Sermon for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after
Pentecost
(Proper 28)
| Text: Mark 13:1,2 As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples said, "Look, Teacher! What wonderful stones and buildings!" Jesus answered, “You see these great buildings? Not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down.” |
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Epitaphs
Have you ever walked around a cemetery
looking at the graves and reading the details about the lives of those buried
there? I’ve walked around some very
old cemeteries in Europe and read the epitaphs and tried to work out something
about the people who were buried there and the time they lived in.
In some places there are many graves of small children and we guessed
that some kind of contagious illness had claimed their lives.
In some places we saw the graves of men, women and children who had been
caught up in war and we read with sadness the details on their tombstones.
Gravestones can
tell you a good deal about a person.
A headstone in Kent, England, reads,
Grim death took me
without any warning.
I was well at night,
and dead in the morning.
On a headstone in a churchyard in Cornwall,
England,
Here lies the body of Joan Carthew,
born at St Columb; died at St Cue;
children she had five,
three dead and two alive;
those that are dead choosing rather
to die with their mother than live with their father.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century,
Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel awoke one morning to read his own obituary in the
local newspaper. It read, “Alfred
Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more
people to be killed in a war than ever before.
He died a very rich man.”
Actually, it was a mistake – it was
Alfred's older brother who had died.
But reading his own obituary had a profound effect on Alfred.
He decided he wanted to be known for
something other than developing the means to kill people efficiently and for
amassing a fortune in the process. So he
initiated the Nobel Peace Prize, the award for those who foster peace.
Nobel said, “Every person ought to have the
chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one.”
At this time of the year the Church’s
calendar is almost at an end and soon we will start a new year as we begin our
preparations for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. With the end of the year also
comes talk of the end of everything.
As we heard in the readings today there is an emphasis on the fact that
there is a time limit on everything on this planet, including ourselves.
As one gravestone says,
Here Lies Joyce
she'd rather not
but has no choice.
So maybe it’s good to do what Alfred Nobel
did – “to correct our epitaph and write a new one.”
If you died today, what would your family
write about you in your obituary?
What would they honestly say about you as a person?
What memories would they have of the things you have done and said for
them?
What moments would they recall where you have touched them at a point of need or
rejoiced with them as you celebrated one of life’s victories with them?
What would they say about your Christian faith – your role in the church – the
way you demonstrated your faith in your relationships, the way you passed on
your faith and love to the next generation and to others?
After the funeral what would your friends say about you over a cuppa and a piece
of cake?
How will your family, neighbours and your work mates remember you?
An obituary is a brief story of a person’s
life whereas a eulogy is a statement that praises a person for all the good
things he/she has done and ignores everything else.
In the church we prefer to use the term obituary because we recognise
that life is full of ups and downs and the way we respond to those hills and
valleys and challenges will vary.
We don’t always get it right. We
don’t always treat the people around us fairly and kindly.
Life is not just about being successful and being always happy.
One of the things we can get so wrong is
how reckless we are with the people we love.
We get preoccupied and caught up in so many things. There’s not enough
time in the day to do the things that we want to get done.
Unfortunately the victims of our busy-ness are the people we are the
closest to – or at least are supposed to be the closest to.
We keep saying to ourselves, “I know I’ve pushed you to the side, but
there’s always tomorrow and I’ll do better then”.
But will there always be another tomorrow to appreciate the beautiful
things of today.
The disciples were admiring the magnificent
beauty of the Temple in Jerusalem a true masterpiece of craftsmanship but as
huge and magnificent and permanent the Temple might have seemed Jesus states
that even this holy place of worship will come to an end.
And it did. The Romans completely destroyed the temple.
The reality is that there is not a never-ending supply of tomorrows.
We don’t know when we will take our last
breath. It may happen suddenly,
giving us no time to make up for the important things that we have left undone
for so long, and the relationships that we have ignored.
Jesus tells the story of the Rich Man who
had a beggar living on his footpath – Lazarus was his name.
The Rich Man died and went to hell.
Suddenly he realised his mistake – Lazarus was his neighbour but he had
been too caught up in making money and throwing big parties for his cronies.
Now it was too late.
As we focus on the reality that there will
be a time when time will end – either at the end of the world or at the moment
of our death – it’s good to stop and examine where our lives are heading.
Reassess what’s been happening in our relationship with the people in our
families. Ask the question – have I
shown as much love and care to them as I would like?
Have I spent time with them – listening to them – learning about their joys and
sorrows – encouraging them?
Reassess what’s been happening with your friends and the people at work.
Have I given them some of my time?
Have I been too busy and too uninterested in what’s happening in their
lives?
Reassess where you are at this moment in
your relationship with God?
Do I trust God? Do I have a real
sense of peace knowing that God is ready to help me, guide me, and support me?
Is my faith something in my head or is it something that really affects
everything that I do in my daily life –
the way I interact
with people,
the way I speak to
them,
the way I speak about
them to others,
the way I focus on God
and his love for me?
Can I forgive those who have deeply wronged me?
Am I willing to reach out to them rather than wait for them to come to
me?
Can I forgive myself for the wrongs of the past because I know that God has
forgiven me? Can I learn to not be
so hard on myself and live in the grace and peace that comes from God?
How well am I caring for my relationship with God through reading his Word and
prayer, attending worship and Holy Communion?
Has my leisure time or work taken control
of my life? God wants us to get out
there and enjoy sport, be good at our work, have fun enjoying God's creation.
He has given us all these to make the most of; but he doesn’t want these
to take control of our lives – to disrupt our relationship with the people in
our lives and especially to put at risk our relationship with God.
I’m not telling you anything new when I say
that when you die, we stand naked before the judgement throne of God.
At that moment all that will count is – not your job, not your money, not
your status or fame, not your successes, not even your piety – all that will
count is that Jesus has died for you. If
it wasn’t for Jesus your sin would condemn you.
Trusting him is the only way to life eternal and eternal peace and joy.
What is the greatest comfort that you can
give your family when it comes the time for you to leave this life?
Their ultimate consolation is to know
that Jesus is your saviour. The
greatest comfort you can give your family is the assurance that you are in
heaven where there is none of the troubles of this life.
You are there ready to welcome them when that day comes for them to die.
I would hope that the inscription on your
headstone would be better than the one on an auctioneer’s grave, which simply
read. “Going!!
Going!! Gone!!”
I would hope that your obituary would tell how
you trusted God;
fixed your eyes on Jesus when the going got tough;
knew that Jesus has forgiven you making it possible for you to go to heaven,
confessed boldly, “Jesus is my Lord and Saviour”
knew how to divide work time and leisure time, making sure there was time for
worship and prayer.
I would hope that those attending your funeral would be able to reflect on how
you cared for them,
encouraged them,
showed them Jesus,
prayed for them,
enjoyed life with them,
and worked honestly alongside of them.
I would hope that when it came to that day,
your funeral would be a celebration of your entrance into eternal life.
I would hope that those who gather on that day would experience an inner
peace and joy knowing that Jesus died for you and that you trusted in him for
forgiveness and eternal life. That
will be of special comfort to those who are feeling empty and alone because of
your departure.
That day when Jesus was leaving the temple
with his disciples, he gave them a lesson on how temporary things in this life
really are as he spoke of the almost unthinkable – the destruction of that
magnificent building. Our place in
this world is even more temporary than the things we build.
However, there is a permanent home waiting for us in heaven. Jesus says
to all who trust and believe in him,
“There are any rooms in my Father’s house.
I have gone to prepare a place for you so that you can be where I am”.
© Pastor Vince Gerhardy
18th November 2012
E-mail:
sermonsonthenet@outlook.com
