What's the Point?

What's the point of life? (Have you ever asked yourself that question? I know that I have!) That's exactly what I consider in this sermon. Even if you disagree with me, I hope that it makes you think.

Our little community of faith has experienced a lot of loss recently. In the past three weeks, two longtime church members and the son-in law of another have passed away. In addition, the husband of one of my personal friends died suddenly and unexpectedly. The grief of one death is difficult enough. But dealing with four deaths in such a short period of time… Well, that gets really tough. And the experience of four deaths so close together tends to move us away from focusing on any one of those losses and invites us to look at the bigger picture. At times like these, many of us find ourselves asking, “What’s the point of life, anyway?” After all, the moment that we take our first breath, we might as well start making funeral plans. One day, every single one of us will be just a name on a tombstone; and all that most folks will know about us is the day that we were born and the day that we left this earth. If that’s how we all end up, what’s the point? What gives any meaning to these short lives of ours? That’s a question that has been asked for thousands of years, from Socrates to Monty Python. As long as people have considered themselves and how they fit into the grand scheme of things, they have wondered how to give their lives meaning. And they have come up with all kinds of answers.

Some people conclude that the wealth they possess gives their lives meaning. Their philosophy: is summed up by the bumper sticker that says “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” These folks value their lives by the size of their bank accounts, the square footage of their homes, and the amount of their investments. But if money is the answer, then the only people that have value are the rich ones. That means that most of us are chopped liver! I don’t buy that; and I’ll bet that you don’t either.

Other people decide that fame is what gives meaning to life. If everybody knows your name, then your life has been worthwhile. If we agree with these folks, then the lives of Isaac Newton and George Washington and Florence Nightingale had meaning. And those lives did have meaning! The trouble is that Emperor Nero and Jack the Ripper and Adolph Hitler are equally famous (if not more so). So is fame really all you need to have your life mean something? And on the flip side, if only a few people know your name, is your life any less meaningful? I don’t think so.

And then there are the people who decide that our lives have no meaning at all. They look at the vastness of the universe and at the long parade of history, and all they can see is how brief our lives are. And when we compare our lives to everything that has come before us, everything around us now, and everything that will come after us, they are short indeed! Shakespeare’s Macbeth famously said, “Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” That’s the conclusion of the Teacher in Ecclesiastes. I read it just a few minutes ago. (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23) Life has no meaning, the Teacher says. It’s like a puff of smoke that drifts up into the sky and vanishes even while we stand watching it.

Now, it’s true that the Teacher did a lot of work before he came to that conclusion. He looked carefully into everything that we do on this earth, and he decided that none of it was worth a hill of beans. He became wise, as wise as anyone could be; but then he realized that even wisdom has its limits. “God has set eternity in the hearts of men,” he says (3:11), “yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” We can’t know everything. He acquired all kinds of possessions: silver and gold and herds and flocks. He built palaces and gardens and parks – and then realized that when he died, they would all belong to somebody else. He used his money have the most fun that anybody could have. He drank fine wine and traveled all over the world. He did everything that he wanted to do, only to discover that the fun ended when he went to bed at night and couldn’t sleep for worrying. Nothing, he found, is permanent. Can you blame him for deciding that nothing has any meaning, either?

But the Teacher of Ecclesiastes missed something really important. In fact, it’s the key to the meaning that eluded him for so long. He almost gets there as he gives his final piece of advice (9:9): “Enjoy life with your wife whom you love all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you.” I’m surprised that he didn’t see it, because it’s right there in front of him! The meaning of life is in the connections that we make as we journey through our lives. The Teacher told us to enjoy life with someone else; and he’s right! Real meaning is only possible when there’s someone else in the picture that you care about. You can call it love or empathy or a yearning for the greater good; but it all starts with the loving connections that we make.

There are all kinds of those connections! The obvious ones are the ones that we have with the people we love, our family and our friends – you know, the people that we’d take a bullet for. And those connections are certainly the deepest ones; but they’re not the only ones. We connect with other people when we give of ourselves in any way at all. Teachers connect with their students as they not only convey information, but help to mold their lives. Writers connect with the people who read their books; and sometimes they transform lives in the process. Scientists connect with those who will benefit from their work, whether it is through technology, medicine, or social studies. And it’s not only people with whom we connect! If you own a dog or a cat, I’m sure that you’ll agree that you connect with them. I certainly do with my own dogs! As we connect with other people, or with animals, or with nature, or with the vastness of the universe, we are pulled out of ourselves and into something that’s bigger than we are. I am convinced that the connections we make strengthen the very fabric of creation itself! Now, I don’t have any idea exactly how that works; and it may be that our human brains are too limited to understand it. But I believe that it’s real.

The foundation of all these connections with other people is the one that we have with God. That connection begins with the acknowledgment that Someone exists who is much greater than we are; the understanding that Someone wants to help us give our lives meaning; and the willingness to open ourselves up to wherever that Someone is leading us. We Christians call that Someone God; and we believe that God came to us as Jesus Christ and lives among us and in us as the Holy Spirit. And as we connect ever more closely to God, we are able to connect ever more closely with one another. When one of the Jewish teachers asked Jesus “Which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Jesus replied, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Then, just in case we didn’t quite understand what he meant, Jesus showed us through his life and death how to do just that. Connecting with God and connecting with one another – that’s what gives our short little lives eternal meaning.

So let me revise the Teacher’s advice that he offers to all of us. “Enjoy life with all those whom you love all the days of this meaningful life that God has given you.” What’s the point of our lives? That’s the point!

The Right Kind of Pest

Did you know that Jesus tells us to be pests? It's true -- and it has to do with prayer! If you're curious about that, read my sermon!

Let’s go to the local grocery store, shall we? I have to pick up a few things and I thought you might like to come along with me. It’s recently been renovated; and now it's a big, fancy store that sells furniture and clothing, and even offers wine tastings! But one thing hasn’t changed a bit. The checkout lines still have big displays of candy bars just in case your sweet tooth needs a quick fix. Of course, those candy bars always tempt the kiddos who are shopping with their parents. And sure enough, there’s one right now throwing a fit in the checkout line. She looks to be about four years old; and all her mother wants to do is pay for her cart full of groceries and go home. But little miss is making that mighty difficult. She’s screaming and throwing herself on the floor because she wants a candy bar. She’s screaming over and over, “KitKat bar! KitKat bar! KitKat bar!” Her mom is mortified, but she’s holding her ground. No KitKat bar for her little one today.

I invited you along to witness this all-too-familiar scene because Jesus describes something very similar in his teaching about prayer that I read from the gospel of Luke just a few minutes ago (Luke 11:1-13). It involved a man who had an unexpected visitor drop by late at night. Jesus doesn’t tell us who he was, so let’s imagine that it was an old friend who had been bumped from an overbooked airline flight. Instead of sleeping in the terminal, he took a cab to his friend’s house where he figured he could crash on the couch. And he was hungry! He’d missed dinner before his flight; and that little bag of peanuts didn’t fill up even a corner of his growling stomach! But when his host looked in the fridge, it was as empty as Mother Hubbard’s cupboard. His two teenaged boys had polished off everything edible. They’d even put the peanut butter jar back in the cupboard empty! The friend said not to worry; he could make it till McDonald’s opened in the morning. But his host wouldn’t hear of it! He wasn’t about to let his old friend go to bed hungry! But it was so late that even the Dairy Mart down the street was closed. So he went next door to ask for a glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich. The only trouble was, his neighbor was sound asleep; and he didn’t take too kindly to the doorbell ringing at 1 a.m. He hollered down from his bedroom window to go away. He had to get up at 4 a.m. and he needed his sleep! But the doorbell kept on ringing. That host eventually got the peanut butter sandwich and the glass of milk (together with a few choice words). He pestered and pestered his neighbor until that neighbor gave him what he wanted just to get rid of him!

That’s how persistent Jesus says we should be in our prayers. We should pester God like that host pestered his neighbor for a peanut butter sandwich. Jesus tells us to pray and pray and pray… and then pray some more! If God won’t answer the phone, then we should pound on the front door. If an email doesn’t get any result, then we should send a text message. If the doorbell isn’t working, then we should try throwing some pebbles at the window. Jesus tells us that we should do everything that we can possibly do to get God to respond to us! When we pray, we’re allowed to be pests.

But you may be wondering: why is it OK for us to pester God in prayer, but not OK for a child to pester her mom in the checkout line? What’s the difference between a praying Christian and a child throwing a tantrum? When a little one throws a tantrum, it’s a one-way conversation. That child doesn’t want to hear anything from her mom except “yes.” It’s all about the child, who wants what she wants when she wants it! Hopefully, prayer is more of a conversation than that, a two-way conversation with God in which we ask and God responds to what we have to say. Now, it’s true that sometimes we pray tantrum prayers; because sometimes that kind of prayer is all that we can manage. We are in such a panic that we can’t really listen to God responding to us. We’re suffering, or we’re grieving, or we’re angry – or maybe all three – and if we pray at all, all we can say to God is “Help!” or “Why?” And that’s OK. The good news is that God is a big boy. God can handle that kind of prayer. God knows that sometimes we just have to let it all out to be able to move on. But if we’re stuck in prayers like those – if they are all that we can offer up – maybe we need to think about why we are praying in the first place. Are we only praying so that we get our own way; or are we honestly trying to connect with God so that our will is closer to God’s will? Prayer, at its best, is real communication with God. As we pray, we should be listening for God’s response to us and open to being changed ourselves in the process!

Here’s what I mean. Let’s say that as you pray, you ask God to put a big hole in your front yard. That’s a simple enough request. And as you pray, you are really listening for what God has to say about that. It seems to me that a couple of things might happen. That hole might magically appear right in the middle of the yard. Or your neighbor might come over with a brand-new shovel just itching to try it out. Hey, your prayer has been answered! But it doesn’t always work that way, does it? Maybe the hole doesn’t appear. Instead, as you pray, you might come to realize that you’re asking God to put the hole in the wrong place. It would really be better for that hole to be in the side yard. So, you change your prayer. Or you might realize that a hole in the front yard really isn’t a good idea – at least, not right now. So, you pray for God to show you some alternatives. And there is one response that we are all afraid to hear – God just might hand you a shovel and tell you to get to work! Let’s face it, we tend to ask God for things that we can do ourselves. Prayer really does change things. And many times, we are the ones who are changed!

So go ahead and be a pest. Pray and pray and pray some more. Pray for what you honestly want, not for what you think you should want. And as you pray, listen to what God has to say to you. Prayer really does change the world! But many times that change begins only when we allow God to change us!

Freedom from Fear

Fear seems to be everywhere these days, especially in our national conversations. Oh, it may be focused on immigration and terrorism and gun laws, but all of those topics have their basis in fears that we have. I'm convinced that we Christians have something to add to those conversations, especially as we celebrate our independence; and I discuss it in this week's sermon.

The Fourth of July has rolled around again! If you haven’t already enjoyed fireworks bursting in midair, and heard “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” you probably will very soon. Tomorrow we’ll mark the anniversary of 240 years as an independent nation; and we’ll celebrate all the good that has happened during those 240 years. Personally, I plan to eat grilled hamburgers and homemade potato salad and watermelon and wash it all down with ice cream; and I’m guessing that some of you will do the very same thing.

But we haven’t gotten to tomorrow yet. Today is Sunday: the day that we worship as Christians. How should we worship on the Sunday that falls nearest to the Fourth of July? Independence Day, after all, isn’t a holiday that appears on the church calendar like Christmas and Easter. It is a national holiday, not a religious holiday. So what should we do in Christian worship on this Sunday that is so close to our national holiday? How do we balance being Christians with being Americans? On the one hand, we can’t ignore Jesus Christ and focus exclusively on our country (although many congregations seem to do just that). On the other hand, I don’t want to ignore our national heritage, either. It seems to me that we can be both faithful to Jesus Christ and respectful of our national identity by considering what we can add to the national conversation as we express our Christian faith.

