May 28, 2017 Life Lessons On Faith: Tearing Down Walls

On June 12, 1987 President Ronald Reagan presented a speech in Berlin, West Germany. Speaking near the Brandenburg Gate of the infamous Berlin Wall, President Reagan offered the now-famous line, addressed to Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union, Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!  As I remember, and admittedly my memory is a bit foggy, I thought the line was more than a little bit of wishful thinking.  That’s never going to happen was my initial reaction.

But we certainly remember when the wall fell, don’t we?  It was an amazing historical moment, especially for those of us who grew up in the era of the Cold War and remember the control the Soviet Union exerted across Eastern Europe.

The fall of the Berlin Wall created a great sense of hope, a hope that the many divisions among humanity could be healed.  Perhaps, many believed, the fall of that wall was a harbinger of things to come, of a new era in which more bridges would be built and fewer walls erected.  Obviously that hasn’t happened, but we can continue to hope.

     

This morning we continue our series of messages Life Lessons On Faith, and today’s topic is Tearing Down Walls.  In my family, we were taught to treat everyone fairly and equally.  My siblings and I were taught that all people were equal, regardless of race, social or economic status, or any other factor.  That is how we were raised.  That does not mean, however, that I am without prejudices and judgments about others.  We are influenced by many factors, and we can be unaware of the reality that we have attitudes and beliefs that cause us to see some people differently.  When we see people differently, and when we judge them because we see them differently, we help to erect the walls that separate people from one another.

Our text for this morning comes from Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, and he is writing about the walls that had been erected between people, specifically the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile.

Ephesians 2:11-22 –

11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,

16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

1.  Walls of Separation Are Not the Natural State of Humanity.

One of the reasons why I chose this picture is because it is ugly.  There is a beauty, of course, when a wall of separation such as the Berlin Wall comes down, but it’s an ugly wall.  It was a blight on the landscape.  It was a blight upon God’s beautiful creation.

God did not create humanity with a sense of division.  There is a great deal of diversity, obviously, which is a sign that God loves diversity and variety, but the intent of God was not that those differences would build walls.  Can you imagine only one kind of bird in the world?  Can you imagine only one kind of flower?  One kind of tree?  One season (although I could go with summer all the time)?  One kind of music?  If you’ve heard the band in which I play, Hush Harbor, you know what kind of music I like – loud rock music.  Sorry.  I just do.  I don’t like opera, even though I tried it once.  When I was in seminary, one of my roommates was in a production of La Boheme.  At his invitation I attended one of the performances.  I made it until intermission before giving up and going home.  I don’t like bluegrass, I don’t like traditional country, and I don’t like much classical.  There’s nothing wrong with those other styles of music; I’m just not a fan.  And I know some of you are not fans of what I like, and that’s okay. 

Unfortunately, even simple difference as taste in music (or, in Kentucky, our choice of UofL or UK) can help to create walls between people.  In the time of Paul there was a wide gulf between Jew and Gentile.  It was a chasm so wide and so deep, that it seemed the very definition of impossible to bridge.  The majority of members of the early church were unfamiliar with Gentile people, who were anyone not Jewish.  Those who opposed the inclusion of Gentiles into the church had what they believed to be good reasons – they aren’t like us, they don’t talk like us, they don’t eat like us, they don’t observe any of the rituals and commands we observe.  They found their language, culture, wardrobe, diet, and many other things about them strange and unsettling.  Because of those differences they weren’t sure about the Gentiles, especially as they began to pour into the church in large numbers.  There was a great deal of resistance to those Gentiles.  There were things said, probably along the lines of this – they don’t worship the way we do.  They like a different style of music.  Look at how some of them dress – is that appropriate for worship?  They think kind of strange.  They are trying to change the way we’ve always done things.  Sound familiar?  Everything old is new again, goes the old saying.

Walls of separation are ugly, and they are especially ugly when they receive the approval of religious people against the will of God and when those walls are built in churches and places of faith, where walls should be dismantled rather than constructed.

Throughout much of the early history of God’s people it was incorrectly assumed that the call to be different meant to build a wall of protection to keep one’s self safe and separate from those on the outside of the wall and to make sure that they do not manage to get inside that wall.

