How to Live Life Fully- Poppy's Advice to Two Little Boys

      Archer and Donald, today is May 31, 2014 and tomorrow your "poppy" will give a message for graduates who are connected to our local church. It's a tradition in the "church world" to offer words of wisdom on special occasions, although it isn't easy to add much to all of the words that graduates hear at times like this. It is my prayer that I'll be around when you graduate from high school ... but just in case God has other plans for me, let me share what I consider the "secrets to a happy and full life."
    As you age, you will move from "graduation to new beginning" more than once. You will discover things that give you joy and you will experience things that give you pain. You will be confirmed and challenged, afflicted and comforted, certain and confused, loved and ignored... in no particular order and with no particular frequency. I know this because life is a journey... and journeys are all about discovery and fulfillment. Each of you is on a journey now, although you don't see it as such, and for you, it's only just begun. It's going to be more and more exciting, boys. The hills are going to get steeper and the rides are going to get faster. So... hang on... and remember these words:
 
1. Now is all you ever have. The past is gone, and while it can be recalled, it cannot be relived. The future belongs to God. Nothing has ever been done in the future. All things are done, discovered, and enjoyed in the now! Remember to live each moment to it fullest.
2. You have a purpose in life- find it, master it, and cling to it. I don't know what your faith will be as you go through life, but I can say that your life will be much richer if you discover what God wants you to do. Examine your tears, your passions, your abilities, and find your vocation. Remember this: your vocation is that which serves the world and also fulfills you. Find it and give yourself to it.
3. We are social creatures and our relationships are (other than our faith) the most important things we  have. They really are priceless, and this is especially true of the one with whom you choose to spend your life. Remember this: if you are in the right vocation, have the right partner, and nurture your faith in God along the way, you will experience considerable joy. I promise. 
4. Mother Teresa noted we can't do great things... but we can do small things with great love. Remember that. Remember that what we say and do matters. Remember that we may be an angel in someone's life, and even if we aren't, remember, too, that we fill important places in one another's lives- places that are sacred and irreplaceable.  
5. A writer named Robert Fulghum has noted that "sticks and stones break our bones. but words break ou hearts." Remember this. Choose your words carefully and remember to always speak the truth in love! 
6. The most important things in life are invisible. Things like love, honor, faith, hope, integrity... are unseen.... We can see their results, but we can't actually see them. They are THE stuff of life, and yet we cannot grab, own, measure, or control any of them, not even for a moment. Remember this when people tell you to believe only what you see.
7. Remember this: YOU are a child of God and God loves you in ways that you will never fully understand. Boys, your "poppy" is a pastor... and a man who discovered forgiveness, freedom, and purpose... by accepting Jesus as his Christ and Lord. You may or may not make the same choice, but please remember that God loves you in the fullest sense of the word.
8. You will encounter forks in the road from time to time. Some of them will be unimportant, but others may be life-changing, even life-threatening. They will not only affect the direction in which you go, but also the people with whom you associate and even the values that define you. When you will reach forks in the road that are really, really critical. remember to take the road less traveled... always...with no exceptions.
9. Every beautiful person I know... has known pain... because pain has a way of deepening us and giving us insight into who we are and what's really important. I don't want either of you to experience pain, but when you do, remember this: never let your wounds keep you down or define you.
10 Life is an opportunity which will be richer if you know who and whose you are! From time to time, people will say, "Where did the time go?" or "Is this all there is?" or "Why am I here?" They ask these questions because they have never learned what I am asking you (and all of our church members) to remember today:  the purpose of life is to"live in and out of God's grace-filled love." Do this... and you will graduate with honors... from the school of life- the only one that matters in the end. Can I hear an "amen"?

NO GREATER LOVE THAN THIS!

There are teddy bears… and high school rings… and old photographs that mamas bring.  There’s combat boots that he used to wear… when he was sent over there. There’s cigarettes and there’s cans of beer and notes that say “I miss you dear.” And children who don’t say anything at all/ There’s purple hearts  and packs of gum- fatherless daughters and fatherless sons… and there’s 50,000 names carved in the wall/ They come from all across this land… in pickups trucks and mini vans, searching for a boy from long ago. They scan the wall and find his name. The teardrops fall like pouring rain and silently they leave a gift and go/ There’s stars of David and rosary beads and crucifixion figurines and flowers of all colors… large and small.  There’s a Boy Scout badge and a merit pin- little American flags waving in the wind…. and there’s 50,000 names in the wall. Lyrics from a song by George Jones... to which I can only say "amen." Many of us have stood before them in awe…. because they stand for men and women who died for our freedom. 

