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Redford Aldersgate
United Methodist Church
Sermon
How
are you doing on your homework? Do you even remember what your homework
was for last week? If you are new today, or if you weren’t here last
week, you are excused from answering that question ... but I hope those
of you who were here last week remember that you were supposed to be a
certain kind of dispenser. What were you supposed to dispense last week?
Blessings! You were supposed to go around giving out blessings. I hope
you did and will have some neat stories to tell you small groups about
some blessings that you gave out. This week, I saw a lot of blessings
being dispensed... by all of you who came and served so joyously ... and
by the homeless people themselves. I was impressed with this group of
people.
They
were very encouraging of each other. For example during the talent show,
(video) there were some people with some very good talents...
... like this man who could play the piano and sing beautifully ..
... and this jazz pianist
... and this man with a beautiful voice
.... but there were also some who were very shy, like this woman who
sang with her back to the audience. But they encouraged her so much, she
finally turned around.
...And this woman who sang rather off key was given just as big an
ovation as the guy who sang so beautifully. It was a great group.
I tried really hard to dispense some blessings. I hope I did, however, it seemed like instead of being a blessing dispenser, I ended up being a blessing receiver. Because, the more I tried to bless them, the more I felt like they were blessing me more than I was blessing them. I suspect that many of you had the same feeling if you spent much time talking to them. For example, one morning I sat down at a table with 3 or 4 people. I asked how they had slept. One thing lead to another and we started talking about dreams. It so happened that I had had one of those nights when I woke up several times with the same crazy dream. So I told them about my dreams. And one of the women gave her interpretation of my dream that gave me hope and inspiration for today. It was great. I hope she was right about what my dream meant. Are you curious about my crazy dream?
I dreamed that I was riding around on
this inflatable horse. Only it was filled with helium, not just regular
air. And it had this valve on it that you could turn so that it would go
up and down. It was great fun riding around on this inflatable horse.
Some of the time, I was outside, but most of the time, I was in here in
this sanctuary ... way up by the ceiling. It’s a really neat view from
up there. And several times, I was helping Paul DeNapoli change the
light bulbs. He was on the ladder, but I’d let out the valve a little,
go down and pick up a light bulb and then gallop up to hand him the
bulb. It was really fun! Crazy, but fun... And guess what the name of
this inflatable horse was ... Fumanchu! So I didn’t go 2.7 seconds on a
bull named Fumanchu ... I went (I’m not quite sure how many seconds) but
at least several seconds on a balloon named Fumanchu! (If you haven’t
been here for a couple weeks and the name Fumanchu
doesn’t
ring a bell... just wait a couple seconds and you’ll get it.) The people
at my table that morning all laughed at that, because they knew the
song. Went I told them that I was doing a sermon series inspired by the
song: Live Like You Were Dying, the woman at the table said, “I think
your dream is a sign that you are going to rise to the heights on Sunday
and turn on the lights for some of those people in your congregation!”
Was that a blessing or what?!!
Wouldn’t
that be great if that is really what that dream meant? It would be
wonderful if something in this sermon would turn on some lights for lots
of you. We know all this stuff all ready, but it’s like we know it in
the dark. It doesn’t compute. We need the light turned on so that we
say, “Yea... That’s right! I’m going to live like I’m dying. I’m going
to get my priorities straight. I’m not going to waste any of the
precious moments of life God gave me being upset or angry over stuff
that really doesn’t matter. I’m going to concentrate on doing stuff that
has eternal significance.”
I’ve
had feed back from many people that they are really appreciating the
readings and the small groups associated with these sermons ... and that
the song has made them think as well. I don’t remember hearing that song
before we started this, but I heard it twice this week, once at Arby’s
and another time on the radio in the car. Let’s listen to a portion of
the song again. I know you are beginning to get the chorus. This is the
response of someone who has just been told that he didn’t have long to
live, so this is what he did. (Song)
This song helps us to realize what the video I showed 2 weeks ago illustrated in a cute way: ...
life
is short and it will pass us by quickly, so we need to squeeze
everything we can out of it while we have it and embrace life fully. All
of us know that our earthly days are numbered, but most of us do not
know what the number is. However, there are some people who, through the
advances in modern medicine, have been given the approximate number by
doctors. Some of those people become bitter and miserable for their last
days, but many, many more are using those days to embrace life fully.
