WHOM JESUS HAD CALLED OUT OF THE TOMB A BRIEF TIME BEFORE THIS SCENE TAKES PLACE. WHERE ONCE THERE WAS THE SMELL OF DEATH, THERE IS NOW THE SMELL OF A NEW THING GOD IS ABOUT READY TO DO IN JESUS.
AND MARY IS THE ONE WHO BRINGS THE NEW THING INTO SHARP FOCUS WITH HER TENDER, SENSUOUS ACTIONS OF ANOINTING JESUS’ FEET AND WIPING AWAY THE EXCESS WITH HER BEAUTIFUL LONG HAIR.
ALL OF OUR SCRIPTURE PASSAGES FOR TODAY POINT TO WHAT THE INTERPRETER’S BIBLE CALLS, “THE RADICAL NEWNESS OF WHAT GOD IS DOING.”
THE PROPHET ISAIAH IS TALKING ABOUT THE REDEMPTION OF AN EXILED PEOPLE. THERE IS A NEW THING GOD IS READY TO DO FOR THE PEOPLE HE ONCE BROUGHT THROUGH THE RED SEA INTO AN EXODUS OF FREEDOM AND WILDERNESS WANDERING THAT ULTIMATELY LED TO THE PROMISED LAND.
AND THIS NEW EXODUS WILL BE EVEN GREATER THAN THE LAST. ISRAEL IS UNLIKE ALL OTHER NATIONS WITH A KING. ISRAEL HAS A COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, AND GOD IS THE KING OF ISRAEL. ISAIAH IS TALKING ABOUT THE REDEEMING LOVE GOD HAS FOR ISRAEL THAT SETS THEM FREE FROM BONDAGE AND SLAVERY.
CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT ISAIAH WAS TALKING ABOUT OUR PRESENT MOMENT AS WELL AS THEIR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. CHRISTIANS BELIEVE ISAIAH WAS ALSO TALKING ABOUT THE NEW THING THAT IS EMBODIED IN JESUS THE CHRIST. CHRISTIANS BELIEVE ISAIAH WAS PREDICTING THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH, THE ANOINTED ONE, THE SAVIOR OF THE CHOSEN PEOPLE. BUT CHRISTIANS ALSO BELIEVE THE LOVING REDEMPTION OF GOD GOES BEYOND THE CHOSEN PEOPLE. WE BELIEVE THE LOVING REDEMPTION OF GOD IS FOR THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. DO YOU FEEL WHAT A NEW AND REFRESHING IDEA THAT SOUNDS LIKE, EVEN NOW?
WELL, PAUL CERTAINLY FELT IT. IN HIS LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS PAUL IS EXPLAINING JUST HOW IMPORTANT THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS TO THE NEW THING GOD IS CONTINUOUSLY DOING WITHIN CREATION. PAUL HAD LOST EVERYTHING FROM HIS PREVIOUS LIFE AS A JEW AND A PHARISEE IN ORDER TO LIVE HIS NEW LIFE IN CHRIST. ACTUALLY IT WAS THE CONSTANT WHISPER OF THIS NEW LIFE THAT FANNED THE FLAMES OF PASSION WITHIN PAUL FOR HIS ENTIRE MINISTRY. PAUL’S MINISTRY TOOK THE GOSPEL MESSAGE OF THE LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS FURTHER INTO EUROPE AND ITALY THAN ANY OTHER DISCIPLE.
AND THEN WE HAVE MARY, POINTING TO AND CLAIMING THE NEW THING GOD IS DOING IN JESUS. SHE IS THE EPITOME OF GOOD DISCIPLESHIP AS SHE ENTERS THE ROOM WITH HER PURE NARD, HAVING SPENT AN ENTIRE YEAR’S SALARY TO BUY THE SPECIAL OINTMENT AND LAVISHING ITS HEALING POWERS UPON JESUS’ FEET. IT SEEMS THAT MARY WAS POINTING TO AND PREPARING JESUS FOR THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION THAT WILL BRING THE NEW THING GOD IS DOING CLOSER THAN EVER TO ALL OF HUMANKIND.
DOING A NEW THING; THAT SOUNDS SO INNOCENT AND BENIGN, DOESN’T IT?