Even the Temple, the holiest site in all of Judaism, served as a reminder of the division between people.  Not everyone was allowed in all parts of the Temple.  In 1871 a rock was discovered in Jerusalem, dating to the time of Paul, that was originally a sign in the Temple.  The inscription reads, Let no foreigner enter inside the barrier and the fence around the sanctuary.  Whosoever is caught will be the cause of death following as a penalty.  Not exactly a word of welcome for a place of worship!  Imagine printing that on a church bulletin!

Listen to what Paul writes in verse 14 – For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.  Isn’t that a beautiful sentence?  Christ has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.  In this day and age of talk about walls – real and imagined, physical and spiritual – Paul reminds us that we are not to be builders of walls.  Walls are not the natural state of humanity.  Walls are not the way of God or part of his creation.

2.  Walls Are Very Difficult to Dismantle.

One of the other reasons why I chose this picture is because it shows how difficult it can be to dismantle a wall.  How many of you have ever hit concrete with a sledgehammer?  I have, and I can guarantee you that not much happens, especially when the concrete is full of rebar, like the wall in this picture, which is the Berlin Wall. 

When I was a senior in college I was called to my first “official” church position.  I was called to serve as the Youth Minister at Bethel Christian Church, a small Disciples church in Jonesboro, Tennessee.  I served there for thirteen months, and it was a great experience for me, although in all honesty I have to say that it was probably a better experience for me than it was for the church, as I had very little idea what I was doing.

Bethel Christian Church is an African-American congregation, and in the late 70s, in northeast Tennessee, race relations were not always positive.  On more than one occasion, when I would be out with the youth group, some harsh things would be said by passersby.  One trip, to a local skating rink, was an experience I will never forget.  I was going around the rink with one of the kids from the group – one of the young ladies – and after a few times around I noticed a group of young men lining up along a low wall, obviously watching us very closely.  When we came off the rink, and skated between them, some very harsh language was directed to us, and I wondered – and half-expected – to be tripped or knocked down by one of them.  Thankfully, progress has been made since that time, but we still have a ways to go.

As important as it is to talk about tearing down walls, we cannot forget that it is very hard work.  And notice there is only one person in this picture actually tearing down the wall; the rest are spectators. Now granted, they might have been taking turns, but the reality is there are generally more observers than actual tearers-down of walls.  Plenty of people will be happy to watch from the safety of the sidelines but will not join in the effort until it seems very safe.

Dismantling a wall is hard work, and it comes down bit by bit, and, unfortunately, there is always the chance that while one wall is coming down, another is being built.  Sometimes it’s one step forward and two or three backwards. 

Dismantling walls, after all, can be dangerous.  Dismantling walls was dangerous for Paul.  He not only faced the disapproval of others; he faced other challenges as well.  He faced a great deal of pushback, some of which was violent.  It’s very difficult to be the guy taking the sledgehammer – real or symbolic – to the walls that need to be dismantled.  Listen to what Paul says in verse 13 –But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  Brought near by the blood of Christ.  Did you catch that phrase – brought near by the blood of Christ.  Blood reminds us of the difficulty and the cost of dismantling a wall.  Dismantling walls is costly.  Walls are not easily removed.  They were built to serve a purpose, a purpose in which many people have a vested interest.

3.  Paul Was A Champion of Dismantling Walls and Welcoming People.

Listen again to verses 14 – 19 –

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,

16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.

There are some beautiful phrases in that passage – who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace…and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility…Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.

Paul always championed the cause of inclusion.  Paul, who saw himself as an ambassador of Christ to his own people, eventually moved to the mission of reaching the Gentile people with the Gospel message.  His desire to reach the Gentiles put him squarely into conflict with those who opposed his work.  Everywhere Paul traveled, he ran into representatives of the opposition.  On more than one occasion, Paul’s opponents stirred up crowds against him, often leading to physical violence against him and even arrest.  But Paul was never deterred, because he knew he was doing the work of God.

When my mother-in-law lived on Tybee Island, Georgia, my family and I would often visit two sites.  On the northern end of the island we would visit the military bunkers that dated to the time of the Civil War.  The bunkers now house a museum, and we toured the museum on many occasions.  We also visit Fort Pulaski, located on a small, neighboring island.  Fort Pulaski is now a national park, and began its life as a Civil War fort.  The walls of the fort are very wide – at least 20 feet wide – and we would walk along the top of the walls, looking out from where the cannons once fired.  There was something very pleasing about seeing that fort now as a museum of a bygone era.  No longer was it a place of warfare, bombing, and conflict, but a place where the walls of war had become walls of historical curiosity.  But I also know, as I walked along those walls, that while the fort’s cannons had been retired and the walls no longer were purposed for exclusion, there were plenty of places where walls of separation continue to be built.  The work of dismantling walls is never complete. 

