April 28, 2002 - Fifth Sunday
of Easter
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; Acts 7:55-60; Peter
3:13-22; John 14:1-14
LEAVING A LEGACY OF FAITH AND LOVE
Theme: Jesus
Last Words
ILLUMINATING TEXT AND THEME
People have always been interested in the last words of the dying. If the
person is fully aware, such words often convey a sense of what is urgent
and important to the person. Such words are cherished and serve as inspiration
and guidance for the living. This is especially the case of the two people
at the center of today's New Testament texts, containing some of the last
words of Jesus and the final utterances of the martyr Stephen.
We know that the long section of chapters 13 to 17 in John's Gospel, in
which Jesus conveys so many thoughts and instructions to his disciples,
are as much the words of the gospel writer as of Jesus, but they do convey
the essence of the teachings of Jesus as contained in all four gospels.
John presents the picture of Jesus as a sage like the Greek Socrates, gathering
his friends together and imparting to them his last words of wisdom. Knowing
what lies ahead, Jesus tries to calm the hearts of his disciples, troubled
as they are by the gathering powers of darkness about to overcome and scatter
them. He reassures them that he is going to his Father, where there will
be places for them, and then he tells them that they will do the things
that he has done. Indeed, they will do even greater things because of their
belief and their calling on God in Jesus' name. In a section beyond today's
text, Jesus tells them that they are to love one another, even to the point
of sacrifice.
The followers of Jesus took his words to heart, Stephen being the first
and foremost example. As a deacon he sought to do the works of Christ, serving
to care for the orphans and widows of the church. When arrested by Saul
and the other Jerusalem leaders, Stephen spoke boldly in his defense, proclaiming
the life, death and resurrection of his Lord. Condemned by the Jewish Council,
he chose to follow his Lord's example in dying. Just as Luke tells us that
Christ from his cross forgave his tormentors, so the same writer in the
Book of Acts tells us that Stephen, suffering a brutal death from stoning,
prayed a prayer similar to that of Jesus' and Psalm 31, "Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit," to which he added, again emulating his Lord, "Lord,
do not hold this sin against them."
There would be many more such deaths and prayers of forgiveness of enemies
to come, adding up to an impressive, persuasive testimony of the church
to the power of God in Christ to transform even the deaths of his followers.
The church called such folk "martyrs," from the Greek word meaning
"to witness." Stephen was the first to witness to Christ to the
point of suffering and death. Jesus showed by his death that his teaching
about love and sacrifice, both the love of God for humankind and the responsive
love we are to give to each other, was not just talk, but something to live
and to die for. Stephen agrees, placing his faith on the line and dying,
as fervently for it as he had lived. What a different view of being a martyr
than that used by the sneering and laughing fundamentalist that attacked
the United States.
Jesus, Stephen, and the host of martyrs after them have given us a rich
legacy that continues to inspire and guide us. From their words and lives
we can draw strength to cope with our own situations. Not that most of us
will be led to the point of dying for our faith, but there will be times
when we must pay a price for what we believe. Those who witness for peace
and urge others to find ways of dealing with enemies beyond the use of violence
will encounter criticism when the nation is at war. In a society more interested
in vengeance, in punishing wrongdoers than in rehabilitating them, the Christian
will meet with hostility in opposing the death penalty or working for expensive
prison reform. At a time when prejudice and racism still raises their ugly
heads in jokes and lunch table remarks, disapproving of them might lead
to embarrassment and strained relationships.
Those who side with any community in pressing for their rights under the
law might even find themselves up against members of their own church. In
these, and many similar contests of principles, those who turn to their
legacy of faith and love will find the courage and the strength to, in the
words of the old hymn, "fight the good fight with all they might."
Jesus, Stephen, and the saints who have followed them have bequeathed to
us such a legacy of faith and love that we, by calling them to mind, will
be filled with the resolve to do no less.
ILLUSTRATING TEXT AND THEME
John S.B. Monsell, an Irish high church Anglican, is the author of the
familiar hymn "Fight the Good Fight." Although he drew mainly
on the apostle Paul's writings (1 Tim 6:12; Phil. 4:1 & 3:14, et al),
the last half of verse 2 is a recasting of Jesus' words in John 14: "Run
the straight race through God's good grace, Lift up thine eyes and seek
his face; Life with its way before us lies, Christ is the Path, and Christ
the Prize." Indeed, whether intentional or not, "Lift up thine
eyes and see his face" could be a reworking of the martyr Stepehn's
words. "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the
right hand of God!" Although high church Anglicans usually concerned
themselves with church and liturgical matters, this hymn is a clarion call
to battle the forces of evil by relying on the grace and strength of Christ.