“THE NEW THING GOD IS DOING” IS SUCH A RICH THEOLOGICAL PHRASE, AND WE LOVE TO HEAR IT – AS LONG AS IT MEANS NO PAIN FOR US.
IF THE “NEW THING” IS ABOUT THE ISRAELITES OR THE APOSTLE PAUL OR JESUS, THAT’S JUST GREAT. IT IS WONDERFUL TO STAND APART AND SAY, “WHAT A MARVELOUS NEW THING THAT IS.” BUT THE MOMENT WE GET SUCKED INTO THE NEW THING, AND IT MEANS A CHANGE FOR US, WE PANIC.
ALL OF A SUDDEN THE PAIN OF THE NEW THING IS UPON US AS WELL AND IT DOESN’T FEEL SO BENIGN.
CHANGE; I DO BELIEVE THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST DREADED WORDS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. AND YET OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH IS FOUNDED UPON AND GROUNDED IN THE CONCEPT THAT THINGS CHANGE CONSTANTLY. IT’S PAINFUL, SURE, BUT IT DOESN’T KILL US. WHO IS IT THAT SAID, “THAT WHICH DOES NOT KILL US WILL HELP US GROW?” I HAVE TO BELIEVE THIS PERSON UNDERSTOOD THAT THE PAIN OF CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION CAN BE BEARABLE WHEN APPROACHED FROM THE COMFORTING POSSIBILITY OF GOD’S LAVISH LOVE. CHANGE IS PAINFUL – SOMETHING MUST DIE WHEN CHANGE OCCURS, BUT THE DEATH DOESN’T HAVE TO BE OURS. AND THE SWEET SMELL OF MARY’S PURE NARD REMINDS US THAT THE RESURRECTION IS ALWAYS THE FINAL WORD.
NOW I WOULD LIKE TO SPEND A COUPLE OF MINUTES LOOKING AT JUST EXACTLY WHAT PURE NARD IS. IF YOU LOOK IN THE BIBLE DICTIONARY YOU WILL FIND A DEFINITION THAT GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS, “A COSTLY FRAGRANT OINTMENT PREPARED FROM THE ROOTS AND HAIRY STEMS OF AN AROMATIC INDIAN HERB.” YOU WILL ALSO FIND THE FACT THAT THE NAME OF THIS OINTMENT IS SPIKENARD IN THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE.
SPIKENARD – IT DOESN’T HAVE QUITE THE SAME SOOTHING FEELING AS “PURE” NARD, DOES IT! BUT IT IS CALLED SPIKENARD IN THE KING JAMES BECAUSE TO THE POINTED AND SPIKISH NATURE OF THE ROOTS ON THE PLANT FROM WHICH THE OINTMENT IS MADE.
I FIND THE KING JAMES WORD A GREAT IMAGE OF WHAT CHANGE IS ALL ABOUT. THERE IS BOTH A PRICKLY NATURE TO CHANGE, AS WELL AS A SOOTHING KNOWLEDGE OF THE RESURRECTION THAT IS CELEBRATED IN THAT WHICH IS NEW. CAN WE SMELL THE SPIKENARD? CAN WE FEEL THE SOOTHING OINTMENT OF THE NEW THING GOD IS DOING IN US?
DO WE UNDERSTAND, ON A VERY FUNDAMENT LEVEL, THAT DISCIPLESHIP MEANS BEING ABLE TO ENGAGE CHANGE AND HOPE FOR NEW THINGS?
IN A WAY, MARY WAS ANOINTING THE HOLINESS OF THE NEW THING THAT WAS ABOUT TO BE DONE IN JESUS. DO WE GO AS FAR AS TO ANOINT THE HOLINESS OF CHANGE? DOES OUR ENGAGEMENT OF MINISTRY IN THE NAME OF CHRIST CARRY THE SAME LAVISHNESS OF GOD’S LOVE?
