union avenue christian church |
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Memory Loss James 1:17 – 27; Psalm 45:1 – 2, 6 – 9 Dick Clark was honored and made a short speech at the recent Emmy Award ceremony. Dick Clark – that amazing grown-up teenager and television icon who never seemed to change his appearance in his 50 years of television performances – has probably gained all of seven pounds and lost a fraction of an inch of hairline in all the years I've been watching him. Although slurring his speech and somewhat difficult to understand, Clark said that his recent stroke allowed him time to reflect on all that he had been fortunate to do in his lifetime. He realized that his life dream and his greatest hope had been accomplished. He had done all that he had ever hoped to do. What a gift, and what a testimony. Clark was successful – by anyone’s standards – because he had one of the longest running TV show in history. But he counted his success by being able to bring music to people, allowing all sorts of young people the joy of dance, rhythm and music. He was able to link the creativity of artistry to the sensibility of the masses. I do not hope for serious illness like a stroke to hit any of us, but the reflection of our lives — to take the time to consider what our dreams had been and whether we have lived out those dreams and life aspirations — is certainly a wonderful exercise. The other aspect of that is merely to have dreams, to have aspirations, to develop some direction and hope and set some possibilities in front of us. This IS an essential of life IF we want to be able to evaluate the achievement. Our scripture passage this morning speaks about the development of that dream and those aspirations. It speaks to how to set those hopes. In fact, our author claims that they are not set by us. God — as a part of the fulfillment of God’s purpose — has set the dream, the hope, the possibility. And God birthed us so that we would reach that dream and hope of God. Within this passage there is a wonderful little identity statement about God — God is called the Father of Lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Thinking about that can surely bring us peace and assurance. ‘God never changing’ is a concept we repeat and sing about, but consider what it really means to know that God does not have mood swings like we do. God is not provoked by us. God has not, does not nor will not opt out of the relationship of love that birthed us and that gives us meaning and purpose every day. And THIS is the God who has designed our character. It is THIS God who has planted a dream of possibility for us. It is THIS God who holds out a vision of promise for everyone on this earth. I can not think of anything more hopeful and exciting than that, but it also gives us a great deal to work for. The image of each of us is set; all we have to do is live up to it and design our activities to coincide with those God has chosen for us, integrating ourselves with this hope God has for us. The author of James cautions that it is easy to deceive ourselves. We hear, yet we do not follow-up. We see, but then we forget. It is as if we look in the mirror and then immediately draw a blank on what we have seen. There are two ways we slip or fail to remember that vision or image. First of all, most of us can not believe that God thinks so highly of us. The image God has painted is way beyond what we think is possible. Our dream for ourselves — if we should have one — is limited and narrow in scope. I can only do this. I certainly wouldn’t be able to do that. This small portion is within my ability. God’s ideas are not just about the abilities we might have. God’s ideas are about the needs of the world, and they are mightier, bigger, and more outrageous than any of us know. And even though every one can care for a small portion, there is need for every one of us to stretch beyond our own eyesight. That is the challenge God makes on us. And then there are some of us who exalt our own importance — usually not in ability but in the gain it gives back to us. Our ego gets inflated and we think others should identify and bow to our greatness. So our personal image is not in sync with God’s idea either. It truly is a life-task to find the image God has for us — to find the true person God dreams us to be and to be realistic with a big-enough but not over-sized character. All of that searching and seeking in life takes listening and hearing, looking and seeing, touching and feeling and practice…practice…practice. The joy of congregational living — gathering as a faith community — is that most everyone who chooses to be part of a congregation is also seeking and practicing. We all look in the mirror and forget what we were supposed to be seeing, and so we go back to that mirror to really see. We challenge each other to get better perspective on the image God holds for us. I may think I know what God wants for you because lots of times it is easier for me to see you than to struggle with my own self. In reality we do need each other in this process, but the end goal is for us to see for ourselves who God has wanted us to be. So, dear friends, let us commit ourselves to the hearing AND the doing. Let us commit ourselves to the looking AND the true seeing. Let us commit ourselves to each other in the struggle. An elderly gentleman arrived at the doctor’s office early in the morning. He was anxious to have stitches removed from his hand and then get on to his next appointment. The nurse knew he would be waiting longer than he wanted, so she took his vital signs and then engaged him in conversation. When she realized the wound was healed and she could remove the stitches, she did so. Then she asked him about his hurry, ‘Do you have another doctor’s appointment somewhere?’ ‘No, I need to go to the nursing home to have breakfast with my wife,’ he replied. When the nurse inquired about her health, the man told her that his wife had Alzheimer’s disease and she had been in the nursing home for quite some time. The nurse asked if she would be upset if he was a few minutes late. ‘Oh no,’ he said, ‘she hasn’t recognized me in five years.’ ‘And you still go to see her every morning even though she doesn’t know who you are?’ the nurse inquired. He smiled and patted the nurse’s hand saying, ‘She doesn’t know me, but I still remember who she is.’ The good news, dear Christians, is that God knows who we are; God knows who we were meant to be; and God knows who we need to be — for God’s sake and the sake of this world. We may forget and we may not see or hear or act the way we were called to, but God holds out that image of us, every one of us, and beckons us to live up to that dream, that possibility, that vision. May we see and hear and then act upon that one we each have been called to be. SW |
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