When Sherry and I visited the Viet Nam Memorial, we walked on sacred ground. We were surrounded by people, but we walked in silence. Everyone did, and their eyes teared up as they read one name and then another. The Viet Nam Memorial is sacred, and so are the crosses that fill Flanders Fields... in memory of those who died in the war that was supposed to end all wars. Some of you will recognize the poem that John McCrae wrote in tribute to a dear friend who lies beneath one of its crosses. He wrote it in 1915 and it goes like this: In Flanders Fields the poppies blow beneath the crosses, row on row, that mark our place, and in the sky… the larks, still bravely singing, fly/ We are dead... short days ago. We lived, felt dawn, saw sunsets glow, loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders fields/ Take up our quarrel with the foe, to you with failing hands we throw. The torch be yours and hold it high/ If ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep, though poppies grow… in Flanders fields.  

My father flew a transport plane in WW2, to the front lines and back, and he took part in the liberation of prisoners from Hitler's concentration centers. My uncles, Delmer and Louis, took part in the war as well. They made it home alive, but 400,000 died in a war that still didn't end all wars- my father’s co-pilot, Kenny, included, and perhaps someone in your family, among them. There graves fill cemeteries throughout our land-  and each one must be remembered because there is no greater love than to lay one’s life down and no greater honor than simply being remembered. Today, we are invited to remember. It is a day when we should slow down and let the voices of those who really did love freedom more than life... speak to us. From the first young man who died in our War of Independence to the next young soldier who will die in a foreign land, we have been blessed to walk among seemingly ordinary people who have the stuff of heroes on the inside. They have stared evil in the face. They have carried the fight to those who would take our lives. They've taken the narrow road, knowing that life is not worth the living if people can't be free. They were Christians, Jews, Muslims, and nothing at all; but they all loved honor and freedom more than life ... and we are called to remember them this weekend! I'm not against cookouts and fun in the sun. Lord knows that such moments give us joy and hold our communities together, but in the midst of the good times, we ought to embrace those who laid down their lives for us... because there is no greater love than this.

But as Christians, we are also called to remember the One who laid down his life for us! In a far away place, almost exactly 2000 years ago, a Jew hung on a Roman cross... and died to set us free from the bondage to self and sin. Despite the warnings that the prophets gave, we were never able to love God with all of our hearts or love our neighbors as ourselves. So God's Son, considering divinity as something not worth clinging to, emptied himself of it, came down to earth, and lived among us. He taught about God's love, healed the sick, and challenged practices that were punitive and unjust. He was full of beauty and grace, but still, we didn't listen. So, he paid for our sins himself and remembered a man who was being crucified next to him. Then he rose in victory over death and appeared to Mary and the others, commissioning them to go and tell the "good news" to men and women in every nation. He told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would empower them and help them "remember" what he had said and done. He also instituted the Lord's Supper, saying, "This is my body; take, eat, in remembrance of me," and concerning the cup, "whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me."

Remembering is an empowering thing. It keeps us connected and aware of who and whose we are. Remembering is an important thing... but it is NOT as important as living AS IF we remember, which may be why Jesus said, "those who love me keep my word." Those who know me will follow me. Those who love me will keep my words. They will take the same path that I have taken, They will mourn for a broken world, forgive 70 x 7, feed those who need to be fed, make praying a way of life, and lay down their lives for me. When it comes to those whom we love and admire, remembering is more of an embrace than a passing thought and when it comes to the One whom we call Lord, remembering is not a thought at all. It is a way of life. Amen!

"JOY TO THE WORLD"- SING IT LOUD!

