No Matter What
Philippians 3:17-4:1 & Psalm 27 (Lent 2C - 2010)
Rev. Beth Garrod-Logsdon
Wilmore Presbyterian Church
On Thursday, I took the opportunity to go to Asbury Seminary’s chapel service to experience the preaching of one of the top preachers of our time. Dr. Tom Long is Professor of Preaching at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He is world renowned for his skills as a preacher and also for his study of homiletics. As I was drawn into his delivery of the Gospel message (he was preaching on the parable of the talents), I was amazed at how simply he presented the good news of salvation. His message wasn’t one of condemnation nor judgment, but rather a message of “here is the scripture, here’s what it says, now what are YOU going to do with it?” Over the past couple of days, I have reflected upon his words, and I keep returning to a story he told of one of his friends who died suddenly.
This friend, we’ll call him Fred (because I honestly can’t remember his name), was in the prime of his life. He was teaching and writing and composing music. He was enjoying his family and especially his grandchildren. He was so content with where he was and with all that was happening in his life he wasn’t sure that life could actually get any better than what it was. But then, one day, he had a heart attack and died.
Fred had always been a man of faith. He had been raised in a family who attended church together and truly valued and appreciated the work of God in their midst. As the family gathered around Fred’s lifeless body to share memories and stories of their life together, Fred’s brother spoke up…
Now, we have to know something about Fred’s brother, he had given up his faith. Though he had been raised in the same household – going to church, sharing their experiences of God’s activities in their everyday living, seeking to trust God in the good times and bad – he no longer held to this same conviction that the rest of the family had. As he gathered there with the rest of the family he looked at his brother, shook his head, then looked at their mother and siblings and said, “This… This is what YOUR God has done! Just when Fred’s life was going well, just when he was at a point where he could enjoy his life, just when he was finding true enjoyment in his work, YOUR LOVING God took his life. That’s some God you have.”
At this point Fred’s mother recounted a portion of Fred’s life when he was diagnosed with a childhood disease that was fatal to children of his age. And yet, two weeks after his diagnosis, a cure was found enabling Fred to live a full and meaningful life. At that point she turns to her living son and says, “That, my son, is what YOUR loving God does for his children.”
Our God is God. And whether others admit it or not, the God we worship is the God of all creation. The God who from nothing spoke in to being all that is seen and unseen. Our Savior, Christ Jesus, is God incarnate who came to earth to walk in our shoes and to die a horribly brutal death, conquering the power of sin, that we who remain sinful would be given the cure of God’s mercy and grace. That is what our loving God has done for us.
At the time when we are most vulnerable to the power of evil and sin, our God enters into our lives and redeems us from errant living. That is, if we are willing to walk in the path of God. Unfortunately, many people in the world (even some who call themselves Christians) choose to walk in the path of those whose gods (small “G”) are idols of the world. It’s a choice we have to make each day – will I live a life that glorifies my God or will I live a life that glorifies myself? Will I uphold and proudly carry the cross of Christ or will I by my own neglect of faith become an enemy of my savior?
We don’t like to think of it in those terms – but Paul is pretty clear: you’re either a faithful child of God who sets her eyes upon heavenly glory or you are an enemy of the cross who is seeking worldly passions. Another way of saying this is those who are not for us are against us. So I ask you - are you “for” God or by your thoughts, words and deeds are you projecting a life that is against God? Are you living a life that values the treasures you lay in heaven? Or are you obsessed with worldly power, riches and clout?
The truth is, God is going to love us either way. God desires us to walk in the paths of righteousness. God encourages us to act out of love and compassion. God wants to fill our lives with joy (even in the midst of grief). God wants to soothe our wounds and bring healing to our mental, physical and emotional lives. God wants to reconcile us to himself and to the world. But to achieve this, we have to be willing to give ourselves and our living to God. Regardless, however, God will always love us.
That’s the crux of Psalm 27. The psalmist not only declares his faith in God – but he also expresses that God is faithful to him, no matter what. If he’s surrounded by enemies – God provides protection. If he cries out seeking God’s mercy – God hears him. If he seeks God’s face – God will not hide from him. If he desires to know more of God’s will for his life – God will teach him and lead him in down the path of discipleship. I would have lost heart, the psalmist writes, except I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
And indeed, the psalmist has seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living by drawing on his own experiences and recognizing God’s providential care displayed in his own life. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul encourages us to walk in the path of those who exemplify faith – to model our lives on the lives of those like Paul, like the psalmist, like many other “heroes” and martyrs of the faith who blazed the path of standing up for Christ, trusting God to protect and deliver us in this world and the next, even from the face of evil and enemies. We have to believe that God is going to be by our side – no matter what. We must believe that God is going to equip us to face the challenges of our life be them spiritual, emotional or physical – no matter what. We have to rely upon God’s love for us – no matter what.
Whatever is happening in your life at this moment or in this season – God wants you to remain faithful to him as he remains faithful to you. Our loving God never gives up on us.