NOW THERE IS ANOTHER PROMINENT PERSON IN TODAY’S STORY. AND THAT PERSON WOULD BE JUDAS. AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE EXTRAVAGANT LOVE OF MARY’S DISCIPLESHIP WE SEE A DIFFERENT KIND OF DISCIPLESHIP PLAYED OUT IN JUDAS. JUDAS IS CHALLENGING AND DECEITFUL, LOOKING FOR ANY WAY TO STOP THE CHANGES FROM HAPPENING. JUDAS HAS HIS OWN SENSE OF WHAT THE NEW THING SHOULD BE. BUT WHAT JUDAS DOESN’T REALIZE IS THAT HIS IDEA OF A “NEW THING” IS NOT REALLY A NEW THING AT ALL.
JUDAS’ VISION IS SMALL AND NARROW. HE WANTS ISRAEL TO BECOME A NATION WITH A POWERFUL KING AND LARGE ARMIES THAT OVERTHROW THE ENEMY. THE “NEW THING” JUDAS IS LOOKING FOR IS REALLY A PAINFUL MAINTENANCE OF THE STATUS QUO FOR THAT HISTORICAL MOMENT.
THERE IS NO THOUGHTFUL RISK AND VERY LITTLE SPIRITUAL GAIN INVOLVED.
A FEW PEOPLE MIGHT DIE IN A MILITARY UPRISING, WHICH IS WHAT JUDAS WAS LOOKING FOR, BUT THE EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL MATURING OF THE HUMAN RACE WILL NOT BE ACCOMPLISHED THAT WAY. YOU SEE, JUDAS DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THAT THE NEW THING GOD IS DOING IN JESUS CHRIST IS UNIVERSAL. THE NEWNESS OF IT IS SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE IMAGINED IN THE MOMENT. JESUS IS ABOUT READY TO TAKE AN ACTION THAT WILL CHANGE THE WAY HUMAN BEINGS RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER AND TO GOD FOREVER. AND JESUS’ ACTION IS MEANT TO CHANGE THE HUMAN PSYCHE UNTO THE END OF TIME.
MARY SEES IT AND CONNECTS WITH IT. SHE HAS A POWERFUL AND EXTRAVAGANT RESPONSE TO THE LOVE THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN THROUGH JESUS.
JUDAS, ON THE OTHER HAND, REJECTS THE MESSAGE OF LOVE. HE DISTRACTS THE CONVERSATION AWAY FROM THE MAIN POINT BY MENTIONING THE POOR. JUDAS CAN ONLY SEE AS FAR AS HIS OWN THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN. THERE IS NO OPENNESS TO GOD’S UNENDING CREATIVITY IN JUDAS. HE IS AN UNFAITHFUL DISCIPLE IN COMPARISON TO MARY’S PERVASIVE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT HOUR OF JESUS’ LIFE HAS FINALLY ARRIVED. WHICH KIND OF DISCIPLESHIP DO WE DEFINE? DO WE UNDERSTAND THE EXTRAVAGANCE OF MARY’S ACTION? OR WOULD WE RATHER CONTROL THE SITUATION LIKE JUDAS?
I’M GOING TO TELL A STORY THAT MIGHT HELP US UNDERSTAND THE KIND OF EXTRAVAGANCE MARY WAS MODELING FOR US. THERE WAS ONCE A MISSIONARY SURGEON WORKING IN THE GAZA STRIP. AS HE SPOKE TO A GROUP OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ONE TIME HE TOLD THEM HOW WE NORTH AMERICAN “FAT CATS” KNOW NOTHING ABOUT GRATITUDE, WHICH TO ME IS JUST ANOTHER WAY OF TALKING ABOUT A RESPONSE TO EXTRAVAGANT GIVING.
IT SEEMS THE RATHER GRUFF AND TO THE POINT DOCTOR HAD STOPPED AT A PEASANT HOVEL TO VISIT A WOMAN ON WHOM HE HAD OPERATED. SHE AND HER HUSBAND WERE DIRT POOR. THEIR ENTIRE HERD OF LIVESTOCK CONSISTED OF ONE ANGORA RABBIT AND TWO CHICKENS. IN ORDER TO MAKE A LIVING THE WOMAN WOULD COMB THE HAIR OUT OF THE RABBIT, SPIN IT INTO YARN AND SELL IT FOR A SET PRICE. FOR FOOD THE WOMAN AND HER HUSBAND ATE THE EGGS FROM THE CHICKENS.