Perhaps walls of division will always be with us, but it doesn’t mean that we have to accept them or fail to work to bring them down.  We would do well, certainly, to remember the words of Paul in Galatians 3:28 – There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  Those words continue to resonate powerfully in our world, and they are as needed as they ever were.  While we proclaim oneness in Christ, there are those who will continue to proclaim oh no we aren’t!  We are not one!

But we are.  We are one because God created us as one and proclaims his desire that we live in love and unity.  Perhaps one day that great dream of God will come to fruition.  Until then, we will keep on Tearing Down Walls.

May 21, 2017 Life Lessons On Faith: Caring for One Another

You might recognize the name of John Merrick, who died in London in 1890 at the age of only 26.  He suffered from a disease called neurofibromatosis, which is a disease that caused him to be greatly disfigured, and gave him the unfortunate name of the elephant man.  The story of his life was made into a movie in 1980, with John Hurt playing the part of Merrick.

Frederick Treves was senior surgeon and lecturer at the prestigious London Hospital.  When Treves found Merrick, he was being used as a circus attraction.  Because of the scorn and laughter of the circus patrons Merrick had withdrawn into himself to the point that when he was not on display, he wore a sack over his head to hide his appearance.

Imagine a world where people are not separated and shunned in such a way.  Imagine a world where love, rather than hate rules.  Imagine a world where the carefully constructed barriers that separate people were no longer in force.  Imagine a world where doors are flung open in welcome and receiving as quickly and as readily as they were closed and locked.

Imagining such a world is based on Caring For One Another.  We have, for several weeks now, been studying the theme of Life Lessons On Faith.  We continue that theme this morning with Caring For One Another.  This morning we commission fifteen people to the Stephen Ministry of this church, a new ministry that, after two and a half years of work and preparation, we are now at the point of launching.  The Stephen Ministry is based upon one practice – caring.  It is a ministry that trains and equips lay people to provide quality care for others.  When you grieve, a Stephen Minister can provide care and encouragement.  When you experience a time of difficulty, a Stephen Minister can provide comfort and support.

Our Scripture text for this morning comes from Mark’s gospel, chapter 1, verses 40-45 –

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”

42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning:

44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

1.  The Need for Care.

The need for care is so great everywhere we turn.  The need for care is not just among the poorest of the poor.  The need for care is not just among those who are without food and the most basic human necessities.  The need for care is not just found in shantytowns or impoverished communities.  The need for care is found in the most prosperous of neighborhoods and among the most successful and educated, because the need for care is everywhere.

I have said before, and will say again, that the lives of people whom we often envy are not always what they seem.  The life that we wish we could have?  It might be a life that is full of struggle, tragedy, and difficulty.  The person that seems to have it all together, that seems the epitome of being happy and well adjusted?  That person might be in such need of care that they are hanging on by a thread.

This leper is a kind of archetype for all people.  In him is represented the whole of humanity – ill in some form.  Ill with worry and anxiety, ill with loneliness, ill with despair, ill with the many troubles of life that come our way.  And he comes to Jesus, begging for help, for healing, for care.  Verse 1 makes it plain that the leper was very desperate, as Mark says he begged him on his knees.

The leper was unlike others because of his disease, but he was just like others as he was in the need for care.  He was different in the way he went looking for care, because he came to Jesus, begging for help.  Most of us are far less obvious about our need for care.  Most of us would prefer to hide our need for care than to show our need and desperation so openly.  We often buy into the mythology that we need to be strong, that we need to project an air of invulnerability, and that we are a person who has pulled himself up by his bootstraps.  But inside, in our heart, in our soul, we are begging for care.  Perhaps we are hoping someone will notice that we are struggling.  Perhaps we send out signs and clues to the fact that we are in need, hoping someone will notice, but every person, at some point in life, needs to receive care.  There is nothing wrong with admitting that we need help.  There is nothing wrong with admitting that we have time of weakness and struggle.

