“In
This Life” was preached at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 9,
2016. Themes found in this sermon include Scripture, living by faith,
generations, stewardship, and the origin of “It is Well with My Soul.”
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2 Timothy 1:1-14
1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the
promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To
Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and
Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I
am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors
did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 Recalling your
tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of
your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your
mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. 6 For this reason I remind you
to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my
hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of
power and of love and of self-discipline.
8 Do
not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner,
but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, 9
who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but
according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ
Jesus before the ages began, 10 but it has now been revealed through the
appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel. 11 For this gospel I was appointed a
herald and an apostle and a teacher, 12 and for this reason I suffer as I do.
But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am
sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. 13
Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the
faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good treasure entrusted
to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.
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You
know those weeks when you just feel God is trying to tell you something? This
week has been one of those weeks.
I
give thanks to our duet and the choir for leading us in the song, “It is Well with
My Soul.” It’s such a beautiful, haunting, emotionally-filled hymn, and every
time I hear it—especially today—I feel the words come alive in my soul.
You
see, this song and the story behind it came up three separate occasions this
week. First, the choir arranged it as part of the service this Sunday, and so I
first read this story when we added it as an insert to our announcements.
Second, I had the opportunity to lead the Women’s Bible Study this past
Tuesday. In the book, “Soul Keeping,” the chapter we discussed ends with the
author telling this story as an example of a soul constructed to survive
destruction. This was the second time I heard this story. And then on Thursday,
as I’m scrolling through my facebook feed, I see an old friend of mine post a link
to an article titled, “When It is Not ‘Well with My Soul.’” Once again, I read
the story as a part of the article. Three different times in three different
occasions all in one week as I’m preparing for this sermon, I came across this
story. That’s God trying to tell me something, right? Reading this story over
and over made me think of the impact life can make on each of us, and how our
lives can make an even larger impact in the lives of others. [I have posted the
story behind the hymn at the end of this sermon—It was added as an insert to
our bulletin.]
And
then on top of that, today marks the opening of stewardship season in our
church. This is a time for us to intentionally give what we can to the church
and for us to do our part to make sure the church lives on to provide for
everyone who enters through our doors. We are given a generous opportunity to make
an impact.
And
then on top of that, we celebrated a baptism today! As a congregation, we made
the promise to nurture him, to assist him as he becomes a faithful disciple,
and to recognize him as a loved, special member of our family. We make these same
promises every time we baptize a child. With each new baptism, we are given a
beautiful, intimate glimpse of the future church and the generations to come.
And
then on top of that—this is the last one, I promise—we turn our scripture
lesson from today. In the first chapter of 2 Timothy, Paul takes a moment to
give thanksgiving for a faith that lasted through generations that ended up
making a positive impact on a faithful disciple who would become one of the
founding fathers of the Christian Church.
All
these happenings in one week with the following core themes. Family.
Connection. Impact. Life. Generation to generation to generation. Stories of
tragedy, thanksgiving, and celebration. Stories of the past, stories of the
future, and stories of the here-and-now all saying similar things. That’s God
definitely trying to tell us something, right? Right. Now I’m definitely thinking
about the impact life can make on each of us, and how our lives can make an
even larger impact in the lives of others.
I
want to go back to the text for a moment. 2 Timothy is the last of the Pauline
epistles. According to the letter, Paul is currently imprisoned and facing
certain death. Since Paul actually mentions his upcoming martyrdom, we can be
pretty sure that Paul’s execution has been announced. Since he’s aware of his
impending death, Paul’s words in this letter could be considered his last will
and testament. These are the words from his deathbed—his final words to his
beloved follower Timothy. Knowing these are his last words, I wonder what
crossed Paul’s mind. Would he try to right his wrongs? Would he write a letter
filled with his life’s regrets? Would he fight for his death sentence to be
overturned? Would he beg for mercy?