ON THAT DAY THE WOMAN INSISTED THE MISSIONARY SURGEON STAY FOR LUNCH, TO WHICH HE FINALLY CONCEDED, BUT ONLY AFTER HE MADE A VISIT TO ONE MORE POSTOPERATIVE PATIENT WHO LIVED DOWN THE ROAD.
WHEN THE DOCTOR RETURNED AFTER ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF, HE FOUND THEIR LUNCH COOKING ON THE STOVE. AND IN THE POT WAS ONE RABBIT AND TWO CHICKENS.
THE WOMAN HAD GIVEN UP HER ENTIRE LIVESTOCK HERD—HER INCOME, HER FOOD, EVERYTHING. AS THE SURGEON CONCLUDED HIS SPEECH TO THE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS THROUGH A VEIL OF UNASHAMED TEARS, HE REMINDED THEM THAT WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT GRATITUDE—WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT EXTRAVAGANT LOVE.
I’M STRUCK BY HOW MUCH OUR SENSE OF GRATITUDE DEFINES OUR DISCIPLESHIP. MARY WAS SO DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO JESUS FOR GIFT HE WAS READY AND WILLING TO GIVE. MARY’S GRATITUDE MOVED HER TO EXTRAVAGANT GIVING, WHICH OUGHT TO BE THE BASIS OF ALL DISCIPLESHIP. WILL IT BE THE BASIS OF OUR DISCIPLESHIP? I HOPE AND PRAY THAT IT WILL.
AMEN.
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 63, I Corinthians 10:1-13 & Luke 13:1-9
OUR WORLDVIEW IS BUILT UPON THE IDEA OF WORKS RIGHTEOUSNESS. NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE SAY WE HAVE FAITH IN A LOVING AND GRACIOUS GOD, WE JUST DON'T GET IT! WE THINK WE HAVE TO WORK OUR WAY INTO HEAVEN, AND BECAUSE NONE OF US IS TOO CONVINCED THAT OUR WORKS ARE GOOD ENOUGH, WE BECOME DEEPLY AFRAID THAT WE WILL NEVER SEE HEAVEN! AND THIS IS WHY WE HAVE TO PRACTICALLY CONTORT OUR THINKING TO TRULY UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS WAS SAYING TO THE PEOPLE IN THIS PASSAGE FROM LUKE.
THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO THIS SHORT PASSAGE. FIRST THERE IS THE THEOLOGICAL STATEMENT. AND THEN THERE IS THE STORY THAT BRINGS THE POINT HOME.
THE THEOLOGICAL STATEMENT COMES WHEN THE DISCIPLES AND JESUS TALK ABOUT THE GALILEANS WHOSE BLOOD WAS MIXED WITH THEIR SACRIFICE AND THE EIGHTEEN WHO WERE KILLED WHEN THE TOWER OF SILOAM FELL ON THEM. HERE THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN HUMAN AND NATURAL TRAGEDY. THIS IS ALMOST THE SAME THING AS US TALKING ABOUT THE BOMBS THAT EXPLODED IN MADRID THIS WEEK. WE DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND IT. AND OUR MIND NATURALLY TAKES US TO A PLACE THAT SAYS, "THIS IS THE WORK OF SOMEONE OR SOMETHING VERY EVIL." WE, OURSELVES, TRY TO PLAY GOD BY SAYING THAT SEPTEMBER 11TH AND MARCH 11TH ARE TOO SIMILAR TO BE AN ACCIDENT.AL QAEDA IS AT IT AGAIN, AND THE EVIL ONE MUST BE FOUND AND PUNISHED. WE FORGET TO REMEMBER THAT IF BAD BEHAVIOR IS PUNISHABLE IN OUR MINDS, THEN IT ONLY STANDS TO REASON THAT GOOD BEHAVIOR SHOULD BE REWARDED. AND WHEN WE THINK THIS WAY ABOUT OUR OWN HUMAN CONDITION WE ARE VERY LIKELY TO PROJECT THAT BELIEF ONTO GOD.
NOT A VERY HELPFUL THEOLOGY.
