Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (and John 15:9-17)
Barry Unwin. Venue: Upton 13 Nov 2016
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
John 15:9-17
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
A priest, a baptist minister and a rabbi are having a coffee, and in that way men do, they come up with a challenge to prove which of them is best at their job.
So a week later they all arrive in Yosemite national park, and head off in different directions, into the woods to convert a bear.
Afterwards they meet up to see who gets bragging rights.
The priest begins: When I found my bear, I read to him from the Catechism, sprinkled him with holy water and next week is his First Communion.”
“I found a bear by the stream,” says the Baptist minister, “and so I preached God’s holy word to him, and then baptised him there and then.”
Then they turn to the Rabbi, who’s in a wheelchair, with two broken legs, and his entire body is covered in bruises and scratches. “On reflection,” he says, “maybe I shouldn’t have started with circumcision.”
Why are we here today? We’re here to remember those who have created the peace we enjoy today. We’re here to remember especially those who paid the supreme sacrifice, giving their lives for the sake of their friends and families and communities. Jesus said in our reading,
Greater love has no one than this to lay down one’ life for one’s friends.
We salute those who made that sacrifice.
And we’re doing that in the context of an act of Christian worship – which necessarily challenges us to think about the direction of our own lives before Almighty God.
I was reading the story of a US Marine called Paul Tribus earlier this week. He won two purple hearts serving in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam, and while he was there his life changed forever as the hill he was defending was overrun by the Vietcong. With mortar shells and tracer rounds exploding all round him, he cried out to God saying
“I’m not ready to die yet, help me!“[1]
In that instant he felt something change inside him, not a great flash of light or anything like that, but it changed the direction of his life forever.
There’s an old saying – “There are no atheists in fox holes.” It’s certainly the case that we are more likely to think about God at times of crisis in our lives. And if I’m honest that’s as true of vicars as anyone else – but the great promise of the Bible is that what God has for us in Jesus works not just in a foxhole, or any other hole we fall into – but actually works for the whole of life.
Now at this point you might be thinking,
Get real, the Jesus and the Bible has no relevance to my life.“
Maybe you’ve tried church and it’s failed you, let you down, hurt you. It saddens me to say this as a church leader – but churches are very good at turning themselves into private members clubs.
Or maybe it isn’t church you struggle with, but life itself. Maybe the questions your life throws up are so complex you can’t imagine how the Bible can speak into them.
At the beginning of WW2, every British soldier was given a copy of the New Testament with a message from King George VI in it. He wrote,
To all serving in my forces by sea or land, or in the air, and indeed, to all my people engaged in the defence of the Realm, I commend the reading of this book. For centuries the Bible has been a wholesome and strengthening influence in our national life, and it behoves us in these momentous days to turn with renewed faith to this Divine source of comfort and inspiration.“
Well I’m going to take about ten minutes of your time to try to prove him right! If you’ve got your order of service open in front of you – glance at that reading from the book of Ecclesiastes that my good friend Paul McCabe read a moment ago. The one that ended
There is a time for war and a time for peace.”
It’s taken from an Old Testament book written by a very wise man – possibly King Solomon – we don’t know for sure – who had a mid-life crisis and set out to write a book about his experiences and trying to get to the heart of the big question of “What’s life all about?”.
Let me give you a run-down of the questions he tries to answer:
- Why is life so short?
- Why don’t the good times last?
- Why education and learning are good, but can’t give us all the answers.
- Why doesn’t money make me happy?
- Why doesn’t sex give more than temporary pleasure?
- Why do fools often get into positions of power? [Insert your own Donald Trump joke here]
- Why do some people enjoy fame and fortune, only to waste it all?
- Why do I never seem to win anything at all?
- Why does a man often work hard all his life, only to lose everything?
- Why do people retire with great dreams and then fall seriously ill the next day?
And in case you think he’s just posing those questions as an academic exercise, well – let me read a little bit of the book to you to give you a flavour of his approach to life.
I wanted to see what was good for people to do …during the few days of their lives.
[So] I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself [think Grand Designs] [I] planted vineyards…[and ] made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.…[think Groundforce] I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. …[think Countryfile] I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. [Think Dragons Den] I acquired male and female singers [Top of the Pops] and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. [X on the Beach] … I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; [Think Premiership footballer]
… My heart took delight in all my labour, …Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
So he turns his mind to education – and gets very wise. But he realises that although wisdom is better than folly – the same fate overtakes both a wise man and a fool – the fate in question is of course death.