Oh that we could say the same. We must strive to walk ever faithful in the paths of righteousness. We must strive to seek out our heavenly treasures rather than be wooed into sinfulness by the immediate gratification of earthly gods. And we do this, not for own satisfaction and salvation, but because we have responsibility to guide others and nurture them on their path to the Lord.
Just as we have to be willing to walk in the path of good examples of Christians who have lived before us. We also have to be willing to live a life of authenticity to Gospel that sets a positive example for those who come after us.
In 2001, there was a huge herd of African elephants that roamed the savannahs of Africa. Authorities had decided the herd was too large and attempted to figure out how to thin the herd. So, they decided to kill several of the older bull elephants and then move some of the female and young bulls to another area. But this plan didn’t quite go as planned. Soon after the female and young bull elephants were moved, the authorities noticed that in the area to which some of the younger elephants had been moved, white rhinos were being killed at an alarming rate. They weren’t being killed by poachers, but by elephants who were apparently trying to prove themselves.
One of the young elephants even organized a gang-like group of other young bulls that would attack the buses of tourists who came to view the native animals.
Once again the authorities were facing an elephant problem. Of course they killed several of the most aggressive bulls. But then they did something radical. They moved some older bull elephants into the herd – and the younger ones calmed down. The younger, less experienced bulls began mimicking the actions of the older elephants, and peace was restored to the area.
Left to their own devices and without any guidance, the young elephants caused destruction to themselves and those around them. But once older elephants came in and began modeling the life of an elephant, the herd was restored to peace.
So it is with our families, our communities and with our churches. Sometimes we’re the young bulls running amuck, trying to figure out who we are and how to live. Young fledgling Christians seeking the guidance of ones who have walked this path before.
And at other times in life we’re called upon to be the old bulls. The ones who simply by their living provide the example of how others should live.
In Tom’s story that I shared with you earlier, Fred’s mother could have lashed out in anger at her surviving son and his blasphemous tirade. She could have stormed out of the room or ordered Fred’s brother to leave. This exchange could have easily fractures the familial bonds. But the worse case scenario didn’t play out. And it didn’t because Fred’s mother decided to be the positive example and to walk in the path of righteousness.
She didn’t argue with her son. She didn’t lash out at him. But rather she took the opportunity to show him a different view of God. Instead of arguing with him about his disbelief, she shared with him a story of faith. Instead of guilting him into faith, she shared her own experience of God’s unfailing love at work in her life and in the life of the family.
For her surviving son (even if he wouldn’t admit it) and for those others gathered around the casket, she became a model of how a Christian responds in faith and love. She was like Paul, the psalmist, the old bull elephants, encouraging others to follow – to take note of– how to live a faithful life.
Yes, we can read this passage from Philippians as if we are the Philippians being encouraged to remain faithful by following the example of those who live Christ-like lives.
But I want to challenge us today to take up the other calling in this passage. To be not just the ones who are following the paths of others, but to recognize that others are watching how we live. To recognize that we have not just the opportunity but the responsibility to be examples of true Christian living. We are called to be the ones who are not ashamed of the cross, who live authentic lives with real problems and struggles and issues and yet ones who find their strength and peace in the power of our Redeemer.
Many in this community are just wandering through life. They have no role models. They have no substantial faith. They have no examples of faithful living that trusts Christ to work through our problems. They have a list of thou shalls and thou shall nots, but they don’t have a relationship with God. Talk to the school teachers. Talk to Shannon about some of her clients. Our children and families in this community – a community whose backbone and livelihood are a Christian college and a seminary – are floundering through this life.
And what are we doing about it? Families in our community are being torn apart by stress over the economy and many other factors of living. People of all ages are turning to drugs, alcohol, gambling and other gods of this world seeking to be fulfilled. People are hurting, aching, longing for something… something that can make the emotional pain go away, something that can fill the longing in their lives, something they can’t name. Something they think is elusive.
And yet we (as faithful, mature disciples) know what that “something” is. We know its the power of God’s strength. We know its the power of God’s healing. We know its the peace that comes into our lives when we stop living for the world and start living for God. And we know that no amount of preaching is going to bring that truth home.
What makes Psalm 27 and Paul’s journey of faith so powerful is that the psalmist and Paul are willing to share their struggles with us and then remind us that God has brought them through. What makes Fred’s mother so remarkable is that in the midst of her grief, she is able to draw strength from God, just as she has in the past – sharing a story from her life when she struggled and yet didn’t lose faith.
My friends what this community needs and the world is craving are authentic Christians who are brave enough to stand up and proclaim – my life is not perfect! I have been hurt. I have fears. I have felt empty. I have struggled. But through it all, God has been my light and my salvation. He didn’t make the problems go away. He didn’t shield me from pain. God wasn’t a force field around my living that kept me from being affected by this world. But God IS my strength and my courage – no matter what.
Amen.