But, as many people are not open about their need for care, they still need care nonetheless, which mean we have to tune our hearts and minds into the signals they send to us.  Although many people will not be direct about their need for care, they say and do certain things in the hope that people will pick up on the message that they need care, so we must learn to listen with our hearts and minds as well as with our ears.

2.  The Call to Care.

In one of my college classes I was very much in need of some extra credit (which was the case in many of my classes, unfortunately).  I asked my professor if I could do work for extra credit and he told me that if I memorized ten verses of Scripture he would give me a point for each verse.  Ten points was enough to make a difference in whether or not I passed the class, so I was glad to get to work memorizing (I suspect that he not only wanted to help me earn extra credit, but also thought the Scripture would so me some good).  I don’t remember if he or I picked the passage, but it was Galatians 6:1-10 –

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else,

5 for each one should carry their own load.

6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Although it was a long time ago that I memorized those verses, they have stayed with me, especially verse 2 – Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ (the New American Standard Translation, which is the version I memorized).

Caring is one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith, and throughout the two millennia of our faith it is the call to care that has been the clarion call to follow the way of Jesus and care for others.

Listen to how Mark begins verse 2 – Jesus was indignant.  Isn’t that an interesting editorial comment that Mark makes?  Mark could have commented that Jesus was full of compassion for the leper.  Mark could have commented that Jesus loved the leper and wanted to ease his burden.  But he says that Jesus was indignant.

Why was Jesus indignant?  Was he upset with the leper?  Certainly not!  I suspect that Jesus was indignant because of the way that the leper was treated.  It was difficult enough that he was suffering from what was then a dreaded, incurable, deadly disease, but his situation was made worse by the way he was cut off from the rest of humanity.  Lepers were forced to stay away from other people and whenever they came near others they were forced to loudly announce their presence so that other people could keep themselves at a safe distance.  The separation from the rest of humanity would certainly have been a double blow to one in such dire need.  But even worse was the fact that his being ostracized and outcast was religiously mandated.  The need to remain ritually pure gave religious credence to cutting the man off from his friends, his family, and all others, and that was what made Jesus indignant.  Instead of following a religious mandate to eradicate barriers between people there were walls of separation that were constructed and a man who was in dire need of care would not receive it.  Instead, he would live the remainder of his life with contact only with others like him, and would die cut off and alone.

Touching a leper in that context, then, was one of the most scandalous and unimaginable acts that Jesus could commit.  Touching a leper violated every social, medical, and religious norm of the time, as it made one unclean and also susceptible to contracting the disease.  None of this, it is very important to note, concerned Jesus.  That Jesus actually touched someone who suffered from leprosy was an unbelievably powerful example of what he desires others to do, especially those who bear his name.

When Jesus healed the leper he ran into the fear and opposition that so many in his day exhibited towards people who suffered from the disease.  Understandably, in a time when there was no cure, fear of contracting leprosy was very strong.  But it wasn’t just fear, it was also a case of social and religious taboos, which should cause us to ask, What kind of social and religious taboos exist today that makes it difficult for some individuals or some groups of people to receive care?  What can we do to help dismantle those taboos and the fear that comes from them?

In the early part of the 80s I made my first visit with an AIDS patient.  Some of us are old enough to remember the fear that was so pervasive at that time, not only of the disease of AIDS, but also of the patients and even their families.  Some people were not even comfortable speaking the name of the disease.  I traveled to the hospital, entered the ICU unit, and some of the staff helped me to prepare for my visit.  The patient was in an isolation unit in ICU, and the staff seemed very uneasy about any contact.  I was required to be in a heat-to-toe covering before I could enter the room.  I felt as though I was about to talk a spacewalk rather than enter a hospital room.  The staff said very little as I was prepared, and no one mentioned the word “AIDS.”  I have to admit, it was all a bit disconcerting, because of the context of fear, almost all of which we now know to be unfounded.  It is a reminder, however, of the power of fear. 

Caring, in the Christian commitment, does not recognize boundaries and it does not adhere to the tribalism so prevalent in our society that says I will care only for those who look like me, who think like me, who believe like me, who live where I live, and we are deemed worthy by me.  Jesus rejected those boundaries and the pull to tribalism, and so should we.