So he begins to hate life. He goes through a bout of depression – and in despair he comes to some conclusions, which I think you’re gonna’ like. Here’s the first one: Enjoy the good things God has given you:
A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil.” (Ecclesiastes 2:24)
He’s saying enjoy life day by day. Enjoy it while you can! That doesn’t sound like something a vicar would say is it? But actually it’s what Jesus said. Here’s a little-known saying of Jesus:
I have come that you may have life in all its fullness” (John 10:10).
And he lived it! Do you know the story of the wedding Jesus turned up at in Cana in Galilee? Where there was loads of wine and Jesus turned up and turned all the wine into water to stop people having a good time? No it was the other way round – they ran out of wine so Jesus took the water that had been set aside for religious rituals and turned it into wine. You know the religious people in Jesus’ day – they used to tut him for going to parties and festivals. That was one of their biggest gripes with him. I dare say there are churches today where Jesus wouldn’t be welcome!
So enjoy the good things God has given you.
Here’s another conclusion the philosopher reaches: Aim high, but be realistic. He had my ten minute promise in mind there!
Here’s another conclusion he reaches. Life is full of times and seasons. Including a time for war and a time for peace. And when war comes – each of us faces a choice about how we serve our generation.
But you know – enjoying life to the max, and being ambitious and serving others – good as those things are – they aren’t the meaning of our lives. You see when we’re truly honest with ourselves – the things we’ve achieved– Our Grand Designs the relationship we’re so proud of, the wealth we’ve amassed –they don’t actually address our greatest fears.
There’s nothing we can achieve in this life that overcomes:
- the fear of death
- or the fear of discovering our life has been a waste
- or the fear that everything we’ve done is worthless,
- or the fear of being forgotten.
Deep down we all want something that lasts!
That’s why our philosopher concludes all his thinking by saying,
Have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that we were created for.” Ecc.12: 13(GNT)
What does he mean? That we’re created for a relationship with God. A relationship with our creator. And until we have that, all the other stuff – no matter how grand – is really just a way of avoiding facing our fears.
So what does this mean for us today? Well relationship with God is all about Jesus Christ. He is the One who can heal our deepest hurts, and calm our greatest fears. The name Jesus means Saviour. But the Bible gives Jesus many names:
He’s the…
- Bread of Life so that Bakers would understand him.
- He’s the Water of Life so Plumbers can understand him.
- He’s the Light of the World
- so that Electricians can understand him.
- The Bible calls him the cornerstone – for architects.
- The hidden treasure – for bankers.
- And the Door for Carpenters
- He’s the Great Physician so Doctors/Nurses can know him.
- The Teacher so that Educators can know to him,
- The Rock of Ages so Geologists can know him.
- He’s the True Vine for Horticulturalists
- The Righteous One for Judges
- And the Pearl of Great Price for Jewellers
- The Word for Actors
- The Shepherd for Farmers
- And he’s the Alpha & Omega for Scientists
- He’s the Way for Traffic Wardens
- He’s the Truth for Politicians
- And he’s the life, for all of us
And the Bible tells us
Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
Anyone!
Now that is what is called a conditional promise. You do your part and God says, “I will do my part.” God says I will rescue you if you will believe on my name. And when a person receives Jesus Christ as Saviour then they need no longer fear death because they’ll there is life beyond death.
“Fighting McKenzie” was a WWI Padre, loved by his soldiers because he was always with them in danger. Though often ordered back, he would always reappear at the front line to encourage the living and minister to the dying.
During one particularly hot battle, he came across a badly wounded soldier, obviously beyond help. “Padre,” the soldier cried in anguish, “do you know a Catholic prayer?” “I think I do, my boy,” replied Mac with great tenderness. “Say this after me, son: ‘God be merciful to me a sinner… I now lay my sins on Jesus.’” With great difficulty, and obviously in pain, the boy nevertheless whispered the words as Padre Mac held his hand, and with the peace of God upon his face the young soldier passed away.[2]
But you don’t have to wait for your deathbed to know that peace. Jesus offers peace to us today. For the whole of life.A peace with God that passes beyond our understanding and lasts into eternity. [pause]
Now I don’t know how you feel about that offer.
Some of you will already have responded. That’s great – thank God for Jesus!
Some of you have already dismissed it. Well thanks for listening anyway.Do take away one of the gospels we’ve got out at the back, and read more for yourself!
And some of you might want to know more. Well look – we church leaders are always up for a chat – so if you want to know more – do grab me, or Paul or Fr Hugh and we’ll happily talk more with you and answer any questions you have. And I promise we won’t mention circumcision at all.
Let’s pray.
[1] https://www.chick.com/articles/testimonies/marinestory.asp
[2] Fighting McKenzie, p.86
“Names of Jesus” illustration adapted from J.John, Just10, “Week 8 – Take God Seriously”
Some elements of this sermon adapted from here.