Lessons from our Ancestors
(based on 2 Timothy 1:1-14)
Before I even begin with today’s
message that comes to us from Timothy, I’d be a bit remiss if I didn’t at least
address the passage from Psalm 137.
Sometimes, there are scriptures that you just wish weren’t there. Or you wish that the writer had stopped while
he was ahead. This psalm is one of
those.
I love how it begins. It begins as a psalm of lament, a psalm of
sadness and yearning, a psalm of remembrance and struggle. The people of Israel were exiled from their
land and sent to a new home in Babylon.
There in Babylon, their captors prodded and joked with their new toys
requiring them to dance their jigs, sing their songs, play their
instruments. But they lament their situation
and can’t imagine singing of joy and love and peace and prosperity in a foreign
land at their tormentor’s request. In
tears, they remember Zion.
But, since the writer of the Psalms is a human
and has human emotions that span the full breadth of emotion, the psalm turns
from mourning into a song of hellfire and brimstone, requesting recompense and
judgment upon Jerusalem’s captors. The
writer hopes for the worst things to happen to their devastators and prays with
joy and gladness if one day, Babylon is repaid their due and have their own
children captured and bashed against the rocks.
Yes, I know that the writer of this Psalm is
sad and angry and yes, I know that the worst in us comes out when we are full
of emotion, but I just wish it wasn’t written down in scripture. Why?
Because, then it can sometimes be used as justification for all kinds of
horrible things that we do to one another.
Having said all that, there is a lesson in this
about what we hand down to our children.
Will we hand down to them the anger of our past or the hope of a better
future through the inspiration of what we learned? It’s important to notice that the church in
Ephesus, where Timothy is now the leader and preacher, already has a long
history of faithful servants. Paul
reminds Timothy that his faith was handed down to him from his grandmother,
Lois and his mother, Eunice – at least three generations already in this new
Christian Church movement in Ephesus.
Paul instructs Timothy that he has been entrusted with the Good News and
to guard the good teachings he has learned.
What lessons have you been entrusted with from
your mother, your father, your grandmother, or grandfather? What lessons, people older and wiser than
you, have you learned to be truthful and accurate? What will you hand down to your children and
grandchildren to entrust to future generations?
These walls resound with the lessons of our
ancestors. These classrooms and
fellowship halls echo the Good News they tried to teach us. Have you brought them forward into your own
life? Have you written them upon your
heart? Are you willing to share and to
teach those of us who come after you?
Just over 10 years ago, a CMU professor by the
name of Randy Pausch learned that he was dying of pancreatic cancer and gave
his last lecture. The script of that
lecture became a New York Times Best Seller called, The Last Lecture, and has
sold over 5 million copies in the US alone.
It has also been translated into 48 other languages.
In that lecture he offers some advice he
learned along the way to hand down to his children. I think they would have been quite similar to
some of the things Scripture, in its entirety, hands down to us, as well.
Here are some of them.
Have fun.
Regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in; they may be dire,
they may not be what you’d hoped for, they may be “for the moment” a difficult
time. Regardless – have fun! It is what brings joy back to life, it is
what brings happiness and smiles to a heart that might be heavy. Dance the jig, sing the songs for a time of
remembrance.
Help others.
We don’t go through this life alone.
We live in community, connected to one another. Help those who are less fortunate. Help those
who need someone kind to speak words of comfort. Help those who have inner potential that has not
yet been noticed. Help those who have
been mistreated, bullied, disliked or hated by others.
Never lose the childlike wonder. Scripture often tells us to be like
children. Look at the world around you
with new eyes, as if they’d never seen such perfectly shaped clouds before,
raindrops that fall from the sky, lightning that flashes, thunder that roars,
leaves that change color, flowers that bloom.
See God again and again anew for the first time in all the things around
you.
Show gratitude.
Always say thank you and please.
Always find the split second it takes to smile and nod appreciation, if
nothing more, for a door held open. The
gratitude you give comes back full measure, multiplied, overflowing. Like the miracle of the fish and loaves. At the end of the day, you’d be amazed how
your small offers of gratitude led to others’ gratitude which can spread like a
tsunami of joy.
Be good at something. Find your purpose in life and go after
it. Find what brings you joy, what
fulfills your life, what ignites your spirit and soul. Chase after that and be good at it. God created you for a purpose, seek it out,
look for it diligently, find it. And
when you do, let nothing in this life redirect you, distract you, or lead you
somewhere else. And be good at it.
Never give up.
There are many stories in our scriptures about the relentless actions of
people who did not give up. The man at
the pool who waited for years to be the first one in to receive a healing. The persistent neighbor who kept knocking on
the door to ask for bread. The friends
who lowered a man down through a roof in order to bring him to Christ. Zacchaeus who climbed a tree in order to
listen to and see Jesus. God always finds
a way when there seems to be no way.
Find the best in everyone. Have faith in others. Randy Pausch says to be patient with
others. That inside everyone is wonderful,
life-affirming, beautiful person.
Sometimes they’ve not learned how to show it, or even know of its
existence in themselves. But be patient. Eventually, it comes out. Afterall, isn’t God patient with us? Doesn’t God hope for and want the best in us
to shine forth, too? So, find what
others may have missed because you might just be the ambassador of hope to the
person who needs it.
Apologize when you screw up. Forgiveness is a two-way street. Don’t hesitate to say, “I’m sorry.” Then don’t just say the words, but do whatever
you need to do to make it right.
Focus on others rather than on yourself. We have enough “me” people in the world. It’s time that we started thinking in terms
of “us” and “you”. Refer to the earlier
lesson about not getting through this life alone. And we were created to be in
community, not a stand-alone island.
The last two – stop making excuses. They are only self-delusions. They are also what is keeping you from finding
your purpose in life – being who God created you to be.
And the last one – do the right thing. We find lots of opportunities in this life to make
a choice. To do good or to do harm. To bless or to curse. To love or to hate. To be joyful or to be angry. In all that you do, make the better choice
and do the right thing.
Friends, this building, these walls have born
witness to the silent and spoken aspirations of our ancestors. They have stood silent absorbing the thoughts
and prayers we’ve sent to God in our worship.
As we come to the Lord’s table today, we are reminded of the great cloud
of witnesses that walked these aisles, sat in these very pews, ate this bread,
drank this cup. They, like Timothy, were
entrusted with the Good News in Jesus Christ and tried to do their best. May we try to do ours, as well.
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