We Christian Americans have something to say in these days; and our voices are not always heard. We speak of justice, for example, in a society that oppresses many folks who are at the bottom of the ladder, while celebrating those who are at the top, no matter what they have done to get there. We Christians value sacrifice in the midst of a society that teaches us to take care of ourselves at all costs, even if it means walking all over other people. We preach love and tolerance in a culture where hate is acceptable, and violence is often answered with violence. We say something else, too; and it might be a more radical statement than any of these other things. We say clearly and boldly, “Don’t be afraid.”

Now, that’s a very odd statement to make in a time when everyone is afraid of something! American Christians are afraid of Muslims; and American Muslims are afraid of non-Muslims. Many people are afraid of gays and lesbians; and the GLBTQ community is just as afraid of the people who hate them. Democrats are afraid of Republicans; and Republicans are afraid of Democrats. Some people are afraid of one of the presidential candidates; and some people are afraid of the other one. Young folks are afraid that they won’t ever be able to find gainful employment; and older folks are afraid that they won’t ever be able to retire. Lots of us are afraid that the stock market might go into free fall and wipe out all our investments. And nearly everybody is afraid of the international terrorism that seems to be creeping closer and closer to our own shores. Fear is everywhere! Why, we’re practically drowning in it! So how in the world can we say with such confidence, “Don’t be afraid”?

The answer is that we Christians believe that God is with us, and that God will care for us in both good times and bad – maybe especially in the bad. We remember all those times in both Old and New Testaments when things were bad, and God sent a messenger to reassure the people. The very first thing that messenger usually said was, “Don’t be afraid!” When the Israelites were caught on the shore of the Red Sea with the Egyptian army hot on their heels, what did Moses say to them? “Don’t be afraid!” When Gabriel showed up while Mary was getting lunch ready and told her that she would be the mother of the Messiah, what did he say to her? “Don’t be afraid!” And when the women came weeping to Jesus’ tomb to anoint his body, only to find that he wasn’t there, what did the angel tell them? “Don’t be afraid!” When big changes are in the wind, God tends to show up and say, “Quit hiding under the bed. You don’t need to be afraid!”

So, the question is: How do we respond when God tells us, “Don’t be afraid”? Here’s what the psalmist says in Psalm 46 (this morning’s scripture reading): “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” And Psalm 46 describes a much worse situation than two unpopular presidential candidates or endlessly squabbling political parties. Psalm 46 shows us creation itself falling apart at the seams! As the psalm begins, the foundations of the earth have snapped like matchsticks, and the mountains are crumbling like sand castles when the surf hits them. The sea is drowning the world in its chaos; and the monsters who live there are taking over. There is no place to hide; no place to escape. But even in the midst of the chaos and confusion, the psalmist bravely states, “We will not be afraid!” In fact, the psalm even shakes a chiding finger at us as it reminds us what God can do: God can cart our swords and spears off to the dump, and build a bonfire with our shields. And if that isn’t enough, God himself shows up, declaring: “Be quiet! Remember that I am God, the one who holds everything in the palm of my hand.” Oh, yes… the Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Don’t you think that’s something that our country needs to hear right now? I’m convinced that much of the violence that we see right now, both in our country and around the world, is rooted in fear – fear of other people, fear of the future, and fear of change. Maybe we American Christians need to serve as reminders that God is greater than anything we are afraid of. God is greater than Congress; greater than the presidential candidates; greater than the stock market; and even greater than global terrorism! No matter what kind of mess we humans get ourselves into – and we do get ourselves into some nasty messes – God can handle it. As we share Holy Communion this morning, remember that Jesus first shared that meal with his friends during a night that was filled with fear. Jesus was about to be arrested, put through a rigged trial, and executed; and the world of the disciples was about to be turned upside down. There were lots of things to be afraid of on that night: the Romans, the Jewish authorities, the crowds who turned against Jesus, even their friend Judas. But the fear that gripped the disciples on Thursday, and the horror that they experienced on Good Friday turned into overwhelming joy on Easter morning! “Don’t be afraid!” Jesus said it to his disciples, and he says it to us today. “Don’t be afraid!” God’s got it covered! Yes, indeed, the psalmist knew what he was talking about. “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress!"