This sermon is
one that I gave without a manuscript.
Instead, I used a few notes. This
written version is constructed from my notes.
Scripture -
Psalm 138
Of David.
1 I give you
thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before
the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down
towards your holy temple
and
give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;
for
you have exalted your name and your word above
everything.*
3 On the day
I called, you answered me,
you
increased my strength of soul.*
4 All the
kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD,for
they have heard the words of your mouth.
5 They shall
sing of the ways of the LORD,
for
great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though
the LORD is high, he regards the lowly;
but
the haughty he perceives from far away.
7 Though I
walk in the midst of trouble,
you
preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out
your hand,
and
your right hand delivers me.
8 The LORD will
fulfil his purpose for me;
your
steadfast love, O LORD, endures for ever. Do
not forsake the work of your hands.
Sermon: “What Would You Do?”
If you knew this
was the last year of your life, what would you do?
Would you feel
compelled to responsibility? Would you
feel you had to work harder to be sure those you would leave behind were taken
care of once you were gone? Or would you
want to follow frivolous pursuits, partying day in and day out, because, you
know – “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you shall die?” Or, would you allow your heart to lead
you? Would you seek to make others happy
while you still had the chance? Would
you make changes, or would you just continue to do what you’ve been doing all
along?
I’ve been reading
this book by Henri J. M. Nouwen called Sabbatical Journey. Henri Nouwen was a Roman Catholic priest who
had a career as seminary professor at the University of Notre Dame, and at the
Divinity Schools of Yale and Harvard. He
eventually felt called to leave that life to live and work at L’Arche Daybreak,
a community for special needs adults in Toronto. As Iread this book, I became fascinated with
something that the reader knows, but that Father Nouwen does not know. You see, the full title of the book is
Sabbatical Journey, The Diary of His Final Year.
I began to notice
Nouwen’s notes about feeling tired and not feeling well. As I read through his days, I noticed his
complaints about things he wanted to do, but never seemed to get done. In the midst of these things, though, I
noticed something else as well. I saw
what he WAS doing.
He was traveling,
visiting family, writing – if even just a daily diary entry. He was meeting with friends, teaching,
reflecting on a life of service and giving time and pastoral care to special
needs adults. He was giving thanks every
day, even on a bad day.
Henri Nouwen
didn’t know that it was the last year of his life, yet he let his heart lead
him.
They say that
Jesus did know when he was in HIS last year of life. There’s no doubt that he knew it on the night
that he was betrayed. Nevertheless, he
went where he knew his betrayer could find him.
In the garden, he prayed for God to deliver him from darkness.
Jesus knew the
political and religious climate in which he worked and taught. Most assuredly, He knew that his actions
would lead to his death. Still, he
followed his heart and did the work that he understood God had given him to do.
He travelled,
spent time with friends, and taught. He
gave time and pastoral care to children and to those in need. He gave thanks even in the midst of trouble.
We all know we
are going to leave this earthly life sometime.
We just don’t know when it’s going to happen. It’s easy to get caught up in whatever is
happening to us without making a conscious choice to live in a certain
way. It’s easy to get caught up on
living for self-satisfaction, fame, or wealth for its own sake. Other choices are available to us, but we
find ourselves seeking what the world tells us we should want to be. That is:
rich, famous, beautiful, and admired by others and by ourselves.
But, in trying to
live for these things, we are often disappointed. We fall short of our hopes and our true
personalities are lost in other people’s dreams thrust upon us. Too often, we end our lives never achieving
happiness. Becoming rich and famous
isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes there is a better way for us.
If YOU knew this
was the last year that you would walk among the living, would you change your
life?
Knowing, Jesus
chose to follow his heart and to live the life that God gave him to live. Not knowing, Henri Nouwen chose the
same. He admired Jesus and saw beauty
and purpose in the life that Jesus led.
Indeed, he recognized Christ’s life on this earth as the ultimate model
for living a Godly life in love and service.
Did either of them find happiness?
Perhaps not, at least not the kind of happiness we might think we
want, but it is certain that they
brought happiness to others while they were here.
They brought
purpose to the lives of others in the work they left behind. Henri Nouwen left us his writings about
finding relationship with God. Jesus
left us his Way to find relationship in God and a helper in the Holy Spirit.
In the past few
weeks, Pastor Rosemary has been leading us in discussion about how Primera
Iglesia - WE – can make a difference in our community. We have been making lists of ways we can
change our life as a church and our lives as individuals so we can change the
lives of others.
Just as I believe
that the Holy Spirit led Henri Nouwen to live a life in service and in
relationship with God, I believe the Holy Spirit will lead us to live as God
calls us to live; to be Christ’s church; to be a balm in a hurting world.
Each of us can
live our lives differently, or we can live just the way we have been living –
it’s our choice!
I, for one, am
choosing to live my life as if it were my last.
Some things will have to change.
Some things will stay the same.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, I will live my life in faith, building
relationships, spending time with family and friends, and finding ways to serve
others in the midst of a busy life.
Finally, I will live my life giving thanks.
With the
Psalmist, I will say, “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart.”
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