Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena
Third Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 55.1-9; Luke 13.1-9
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
In the name of all that is holy and good.
Everything, bright and beautiful.
All that we hope, and all that we hope to be.
I’m glad to be here, and I know that you are, too.
My name is Tom Eggebeen.
Pronounced like, “eggs and beans.”
It’s a Dutch name.
Someone asked me where I was twenty years ago.
I said, “I was getting ready for today.”
And that’s the truth.
I was getting ready for today.
I didn’t know it at the time.
But here I am, with a wealth of experience.
I’ve learned a lot over the years.
And so have you.
And together, we are the people, and these are times.
I’ll say that again: We are the people, and these are times.
For this moment, we were born.
And for this moment, we’ve all been getting ready.
In the mystery of God’s purpose - here we are.
No one else, just us.
Our stories, our hopes, our dreams.
Our broken hearts, our tears.
The good times, the hard times.
The whole package.
All that we are, and all that we hope to be.
Me and you, you and me.
Interim minister.
Westminster Presbyterian Church.
San Gabriel Presbytery.
The Presbyterian Church, USA.
And the whole wide world.
A new day?
Of course it’s a new day.
A chance to take a deep breath.
Collect our wits.
Review our story.
Give thanks.
Celebrate.
Look down the road a little bit.
Isaiah says it well: It’s time to buy some wine and milk, wine to gladden the heart, and milk to nourish the soul, and it won’t cost a cent.
As I was giving thought to the sermon, and the next few weeks, looking at Scripture for these Sundays, thinking about Lent, the image of a foot race came to mind …
Runners emerge from the locker room, shake limbs, stretch muscles, gather thoughts, plan the run … move to the starting line …
“On your mark!” comes the announcement … and to the line the runners go, kneel down, think … and then, “Get set” … into the stance at the line, on their hands, legs flexed to push off, adrenaline pumping … every thought focused on the moment … waiting … waiting … “Go!” … and off they go … with every fiber of their being … years of training … push, push, push, push ahead … until the race is run.
On your mark.
Get set.
Go.
Today, here we are.
Here’s the mark, this is the place, the race, the lane in which we run.
No where else for any of us.
No one else in our stead.
We’re the ones!
And this is the race!
I’m glad to be here with you.
To be running here in the race of faith.
It IS the race of FAITH …
Which makes this race a bit different.
Here in this place, we help each other, we wait for one another, sometimes we lead, sometimes we follow ... we keep pace with one another ... we don't run too far ahead, and sometimes we wait for others to catch up.
Some years back, a funeral for a young lady with Down's syndrome ... she was kind, humorous, thoughtful ... with a ready smile ... cantankerous, sometimes, as any of us can be ...
Notably … she was a slow walker ... her brother spoke as if he were speaking to her, "Karen, you were a gift to us, to our family, to everyone. You were a slow walker, and you slowed us all down, so we could see the world better. We couldn't rush when you were with us. We had to walk slowly. And for that, dear Karen, we’re grateful.”
The race of faith.
We run this race together ...
There’s a beautiful story told of a group of youngsters, with physical challenges, running a race, and off they went, each pushing for the finish line, but one of them fell, and they all stopped, returned to the fallen child, helped the child up, and together, holding hands, they walked across the finish line.
Just a story?
Perhaps … but what a story it is … the fellowship of faith, the Body of Christ, Westminster Presbyterian Church!
I'm Presbyterian enough to know that we're here for a purpose - not of our own devising.
God's devising …
To make a difference …
Life, life, and more life.
And for this life we run … we are the people, and these are the times.
Can’t have any other way.
No one here, but us.
Right now, right here.
This is the race before us!
We shake our limbs, stretch our muscles.
And God says, “On your mark!”
Amen and Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment