Scripture Readings: Psalms 118:19-24; 90:1-2, 10,12
The Old Testament Psalms are filled with songs of praise, prayers, affirmations about God, and insights and lessons for faithful living. One insight came to me recently from reading Psalm 118. This Psalm is referred to as a “song of victory.” It is full of suggestions for how people of faith should respond to the Divine Creator. The Psalm contains rich reminders of God’s nature and availability. These words from our scripture reading set the stage for our thinking together about making everyday count: “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (118:24) “So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.” (90:12)
I don’t know about you, but periodically I need these reminders I just read from scriptures. To be sure some days are a greater challenge than others. And the older we get, the greater the challenges! I must admit, I look at some days and the challenges they bring with dread. I have a Baptist minister friend and colleague who is an accomplished singer and song writer. One of his songs written many years ago now is one of my favorites. The song is titled, “Good Morning, Lord.” It’s a delightful and uplifting song to hear at the beginning of a new day. I asked my friend Paul how he came to write this song. His response was that he had discovered that too many people begin their day by saying, “ Good Lord, it’s morning” instead of, ”Good morning, Lord,” in gratitude for the gift of another day. Maybe you’ve had days like that. I know I have. But then God’s Word comes to my rescue. Someone once wrote, “Each day is a gift. That is why it’s called the present!” The question each day calls us to answer this: “How shall we use God’s gift of another day?” The challenge each day offers is to break through the barriers of the past by looking at the blessings of the present.
Orville Kelly was a newspaper man from Iowa. At age 43 he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and told he had six months to a year to live. Such devastating news brought tension to relationships. His family and friends began to treat him differently. No one would talk about the realities of his condition. Even his wife, Wanda, refused to discuss his fate. Every time he brought up the subject, she would say, "Let's not talk about it. Let's just hope for the best." Finally one day Orville said, "Wanda, we've got to talk. Yes, I've got cancer, but. I'm not dead yet. I still have some serious living to do and I need help to do it." So they talked for the first time about his condition. They talked about the anguish, frustrations, and the ultimate outcome. Then after a long and heart-warming talk, Orville said, "I have an idea. Let's have a barbecue and invite all our friends and start living again." And that's what they did.
A short time later Orville saw attitudes and the quality of relationships change for the better. He reminded his family and friends that he was not going to get up each day saying to himself, "This is one less day to live," but rather he took on a new attitude. He claimed each day as a gift and thanked God for it.
Then an exciting new thought came to him. He decided to form a new club called MTC standing for "Making Today Count." In doing so he said, "That philosophy should drive each of us to get up and get going each day so we can really experience all life has to offer. After all, he said, “everyone is terminal. I simply know that my terminus has been more clearly determined. None of us knows for sure when we are going to die. So I am going to make every day of my life really count for something. I'm going to see every day as a special and gracious gift from God."
And that is precisely what Orville Kelly went on doing for the remainder of his days. You can tell by the way he described the mighty Mississippi on a misty morning; or see it in his word-picture of a bluebird sitting on a fence of an Iowa farm; or hear it affirmed in his tribute to the beautiful smile on his wife's face. Though sentenced to death by a terminal illness, Orville Kelly actually became more alive by making each day count for something special! And that is the choice we all have, regardless of our circumstances. We don't have to be diagnosed with a terminal illness to understand the importance of living each day to the fullest as a gift from God.
I think that's what the Psalmist was trying to teach us long ago, when he said, This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! If each of us would repeat those words at the beginning of each day, it would change our lives. And we should also offer the Psalmist’s prayer: “Teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.” In addition to these, let me offer some other suggestions on how we can make each and every day count.
First, we can make the most of each day by being sensitive to what's happening around us. Several decades ago, when small group experiences became popular, many shared in what was called "sensitivity walks." The exercise called for participants to go for a brief walk and to make a mental list of all the sights, sounds and smells that became apparent during the walk. Persons then returned to the group to talk about the experience. For some it was a fascinating experience. Many confessed that some of the most precious expressions in life, such as the beauty of wild flowers, or the chirping of birds, had long been overlooked. Perhaps it would do each of us good to take a sensitivity walk every day so we might get in touch with the wonders of God's world. A good prayer to begin each day would be: "Lord, open my eyes and ears that I may truly see and hear so as to respond in faith to the joys the opportunities each new day brings."