That’s what the song and this sermon series is about. Embracing life
fully.
Diane
Sawyer helped me out this week by interviewing and amazing man: Randy
Pausch. How many of you saw that show? It was a very touching show. I
found a 4 minute summary of the show on YouTube. I think it is worth 4
minutes of sermon time to show you. Listen to the story of Randy Pausch.
(Video)
(This worked great at the 11:00 service, but the service that was recorded was the 9:30 service where it didn't work. If you are listening to the sermon while reading this and looking at the pictures, I suggest you turn off your media player at this point and go to this link, then come back to the sermon.)
YouTube - The Last Lecture -- Randy Pausch
He
has an amazing attitude. It didn’t say a lot about his faith. It
mentioned briefly his father was a man of great faith. It seems obvious
to me that he passed that on to his son. It seems to me that he did the
things the song was emphasizing... he did some fun things he had always
wanted to do like play football with the Steelers and go to Disney
World. But he also said in the program, his main emphasis is in spending
those extra special moments he called “gems” with the people he loves
the most. He said, “It’s all little things on my bucket list now.” I
wanted to show you the clip because it seemed that he exemplified what
it means to love deeper. It is obvious he loves his wife and his
children and his students very deeply. I hope we can let him inspire us
to love deeper too.
Love
is the greatest gift we are ever given ... and the greatest gift we can
give. Paul says it so well in our scripture today.
It’s like the song we just sang: “Though I may speak with bravest fire
and have the gift to all inspire and have not love, my words are vain,
as sounding brass and hopeless gain.”
The
Apostle Paul says it this way in his letter to the Corinthians: (You
read the part in ALL CAPS)
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have
love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And
if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do
not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body but do not
have love, I gain nothing.
In other words, I can be a great preacher, a great church worker, a doer
of great deeds ... but if I don’t have love, I’m nothing.
I
was reading a sermon by Maxie Dunham on this passage and he told about a
renowned theologian who had written lots of great books and was a sought
after lecturer that he went on a trip with once. Also on this trip were
his two daughters. At one point on the trip, they missed a plane. Maxie
said it was just one of those things that happen. It really wasn’t their
fault, it just happened. As he was trying to make other arrangements,
this great theologian got involved in the situation but in a very
antagonist way. Maxie said that he had “never witness such rudeness,
such demanding arrogance, such irritability and resentment.” He goes on
to tell about his daughter who is now a seminary student who has many of
this person’s books assigned to her to read. But she really has a hard
time getting the positive things out of those books because all she can
think about as she reads the books is the way this person behaved when
things were a little tough. This person has written many important
things about love, but didn’t seem to have love.
Now
in contrast to that, we see a documentary on Randy Pausch who seems to
truly personify the things he says in his lectures when the things are
really, really tough. He loves deeply and I hope inspires us to love
deeply as well.
It’s hard to describe what “deep love” is. When we try to talk about it,
we may feel a bit like Charlie Brown in one of the "PEANUTS" strips by
Charles Schultz. Lucy says, "I don't understand love!” Charlie Brown
replies, "Who does!" Lucy says, "Explain love to me, Charlie Brown",
Charlie says. "You can't explain love. I can recommend a book or a poem
or a painting, but I can't explain love." Lucy comes back, "Well, try,
Charlie Brown, try." As is always the case, Charlie can't say no to
Lucy. He can't resist doing what Lucy tells him to do, so he says,
"Well, let's say I see this beautiful, cute, little girl walk by."
