And now the pastors Viewpoint and Sermon for Sunday, November 14, 2010

THIS PASTOR’S VIEWPOINT

For the week of November 14, 2010

High church officials and regular members of local congregations often, and unfortunately, share a common belief. This is nothing new of course, it’s been going on for years. Let’s look at a couple of examples of this belief and in looking at it we may discover this belief as one our own, and hopefully, alter it.

The church is in the process of selecting names to put before the congregation for election to the positions of deacons, elders, council or consistory members and others to serve on various boards. Invariably you will hear, somewhere in the process, that so-and-so has no training in doing this or that particular job for which his or her name has been set forth.

If that objection doesn’t come up in committee it is almost sure to be raised when some individual is asked if she or he will serve if elected. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like that before. I’m just an ordinary person. Why not ask _______ ? There’s a person with a lot of experience in doing that.”

In my Bible reading this week this very issue came up when the Jewish high church council was confronted with the early preaching of Peter and John. Acts 4:13 (NLT) says, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had no special training.”

The council members, you see, didn’t know anything at all about the Holy Spirit Christ had sent his followers to enable and empower them in their ministry. They saw them as just ordinary men with no special training so how could they speak with such conviction and boldness.

At the same time, Peter and John felt that they were far from ordinary because they were called out by Christ himself. As Christians, we are also called out by Christ and should be led by the Holy Spirit to do his bidding. When it comes up in your life, be bold, for as Christians, you are anything but ordinary.




Sermon, November 14, 2010

HOW A CHRISTIAN GRIEVES
Sermon Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13 18

13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

In a technological society, we often need instructions for using new products. But where on earth do they find some of the people who write these instructions? Many instructions are hopelessly vague while others seem totally unnecessary to anyone with even minimal brain power. For example:

Once on a camera were these instructions: “This camera only works when there is film inside.” Well, duh! Big surprise there.

These thoughts were found on a package of airline peanuts: “Open packet and eat contents.” Do they really think we would try to eat the peanuts, foil wrapper and all?
On a chain saw was this wise advice: “Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands.” Ooh, that hurts.

And finally, on a steering-wheel lock was this counsel: “Warning--remove lock before driving.” Unless, of course, you plan on making right turns only.

But even worse than the really obvious instructions are instructions that don’t make sense at all. Ones that read like these:

Grasp the gizmo in your left hand. With your right hand, insert the doohickey into the little whatsit just below the bright red thingamajig and gently, gently!, turn it in a clockwise direction until you hear a click.

Attach the long thingamabob to the whatchamacallit. Do not under any circumstances allow the metal whatsit on the end to come in contact with the black plastic thingummy.
Failure to follow these instructions will result in damage to the doodad. I ask again. Where do they find the people who write instructions?

Much of the book of I Thessalonians is concerned with giving instructions.

The Christian believers in the city of Thessalonica faced persecution from the outset. In spite of this, the Thessalonians appeared to be a faithful community of believers. The apostle Paul, author of I and II Thessalonians, often praises them for their faithfulness, holy living, and generosity.

Yet he also wants to make sure that they are thoroughly instructed in the issues of the faith, because he knows they will come under great pressure from the surrounding society.
Keep away from promiscuity, he says to them, follow Christ’s example of holiness, work hard to support yourself, live at peace with your neighbors.

The first half of I Thessalonians, chapter 4, teaches the believers in Thessalonica how to live as Christians. The second half of this chapter teaches them how to die in the same manner. And here is where St. Paul’s attitude is so much healthier than our own.

We all crave instructions on how to live better, but rarely do we give much thought to the question of how to die better. In fact, we would rather avoid the subject altogether.

In the book, Children’s Letters to God, a little boy wrote, “Dear God, What is it like when a person dies? Nobody will tell me. I just want to know, I don’t want to do it. Your friend, Mike.”
Mike is wiser that most of us. He recognizes that death is part of life, and he wants to know what he ought to do when that time comes. So, for any of us who are as wise as Mike, listen again to what the apostle Paul wrote: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him . . .”
Dying is an important part of living, so let’s spend a few moments thinking about this unique event in human experience.

LET’S BEGIN HERE: SECULAR PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO DEAL WITH DEATH -- EXCEPT IN JEST.
If you are going to talk about death in polite society, you better do it with humor. Most people will think you are being morbid if you even mention the obvious that sooner or later all of us must die. Of course, there is something healthy about laughing at the Grim Reaper.

Before British actor Robert Morley died, he asked that his credit cards be buried with him. That is a novel way to try to take it with you. I wonder if they take Visa in Heaven? After Morley’s funeral, the London Times was bombarded with letters from readers pondering their own needs after death.

Wrote M.L. Evans of Chester, England: “In the unfortunate event of a miscarriage of justice and I spend several thousand years in Hell before my sentence is quashed, I will take a fire extinguisher.”

Heather Tanner of Woodbridge, England specified that she wanted to be buried with a good map. “I have immense trouble finding my way in this life,” she said, “so am extremely worried about the next.”

A pair of earplugs would accompany Sir David Wilcocks of Cambridge. “In case,” he writes, “the heavenly choirs, singing everlastingly, are not in tune.”

Maurice Godbold of Hindhead, England would take a crowbar: “In case the affair proved premature” and he needed to get out of the casket.