There are ten imperatives in the hymn, adding to the urgency to make our
witnessing for Christ count.
**************
Thanks to Ralph Vaughan Williams' mighty tune, "Sine Nomine,"
we are able to feel the import of the words of "For All the Saints"
even more powerfully than those who knew it by its original tune. Flowing
like a mighty river, the hymn catches us up and sweeps us along as if we
were part of a great procession of the saints. The author of the words,
Bishop William Walsham Howe, affirms that it was Christ who inspired the
saints, just as the saints now inspire us to emulate them. During our "feeble
struggle…when the fight is fierce, the warfare long," it is the
triumph song of the saints, as they are pictured in the Book of Revelation
singing around the throne of the Lamb, which renews our bravery and strength.
**************
One's family legacy can also inspire and guide us, as
New York Times
reporter Nicholas Cage shows us in his book and the film about his mother,
Eleni. Eleni Gatzoyiannis died to prevent her children from being
sent away by Communist guerillas who had overrun her mountain village during
the Greek Civil War. She had devised a plan to spirit hers and children
of her neighbors to safety, but she had not been able to go with them. The
angry guerillas' commander arrested and put her and others involved in the
plot through a mock trial, and then had them executed by a firing squad.
Elen's last words were much briefer than Jesus' or Stephen's. Raising her
arms in a cruciform style, she cried out "My children!" just before
the bulletins ended her life. Her last days are pieced together by Nicholas
who returns to Greece as a grown reporter and starts on the long search
to find out if her murderer is still alive. He has brought with him to Athens
a gun as the instrument of his vengeance. After a lengthy search that takes
him even to a neighboring Communist country, Nicholas finally learns that
his quarry is still alive and living in retirement right in Athens. He gains
entrance to the old man's apartment by phoning ahead and telling him that
as a reporter for the
New York Times he wants to interview him. A
little girl answers the door. The former commander has married and has a
young daughter. As they share refreshments, Nick moves the interview into
an area that it is obviously his host is uncomfortable recalling—the
era of the Greek Civil War. As Nick's rage rises with his accusations against
his interviewee, Nick fingers the gun he has kept concealed. Finally revealing
who he is, he levels the gun at the frightened man. He is about to fire,
when the daughter comes in, drawn by the loud voices and sensing a danger
to her father. Nicholas wavers, then puts the gun down and walks out. The
legacy of his mother's love, combined wit the presence of the little girl,
overcomes his thirst for vengeance. The words of the letter he has written
to his family reverberate in his mind on the plane ride back to America.
He wants to feel the same kind of parental love possessed by Eleni, and
he hopes to become worthy of it.
**************
During the Battle for Britain in 1940, RAF pilot V.A. Rusewarne wrote to
his mother: "The universe is so vast and so ageless that the life of
one man can only be justified by the measure of his sacrifice." Those
were his last words to her, as his plane was shot down defending his homeland,
he being one of those to whom Winston Churchill was referring when he said,
`Never in history have so many owed so much to so few."' ( Rusewarne
quote from
Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, p. 408, #18)
**************
Lesbia Scott wrote "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" for her
children, and not for publication. Her interest was not just to glory in
the past deeds of saints, but to teach that sainthood is our calling also.
She recalls that those who loved and died for Christ came from many walks
of life: medicine, royalty, shepherd, the military, and the church. At the
end of each of the three verses she comes back to herself (and thus the
singer), declaring her intention to become one too. There is a delightful
touch of her English breeding in the last verse, when she declares that
there are "hundreds of thousands still" brightening our world
who can be seen at church or on our travels, or "at tea." How
about, sharing words of comfort and advice across two cups of coffee?
**************
Anglican priest John Ernest Bode wrote "O Jesus, I Have Promised"
for the confirmation of his daughter and two sons. The hymn is very appropriate
following the promise made at Confirmation (or for Baptists, at Baptism).
We are reminded that there are battles to be fought, that Christianity is
not a means of seeking safety or peace of mind. The hymn is a heart-felt
prayer that Jesus will stand by us and help us to stand against temptations
and foes. As we pray/sing the third verse, in which we seek to hear Jesus
speaking to us, the gospel stories of Jesus should come to mind, especially
those involving Christ's gathering of his disciples in the Upper Room or
the prayer of Stephen during his stoning. In these stories Jesus still speaks
to us, bringing calm courage and renewed faith.