Again, typically, Lucy interrupts. "Why does she have to be cute?, huh?,
why can't
someone
fall in love with someone with freckles and a big nose? Explain that!"
Poor Charlie says, "Well, maybe you are right. Let's say I see this girl
walks by with this great big nose...". But Lucy interrupts again, "I
didn't say great big nose." Well, by this time Charlie Brown has had
enough. He sighs that typical, woe is me sigh and says, "You not only
can't explain love, you can't even talk about it."
Love is hard to talk about and explain. But Paul does a great job in the
next few verses of the 13th Chapter. One year we did a whole sermon
series on these qualities, so I know I can’t do them all justice. But
what I want to do is read them in a couple versions and let you ponder
each one. Where does the light need to be turned on for you?
Which
one would brighten up your life and your love? Paul tells us what love
is and what it is not. First what love is: Patient and Kind.
In the Phillips translation, it says that love is: slow to lose patience
... and that love looks for a way of being constructive. I like that.
How slow are you to lose your patience? Do you look for ways of being
constructive? Think about that. Ponder that. If you were to work harder
at those things, would there be more light in your life?
Did
you catch Randy Pausch’s comment that people will eventually show you
their good side, you may have to wait a long time, but it will happen.
That is being patient.
We don’t want to be like this father
in this video. It’s a Christmas video, but it challenges us on this part
of love. (Video
http://www.bluefishtv.com/ProductDetails.aspx?cid=1005&id=1370&f=s1m&cc=&csc=&ldr=&s=love
(If the video does not come up, type A daughters Christmas Gift with
love In the search line and it will come up)
A little girl wrapping a present. Dad
is irritable and tells her she is wasting too much paper. Finally, she
gives it to her dad. It is empty. He is really upset that she wasted all
that paper on an empty box.
She replies, “But Daddy, I blew kisses into it.” At this point, he is touched and hugs her.)
Paul
goes on to say what love is not: love is not ...envious or boastful or
arrogant or rude. ... does not insist on its own way; . .is not
irritable or resentful; ... does not rejoice in wrongdoing. That’s quite
a list. Do any of those things kinda reach out and pinch you? Do any of
those hit home? Irritable? Resentful?
How
about this list from The Message Bible says that Love doesn’t ... fly
off the handle .. keep score of the sins of others ... revel when others
grovel.
. Do any of those pinch harder?
Do you ever fly off the handle?
Are
you like the wife of the man who was telling his friend that he hated it
when he got in a fight with his wife because “she always gets
historical.” The friend corrected him. “You mean hysterical.”
“No,” the first man replied. “I mean historical. Every time we fight,
she brings up all the wrong things I’ve ever done! She historical.” Do
you keep records of all the bad things people you love have done over
the years? If so, that’s not the way of love according to Paul.
I know the movie about Randy Pausch didn’t show everything, but from
what I saw, I doubt very much that he spent any time going over a list
of things that his wife, no doubt, has done wrong over the years they
had been together. Nor, she him. Their time was too precious for that.
As we look at that list again, what do we want to stop doing in our
lives?
Paul ends by again saying what love does: Love rejoices in the truth ...
bears all things ... believes all things ... hopes all things ...
endures all things.
This
is the kind of love that comes from God. As 1 John says: “We love
because God first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) We can’t do it on our own
power, but it is God who is in us who is doing the loving.
“If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in
us.” (1 John 4:12) So let’s commit ourselves today to being open to the
love God wants to give us, especially the love God gives us through
other people. Let’s love deeper and speak sweeter. Let’s continue to be
a blessing dispenser and blessing receiver.
Did
the light turn on for you today? I hope so .. So that you can open those
boxes that may not be so beautiful on the outside and may seem empty ...
but are filled with unseen love ... kisses blown in by a child ... hugs
received from homeless people ... encouragement given even for songs
that are off key ... let’s be about the business of living like we were
dying so that we can love deeper and speak sweeter!