November
16 – Children’s Sunday
The past weeks for me have been about death – with
three deaths in this congregation, two last week and one the week before - and two funerals in two weeks and Remembrance
day on Tuesday it gives an interesting perspective to the world. I also appreciate these times that focus on
the end of life, because it is at death beds, and during funeral visitations,
and in memories of the loss of loved ones where people are most real, and
moments are most real. There is
something in this time that appears like the veil that we wear to protect
ourselves from the world becomes a little thinner and it is easier for God to
get in.
I have had some interesting funerals in my time as a minister
because life no matter how short or how long a life is lived on this earth, it
is important and it matters and it is deeply connected not only to others but
also to God– And even though for some life is short - I once performed a
funeral for a 6 month old baby – or long – Harriet Archer’s funeral on the 29th at 99 years old will be the oldest person I will
have had the privilege of honouring their life…everyone’s life, from sweet baby
Daisy to cranky 96 year old Mrs. Lidstone, to mild manner 66 year old Ian
Robertson – to young and not yet 20 year old Trevor Wheler and even to the old
reclusive hermit – Stinky Bill…
Yes, you heard
right – his name was Stinky Bill – I not sure if he was ever called that to his
face but that is how the town of Tara referred to him. He lived on the Grey-Bruce line, alone with
his dog and made a poor living by collecting other peoples junk and selling it
but mostly just storing it on the property that he rented. When he died – it was about a week before
anyone knew – and his body was taken to the local funeral home for arrangements
– I was called because in small towns often the United Church minister gets the
generic funerals – it was my first ‘welfare funeral’ – where the funding for
the end of life rituals are paid for by the government – it is a no frills
package – and I think only because it was important to the funeral director
that a life did not go unrecognized – that was there a funeral at all.
So I set out to find out anything I could about this
man – as it was my responsibility to conduct his funeral – not very many people
knew very much about Bill – only that he did not have any family that anyone
knew about – and he kept pretty much to himself. His landlord provided as much as she could,
but for the first time I was facing a funeral without even having the basic
history of the person. A college of mine
suggested that in the midst of the funeral I open the floor and see if anyone
had any stories about Stinky Bill – The day of the funeral come – about thirty
people showed up which was about 25 more that either the funeral director or
myself expected – and I did ask for stories and low and behold people started
to talk – I remember when, when Bill decided he needed a car and so he got
himself over to Chatsworth and bought himself one and then drove home and gave
me a call and aksed me where he had to go to get a licence – I remember Bill –
spoke another – when we hired him to help us launch our boat and while the boat
was by the dock and Bill was holding the line – he put one foot on the boat and
something happened and the boat started to move away from the dock and there he
was with one foot on the boat and one foot on the dock with his legs spreading
wider and wider and wider until ‘splash’ there he was in the water…I remember
Bill said another and another and another – and pretty soon this really interesting
man emerged from these stories – who was funny and loyal and caring and a hard
worker and kind – and his life as reclusive and as hermitted as he lived it
touched many people – his life was wound up in the tapestry of the community of
Arran. And his life connected to mind in
that moment as well – I will never forget Stinky Bill.
This theme, this interconnectedness – the idea that all
we do matters, who we interact with matters, who we are, how we live our life,
who we connect to – matters and has meaning not only for us but also for those
whom we interact with. Our lives are not
a few years of just living and eating and sleeping and getting up and going to
bed until we get to the end – No! our lives are deeply intertwined in the
fabric of life and we matter and how we live matters and how we treat others
matters, what we do matters.
The parable of the talents brings home this point –
that the choices that we make regarding the talents that we are given – matters
– each of us human beings are born into this world gifted and grace with
talents – gifts from God. And each day
we have opportunities to use our talents or not, to share ourselves with
others, to be part of a community, treat our brothers, sister neighbours
friends or enemies kindly or unkindly. We
can choose to walk in the world in love or to walk in this world in hate. The three servants in the parable illustrate
this.
David Lose brings this point home he says: “what strikes me is how deeply affected the
third servant is by his perception
of the landowner. We should note that there is no clue ahead of time about the
character of the landowner. The first we hear about it is from the lips of the
third servant: “Master, I knew
that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where
you did not scatter seed.” Neither the first nor the second servant voices this
concern or affirm this sentiment, and the landowner himself neither confirms
nor calls this assessment into question either. Notice that the landowner’s
retort is in the form of a question. We might therefore hear it as, “If you
thought I was so awful, then why didn’t you choose another strategy?” The landowner’s
response might be a case of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as he decides to act in
just the way the third servant has characterized him.
On the other hand, when we view God primarily in terms of grace, we are surprised and uplifted by the numerous gifts and moments of grace we experience all around us. And when we imagine God to be a God of love, we find it far easier to experience God’s love in our own lives and to share it with others.[1]
It is as the saying goes: What you see is just what you get. If the God you have in your mind is a punitive and judgemental God, that is what you experience – so if a tragedy happens in your life, you look back and find a time when you made a poor choice so you can say – God is punishing me for the times when I lied or cheated or was a smuck. But if the God you believe in is a God of grace, than tragedies are not punishments they are tragedies and God does not take away loved ones to get back at you, God walks with you in the midst of your sorrow and pain while you learn to live in this new world without your loved one with you.
Tom Long writes: “If one trusts the goodness of God, one can boldly venture out with eyes wide open to the grace in life and can discover the joy of God’s providence everywhere. But to be a child of the generous, gracious, and life-giving God and, nonetheless, to insist upon viewing God as oppressive, cruel, and fear-provoking is to live a life that is tragically impoverished.”
I think perhaps that this parable is inviting us to examine closely the pictures of God we each we each carry around inside of us. The question then is what do you think about when think of God?
·
Is
God gracious or stern?
·
Is
God loving or judgmental?
·
Is
God eager for peace or prone to violence?
·
Is
God patient and kind or vengeful and punitive?
David Lose again: “Jesus tells this parable just days before he will give his life on the cross, not as a substitute or surrogate to be punished in our place, but rather as testimony to just how far God will go to communicate God’s love for us and all the world. Jesus has spent his life and ministry proclaiming God’s kingdom, feeding the hungry, healing and sick, offering forgiveness, and welcoming ALL who recognize their need into the loving embrace of God. And for that message he is crucified. That’s how much God wants us to know of God’s love. And just in case we miss or underestimate that message, God raises Jesus on the third day that we might know that life is stronger than death and love more powerful than hate.
That’s the God we proclaim, that’s the God we should be carrying in our hearts, this God of grace, this God of love, and hope and peace and compassion.[2] This God, our God, Stinky Bill’s God, who loves us, and forgives us and calls us beloved children. This God of grace that goes with us as we share our talents with the world….Thanks be…..Amen.
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