      This is my grandson, Archer. He's singing "Joy to the World," and he is singing it loudly. Indeed, his entire class is singing for joy, and the good Lord knows that we need a lot more joy. "Joy to the world; all the boys and girls; joy to the fishes... in the deep blue sea; joy to you and me." Sing for joy, Archer. Sing loudly... keep the door to your soul open...and embrace it when it comes to you...because joy is a marvelous thing.
      Take it from your Poppy, Archer- joy is an incredible thing. Money can't but it, and poverty can't snuff it out. It is bigger than fun, and it's deeper than pleasure... although I don't consider either one to be at odds with joy. Joy bubbles up from deep within, and it's a feeling of oneness with yourself and the world. When you experience joy, your skin will fit perfectly and your soul will be light- so light that you will nearly float away. It's hard to define joy, and many people mistake it for good times, and laughter, and just having things go their way. These things are not the same as joy, although I am fond of all of them, because they can all be manufactured and owned. Joy, on the other hand, is a gift that brings a gladness to your entire being.
      According to the Bible, joy will come to you... if you have someone to love and be loved by, if you have something to do that's worth doing, and if your life is connected with God. According to others, joy comes to us when we have someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for. Someone noted that "joy is peace on its feet," and there are literally hundreds of other opinions. Many of these opinions are offered by very wise people, but I'm content to keep these points in mind: 1) joy is a gift, which means that it cannot be created or contained; 2) joy is multiplied when its shared with others; 3) joy is a glimpse of our best self and a taste of the way things are meant to be.
      I've tried to have joy on my own terms, Archer. I've insisted on it and I've begged for it. I've manipulated and I've bullied others... to get it... but it cannot be earned, stolen, or tracked down. Ir is gift- a beautiful gift. So, sing the song, Archer... everyday and to everyone. Sing it to the poor. Sing it to the hungry. Sing it to those who face obstacles that most of us never face. Sing it to those who are shut-in, shut-out and shut-away. Sing it to those who are imprisoned in all the ways we get imprisoned. Sing it to those who think that they're ugly, unimportant, and disposable  Sing it to those who are invariably one step in front or one step behind the others. Sing it to those who are drowning in their own tears, and sing it to those who are drunk on their own wine. Sing it to those who are afraid to dream, and sing it to those who are just weary from the road. And sing it for me as well...
      Joy to the world/ all the boys and girls/ joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea/ joy to you and me. Joy to the world' all the boys and girls/ joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea/ joy to you and me......

MOTHER'S DAY LITANY

      As a pastor, I've struggled with Mother's Day for some time now. At their best, mothers express love that is closer to God's love than any other form of love on earth. At their best, mothers love their children sacrificially and unconditionally, and they are more likely than the rest of us... to love the unlovable. But...mothers aren't always at their best. Most of them are more or less average, and more than a few are bad. Besides, there are some people who have lost their mothers to death, and others who have not been able to have a child. In short, Mother's Day brings joy AND sadness... and I haven't even mentioned that it's laced with commercialism and isn't on the church calendar.
      Mother's Day is a mixed blessing and we need to be aware of that. In an effort to lift up the best of a Mother's love... and also recognize that some of us didn't experience "the best," I would like to use the following litany at this year's Mother's Day service. (The liturgist will lead the way and the community's response is in bold type).

To those who had their first child this year, we celebrate with you;
To those who lost a child this year, we mourn with you;
To those are in the trenches with little ones every day, we appreciate you;
To those who've known loss through miscarriages & failed adoptions, we cry with you;
To those who've struggled with infertility, we apologize for saying foolish things;
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms, we need you;
To those who have close & warm relationships with your children, we congratulate you;
To those whose relationship is distant & disappointing, we sit with you;
To those who have lost their mothers this year, we grieve with you;
To those who have been abused by your mothers, we acknowledge your experience;
To those who have aborted children, we remember them and you on this day; 
To those who are step-mothers, we recognize your complex paths;
To those who had longed to be married, we feel your disppointment;
To those who dreamed in vain of doting on grandchildren, we grieve with you;
To those who have emptier nests this year, we share your sadness... and your joy;
To those who have met the varied tests of motherhood; we are stronger for it;
To those who are pregnant with new life, we anticipate with you.
On this Mother's Day, we thank God for your blessings when they were there, for your strength when blessings were nowhere to be found and, we embrace you. Amen.