**************
Martyrdom is a matter of choice, and as John Dryden has observed, "All
have not the gift of martyrdom." Stephen could have kept his mouth
shut when his enemies dragged into court, but he was too full of enthusiasm
for his Lord to do so. Christ is the first of a long line of martyrs celebrated
in James Russell's poem, "The Present Crisis." Written during
the great struggle against slavery and in protest of the Mexican War (which
Abolitionists saw as a land grab by white Texans for the extension of slavery),
parts of this long poem were selected for the militant hymn, "Once
to Every Man and Nation." It is a pity that this great hymn, which
has inspired so many in the fight for social justice, has been left out
of new hymnals because the editors could find no way around the poet's male-dominant
language. "Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide/In
the strife of truth with falsehood/For the good or evil side…."
The poet shows that the brave person chooses truth before it is fashionable,
and in what sometimes is the third verse, affirms that "though the
cause of evil prosper," condemning the truth bearer to the scaffold,
that the future will be determined by it, because God keeps "watch
over his own," even in their death. Some versions have as a fourth
verse a shortened version of the poem's last stanza, "New occasions
teach new duties," challenging us today "to steer boldly through
the desperate winter sea."
**************
In Terence Malick's meditative film,
The Thin Red Line, Private Witt
struggles to see the light in the midst of what he calls the "war in
the heart of nature" and humankind. The leader of his squad of Marines,
engaged in the bloody Battle of Guadacanal during WW2, is Sgt. Welsh, a
battle-hardened veteran who has seen so much killing and suffering that
he has become very cynical about human nature. He and Witt carry on a running
argument, Welsh declaring that "in this world a man's nothing."
"You're wrong," Witt responds, "I seen another world."
It is a world to which his mind goes back—the time of the death of
his grandmother. Through his eyes we see the surrealistic scene in which
the old woman rises from her deathbed and, transformed to her youth, reaches
out to the angel that has come to welcome her to eternity. Witt sees "glory,
mercy…truth," where Welsh sees only darkness and despair. He even
tells Welsh that he sees light in him. Later, after a particularly bloody
fire-fight, Welsh tauntingly asks Witt, "Still see the light within?"
Witt not only sees it, he lives it. One of the last episodes of the movie
is of his leading two others in a scouting patrol. They come upon a large
column of Japanese soldiers marching toward the Americans' position. Witt
orders the others to hurry back with their warning while he stays behind
to pin the enemy down and gain a few minutes for his friends. Later, after
the Americans defeat their foes, Sgt. Welsh comes upon Witt's grave. He
asks his question again, but this time, instead of moving on, he pauses
and kneels beside the grave to pay silent homage. We can tell that Witt
has passed on something of his faith, the tiny seed of a heritage that may
well grow and change the combat veteran's outlook on life.
**************
"Blue laws" are a legacy that are slowly coming to an end in Pennsylvania
and many other states. Over three hundred years ago, Pennsylvania established
a multitude of blue laws to regulate what sort of activities and commerce
were permissible on Sundays. Although many of the laws have been repealed
in recent decades, some still remain on the books. For instance, while it
is legal to fish in Pennsylvania on Sundays, it is not legal to hunt on
that day. In addition, it is illegal to buy a new or used car from an auto
dealer on a Sunday.
**************
It used to be that everyone associated Easter with the Easter bunny. But
not necessarily anymore. Today marshmallow Peeps have begun to predominate.
Although the holiday sweet has been around for half of a century, recent
marketing efforts have brought Peeps back into the spotlight. Today you
find Peeps not only in the candy section of the grocery store, but you also
find their image on greeting cards, T-shirts, and even a CD cover. When
people think of Easter, images of faith and love might not immediately come
to mind. But for many people, yellow marshmallow Peeps certainly do come
to mind. As we continue through the season of Easter, what are the legacies
that we hold dear?
**************
The legacies that are passed on to future generations serve as signposts
to point them in the right direction. In Scotland there is a tiny village
called Lost. It is a small community that is difficult to find even under
the best of circumstances. But last year someone compounded the problem
by stealing the sign that directs people to the town. A local official announced,
"We are appealing for Lost to be found and for the signpost to be returned."
**************
In
The Prophetic Imagination, Walter Brueggemann writes, "The
task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness
and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant
culture around us." Both Jesus and Stephen succeeded at instilling
such an alternative consciousness in those around them.