3.  The Cost of Care.

For almost two and a half years we have worked to bring the Stephen Ministry to fruition in our church.  The effort began in February of 2015, when a small group of us traveled to Central Christian Church in Lexington to attend a presentation about Stephen Ministry.  It was a presentation that impressed us for several reasons, one being the strong sense of ecumenism that existed.  I have never in my life attended a meeting where so many different denominations were represented.  At the beginning, the presenter asked for a show of hands when she asked which denominations were represented.  It was a collection of Catholic, Baptist, Methodist Presbyterian, Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Nazarene, and others.  Some of the groups would never be in the same room with some of the other groups (which is a sad commentary) but they came together for the common purpose of caring in the name of Christ.  After attending the presentation we were convinced the Stephen Ministry would be a welcome addition to the life of our congregation.

     Upon arriving at that decision we began the many steps that would bring us to the point of actually implementing the ministry.  Beginning with the church leadership, we presented our belief that the Stephen Ministry would be helpful to our congregation and then, upon securing their support, began the process of enlisting someone who would attend one of the week-long training sessions.  That person, Laine Kephart, spent an intense week in St. Louis being trained by the Stephen Ministry staff.  After attending that training, Laine began training volunteers from our congregation.  Last fall we began that training with about 24 people.  Because of schedule conflicts and other matters, the group eventually settled at about 18 people, 15 of whom were commissioned today as Stephen Ministers.  To be honest, I had hoped we would have 5 or 6 people take the training and perhaps 2 to 4 people would be commissioned as Stephen Ministers.  That so many took the training and to have 15 commissioned as Stephen Ministers far exceeded my hopes and expectations.

     Becoming a Stephen Minister requires a substantial commitment of time, and this is because we want people to have adequate training so they can provide the best care possible.  Beginning last fall, we met every Thursday evening from 6:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.  Aside from a break for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, we continued on until late March, for a total of 50 hours of training.  In this day and age, when people have so many demands upon their time, it is amazing that so many spent so much time in weekly training sessions.

The work of caring is often unseen.  While one of our most important ministries, the work of the Stephen Ministers will be largely unseen.  We won’t know who is receiving care and who meets with whom, but as we move into the implementation of the ministry, you can be assured that they will be doing the important work for which they have been trained.  It is not always easy to care for others.  All of us have some measure of messiness in our lives.  All of us have our faults and shortcomings and struggles.  Sometimes, in spite of our need for care, we don’t respond well to offers of care, perhaps because we are afraid of others learning of our vulnerabilities or because we might be challenges to change.  Through it all, however, the Stephen Ministers will be offering their care.

There is more to the story of John Merrick that I need now to share.  Thankfully, his story had a much better ending than it had a beginning.

At the age of 22, Dr. Treves took Merrick into the hospital as a permanent resident, giving him a room of his own as a home, which provided him with one of two momentous events in his life.  Entering his room at the hospital, he said in amazement, this is my home.  This is my home.  The second event was when a young lady entered his room, said hello, and shook his hand, causing him to sob uncontrollably.  Aside from his mother, she was the first woman to ever smile at him, and to ever touch his hand.

From then on, his shyness was gone.  He loved for his door to be open and people flocked to visit him.  He had found a place of acceptance, where his appearance did not matter and his condition was inconsequential to others.  Merrick was able to allow his intelligence, sensitivity, and imagination to flourish.  He was very familiar with his Bible and his prayer book.  Over and over he told Dr. Treves, I am happy every hour of the day.

Caring makes all the difference in the world.  Care made all the difference in the world for the man with leprosy.  Care made all the difference in the world for John Merrick.  And you care can make all the difference in the world for someone.

May 14, 2017 Life Lessons On Faith: Remembering

Last Sunday we began a series of messages titled Life Lessons On Faith.  The messages are based on some of the things I have learned over the years about both life and faith, from my own experience and from the experience of others.

Our topic today is Remembering.  I believe that in the stressful, crazy context in which we live, we all long for the good old days (which probably weren’t as good as we remember), but we find some measure of comfort in looking back to a time when life seemed simpler and less complicated.

We all like to remember, don’t we?  Remembering, in the form of nostalgia, has become big business, especially in the field of entertainment.  “Oldies” stations fill the radio airwaves, pulling at our heartstrings with pleasant memories of our childhood and adolescence.  I was thinking about this topic one day this past week, while driving to Louisville, and I realized that the radio presets in my car reflect a lot of remembering – the 60s channel, the 70s channel, the 80s channel, Classic Vinyl, Classic Rewind; most of the channels I listen to play music from my younger years.  In reality, I don’t think I need to hear Freebird for the 10,000 time, but those songs remind me of a time in my life when things seemed relatively easy and carefree. 