Second, we can make the most of each day by doing something special for someone else. We live in such a self-centered world! Sometimes we get life's priorities confused. The Christ of faith helps keep in focus what is really important. That's why He said, "Love one another as I have loved you." Life's priorities center in how we treat others. What is really important is how caring, self- giving (agape) love finds expression in our lives. If we are really interested in discovering what life can become and what God intended through us in Christ, we must find answers to questions like these: "How can I make a difference? What contribution can I make?" “What can I do for someone else today?”
As a teenager, I read a devotional booklet that made quite an impression. It was titled A Better World Begins with Me. The woman author offered a simple suggestion, "Look around and see what will bring happiness to others, and then do it." As I recall, one of the acts she described was baking a cake and taking it to an elderly woman in her neighborhood. Simple acts of love and kindness bring quality life, regardless of the quantity of days. Now most of us may not be able to bake someone a cake, but we all have the potential of doing something for someone to brighten their day. And when we do, our day is made brighter, too. Making every day count has nothing to do with one’s age: it’s about attitude and actions.
Dr. Claude Bissell, Canadian educator, writer, and former President of the University of Toronto is credited with saying something profound about living life fully. He said, "Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible." That’s what I call a formula for making the most of each day!
So, how is it with you today? Are you living life fully and making each day count? If so, with the Psalmist, rejoice and be glad in it! If not, I invite you to claim the joys of faith and faith living, which makes each and every day special!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
When Life Isn't Fair
Job 14:1-6; John 10:7-10
A sermon by Rev. R. Franklin Gillis, Jr.
“That’s not fair!” You who are parents or grandparents have no doubt heard these words many times. Perhaps you‘ve even said that yourself on some occasions. Let’s face reality! “Life isn’t fair!” But then, where does it say that life is supposed to be fair? The closest we can come to fairness is through our own actions toward others, and at times that’s not enough. So many things in life do turn out unfairly. The Old Testament story of Job is a classic example of life’s unfairness and adversity. Sometimes because of what happens to us, life just isn’t fair!
As an adolescent I experienced several surgeries due to a bone cyst on my upper right arm. The physical aftermath left one arm slightly shorter than the other, but the psychological aftermath was one of feeling inferior. The combined effects motivated me to be an achiever. One of my greatest dreams was to play on the George Wythe Jr. High School baseball team. I spent much of my time after school sharpening my ball playing skills, playing with neighborhood kids on a nearby corner lot. My father encouraged me by buying me my first baseball glove, a first baseman’s mitt. I practiced hard and got pretty good at playing first base. Then the day came for tryouts. After the first day, I felt good about the possibility of making the team. I returned the second day, and gave it my best. It appeared to me as if my first baseman skills were at least equal to the competition. Tryouts continued through the week, and I went back faithfully each day. Then in the second week, the word came the coach would be making “cuts” following Friday’s practice.
My fellow students and I reported to practice that Friday with great anxiety and determination to do our best. One of my classmates could throw a ball faster than anyone I’d even seen, and he was a “lefty” at that! It was the luck of the draw that when it came my time to bat, he was pitching. He threw the first ball precisely across the plate and it was called a strike. I tried hard to concentrate as the next pitch was thrown at an amazing speed, and it, too, was right on target! Strike two! I knew the next pitch might be my last chance, so I gripped the bat firmly, and with the ball coming toward me at what appeared to be a speed of 100 miles an hour, I swung with all my might, hoping that somehow the bat and ball would connect. They didn’t! Instead, I lost my balance and fell. My peers laughed as I sat there in the dust feeling defeated. I knew at that moment what mighty Casey must have felt like when he stuck out.
It was a long weekend. Monday finally came and before going to homeroom, I went to the gymnasium bulletin board to review the coach’s list. My name was not there. I remember the feeling of rejection and bitterness toward the coach. At dinner that evening I told my parents I had been cut from making the team and how unfair I thought it was. My story was filled with “if onlys”. If only “Lefty” hadn’t been pitching… if only I had gripped the bat more securely… if only I could have another chance… if only my right arm was the same length as the left one! When life isn’t fair, we usually resort to “if onlys,” and blaming, and having a “pity party”, don’t we? It was then that my dad offered me one of life’s greatest lessons. “Son, blaming isn’t the answer. The most important thing is to get up and shake off the dust, and learn from the experience so you can move on.”