**************
The Smithsonian Institute is often called "America's Attic." It's
the place where all kinds of memorabilia are stored. The Museum of American
History includes such items as Archie Bunker's easy chair, Fonzie's leather
jacket, and a Star Trek phaser. The curators at the museum must be constantly
faced with the dilemma of deciding whether something is a legacy that needs
to be preserved or a piece of junk that needs to be discarded.
**************
What are the legacies that the Founding Fathers handed on to future generations
of Americans? Some would say that Founders, such as George Washington and
Thomas Jefferson, passed on a legacy of freedom and individual rights. Others,
though, would contend that the Founders also passed on a legacy of slavery
and oppression. Of the 2.5 million people who lived in the American colonies
in 1776, one in five of those people lived in slavery. Among the Virginia
delegation to the Continental Congress, all owned slaves. Jefferson owned
about 200 slaves in 1776, which was approximately the same number that was
owned by Washington.
**************
J. Hudson Taylor was a renowned English missionary who served for years
in China. He firmly believed that faith was one of the main legacies that
the church needed to cling to, as opposed to relying on human effort alone.
He once remarked, "What God has given us is all we need; we require
nothing more. It is not a question of large supplies—it is a question
of the presence of the Lord."
**************
A certain African missionary came home to the United States on a furlough.
Since he planned to return to his mission, he wanted to take his people
some kind of a useful gift. So he finally decided on a sundial, because
he thought it might be helpful if the natives could tell time. When the
missionary returned, the natives were delighted with the gift. In fact,
they prized it so highly, they immediately proceeded to build a house around
the sundial to protect it. What do we do with the present that Jesus has
passed on to us—the present of faith and love? Do we put it to use,
or do we look at it like we would a museum artifact under protective glass?
**************
"Nothing in life is more wonderful than faith—the one great moving
force which we can neither weigh in the balance nor test in the crucible."
(Canadian physician Sir William Osler)
**************
My reading emphasis on relationships reminds me to stay related to the
Genesis image of our creation as a unique person. This theme carries over
to the New Testament texts when one asks about the reality of God and his
resolve for life in a world on its way to death. During our country's present
crisis and uncertainty, it becomes timely to return to Acts 7 also
to John 14, since both highlight the deaths of Jesus and Stephen. I often
conclude a memorial service for one to whom I have been closely related
by praying the prayer of William Penn:
We give back, to you, Oh God, those whom you gave to us.
You did not lose them when you gave them to us,
And we do not lose them by their return to you...
Open our eyes to see more clearly, and draw us closer to you,
That we may know we are nearer to our loved ones,
Who are now with you
**************
In one of John Claypool's lectures on Genesis, he recalls being on a plane
trip with one of his old professors. They were discussing Kierkegaard's
emphasis upon paradox in his writings. "Isn't paradox the basic form
of all finite knowledge?" John asked his professor. After looking out
the window for a long time, the professor replied, "Yes and no!"
John added, from his last memory of the good relationship with that professor,
it only confirmed his belief.
**************
In a recent experience of officiating for the Memorial service of my first
pastor...it felt exactly like I was on the
roller-coaster of emotions.
The service began with Jim's most favored hymns. Since he and his family
of five brothers had grown up as Mennonites, they always sang those hymns
in traveling and worship as pastors and church musicians. When time came
for my eulogy, I recalled that our friend and their father's favorite New
Testament passage was John 14. I said, "Whenever I read this passage,
I can hear the voice of James Emerson Byler, speaking the words instead
of me." During the reading of those final words of Jesus to his disciples,
I watched closely the intensity of emotions flitting across the faces of
his five grown-up children. Although they were all experienced as, professionals
in art, music and special education, computer-based business, music corporations,
even in recording, they expressed widely varied emotions: from joy and peace—to
grief and depression—to reassurance and encouragement. After the familiar
hymns by talented grandchildren, my wife's soprano voice added the traditional
text and melody of, "The King Of Love My Shepherd Is!" Once again
they were gifted with the same solo Psalm text from their mother's Memorial
service nine months earlier.
When the Memorial service was completed, during the graveside service my
sense of roller-coaster emotions continued, as I read the rest of John 14:
"My peace I leave with you..." Those moments were concluded by
the other pastor's prayer, followed by the two gifted grandchildren singing
the Irish blessing: "May the road rise to meet you and the wind be
at your back."
Each of the adult children from my pastor friend's family expressed some
of those varied emotions in verbalizing their gratitude "for your coming
to help us again become immersed in Moments of History." They referred
to my use of that title for each of their parents' memorials.