But did you know that nostalgia was once considered a mental disorder?  According to The Atlantic magazine, treatments for the “disorder” of nostalgia once ranged from the use of leeches to burying people alive.  In the case of at least one nation’s military force, some soldiers became so overwhelmed with nostalgia upon hearing a popular song from their country that it became punishable by death for anyone to play the song!

(https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/08/when-nostalgia-was-a-disease/278648/)

I am staring down my 60^th birthday this year.  I have long admired the attitude of my mom about aging, who has always maintained that age is just a number.  I think she really means that, as I have never seen any indication that reaching a particular age troubled her.  Each time I reach a milestone age – 40, 50, and now looking at 60 – I can’t help but marvel at how quickly the time has passed.  Where has the time gone, I often wonder, and how can it be that I am now staring down 60 years of age?  In a few weeks, Tanya and I will celebrate our 33 anniversary!  33 years!  Do I look old enough to be married 33 years? We must have been kids!

What is it about the past that has such a powerful grip on us?     Thinking back on my life, it often occurs to me just how powerful it is to remember.  We look back on our youth, on special events, and other happenings in our lives – both positive and negative – and, as we do, we realize what a powerful force the past can be upon the present.

Our text for today comes from a time when the apostle Paul was writing with a sense of looking back.  When Paul wrote his two letters to Timothy, to whom he served as an example and mentor, Paul was most likely near the end of his life, which makes it possible to hear a sense of nostalgia in some of his words.  Listen as I read our text, from II Timothy 1:3-12 –

3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.

5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.

9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.

12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

I want to think about Remembering in relation to several lessons this morning, the first being –

1.  Remember your blessings.

That is not a profound lesson, but it is one that is easily forgotten in the midst of life’s struggles.  Life can be tough.  Life is stressful.  Life can be very trying.  In the midst of our struggles, in the midst of the tough times, in the midst of the stress, and in the midst of what tries our patience and our faith, it is easy to forget the blessings we have in life.  In saying this, I do not mean to minimize the immense difficulties that some people face.  There are many people who face enormous challenges and difficulties, and I do not mean to imply that all they need to do is count a few blessings and everything will be all right.  No, that is not at all what I mean.  For many, if not most of us, we have enough blessings in life that it is important for us to keep life in perspective.  We have food to eat.  We have adequate clothing and shelter.  We have money to pay our bills (most of the time).  When are needs are met, let us give thanks for what we have.  When our families are healthy, let us give thanks for the blessing of good health. 

One of the blessings of life is certainly the time we have with those whom we love.  Paul often spoke of people important to him, as he does in verse four, as he speaks of how much he longs to see Timothy.  In Acts 20:36-38 we read of the time when Paul departs from Ephesus – 36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.  There was a lot of grief as Paul departed from his friends.  In Philippians 1:3 he writes I thank my God every time I remember you.  Obviously, Paul was very grateful for the blessing of time with his friends.

Honestly, when I was younger, I didn’t like when people would remind me to appreciate the time when our children were young, because those years would pass quickly.  My thought was generally yeah, yeah, yeah.  Give me a break.  I’m trying to keep up with everything and trying to pay the bills.  I don’t need to be reminded of what I already know.  But I didn’t know.  I didn’t know how quickly that time would past.  And when time is gone, it’s gone forever.  One of the advantages of aging is the perspective we are given when we have more years behind us than ahead of us.  When we’re younger, we can become overwhelmed with life, and it becomes easy to forget that we are limited in the amount of time we have with those whom we love.

And, very importantly, we must remember that we are called to be a blessing to those who are struggling. How many of you have been through the Bethel Bible Study series?  If you have, you know their motto – Blessed to be a blessing.  When we have enough provision that we can give to others, let us give thanks for the ability to help others.

