Sermon
Sunday, March 11, 2007
What does it all mean anyway?
What
does it all mean anyway? This is a
question that comes up at various times in one’s life. A High School student who is struggling over
math equations or science problems may throw up his hands in despair—What does
it all mean anyway? He asks. Do I really
need algebra or chemistry in the real world?
Why am I learning this anyway?
Just to get into college, so I can get a job, so I can make money, so I
can get old and die? What does it all mean
anyway?
The
middle-aged adult who is struggling to pay bills, keep up with the demands of
two kids and a dog, who thinks about retirement, who is stuck in a dead-end
job, throws up her hands and wonders, “What does it all mean anyway? I have a hard time getting through today, who
can think about tomorrow? He or she
looks around and wonders, I’m at the halfway point of life and what have I
accomplished, what do I have to show for it?
And sometimes, unsatisfied with the answers, goes and does something
impulsive, like buy a fast car, or something destructive, like having an
affair.
And
the senior citizen, whose life consists of doctors appointments and medical
treatments, who tries to live on a fixed income, who mourns the death of a
spouse, who once had an important job but now struggles to care for his basic
needs, throws up his hands and cries, “What does it all mean anyway?” There is little to look forward to—children
and grandchildren in far away cities, friends and peers dying off, worrying
about how to take care of a house that is now too big.
And
finally for the person at the end of life, with days or perhaps hours to live,
looking at their family for one last time, unable to walk or eat or enjoy any
of the freedoms they have once been so accustomed to. A tear comes to their eye, “What did it all
mean anyway?” All the fame and fortune,
I can’t take it with me.
Yesterday,
I had the privilege for the fourth time to spend a day in retreat with many
people of this parish, as well as several people from neighboring
parishes. All told, about 45 people
spent the day and the evening here yesterday, meditating and learning about
this question, “What does it all mean anyway?
Salvation and why it is important.”
People listened to presentations, people shared thoughts and questions,
people shared personal testimony about what this question means to them. There was lots of praying, lots of learning,
lots of questions and hopefully lots of answers, lots of laughing and in a
darkened church last evening, there was even lots of crying. I thank those who attended for sharing a
wonderful day.
I
wanted to share with you perhaps the most profound thought of the day. Someone made a comment—this is a great thing
we are doing here today, reflecting on one of life’s more important questions,
“What does it all mean anyway?” Why are
there not MORE people here to ask this question and learn about it? And the answer to that question, offered by
one of the retreat participants—Because if they found the answer, they might
find that they would actually have to DO something about it. Because if they found the answer, they might
find that they would actually have to DO something about it.
The
past few days, I’m sure many of you have been watching the ACC and SEC college basketball
tournaments. I confess, college
basketball is not my sport, and having worked three consecutive 15 hour days, I
haven’t had a moment to watch any TV anyway. (Believe it or not, I wrote this
morning’s sermon between 3 and 4 o’clock this morning, that’s how little time I
had this week). But I’m sure there was a
lot of entertaining basketball this weekend.
I’m sure there were also a lot of passionate speeches offered by coaches
trying to motivate their teams. How many
coaches at halftime broke down their respective teams and told the players,
“You’ve got to do better.” How many
coaches went into halftime up by a few points and told their players, “Be
careful, play smart, we’re not leading by that much.” There were other coaches, who went into halftime
down by a few points, who told their players, “Don’t give up, we’re not down by
that much, we’re still in the game, make a few changes and we’re right back in
it. Be careful, play smart, we’re not
down by that much.” I’m sure there were no
coaches who went into halftime saying, “It’s hopeless, just play out the second
half quickly so we can go home.” And I’m
sure there were no coaches who said, “We’re up by so much, let’s just go
through the motions in the second half, quit trying.”
Today
we are at the half-way point of Great Lent.
And for some, the time has been rewarding. For others challenging. And for others meaningless. For some, there is great struggle to maintain
the fast, get to extra services, pray, or read the Bible. Others have come in for confession and have
walked away completely renewed. And
there are others who have stood on the sideline, who are just content to watch,
they don’t really even want to get into the game. So, as the coach of the team, as the priest
of the parish, the message this morning is pretty simple. Be careful, play smart. If you are doing well in your Christian life,
be vigilant, the devil and temptation lurk around the committed Christian,
ready to throw you off of your journey.