BUT JESUS SAYS SOMETHING QUITE DIFFERENT THAN ALL OF THIS. JESUS SAYS THAT ONE SIN IS NOT GREATER THAN THE NEXT.
JESUS SAYS SOMETHING LIKE WHAT WE SAY ON ASH WEDNESDAY. THE SINS OF ONE ARE THE SINS OF ALL. EVIL IS A PART OF THE HUMAN CONDITION AND WE ARE ALL HUMAN, THEREFORE WE ARE ALL A PART OF THE WORLD'S SINFULNESS. AND THERE IS NO AMOUNT OF WORK THAT CAN LIFT US OUT OF THAT TRUTH. BUT JESUS SAYS THERE IS SOMETHING WE CAN DO. WE CAN REPENT. WE CAN TURN AROUND. WE CAN CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF OUR THINKING AND OUR LIVING. WE CAN UNDERSTAND THAT WORKS RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL GET US NO WHERE.
AND WE CAN BELIEVE THAT FAITH WILL GET US RIGHT TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE. FAITH IN THE LIFE AND DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS WHAT WILL GIVE US A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN. NOT ALL OF THE RIGHTEOUS WORKS IN THE WORLD CAN REPLACE FAITH.
THIS IS GOOD THEOLOGY!
NOW AFTER THE THEOLOGICAL STATEMENT COMES THE STORY THAT ILLUSTRATES THE POINT. THERE IS THIS FIG TREE PLANTED IN A VINEYARD. BUT WHAT IS A FIG TREE DOING IN A VINEYARD? AREN'T VINEYARDS MEANT FOR VINES AND FIELDS MEANT FOR FIG TREES?
ROBERT CAPON BELIEVES THE LORD IN THE PARABLE MAKES HIS LIVING FROM GROWING VINES IN A VINEYARD AND THE FIG TREE WAS PLANTED JUST FOR FUN. I LIKE THIS IDEA. THINK ABOUT IT. IN A PARABLE EVERYTHING REPRESENTS SOMETHING. THE LORD IS GOD.
THE FIG TREE IS HUMANITY. THE GARDENER IS JESUS. AND IN UNDERSTANDING THE FIG TREE AS A PLEASURABLE PLANTING WITHIN THE "FOR-PROFIT-ONLY" VINEYARD, THIS PARABLE IS SAYING THAT HUMANITY IS MORE GOD'S HOBBY THAN GOD'S BUSINESS. WE ARE GOD'S JOY RATHER THAN HIS BURDEN. HUMANITY, THEREFORE, IS CREATED WITH A SENSE OF FAVOR RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING. CAPON SAYS, "…GRACE IS NOT SOMETHING [GOD] DRAGS IN LATER ON JUST TO PATCH UP MESSES. UNNECESSARY, SPONTANEOUS DELIGHT IS THE VERY ROOT OF [GOD'S] RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WORLD." (PP. 96-97 OF THE PARABLES OF GRACE.)
SO THIS PLANT THAT GOD TAKES GREAT DELIGHT IN HASN'T PRODUCED FRUIT FOR THREE YEARS. GOD IS UPSET, AND RIGHTFULLY SO!
ALL GOD ASKS OF US IS TO SOAK IN THE RAIN, BASK IN THE SUN AND GROW TO THE POINT OF BEARING DELICIOUS FRUIT. NOT TOO TOUGH A JOB, BUT THE FRUIT ISN'T THERE AND GOD IS TIRED OF WAITING. JESUS IS THE ONE WHO JUMPS IN TO SAVE US. JESUS SAYS, "LOOK, GOD, GIVE IT ONE MORE YEAR. LET ME DO SOME CARE-TAKING. I'LL TURN OVER THE SOIL, PUT SOME FERTILIZER ON. MAYBE THERE WILL BE SOME FRUIT BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR. IF THERE IS, THEN YOU CAN ENJOY THE FRUIT. IF THERE ISN'T, THEN YOU CAN CUT DOWN WHATEVER YOU WANT!" JESUS BRINGS US GRACE. JESUS SAVES OUR LIFE FOR JUST ONE MORE YEAR. AND THE QUESTION BECOMES, "WHAT, THEN, SHOULD WE DO AS WE LIVE IN THE GRACE OF ONE MORE YEAR?"
