based on Genesis 1:5 and Mark 1: 4 - 11 and many other passages are quoted herein including the 23rd Psalm, selections from John 14, selections from Romans 6 and John Donne's poem - "Death Be Not Proud"
Prayer - May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts
be acceptable in Your sight, and may we find comfort in this life under
the guidance of Jesus, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times" are the words at the beginning of Charles Dickens "Tale of Two Cities." In his novel Dickens describes the intrigue of the 18th Century world of the French revolution. It was a bad time for many and a time which allowed France to eventually become a modern state.
"Life is Difficult" are the first few words in M. Scott Peck's well known book "The Road Less Traveled". Another set of memorable words which catch your attention. They certainly are words with which many of us identify. During this time of uncertainty in our country and in this city as it is at present, those words resonate and all too often catch our mood.
"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth," is how the book of Genesis begins in the New Revised Standard Version of Bible. It goes on to describe the creation of light by God and its separation from the dark. Our passage for today describes the work of God in the creation of the first day. The first chapter of Genesis goes on to describe the creation of the world and human kind in six days. It pauses often to describe this work as being good. Certainly the creativity of God has given us a wonderful world of possibilities and a great place in which to live. We have many blessings to enjoy - light and dark, dry land and water, a beautiful sky, plants to feed us and to fill the various landscapes of the world, the lakes and waters and fish and sea monsters. And we have animals to eat as well as plants. And we have the blessing of each other - we have human companionship. And behold these are wonderful gifts which we may enjoy. We have these gifts even when "Life is difficult" and even in the midst of times when we experience both the best and the worst situations of life. In our country and in our city things could certainly be better. Maybe it is a time when we can think about the good things in life which we have which don't have a high material cost - maybe we can sort out our stuff and think about those who love us and those whom we love and appreciate the brightness of a full moon which was so bright last night and the many beautiful sunrises and sunsets and distant mountains and the snow on the mountains. There are wonders to behold - and they are very good.
The gospel of John begins with the well known phrase "In the beginning was the word" and goes on to describe the word as being a focus of the creativity of God and the source of many of the great gifts of God and God's creativity and purpose for us in the world around us.
The gospel of Mark starts with a description of the ministry of John who prepared the way for Jesus' ministry. It was the beginning of the gift of the ministry, life, and teaching of the one we call Jesus of Nazareth and whom we declare to be the second person in the trinity and the one for whom we are thankful because he brought salvation to this world and to us. We get to celebrate that life each time we come here to church and we have the freedom in this country to celebrate Jesus each day and even in each moment. We have new opportunities each day to begin anew and to seek to travel more faithfully as a disciple of Jesus.
Indeed the gospel for today does give us reason to bow down and worship God as it describes the specialness of Jesus described in verses 10 and 11 which tells us about the scene after Jesus was baptized with these words - "10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
When I received a call about doing this service because of the situation of Bruce Pomeroy, Don Schmiedel suggested that a meditation which somehow gives us some hope when we think of the sadness of a loss would be a good approach to this morning's service. Well, my contribution to that is to talk a bit about some ways that we might think of death. A few months ago Pastor Dave gave a sermon in which he reflected on how we might think about Hell. Well, today I offer some ways for us to find comfort and hope in the face of death and some ways that we might think about death.
I am somewhat reluctant to talk about this subject yet I also found it meaningful in the past to do funerals and to work hard at creating a remembrance that embraced the values of the deceased as well as offered some hope as we have it offered in our faith. As I think of this I recall the reputed words of the comedian Woody Allen who once said "I am not interested in eternal life, I want to live forever." I also remember a meditation by the current president of my seminary when he said that no matter how much we try to put a positive spin on death, it is not a pleasant subject and we still prefer life to death. But death is part of our lives and is something that ultimately defines the span of our lives. It is a punctuation mark which says look this wonderful human has now entered a different dimension of their lives. I would like for you to travel with me for a few minutes as we hear about some of the words in the United Church of Christ order for thanksgiving for one who has died. First as noted as the next item after the sermon I would like you all to turnpage 633 and 634 in the back of the hymnal and read together the words of the 23rd Psalm. I offer this exercise as a gift to all of us as a way to open ourselves to the magnificence and wonder of God's provision for us and his love for all of us - (Some of you know this in the King James Version. That is a beautiful version - but let's do this in the version as translated by mainline churches.)
NRS Psalm 23:1 <A Psalm of David.> The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff-- they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.
And I offer some words from the 6th Chapter of the book of Romans which are often used in funeral services - we might find comfort at a time like that in thinking about the implications of our baptism as an induction into the example of Christ's life. Hear these words from the book of Romans - "When we were baptized into Christ Jesus, we were baptized into Christ's death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with Christ and shared Christ's death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of God, so too we might live a new life. For if we have been united with Christ in a death like Christ's, we shall certainly be united with Christ in a resurrection like Christ's."
A passage which is frequently read at funerals is John 14: 1 - 6 -- listen now to the promises of God that there is a place for us in heaven - as promised in these words -- "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I share with you the thought that in the Christian Faith we believe in the reality of heaven. It is a bit of a mystery to us. You see, I have yet to meet anyone who has been there who can tell me precisely what it is like. Yet we live within the promises of God and at times like this we trust in those promises that there is a place for us where we can be united with our loved ones and where we can wait for our loved ones who will join with us in the future. You see, we believe that there is a different reality that is to come. We believe that just as birth is mysterious to a baby residing within his mother's womb; equally mysterious is what happens to us when we die. When we are born we come from a comfortable place into a cold world. Newborns usually cry loudly as they experience the harshness of a cold strange world. Yet after a while they discover that there are many wonderful things which we enjoy. And when we die we go into a different place which is mysterious and strange to us. Death is not something that we seek out. Yet we do have the witnesses of some who have had near death experiences that there is a wonderful bight place that they see and sometimes such testimonies include visions of loved ones. We also have the promises of God that heaven is a wonderful place where there are experiences that will fill us with joy. We have today in our scriptures the promise that God has a place for his children in heaven with him.
In the order for funerals we often recite these wonderful words from the elder Simeon who witnessed the blessing and circumcision of Jesus - and we offer these words as a way of saying goodbye to loved ones. Let us hear the words of Simeon - "Holy One, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel."
And finally I offer you the words of the poet John Donne and the description of the defeat of death described in the poem - "Death Be Not Proud"
DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and souls' delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better then thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
May you always life well - live each day as if there were no tomorrow and plan as if you were to live forever.
Go in peace and enjoy and care for the creation, celebrate the baptism of Jesus, and celebrate all of God's children.
Prayer - Lord, we offer thanks and thoughts of comfort and joy as we experience sadness and wonder as well. Amen.