On Courage

This is the manuscript copy of the sermon I gave at the First Presbyterian Church of Lee's Summit, MO on Sunday, January 1st, 2012.  The readings for the day were Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and Revelation 21:1-6.  Please note that these were my speaking notes, not a word-for-word transcript (although it was quite close!).

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I love the holiday’s.  Of course, I’m sure that doesn’t come as a surprise - after all what teacher (or student) doesn’t.  But, beyond the true joy that comes from some time away from the daily stress of lesson plans and meetings there is something more.  Every year I wait with anticipation for that first Sunday of Advent.  For me, it marks the start to a season filled with tradition: from the music that fills the air to the meals that we eat, Advent and Christmas are times steeped in memory.  We decorate our homes, make special meals, and prepare for company.  There are stories to be told, recipes to pass on, and above all - a birth to be celebrated. 

For we love celebration, and I think the author of our reading from Ecclesiastes would agree with the sentiment.  It is right to celebrate, especially the birth of Jesus the Christ - if the birth of the messiah is not worth of celebration, then what is?  So, we plan our season of celebration in detail.  We begin with that first candle - lit those many weeks ago, and we follow our traditions.  Preparing for the coming of Christ, celebrating his birth with song and gift, and now, a short week later, we celebrate the coming of a new year.

For most of us, today will mark the end of our holiday season.  Of course, Epiphany isn’t for another week and our liturgical season of celebration will continue until the arrival of Lent - but realistically, we are done.  Over the next few days we will head back to work and school, with the holiday season quickly receding into memory.  We will clean up the last reminders - if the tree isn’t down it will be soon - the cookies will be polished off - and the last of the left overs will be eaten or find their home in the compost.  Soon, life will return to normal and we can go back to business as usual. 

Or can we?

As we stand on the downward slope of a season of celebration and look out over this new year ahead of us, can we simply return to business as usual?  For many of us, the arrival of a new year marks a time of possibility.  We may spend time making resolutions and setting goals, or we may simply spend some time in quiet reflection on our journey, but for most of us there will be some thought about what this new year will bring.  You may have already listed out those items which you want to improve about yourself or your life.  From the ever present desires to improve our health (maybe this year will finally be the year when I overcome my cheez-it addiction) to hopes about careers, stability, or relationships - we have no trouble listing the ways our lives could be improved.

One of my favorite projects in my Senior English course is our “change the world” research paper.  My students and I spend some time discussing ways we could make our community, nation, or world a better place.  I then give them the task of developing a detailed, step-by-step proposal of exactly how they would accomplish their desired change.  We spend several weeks researching possible solutions, costs, political and social influences, anything they would need to know to really solve the problem they have identified.  Each student is then responsible for putting together his or her unique proposal.  The range of problems my students choose to address is always impressive.  This past semester I had projects ranging from puppy mills to human trafficking, gang violence to the situation in the Middle East.  My students are never lacking for ways our world could be improved; that is not the hard part of the project.  The frustration comes when I ask them to find ways to achieve their goal.  Even in the perfect world scenario they are presented, with no real limit on resources such as funding or manpower, my students struggle to find authentic, workable solutions.  

Even seemingly simple issues such as preventing animal abuse quickly develop many more questions than answers - not to mention those students who choose to tackle broader challenges of international relations or world peace.  Often I hear the comment, “Mr. Miller, it would work if only…”; if only people would work together, if only corporations wouldn’t always put profits first, if only things could change.

And that is the challenge of the new year, isn’t it?  Just as my students quickly learn, identifying the thing we want to improve is the easy part.  We have no shortage of ways things could be better, both in our world and our own lives - if only things could change.  Yet, even when we have the best intentions change is hard.  So, we make plans.  We might share our resolutions with our family and friends.  We might even join organizations or purchase books to help us with our goal.  We start the new year with determination that this year will be different - and then the truth of Ecclesiastes hits us right in the face.  We don’t live in a world that will patiently stand by and wait for us to get our act together - we live in a world that is constantly moving forward - that is constantly changing seasons.  The hard reality is that this coming year will bring pain.  It will bring stress.  There will be jobs lost, friends and loved ones will suffer from illness, and relationships will be strained by countless life events.  Of course, the pain will be tempered by seasons of joy.  There will be unexpected friendships, laughter, and the simple peace that can come from a relaxing evening or a good meal.  The challenge with seasons is they can change at a moment’s notice; one minute we are relaxing beside still waters, and before we realize it we are in the valley of the shadow of death.  We can’t really be expected to keep New Year’s resolutions for long under those circumstances, can we?  With all of the uncertainty life brings, wouldn’t it be wiser to take the words of Ecclesiastes to heart and just deal with the seasons of life as they come and not worry about long range plans?  How can we faithfully approach the uncertainty of this coming year?