NOW I CAN'T READ THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE WITHOUT THINKING, "HOW WOULD I LIVE MY LIFE IF I KNEW I ONLY HAD ONE YEAR TO LIVE?" IT'S A GREAT QUESTION TO THINK ABOUT.
MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS TO FILL THE TIME WITH ACTIVITY. I'D TRAVEL AND VISIT PEOPLE I LOVE. I'D READ JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT.
I WOULD WINE AND DINE WITHOUT HESITATION. IF THIS REALLY WERE MY LAST YEAR, I WOULD DO EVERYTHING I COULD TO FEEL JOY.
I'D EAT ALL THE CHOCOLATE AND ICE CREAM I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO.
BUT THEN I THOUGHT MORE CAREFULLY ABOUT THIS PARABLE AND I BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT BEARING GOOD FRUIT IS PROBABLY FAR MORE DELICIOUS THAN EATING GOOD FRUIT, BECAUSE BEARING GOOD FRUIT BRINGS ME CLOSER TO GOD. AND BEING CLOSER TO GOD IS EXACTLY WHERE I WANT TO BE IN THE FACE OF DEATH.
NOW ROBERT CAPON IS A PRETTY REMARKABLE PERSON IN THAT HE SEES DEATH AS THE GREATEST OF ALL LIFE EVENTS. HE SAYS THAT DEATH IS THE ONE THING WE ALL SHARE IN COMMON AND IN HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION JESUS HAS GIVEN US EVERYTHING WE NEED. CAPON SAYS, "ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS TRUST JESUS AND DIE." OUR DEATH IS THE ONLY THING THAT WILL NOT DISAPPOINT US. IN THE WORDS OF CAPON, OUR DEATH IS THE "PURSE THAT WILL NEVER WEAR OUT" AND THE "TREASURE IN HEAVEN THAT WILL NEVER DECREASE." (PG. 89)
CAPON SEES DEATH AS A WONDERFUL NEW LIFE, AND SAYS, "FOR AS IN OUR FIRST BIRTH INTO THIS WORLD WE DID NOTHING AND TRIUMPHED GLORIOUSLY, SO IN THE SECOND BIRTH OF OUR DEATH WE NEED DO EVEN LESS TO TRIUMPH MORE. BY JESUS' DEATH IN OURS, AND BY OUR DEATH IN HIS, WE HAVE LAUGHINGLY, UPROARIOUSLY, OUTRAGEOUSLY BEATEN THE SYSTEM. IT IS A PIECE OF WILDLY GOOD NEWS: WHAT A SHAME WE DON'T LET THE WORLD OF LOSERS HEAR IT MORE OFTEN." (PP. 86-87)
SO WHAT WOULD I DO IF I KNEW I HAD ONLY ONE MORE YEAR TO LIVE? I WOULD DRINK IN THE RAIN AND BASK IN THE SUN. I WOULD ALLOW JESUS TO TURN OVER THE SOIL IN WHICH MY ROOTS ARE PLANTED. I WOULD LET GO OF ALL MY INHIBITIONS SO THAT THE GOOD FOOD JESUS TURNS INTO THE SOIL COULD BE ABSORBED INTO MY BEING. I WOULD BEAR THE GOOD FRUIT OF FAITH. I WOULD LIVE EACH DAY AS A GIFT FROM GOD, BELIEVING IN THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE OF JESUS. AND ALL OF THIS MEANS THAT I WOULDN'T KNOW ANYTHING FOR CERTAIN.
MARTIN LUTHER SAID, "NO [PERSON] CAN KNOW OR FEEL HE IS SAVED; [ONE] CAN ONLY BELIEVE IT." I WOULD HAVE FAITH IN WHAT I CANNOT SEE OR HEAR OR FEEL. IF I KNEW I ONLY HAD ONE MORE YEAR TO LIVE, I WOULD JUST GIVE MYSELF OVER TO FAITH, STOP WORRYING ABOUT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT I'M AFRAID OF, AND BELIEVE IN THE GRACE OF GOD THAT WIPES AWAY ALL PAIN AND SORROW AND SUFFERING.
