In This Life

“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]