Sermons for the Month
"Knowing Christ Makes All the Difference"
DATE: November 4, 2001
TEXT: John 11:32-44“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
How can you tell that you're getting old? An email I received awhile back speculated that it's "when 'pulling an all-nighter' means you didn't once get up to go to the bathroom." I have also heard that "you know you're getting older when you bend over to tie your shoes, and you look around to see if there isn't anything else you can take care of, since you've gone all the way down there anyway." But people will definitely think you are getting old if you confess that the first thing you turn to in the Beacon Journal is the obituary page. That having been said -- I confess. I think it's a dual occupational hazard; most of the nurses I know read the obituaries regularly, and so do many of the clergy. Contrary to what many people think, it's not some grim, morbid obsession. Especially if I've known a person only in illness or frail health, perhaps confined to their home, it's a treat and a pleasure for me to get a fuller picture of them, of their accomplishments, their unusual interests, they places they have been, the people they have loved. An obituary can be a testimony to a life lived fully and well, and from those relatively few words, it's amazing how much one can discern of the personality and perspective of that unique person. And besides, obituaries are really just "change of address" notices. I firmly believe that my nursing clients, my parishioners, my colleagues, my family members, my friends who die ARE NOT "LOST;" they've just been relocated. You see, it's knowing Christ that makes the difference. Knowing Christ makes ALL the difference in how we regard death. O.K., I guess that's a "duh!" for anyone who's been around the Christian Church for awhile, like for more than a day; but "the difference Christ makes" IS what it's all about. Can we ever lift up and celebrate it enough? And what better day to remember explicitly the difference Christ makes than today, than this Festival of All Saints when we remember by name our brothers and sisters in Christ who have gone before us through death into new life, the day when we sing so joyfully of those "who from their labors rest," who "in glory shine" while we "feebly struggle" in a world in which death pretends to be the final word. As followers of Jesus Christ, we refuse to believe that lie. Death has always been the last and greatest weapon of Satan, who would like nothing better than to drive a child of God to doubt and even to despairing of God's goodness and His power. In Christ, as the apostle Paul put it, we do not "grieve as others do who have no hope." In Christ, we are given the grace and the strength to face death, our own or that of another, without despair. Not without sadness, not without sorrow, not without shock, anger, bargaining, depression, or any other "stages" that can be identified as part of our human reaction to what truly is a terrible assault upon us, body, mind, and spirit. But with hope that is just as real and rock-solid as it gets. "Lord," Mary said to Jesus, "if you had BEEN here, my brother would not have died!" Well, that's not the way Christian hope works. Jesus did not then and does not now prevent us FROM death and dying. But on the other side of death, He promises new life. What Jesus did for Lazarus, and only twice more during his earthly ministry, was to restore life as we know it in this world. Notice we're never told whether the person who had died and been brought back thought He had done them a favor, or not! Jesus restored life on these rare occasion in order to demonstrate that He CAN; that to Him, who is One with the Almighty and Eternal God and Father, death is most certainly NOT the final word to the story. But Jesus then went on to surrender Himself to death's embrace, so that he might go there ahead of us, so that even death's empty horror might be filled with the gracious presence of God. And raised up by God's grace and power to live forever beyond the reach of evil and death, Jesus promised that that same wonderful destiny is ours as His beloved and redeemed people. In Christ, we dare to believe that the people we have known and loved, who have been gifts of God to us here, are not in a moment's time erased from existence, but in that instant are gathered into the arms of God, cherished and loved and alive in a manner beyond our imagining, but which will be there for us, too. In Christ, we dare to face our own death trusting that the Lord our Shepherd will walk with us through the valley, showing us how to die faithfully and well; that He will care for and comfort those whom we must leave behind for now, and that in the end, death will prove to be a momentary interruption of an eternity of living and loving. It's knowing Christ that makes all the difference. And you know what? Knowing Christ, and the difference that makes in how we face death, makes a difference in how we face life. In Christ, we have a sense of perspective about the days of our earthly lives. Knowing that this is not all there is and knowing always that the best is yet to be frees us from the need to do it all, get it all, hang onto it all, whether that be things or people or achievements or experiences. We truly can slow down to smell the roses, or say a prayer, to hold a hand and listen to the same story (again), to hug a child and read the same story (again!), to marvel at the sunrise, to sing a hymn with 8 verses... because when you're looking at eternity, what's a few minutes, or a few hours, what's one day out of seven spent in worship and praise, what's 10% of our time and treasures in the service of others? And on the other hand, knowing that this is not all there is, knowing that there is a Lord and God to whom we belong for all eternity gives an importance and a great dignity to what we do with each day He gives us here; and in that sense, 70 or 90 or more years of learning and growing and loving and serving the Lord by caring for the people and the things he has created is not enough to do justice to the task; our work is never done, there is never "nothing more that I can do." And knowing Christ makes a difference in how we regard one another. Knowing Christ, we see Him all around us, in the faces of even "the least of these," no matter how very young or very old, how "able" or "disabled," lovely or unlovely, worthy or not; every one beloved of the Lord, each one within the Church a saint on a life-long mission from God, each one outside a person with eternal significance to be invited and welcomed into the glory-bound parade. Knowing Christ makes ALL the difference. Because of Him, we can face life and death with confidence, and we have abundant hope to share. That leads me to suggest a way to continue to observe this Festival of All Saints after you leave here today. I invite you to remember a saint who made a difference to YOU by showing you the difference Christ makes. It could be a parent or a grandparent or another relative; could be a teacher or a pastor or a counselor; could be a good friend; could be someone who never even realized the impact he or she made on your life. Then give thanks to God for that person; if they are still accessible to you by phone or in person, by e-mail or snail mail, maybe you'll want to find a way to say "thanks" to them directly; if that person already lives in glory with God -- well, I personally believe that God will take a message and pass it along. Then, I invite you to think of that person who needs you to make a difference, that person of your acquaintance who has "lost" someone, who needs to know for the first time or hear for the millionth time of the hope that makes a difference. Pick up the phone, or the pen - pull out the keyboard - and pass on to them what someone freely and lovingly gave to you. Let them know that you care; ask God to give you the words to let them know that HE cares, and cares eternally; that He would give the words to let them know that in Christ there is a future of new possibilities, of new beginnings without end, of light with no darkness, of loving with no fear of loss. What a difference YOU could make, in the name of Christ; and Christ has made ALL the difference! AMEN