In writing this I recalled one of my personal favorites, that folk song of the 60’s that asked “can I tale my D-28 to heaven when I die?” referring to one of the finest Martin folk guitars.

If you are going to mention death in front of most secular people today, you better do so in a joke. Secular people don’t like to think about death. And yet, dying is part of living and we need to face up to it and prepare for it. But there is a second thing we need to see.

THERE IS A HEALTHY AND AN UNHEALTHY WAY TO GRIEVE WHEN YOU LOSE SOMEONE TO DEATH. When someone you love dies, it hurts. Sometimes the hurt is overwhelming. We call the process of dealing with that hurt, grief.

People handle grief in different ways. Some people try to deny their grief. They keep a stiff upper lip. They cram their emotions deep down inside and maintain a cheery countenance to their family and friends. I suspect they are the ones who suffer most. For grief that is not expressed in one way will be expressed in another. And the latter expression will be far more destructive than the former.

Other people become fixated on their grief. They refuse to be consoled. They refuse to move on with their life as if life has lost all meaning.

According to a study done by the National Institute of Medicine a few years ago, “Many persons who have a death in the family suffer such intense grief that they jeopardize their own physical and mental health.” Severe, continual grief can create enough physical stress, according to this study, to cause heart attacks or cancer.

Often well-meaning individuals unwittingly encourage bereaved people to grieve in unhealthy ways. A young woman who worked in a day care tells of witnessing a failed attempt at comfort between two little girls. A little toddler was crying one day.

A three-year-old girl walked over, patted her arm, and in her sweetest voice said, “It’s okay. Don’t cry. It’s okay.” But when the tears kept flowing, the three-year-old changed her tactics. She stomped her foot and announced in her most authoritative voice, “I said it’s . . . OKAY!”
We try to rush people through the grieving process. “Isn’t he over it yet?” We try to deny the grief. “Just don’t think about it, Mama. Let’s talk about something else.” Or worse, we withdraw from the grieving person out of fear or awkwardness. Our silence is even worse than our words.
Paul does not tell us not to grieve. What he says is, do not grieve as those who have no hope. Grief is a natural part of losing a loved one to death. A healthy person must grieve. The question is what is different about how a Christian grieves?

FIRST, WE ACKNOWLEDGE OUR HURT THROUGH BOTH TEARS AND TALK. We express to those closest to us honestly and openly the pain we are feeling, including our anger and our disappointment.

The widow says, “I am so angry with him for dying and leaving me alone that if he were here right now, I believe I would kill him.” And we understand. Her feelings are perfectly natural and she needs to express them.

The widower says, “I will never forgive God for allowing my wife to suffer like that.” But time passes and he does forgive God, and he learns to lean on God for support as he adjusts to a new life without his partner.

This is life. Death and grief are part of it. We need to express our grief through both tears and talk.

AT THE SAME TIME WE NEED TO REMIND OURSELVES THAT AS CHRISTIANS WE BELIEVE THAT BOTH LIFE AND DEATH ARE TRANSITORY.
Walter L. Wilson, M.D., was talking with a man who was an atheist. This non-believing man said he believed death ends all. Dr. Wilson agreed with him.

To the surprised atheist, Wilson said: “Death ends all my wanderings, all my tears, all my perplexities, all my disappointments, all my aches and pains; death ends it all, and I go to be with my Lord in glory.”

When a Christian grieves, he or she grieves with hope, in the knowledge that their loved one has met the Lord face to face. Believers find their completeness in death, because it leads to the life that is truly life abundant.

Around 125 A.D., a Greek by the name of Aristeides wrote to one of his friends, trying to explain the extraordinary success of the new religion, Christianity. In his letter he said, “If any righteous man among the Christians passes from this world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God, and they accompany his body with songs and thanksgiving as if he were setting out from one place to another nearby.”

He was describing the difference between the way pagans greet death and the way Christians greet death. “They rejoice and offer thanks to God,” he said, speaking of Christians.

Can we face death with rejoicing and thanksgiving? I’m not suggesting that we deny ourselves the chance to grieve. We must grieve but we grieve in hope. Jesus came to save us from death, and he gave his life as a sacrifice so that we could live forever in communion with him.

Dr. Diane Komp, a pediatric oncologist, described herself as an agnostic/atheist when she first entered the medical field. But working with dying children gave Dr. Komp an unshakable faith in God.

She tells of a typical case from her early years: seven-year-old Anna had fought leukemia for five years. She had no more strength to fight. But moments before she died, the little girl suddenly sat up in bed and announced that she saw angels. A smile lit up her small face as she described their beautiful singing. And then this little child, radiant with joy, lay down and died.
Diane Komp came to believe that God came for little Anna. She had seen the Lord face to face, and she lives with him now forever.

How do we face grief? Openly and honestly, but always in the knowledge that Christ has triumphed over the grave.

And how do we help others who are going through the grieving process. The apostle Paul says near the end of this passage, “Therefore, encourage each other with these words.”
Encourage each other by talking about death? Yes! That’s exactly what he means. Talk about it. --- Vent your emotions. --- Express your fears. --- Ponder the mysteries. But emphasize the hope!

Let’s return to our Bible passage: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him . . .”
This is the reality of death for followers of Jesus Christ: death hurts. It hurts bad, but it is not the end. We will be raised up to eternal life, and we will be with the Lord forever!

Amen.