THE FUNNY THING IS I DON'T KNOW THAT I WON'T DIE IN A YEAR. NONE OF US KNOW WHEN THE END OF THIS LIFE WILL COME. AND YET WE HAVE THE WISDOM OF THIS PARABLE. COULD IT BE THAT THIS PARABLE IS A WORD TO THE WISE ABOUT HOW TO LIVE EACH AND EVERY DAY?
IF WE LIVE IN FEAR OF DEATH, THEN OUR LIVES ARE MISERABLE. BUT IF WE LIVE KNOWING THAT DEATH IS THE BEST PART OF OUR LIFE, THEN WE LIVE WITH GREAT JOY AND ABANDON. I REMEMBER ONE LINE FROM A POEM I READ SOMEWHERE THAT SAYS, "I RUN TO MY DEATH WITH THE INCARNATION UNDER MY FEET." WHAT A WONDERFUL THOUGHT! WHAT A GRAND WAY TO BEAR FRUIT!
MARIA MAYER, A LONG TIME MEMBER OF NAURAUSHAUN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, DIED 11 YEARS AGO ON THE 20TH OF MARCH. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T REMEMBER, MARIA SHE WAS A TINY LITTLE WOMAN WHO SANG IN THE CHOIR. SHE LOVED MUSIC AND JESUS. SHE HAD ESCAPED NAZI GERMANY WITH HER FATHER, MOTHER AND SISTER IN THE EARLY 1940'S. FROM THERE THEY WENT TO LEBANON FOR A FEW YEARS BEFORE LEDERLE LABS PAID TO HAVE DR. MAYER AND HIS FAMILY MOVED TO PEARL RIVER. AFTER MOVING TO THE UNITED STATES, MARIA BECAME AN EVANGELIST TO THE MUSLIMS LIVING IN A COMMUNITY IN NEW JERSEY.
I MUST CONFESS THAT SHE WAS AN EVANGELIST IN WHAT I WOULD CALL THE WORST SENSE OF THAT WORD. MARIA WAS UNRELENTING IN HER JUDGMENT OF PEOPLE WHOSE FAITH WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH IN HER EYES. AND MOST PARTICULARLY, MARIA WAS UNRELENTING IN HER JUDGMENT OF NAURAUSHAUN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. IN HER EYES THIS COMMUNITY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH, AND SHE NEVER HESITATED TO TELL US! SHE WAS LIKE A FIG TREE BEARING LITTLE FRUIT IN MANY WAYS. LIFE WAS NOT VERY FUN FOR HER. LIFE WAS RIGID AND SEVERE AND CRITICAL.
MARIA HATED AND FEARED DOCTORS, AND SO SHE ALLOWED HER BREAST CANCER TO PROGRESS TO THE POINT OF NO RETURN BEFORE SHE WENT INTO THE HOSPITAL TO DIE. I REMEMBER IT AS A TREMENDOUS MOMENT OF GRACE AND THE BEARING OF DELICIOUS FRUIT WHEN MARIA ASKED ME, AS THE NEW PASTOR, TO RELAY HER APOLOGIES TO THE NAURAUSHAUN COMMUNITY FOR ALL OF THE JUDGMENT SHE HAD RAINED UPON THEM. HER DRY AND BRITTLE FAITH HAD NOT SERVED HER WELL AT THE END OF HER LIFE AND SHE WAS HUNGRY FOR A SECOND CHANCE.
I FORGAVE HER FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THANKED HER FOR THE HEARTFELT APOLOGY. SHE DIED SHORTLY AFTER THAT. IT WASN'T UNTIL HER DEATH THAT MARIA WAS TRULY BORN INTO THE GRACE OF GOD THAT SHE SPOKE OF SO OFTEN.
AND SO WE CAN LEARN A LESSON FROM MARIA MAYER. THE LESSON IS IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO EMBRACE THIS LIFE AS IF WE ONLY HAD ONE YEAR TO LIVE. DO IT NOW. DO IT TODAY. DO IT WITH THE HELP OF JESUS. AMEN!
[THIS SERMON WAS FIRST PREACHED ON MARCH 19, 2001 UNDER THE TITLE "WITH GOD'S HELP."]