There are so many experiences in life that point to the reality that life isn’t fair! And such a reality leads us to look for answers. We look to great philosophers, and to those who have experienced trials and tribulations in life, but find no satisfactory answers. We look to scriptures and we are reminded that the unfairness of life has been a part of every age and generation. The story of Job portrays life’s unfairness so dramatically. In a search of scriptures throughout the Old Testament to the New nowhere do we find the affirmation that life is fair!
All around us are life situations that point to that reality of life’s unfairness. Devastation from natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and tornados change people’s lives forever as we have seen from Katrina on the Gulf coast, and most recently in Haiti. As a result of the BP platform disaster, not only was eleven lives claimed, but the millions of gallons of crude oil pouring into the Gulf have threatened livelihoods along with animal life and the environment. While people are starving and dying from hunger in many places around the world, most people in our nation and several other prosperous nations have more than enough to eat. Friends and family members whom we have grown to love and respect – people who are good, decent, law-abiding citizens, have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses. It isn’t fair! We see on the news that a teenager with a promising future was killed in an automobile wreck by a drunk driver. We experience heart aches, and heart breaks, and disappointments of all kinds in our personal lives, and we, too, conclude there are times when life isn’t fair.
So what do we do when life isn’t fair? The answer is found in the lessons of faith from the faithful. As a people of a faith, along with Job, the Prophets, and the Psalmists, and the disciples and Apostles of old, we need to claim that we are not without hope. To express it simply, yet profoundly, life isn’t fair, but God is with us, and God’s abiding presence, God’s grace and love will see us through. Because of that truth, we can deal with life’s unfairness. And with boldness, we can sing with those faithful who have gone before us, “My faith looks up to Thee.”
Every time we gather as a community of faith we are reminded of just how unfair life really is. The primary symbol of our faith as Christians is the cross. It reminds us that life offers many forms of crucifixion, persecution, and unfairness. But it also reminds us of the central truth of faith: The power of God is available to help us deal with defeats and despair and enable us to bring forth new beginnings and experience resurrection. This is the most important truth I know! It’s the most joyous good news there is! Jesus taught his disciples who were living in an unfair world that if they would live by his example and trust God, they would experience the abundant life. That truth is offered to us as well.
So if you are here today with a shattered dream, or an aching heart, or feeling bitter because of what has befallen you, there is good news. You can put the pieces of life’s puzzle back together again. God doesn’t want us to be bitter, but to get better! God wants us to live fully the abundant life, and to do that we must conquer life’s unfairness.
You know, although my father was no great theologian, I’ve discovered he was right. When life isn’t fair, we simply have to get up and shake off the dust. The most important thing is to learn from the experience and move on. We can rely on our faith and the faithfulness of others to point the way. While life isn’t fair, God is, and God’s truth deals with all of life’s unfairness to enable the faithful to experience the promise of abundant and everlasting life!
Thanks be to God! Amen.
A sermon by Rev. R. Franklin Gillis, Jr.
“That’s not fair!” You who are parents or grandparents have no doubt heard these words many times. Perhaps you‘ve even said that yourself on some occasions. Let’s face reality! “Life isn’t fair!” But then, where does it say that life is supposed to be fair? The closest we can come to fairness is through our own actions toward others, and at times that’s not enough. So many things in life do turn out unfairly. The Old Testament story of Job is a classic example of life’s unfairness and adversity. Sometimes because of what happens to us, life just isn’t fair!
As an adolescent I experienced several surgeries due to a bone cyst on my upper right arm. The physical aftermath left one arm slightly shorter than the other, but the psychological aftermath was one of feeling inferior. The combined effects motivated me to be an achiever. One of my greatest dreams was to play on the George Wythe Jr. High School baseball team. I spent much of my time after school sharpening my ball playing skills, playing with neighborhood kids on a nearby corner lot. My father encouraged me by buying me my first baseball glove, a first baseman’s mitt. I practiced hard and got pretty good at playing first base. Then the day came for tryouts. After the first day, I felt good about the possibility of making the team. I returned the second day, and gave it my best. It appeared to me as if my first baseman skills were at least equal to the competition. Tryouts continued through the week, and I went back faithfully each day. Then in the second week, the word came the coach would be making “cuts” following Friday’s practice.