We have come to the point in my sermon that is kind of like those old “choose your own adventure” books.  You remember the ones, right?  You would read a few pages, and then the book would present you a choice - if you chose one option you turned to a certain page and the story went one way, if you chose the other option you turned to a different page and the story took another path.  The choices you made early on in the book had a huge impact on how the story turned out.  (of course, if you were like me, you always dog-eared the “decision” pages so you could go back if you didn’t like how the story turned out - unfortunately we don’t have the same luxury in life!) Well, today you have a choice to make.

Option one is simple - in the book it would most likely read: “If you choose the practical, realistic, low-risk option for life, turn to page 72” - your choice is this: take life as it comes, good and bad.  Agree with the writer of Ecclesiastes and rejoice (or mourn), be at peace (or war), but don’t worry about looking to far into the future, because you know you cannot control it anyway.  Don’t worry, no one is going to judge you for taking the easy road, after all this is the option most people choose anyway!  The added benefit of option one is I will give you permission to stop listening to me for the rest of the sermon, because it simply won’t apply to you.  It’s boring anyway, so go ahead and doodle on the bulletin, play Angry Birds (on silent please), or go get a drink - I won’t be upset.

Option two is much less simple - in the book it would most likely read: “if you choose the risky, pain-filled, yet courageous option for life, turn to page 23”  Ok, last chance to bail on me and go with option one - really, no one will blame you for taking the low-risk option.  You’re still here?  Excellent!

See, I find words interesting - and courage is a really interesting one.  At its root, courage comes from the Latin word for “heart” - and is defined as doing something, even though it causes fear or brings pain or grief.  Some definitions even include the qualifier of doing something “righteous in the face of pain or fear.”  When I think of someone who embodies courage my first thoughts go to those brave men and women who everyday put their lives on the line for the sake of others - police officers, firefighters, soldiers.  I then think about those women and men among us who make tough decisions to try and make the world a better place: the teacher who stays at the “failing” school because he knows his students deserve more, the doctor who steps into the war zone or disaster area, not because she will make tons of money, but because people need her help, the parent who turns down a lucrative promotion to keep his family together or to spend more time with her aging parents.

But I think it goes further than that.  Courage means making choices based not on fear, but on truth.  It means making choices that might result in pain; whether that be physical or emotional.  Courage means making choices that aren’t easy or comfortable - and often times it means making choices of which our society will not approve.  Courage is at the core of everything we do and believe as followers of Christ.

Listen again to the words from Revelation:

See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more. 

We profess, as Christians, that God, our creator and the creator of all things, will someday make our world new.  When that day comes all death and war and worry will come to an end.  All of the things that drive us apart, that bring us pain, all of the evidence of our broken world - all those things will cease to be.

But God does not want us to just sit and wait patiently until that day comes.  We are not called to be a timid people!  We are called to be the body of Christ in the world - to be his hands and feet.  We are called to be a people of courage - living each moment not only in the fullness of God’s forgiving Grace, but also with the knowledge that yes - things CAN change and we have the power to help them change.

One of the inspirations for my sermon today came from a recent song by the band Casting Crowns - a group of youth pastors from Atlanta that formed a band some years ago - the title of the song is “Courageous” and the lyrics really struck a chord with me.  The vocalist sings, in part:

We were made to be courageous
We were made to lead the way
We could be the generation
That finally breaks the chains

Where are you, men of courage
You were made for so much more
Let the pounding of our hearts cry
“We will serve the Lord”

Seek justice, love mercy
Walk humbly with your God

So, I ask you - are you ready to embrace the challenge of this new year?  It will not be easy, but nothing of value ever is.

Ask yourself: what has God been calling you to do that will take some courage?  Are you called this year to be more active in a local congregation?  Maybe you have a gift for music, but have just been a little to nervous to join the choir on Wednesday nights.  Maybe you have been called to participate in a bible study.  Maybe you have been called to be a table leader at LOGOS.

But maybe, just maybe, God has something bigger for you.  Something that will REALLY push your comfort zone.  For each of us it will be different - but do not shy away from the challenge!  I encourage you to listen carefully to that sometimes quiet voice and embrace the amazing life God has in store for you!

As we continue to celebrate the new life found in the manger, let us not forget that we are also celebrating the fact that Christ continues to pour new life into all of us.  Embrace that new life and take hope - for Christ has come again into the world and gives us the strength to face with courage our true calling.

Chris MillerComment