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Third Sunday of
Easter
April 30, 2006 Sermon
by Rev. Peggy Tuttle, Rector
Readings
“There
will be a meeting of the Board immediately after the service," announced
the pastor. After the close of the service, the Church Board gathered at
the back of the auditorium for the announced meeting. But there was a
stranger in their midst -- a visitor who had never attended their church
before.
"My friend," said the pastor, "Didn't you understand that this is
a meeting of the Board?"
"Yes," said the visitor, "and after today's sermon, I suppose I'm
just about as bored as anyone else who came to this meeting."
I am relieved to say that the church board is not meeting today, at least not to my knowledge.
I stand before you with good news and that good news is that the best is yet to come!
You stand on the threshold of something new! You have spent two years wondering about your future and who would lead you from the desert to the Promised Land. You have stayed the course, sometimes discouraged, sometimes ebullient with the prospects of the future. Sometimes you have been too empty to pray and other times you have been filled with the Holy Spirit. It has been a roller coaster of emotions.
It was that way for the disciples. As they followed Jesus around the countryside they never knew from one minute to the next what was going to happen. Was he going to heal someone or feed them? Was he going to teach or go off alone to pray? Was he going to display righteous indignation or sit with the children and play? It was always a challenge following this man around.
He had his sights set for Jerusalem and against their better judgment – they followed him there, too. But they just couldn’t keep up and before they knew it, there he was on Calvary asking God to forgive them and us!
Their sorrow, their sadness, their guilt and shame were near to unbearable yet they gathered to help each other, to support one another.
Imagine their surprise when he appeared in the upper room with them or with the two on the road to Emmaus, or the account on the beach where he joined them for breakfast.
Imagine their joy when they understood! He was keeping his promise!
There is a commercial that begins, “does a promise have an expiration date?” Well, the promises Jesus makes to us never expire. No matter what we do, no matter who we are, no matter what, the promises are always good. He tells us, “I go to prepare a place for you and I will come again to take you with me so that where I am you may be also.” (John 14)
That’s the biggest promise of all – the best is yet to come.
A few weeks ago there was a report released about how long that squishy, queasy, euphoric feeling of love lasts. About 12 to 18 months says the report. It’s called the “honeymoon” time. And if you are lucky you’ll be astute enough to recognize that it’s time to move to the next level. It’s a choice. Choose to invest in the relationship. Choose to sacrifice some unrealized expectations. Choose to develop healthy, open and honest communications. There is a choice. This isn’t only true in a romantic love relationship, it is true in every relationship we have. We can choose to continue on a superficial level or we can go deeper. We can keep someone at arms length or we can incorporate them into our lives. We can sever a relationship or we can struggle through the minutiae of differences to reach genuine acceptance. Sometimes we have to suffer the consequences of our misdeeds which results in the loss of a once valued relationship. It may be in the depths of despair that we realize what we had and only then can we begin to build a new image for what we want.
We lose friends and family members over the most trivial of disagreements: money, words, greed, power, authority, jealousy, some forgotten argument or even worse, a disagreement we feed, harbor and encourage by continuing to keep it alive in our hearts.
There is nothing like being healed from a hurt, of letting go of a grudge, or accepting forgiveness from someone whom we have wronged. Being set free from the bondage of anger and disappointment is like finding fresh air to breath or seeing the sun after weeks of clouds or feeling the first warm day of spring. It is exhilarating.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is …. to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations…”
When Jesus promised us forgiveness from all our sins he meant it – ALL of our sins. And if he can forgive all our sins, the small ones and the large ones and all the ones in between surely we can learn to forgive one another! If Jesus was willing to die the horrible death on a cross for our sins surely we can find it in our hearts to forgive the mean and hateful things we do to one another for they are small by comparison. Forgiveness doesn’t mean we condone bad behavior. Forgiveness means we will no longer let the actions of another hold us hostage.
Each time we refuse to forgive, each time we feed that anger or disappointment, each time we are simply committing Good Friday all over again. Each time we refuse to forgive we are pounding a nail into the cross. Each memory is just another stroke of the hammer.
With forgiveness we experience a love that is beyond description. When we learn to forgive ourselves and others we begin to see the cross in a new light. Forgiveness takes practice. Start with the small things and work up. Forgive someone every day. Forgive yourself twice every day.
Well, my time as your interim rector is over. And I want to leave you with one more story. It is one of my favorites. It is entitled, “The best is yet to come.”
I share it with you today because I believe that for you the best is yet to come.
There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So, as she was getting her things "in order", she contacted her pastor to come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She selected the hymns she wanted sung at the service; the scriptures to be read. And what dress she wanted to be buried in. The woman also requested to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
"There's one more thing," she said excitedly. "What's that?" was the pastor's reply.
"This is very important," the woman continued..."I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand." The pastor stood, looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say...
"That surprises you, doesn't it?" the woman asked.
"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor.
The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say," keep your fork." It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance! So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them: "Keep Your Fork"...."The best is yet to come"