My fellow students and I reported to practice that Friday with great anxiety and determination to do our best. One of my classmates could throw a ball faster than anyone I’d even seen, and he was a “lefty” at that! It was the luck of the draw that when it came my time to bat, he was pitching. He threw the first ball precisely across the plate and it was called a strike. I tried hard to concentrate as the next pitch was thrown at an amazing speed, and it, too, was right on target! Strike two! I knew the next pitch might be my last chance, so I gripped the bat firmly, and with the ball coming toward me at what appeared to be a speed of 100 miles an hour, I swung with all my might, hoping that somehow the bat and ball would connect. They didn’t! Instead, I lost my balance and fell. My peers laughed as I sat there in the dust feeling defeated. I knew at that moment what mighty Casey must have felt like when he stuck out.
It was a long weekend. Monday finally came and before going to homeroom, I went to the gymnasium bulletin board to review the coach’s list. My name was not there. I remember the feeling of rejection and bitterness toward the coach. At dinner that evening I told my parents I had been cut from making the team and how unfair I thought it was. My story was filled with “if onlys”. If only “Lefty” hadn’t been pitching… if only I had gripped the bat more securely… if only I could have another chance… if only my right arm was the same length as the left one! When life isn’t fair, we usually resort to “if onlys,” and blaming, and having a “pity party”, don’t we? It was then that my dad offered me one of life’s greatest lessons. “Son, blaming isn’t the answer. The most important thing is to get up and shake off the dust, and learn from the experience so you can move on.”
There are so many experiences in life that point to the reality that life isn’t fair! And such a reality leads us to look for answers. We look to great philosophers, and to those who have experienced trials and tribulations in life, but find no satisfactory answers. We look to scriptures and we are reminded that the unfairness of life has been a part of every age and generation. The story of Job portrays life’s unfairness so dramatically. In a search of scriptures throughout the Old Testament to the New nowhere do we find the affirmation that life is fair!
All around us are life situations that point to that reality of life’s unfairness. Devastation from natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and tornados change people’s lives forever as we have seen from Katrina on the Gulf coast, and most recently in Haiti. As a result of the BP platform disaster, not only was eleven lives claimed, but the millions of gallons of crude oil pouring into the Gulf have threatened livelihoods along with animal life and the environment. While people are starving and dying from hunger in many places around the world, most people in our nation and several other prosperous nations have more than enough to eat. Friends and family members whom we have grown to love and respect – people who are good, decent, law-abiding citizens, have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses. It isn’t fair! We see on the news that a teenager with a promising future was killed in an automobile wreck by a drunk driver. We experience heart aches, and heart breaks, and disappointments of all kinds in our personal lives, and we, too, conclude there are times when life isn’t fair.
So what do we do when life isn’t fair? The answer is found in the lessons of faith from the faithful. As a people of a faith, along with Job, the Prophets, and the Psalmists, and the disciples and Apostles of old, we need to claim that we are not without hope. To express it simply, yet profoundly, life isn’t fair, but God is with us, and God’s abiding presence, God’s grace and love will see us through. Because of that truth, we can deal with life’s unfairness. And with boldness, we can sing with those faithful who have gone before us, “My faith looks up to Thee.”
Every time we gather as a community of faith we are reminded of just how unfair life really is. The primary symbol of our faith as Christians is the cross. It reminds us that life offers many forms of crucifixion, persecution, and unfairness. But it also reminds us of the central truth of faith: The power of God is available to help us deal with defeats and despair and enable us to bring forth new beginnings and experience resurrection. This is the most important truth I know! It’s the most joyous good news there is! Jesus taught his disciples who were living in an unfair world that if they would live by his example and trust God, they would experience the abundant life. That truth is offered to us as well.
So if you are here today with a shattered dream, or an aching heart, or feeling bitter because of what has befallen you, there is good news. You can put the pieces of life’s puzzle back together again. God doesn’t want us to be bitter, but to get better! God wants us to live fully the abundant life, and to do that we must conquer life’s unfairness.
You know, although my father was no great theologian, I’ve discovered he was right. When life isn’t fair, we simply have to get up and shake off the dust. The most important thing is to learn from the experience and move on. We can rely on our faith and the faithfulness of others to point the way. While life isn’t fair, God is, and God’s truth deals with all of life’s unfairness to enable the faithful to experience the promise of abundant and everlasting life!
Thanks be to God! Amen.
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