**************
The text of John 14 is a gentle reminder of the inner struggles of Abraham
Lincoln. Following the death of his sons, his wife's illness, combined with
his battle with depression, he seemed to be far more in-touch with all who
have experienced grief and sorrow:
In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all...
It comes with bitterest agony...
Perfect relief is not possible, except with time.
You cannot now realize that you will ever feel better...
And yet this is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again.
To know this, which is surely true,
will make you some less miserable now.
I have had enough experience to know what I say. (Abraham Lincoln)
**************
The choral legacy of the 13
th century composer Francisco Landini
has remained for posterity in-spite of his blindness and terminal illness.
After an early death, his wonderfully simple songs, all based upon scripture,
were absorbed by church choral groups who sang in his pure, Renaissance
style. Today, upon hearing the choral setting of John 14 and Psalm 23, I
felt the deeper meaning of that lovely, clear purity in vocal sounds of
grief and sorrow. It was said of Landini after his death: "He left
his ashes on earth, while his soul went to live above the stars."
**************
Fred Craddock, during his first class of
Revisiting Preaching 301,
told the story of the Chinese Emperor, standing at his window and watching
a family passing in front of the Castle. They were leading one of their
oxen as if on the way to the Temple for offering of the ox as a sacrifice.
The longer he looked at the family with their ox, he asked for his servant
to..."Go outside and tell that family
not to sacrifice their ox,
instead get themselves a sheep for their sacrifice."
After doing his biding, the servant returned and asked the Emperor why
he chose the sheep over the ox, did he favor oxen over the dumb sheep family?
His answer came, "But I saw the ox!"
Along the same line of reasoning...There were two brothers who served in
World War II. One was an infantryman, the other was bombardier of a B-52
Plane which flew over cities that were totally wiped our by the bombs which
he dropped. When they were asked how they were sleeping at night, the infantryman
told of his nightmares from seeing the faces of those he had shot and killed.
The bombardier brother claimed he had not lost any sleep from the sights
of those thousands who may have been killed by the bombs he had dropped
from 30,000 miles above the cities. It depends upon that which is imprinted
upon the memory! (Paraphrased from Dr. Craddock's Mercer-McAfee Class)
**************
John Claypool's philosophy in preaching is to take something from life you've
received as a blessing and give it as a gift or blessing to those in spiritual
need. In a time before time—a world before worlds—in a world beyond
worlds—take something from above, from before, from beyond and bring
it up to date! (From John Claypool's "Preaching Genesis" Class
Notes)
**************
Ben Hadden in a sermon to First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga entitled,
"Have You Already Resurrected?" At the time this sermon was delivered,
Tiger Woods had just appeared in his early golf tournaments. During that
year, he won the Masters in Augusta. Jack Nicklaus made the succinct observation
that Tiger played a game "with which I'm not familiar." Tiger
appeared to be "in the zone!"
Everyone who watched his
Masters victory, praised "His swing! What a great swing! Have you ever
seen such a terrific swing?" Yet, when Tiger went home from the Masters
and watched the videos of the entire tournament he had just won, his comments
included: "When you are dropping putts from all over the greens, anyone
can look pretty good. But my swing sure sucked!" Ben Hadden pursued
the ways that Tiger changed his swing and related it to one's ability to
make changes in the key places of life.
**************
Polycarp was 86 years old and the crowd down at the circus in ancient Smyrna
(modern Ismir) wanted to have the old Bishop brought to the arena and have
him recant his faith. The soldiers sent to gather him were invited into
his home and shared his food before leaving to take him to the crowd. Before
the crowd he was given the opportunity to recant his faith and burn incense
before the idol of the emperor. He drew himself to his full stature and
said, "Lo, these many years I have followed my Lord Jesus Christ and
He has never denied me. How can I in my last day now deny Him?" He
was then taken to the stake and burned. Today there is a Church meeting
in Ismir named St. Polycarp's. It is still meeting 1300 years after the
Moslems took over Turkey and outlawed proselytizing and 1900 years after
the martyrdom of Polycarp. One should seek to die in such a way that all
who hear of our death will be strengthened and encouraged in the faith.
**************
If one could only know a person for a short time, but had to get the most
knowledge of them in that time, then one would need to know them in their
last days. All pretense is washed away by the pain and suffering of dying.
The cheerful heart and the lilt in one's heart.
2nd
Quarter 2002
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