2.  Remember lessons learned, even from difficulty.

I use a lot of personal examples in my messages, and sometimes I wonder if I get too personal.  As I was running through memories of difficult times in my life I was wondering which might be appropriate to share.  A few of them I really considered but thought, no, just suffice it to say that like everyone else, I have had some very difficult times in life.  And even though I don’t want to go into any details, I will say that up until recently I had a difficult time with reconciling with a challenge in my past.  For a good while, when I thought about that time, I would wish that I could go back and make a different decision that would have spared me from that challenge.  But I finally realized that would not be the right thing to do, even if it were possible for me to do so.  As much as that time in my life was difficult and as much as I have wished it could have been avoided, I have to admit to a few truths – for one, I am very grateful for the people who were in my life at that time.  They helped me in ways that were enormously important to me and I will be forever grateful for their kindness, love, and support.  When I wished that I could have avoided that time of my life, it would mean those people would not be a part of my life, and that would be a great loss to me.  Secondly, that lessons I learned – even though I wish I did not have to endure what I experienced – have been very important to me and helpful to me.

I am very grateful for the good things that have happened in my life, and I try to be faithful in thanking God for the blessings I have received.  Sometimes, although it is not been easy to do so, I also thank God for the difficulties – and even that great difficulty –  that I have experienced.  I do this because much of what I have learned, unfortunately, has been accomplished the hard way.  Some of my most important lessons have come about precisely because of difficulties that I have experienced, and without those experiences, I wonder if I could have learned some of the lessons I needed to learn and have learned.  Not that I wanted to go through those difficulties, but it is an interesting fact of life that we learn some of our greatest lessons from some of our greatest challenges.

     One of the lessons I have learned, looking back, is how I can see the hand of God so much more clearly than I could at the time I was looking for it.  We all have those moments in life when we hope and pray with great intensity, asking God to reveal himself, and his will, to us.  While neither may seem clear at the time, the passing of the years does make it more obvious as we look back.  Though I couldn’t always see it plainly at the time, I can look back and see how God has been with me throughout my life, which provides me with the hope and the promise that he will continue to be with me, whatever I might face in life.

I grew up in coal country.  We had a coal furnace when I was young, and there is nothing quite like the coal dust and soot that gets everywhere and all over everything.  It is rather amazing to me that out of that dusty, grimy carbon can come something as beautiful as a diamond.  It takes, of course, a great deal of pressure for that diamond to be formed, but nature itself teaches us that beauty can come out of pressure, and stress, and difficulty.  Now, I’m not intending to be insensitive to the sufferings of anyone, but we all understand that out of difficulty can come some measure of blessing.  But just as a diamond is not only beautiful, but also hard and tough, we want to be strong, but not hard of heart.  We want to be strengthened by out testing, but not bitter.

3.  Remember your faith.

It’s interesting that Paul writes in verse 5 that I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.  It sounds a bit as though Paul is reminding Timothy to live up to the faith of his family. 

We are all, as people of faith, products of the faith of others.  Someone taught us faith.  Someone taught us to pray.  Someone took us to Sunday School and church.  Someone served as an example of what it means to have faith.  Paul was gently reminding Timothy to live up to the examples of faith that were present in his life.

I do not hold to what I would call the false narrative of the decline of faith and religion; I think those predictions are vastly overstated.  That is not to say that faith and religion are changing, because everything is changing.  In October we will recognize the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, which was a time of enormous change in the world and, in particular, the world of faith.  Many felt it was a time when faith itself was unraveling, but, in fact, it was a rearranging and reformulating of faith, much like our present day.  As far as the false narrative of the decline of faith, the Pew Research organization just released their findings from a massive study done in many of the countries once under the control of the Soviet Union, which was officially atheistic.  The study found that 25 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, in 18 countries that fell under the umbrella of the Soviet Union, that the comeback of religion in a region once dominated by atheist regimes is striking.  Would you like to hazard a guess at what is now the percentage of people in those countries who believe in God?  Would you guess 25%?  40%?  50%?  How about 86%?  In 18 of the countries once dominated by the officially atheistic policy of the Soviet Union, 86% of people in those countries believe in God.  Isn’t that amazing? 

Sometimes, in our crazy, challenging world, it might seem as if our faith is crumbling, but don’t believe it.  Hold to your faith.  Keep the faith that has been handed down to you.  There is an interesting passage at the end of Paul’s letter that serves as a bookend to the text I read at the beginning of this message.  It is a passage I have read many times over the years at memorial services – II Timothy 4:6-8 – the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

I want to be able to echo those words one day.  When I am about to draw my final breath, I hope that I can proclaim those words that, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Remember these things.  Never forget these lessons.  Remember.  Always remember.