WE ARE ALL TERMINAL!

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

Harundale Presbyterian Church

Glen Burnie, Maryland

November 16, 2003

Text: “Tell us, when will this be?” (Mark 13:4)

First Reading: 1 Samuel 2:1-10

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25

A pastor I worked with in Kalamazoo had the habit of reminding people that we are all terminal. He wasn’t trying to be cute or in it for the shock value. Rather, he said it in a way that from the day we are born we are all terminal. Some day we are all going to die. One day I asked him why he did that and he told me it was his way of reminding people to get their lives in order. In other words, his point was no one of us knows how many days we have left on this earth and it would be best that we make the most of them. He wanted people to think about what they would do if they were told they had so many days to live. What would they change? He wanted them to think about the priorities in their lives. He wanted them to think about those people who were most important to them. He wanted them not to sweat the small stuff anymore, but to concentrate on what was really important.

I’m sure that you’ve known of someone who’s facing a life threatening situation, and the changes it’s made in their lives. One change you’ve probably seen is they have become more intense. Rather than just living each day they almost attack the day. They’re more intentional about the decisions they make. They’re likely to have less patience for the trivia that consumes so many of our days. Not knowing how they’ll feel tomorrow they savor the good days that come their way. In so doing, along the way they teach us how we should live our lives in spite of the fact that we’re not in the same situation. And that’s just the point the pastor in Kalamazoo was trying to make.

The disciples had asked Jesus to tell them about the end days. “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Notice how he does and doesn’t answer them. He tells them what to look for, those who might lead them astray, wars that will occur, earthquakes, famines, but notice also what he doesn’t say. “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.” In other words, contrary to what some people are saying about the world situation today, these are not signs that the end is near. He continues, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines.” But he then goes on to say, “This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.” Mary W. Anderson writes, “As Jesus said, you will hear of wars and earthquakes and famines, but it doesn’t mean the end is near…It may only be, Jesus says, the beginning of what God has planned. End times are powerful times pregnant with purpose for those with ears to hear and eyes to see the advent of our God.” (Christian Century, November 1, 2003, page 19)

“The advent of our God,” that’s a good way to describe what the pastor in Kalamazoo was trying to get the people to think about. Rather than concentrate on what’s about to end, how would it be to concentrate on what God’s about to begin. To begin with, when people lose control of their lives it’s easier for them to accept God’s control over their lives. They feel that their lives are now in God’s hands. Time and again you hear people say that, “my life is now in God’s hands.” What that means is they no longer know how long they’ll live. They no longer know if treatments will be successful. They no longer know whether or not they’ll have the strength sufficient for each day. They have to take each day as it comes and they’ll deal with whatever happens when it occurs.

When people say that their life is now in God’s hands I suggest that they keep a daily journal. I suggest they write how they feel, what they prayed for, what treatments they got, how they reacted to the treatments and to list particular hopes and frustrations. The purpose of their journal is that along the way they will begin to see the many ways God answers their prayers. The answers may not come dramatically. They seldom do. But little things will happen that will put things in perspective. I called a person with cancer this past week and she was very depressed. It was not a good day. I asked if she wrote about it in her journal and she said that she had and that she was beginning to see a pattern develop. She would get her chemotherapy on Thursday, feel weak on through the weekend, be depressed on Monday and begin to feel better on Tuesday. Even that awareness and that routine helped her to function better.

When people concentrate on what God’s about to begin, they really live by hope. Hope is the most valuable gift people can give themselves in terminal situations. Jesus tells us in verse 13 how, “The one who endures to the end will be saved.” Again, that endurance won’t come in dramatic ways. It will mean claiming little victories daily. “I made it through the day.” “I helped someone in the same situation I’m in to have hope.” Hope is more that “letting go and letting God.” As Paul reminds us, “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24) To hope is to know that with God all the rules will be fair and there will be wonderful surprises!

When people concentrate on what God’s about to begin, they even put stress in a better perspective. People themselves decide what they’re going to stress over and what they’ll let slide. It’s part of their taking control of a situation they otherwise can’t control. When your life is on the line you just don’t have time to “sweat the small stuff.” You also realize how fruitless it was to become encumbered by the trivia you worried about in the past. We’re told time and again to avoid stress. The problem with that is stress doesn’t avoid us. Any terminal illness is like preparing to go to battle. There’s an old Army saying that goes, “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.” We could also say, the more we realize what’s worthy to stress over the less we’ll be bothered with the minutia.

Another thing I tell people facing a serious illness is that every waking hour is going to be spent seeking a cure. It will become their full-time job, what with all of the doctor appointments, the various tests, the scheduled treatments, further tests to check their progress and just the time when they won’t fell like getting out of bed. They’ll also find out just how many people are facing the same thing. The support group is enormous and is made up of those who’re survivors and those who volunteer their time and their efforts to help them get through the day.

Five things to recognize when we are faced with the finite in our lives. First, our lives are in God’s hands; Second, we recognize the many small ways that God answers prayer. Third, hope in those situations is the greatest gift that we can give ourselves. Fourth, in so doing we learn to differentiate what we’ll stress over and what’s not worth the effort. And fifth, it does become a full-time job, an all encompassing part of our lives. The beauty of those five approaches is that everything that has been said about them could also be said about Christian discipleship. As Christ’s disciples, we put our lives in God’s hands. We learn to notice how God answers prayer in the little things that happen throughout the day. As Hebrews writes, we do hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. Hopefully, with that confession that is without wavering we learn what we should stress over and what’s not really all that important. And in so doing we find that faith is not a Sunday event but a full time commitment.

So, maybe it was good that the pastor in Kalamazoo had the habit of reminding people that we are all terminal. It’s a good reminder that rather than focusing on what’s about to end we should concentrate on what God’s about to begin. God is in control and God has a plan for us. We are on a new and different journey. God has given us hope for the days ahead. In so doing, we have at least five ways to “provoke one another to love and good deeds…and encourage one another, all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Thanks be to God,

Amen