No,
Paul does none of this, but he does consider what he life has been and where
life—not just his life, but life as a whole of all creation—where life is
headed. He recognizes his present suffering, but he also notes if it is
suffering for the gospel, then it is suffering well-endured. He looks to the
past, and gives thanks for his ancestors who praised and worshipped God that
same way Paul praises and worships God in his current situation. He then gives
thanks for Timothy, who followed as a disciple as Paul dedicated his life to
serving the Lord and spreading the Gospel. Paul, instead of praying that he may
live, prays that he may see Timothy just one last time. But knowing this
probably won’t happen, Paul instead gives thanks for Timothy’s sincere faith—a
faith that was born and carried through his maternal ancestors.
But
Paul doesn’t stop there. Paul urges Timothy to rekindle this gift—to fan his
flame of faith. He urges Timothy to be constantly and consistently and
continually filled with the Spirit of power and love and self-discipline. Paul
with bold, clear words tells Timothy he still has time—and a responsibility to
use that time—to make an impact! After all, while Paul’s mission was coming to
an end, Timothy’s mission still had years to go with many countries to be
reached and thousands of people who longed to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And then—after Paul’s death and after
Timothy’s death—generations to come would hear and follow these miraculous
teachings because the countries reached would reach out to even more countries and
the people who heard the Gospel would spread the Gospel to even more people. Generations—yes,
generations—would continue to hear and live into the great Good News! Look us
at now! The Good News is alive and well in us today because our ancestors and
those who came before us fanned the flame of faith!
So
now we consider our own our lives. Where we’ve been. Where we are. Where we’re
going. We have to remember this. Our faith—like the church—was built upon a
foundational Rock. Through the years, this Rock has been formed and
transformed, and the faith that was built upon has grew and flourished because
of the constant fanning of its flame. Because of the work that was put into it
through each and every generation. It is now our duty to strengthen and nourish
this foundation just as our ancestors have done before us. To fan the flame.
Rekindle the gift. To put the work in. That way, our children and grandchildren
and the children of our grandchildren have the very same foundational opportunity
that nourished us when we were children ourselves.
Do
you hear what Paul said with his final words? He stressed the importance of
both innovation and preservation. We are called to inspire and to create new
ideas through the spark of new flames, AND we are called to value and to
preserve the traditions of the generations before us—to fan their flame—so that
these new ideas and these valued traditions will be celebrated by generations
to follow. As Presbyterians, I believe we do this best. We are the “Reformed
Church, Ever Reforming.”
As the Reformed Church, Ever Reforming: What have we done to innovate? And what
have we done to preserve? As we think of our answers, consider this final
thought.
Your
life lasts more than a lifetime. The things you say; the things you do—they
will have an impact on generations to come. Good or bad; the impact we will
make matters, and we have a responsibility to make sure that this impact matters
in a way we want our church to be remembered by all generations.
Ask
God to fill our hearts with the Spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
Fan the flame; do your part; be good stewards. In this life, we have been given
wondrous opportunities by God that involves both preservation and innovation.
Thanks be to God for the generations before us. Thanks be to God for the
generations to follow. Thanks be to God for our generation to make a positive
impact on both. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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Origins of "It is Well with My Soul"
Late in 1873 Horatio G. Spafford and his family were
scheduled to travel from the United States to England for a vacation. Delayed
by pressing business, Spafford sent his wife and four daughters ahead on the
French liner Ville du Havre. The ship collided with the English ship Lochearn
on November 22 and sank in just twelve minutes. Spafford's wife was saved, but
his daughters (11-year-old Annie, 9-year-old Maggie, 5-year-old Bessie, and
2-year-old Tanetta) perished. After arriving in Wales, Mrs. Spafford cabled her
husband, "Saved alone." Spafford then left by boat to meet her. Near
the tragic scene on the high seas he wrote this text. [Adapted from http://www.hymnary.org/text/when_peace_like_a_river_attendeth_my_way]
