MAKE A DIFFERENCE

A sermon by the Rev. Dr. James G. Kirk

Harundale Presbyterian Church

Glen Burnie, Maryland

January 27, 2002

Text: “Follow me…” (Matthew 4:19)

First Reading: Isaiah 9:1-4

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Everyone one of us should make a point to write our own obituary. This past week I did a funeral service for a woman I’d never met before. Usually, when asked to do such a service, I make a point of spending some time with the family. I want them to feel as comfortable as possible with me and trust that I will do a meaningful service for their loved one. So, we spend anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes just talking about the deceased. In this case, what were her interests, her hobbies, some fond memories? Will anyone in the family want to say something or write something that I can read? Anything that will make the service as personal as possible. What I’m doing during those fifteen or twenty minute is writing the deceased’s obituary for the family. In other words, what difference did her life make on this earth?

That’s exactly what Matthew wants us to know this morning. Jesus is writing his own obituary. He doesn’t leave Nazareth and make his way to Capernaum of his own accord. He does it to fulfill what Isaiah predicted of him in his prophecy, how the people who sat in darkness would see a great light, their shadow of death would turn to one of hope. Jesus goes on then to portray the essential components of his obituary. He first proclaims that the kingdom of heaven has come upon them. He will call on the people to follow him, after which he will set the example of how they are to behave. When all is said and done it will be obvious to all who know Jesus that he did what he set out to do. In fact, we continue to read his obituary weekly as we gather in this sanctuary to worship before God’s throne of grace.

This past week I was talking with a young woman. She recently celebrated her twenty-fourth birthday. To mark the occasion she decided that she would become sober. She has not been sober for ten years, having tried everything from crack cocaine to alcohol. It’s not that she hasn’t been able to function. She’s gone to college, got her degree and shows up for work every day. The problem is she’s killing herself. She told me how many of her friends are already dead and she doesn’t want to end up like them. Twenty-four years old and she’s now beginning to write her own obituary. Will it read that she made something of herself or that she died an early death due to self inflicted poisoning?

After Jesus announces that the kingdom of heaven is near he expects a response. The people are to “repent.” That’s what my young friend said she intends to do. She wants to repent of her past and make her future more promising. It’s not been easy for her. Only ten days sober she’s going through serious withdrawal. The AA meetings help, but she lives alone and she’s used to spending an evening drinking and calling her friends. So many times she’s wanted to pour herself a drink, but she knows that it would only take one to set her back.

Repentance is not easy. We don’t want to change our ways. Sometimes it takes a rude awakening to make us repent. The trade tower tragedy made some people repent. They started taking their friends and family more seriously. They realized that there are no guarantees to life and how it can be suddenly snuffed out. They didn’t want to leave this earth with unfinished business. But now that we’ve gotten some distance from that September day people are falling back into their old habits.

We all have habits that probably don’t do us that much good. Time and again I hear how attending worship on Sunday mornings is a habit. Once people for whatever reason get out of that habit it’s very hard to get it back. People just stop attending worship. Jesus tells the disciples to follow him and he will make them fish for people. That’s what Jesus wants from us. He wants us to repent. He wants us to worship God. He wants us to follow his example. Have you ever noticed how only the good habits make it into the obituaries? You never read about all the mischief the person may have caused or the bad habits

The other day I got a phone call from a person whom I hadn’t seen for about five years. She and her husband recently had their first child and now she wants her young family to be in worship. She wanted to know what she needed to do to get more active with the congregation. When I did the funeral service for the other woman this past week her husband told me how early in their marriage they had faithfully been involved in their church. She had taught Sunday school and he had served on the boards. He had to admit that they had gotten out of the habit, but could I say something about how faithful she had been? Here again he wanted her faithfulness to be part of her obituary, just as the woman I hadn’t seen for five years wanted to get her new family more involved with the church.

Jesus goes on then to set the tone for what it will mean to follow him. He’ll be the example. He goes throughout Galilee teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. There’s a wonderful paper going to this year’s General Assembly on “Restorative Justice.” The point of the paper is based on Jesus’ practice of rehabilitation rather than punishment. Jesus never sought to punish. The whole point of his ministry was on the restoration of whoever was in need. If it were hunger, he sought to feed them. If it were shelter, he sought to provide them a place to lay their heads. If it were sin, he forgave them and told them to go and sin no more. Whatever kept them from realizing the full creativity God gave them he would seek to restore for them.

There’s no doubt that Jesus made a difference. It’s that same difference he wants from us. There’s a new movie out that you should see. It’s called “In the Bedroom.” It’s cast in a small fishing village in Maine where the chief source of income is Strouts, the local fish packing operation. The Strout’s oldest son has caused mischief since high school, what with his drinking, his uncontrollable temper and lately the physical abuse of his wife. The plot thickens when a murder occurs and the families have to deal with the impending trial and resulting punishment. Throughout the film you’re left with the question, how would you deal with your feelings? Clearly obituaries are being written, some of them positive, some of them not so positive. Would you opt for restorative justice or punitive justice?

The incarceration of the Taliban and Al Qaida mercenaries in Quantanamo Bay raise some of the same issues. The rest of the world seems intent on assuring that they be treated humanely, yet our own legislative officials are content that they are being treated better than most American captives are treated by other countries. The Taliban and Al Qaida captives had every intention of writing the American people’s obituaries and would probably be proud to continue their efforts if they were set free. Yet, the question remains, how can we be faithful to the teachings of Jesus in these circumstances? Is there any room for restorative justice or should it be only punitive?

It was obvious in the film “In the Bedroom” there was a lot of anger on everyone’s behalf. Not one of the players had dealt with their anger in a positive way. Episode by episode only serves to enhance that anger and the results become deadly. I don’t know why my young friend has been captive to drugs and alcohol for ten of her twenty-four years. Maybe she’s angry. But the point of her story is that she’s begun to take some positive steps toward making a difference. The same could be said for the young mother who wants to get back into worship. She’s taking some positive steps to make a difference.

What differences can we make? Are there habits that are keeping us from becoming the potential human being God created us to be? If so, perhaps it’s about time we did something about them. Does anger disproportionately condition how we respond to other people, so that ultimately we take punitive rather than restorative measures? In that case, we either consciously or sub-consciously want to write their obituary for them.

Jesus does not make it easy for us. But then again, he never intended repentance to be easy. He does ask us repeatedly to follow him and that’s where the onus of our response becomes noteworthy. It all comes down to the question, what difference do we want to make of the life God has given us to live. If we can with good conscious admit that when our obituary is written it will serve to give God the glory and the honor God’s name is due, then we will here the response, “well done, good and faithful servant!”

Thanks be to God,

Amen