If you are having a challenging Lent, keep on trying, you are halfway
done.
If
you are not doing well in your journey to salvation, be careful and play smart,
but don’t lose heart—you are really one confession away from getting back into
the game. If you haven’t done much of anything
this Lent, don’t despair, we’ve still got half of it left, plenty of time to
come to an extra service, to get on your knees and start to pray, to try
fasting, or to read a book of the Bible.
And if you are on the sidelines, one of those who probably isn’t
listening to this sermon because you know what you know and you don’t want to
know anymore, be careful and play smart.
What does it all mean is the most important question we’ll ever answer
in life, because it is what will give shape and substance, form and meaning to
the whole thing. And failing to answer
the question is the most foolish thing a person can ever do.
The
halfway point of Lent is dedicated to the Holy Cross—because the answer to the
question, “What does it all mean anyway?” is really pretty simple. Christ, through the cross and Resurrection,
opened a path to paradise, closed by the fall of mankind, caused by mankind’s
pride, disobedience and dishonesty.
We’ll each live a finite period of time on this earth—hopefully there
will be lots of enjoyment in this life, lots of time to laugh and to play, to
watch basketball games, shop at the mall, and play with the kids. But at some point, life on this earth will
end—there will be no more basketball games, we won’t be able to take our big
screen TV with us, or any of the clothes we bought at the mall, won’t even be
able to take the kids and grandkids along.
We’ll be at that point, with days or hours of life left, and we’ll
wonder, “What did it all mean anyway?”
And then, there will be two kinds of people. Those who took the advice of Christ in this
morning’s Gospel and those who didn’t.
There will be some who denied themselves, took up the cross and
followed, who sacrificed pride and jealousy, lust for power and ego and instead
spent time preparing their souls. And
these will die happy and hopefully confident, ready to see the
Some
are ashamed, some are too proud, some are too busy, and too many aren’t
listening or just don’t care. And the
news for these is change your tune, get back in the game, or when it’s all said
and done, you’ll find yourselves on the outside of heaven looking in, and
you’ll find the answer to the question, what did it all mean, to be a big
nothing, and there will be an eternity to suffer for it. The good news is, there is still some time
left—there is still time to get something out of this Lent, and regardless of
how old you are or how hopeless you may feel, regardless of how much you’ve
missed the mark or how far away you’ve become from God, there is still time to
get back into the game—all it takes is some careful planning, setting aside of
some pride, and some real commitment, and you’re right back in it. Christ gave the answer, “Deny yourself and
what you want, take up His cross and follow, and when you taste death, you will
see the
In
a moment, we will hold the traditional procession of the Holy Cross, held each
year on the third Sunday of Lent in every Orthodox Church in the world. The cross will be held high about the heads
of all in the church. We will all gaze
at the cross as it makes a journey around the church. Ask yourself, have I ever truly picked up the
cross? Have I become distracted and put
the cross down in my life? Have I become
angry with my cross and carry it with resentment? Is the cross at the forefront of my
life? Is carrying it a challenge? Does carrying it bring me joy? Do I look forward to the day I see God’s
kingdom coming with power, or is this something I can’t believe in? We’re at the halfway point of Lent—if you
feel like you are ahead in the game, be careful, play smart, keep playing
hard. If you feel like you are behind,
the second half begins with this procession—be careful, play smart, get
yourself back in the game. Start
praying, start fasting, go to confession, make a new start, it’s not too
late. It profits nothing to gain the
whole world and forfeit your soul. Mastering algebra, driving a nice car and
being in good health, all are good things, but none are more important than the
state of our souls. And none of them can
be taken with us when our soul goes to meet the Lord. Christ, through His ministry, through His
sacrifice on the cross, and through His Church, gives us the tools we need,
gives us the motivation we need, gives us the hope we need, to save our souls
and enter His Kingdom, and that is what it all means anyway. Sure it means some work, sure it means some sacrifice
some pride, for sure it means actually doing something about it, but the
question “What does it all mean anyway?” is the most important question you’ll
ever have to answer, and how you answer it, will be the most important thing
you ever do. Because if your life
reflects the correct answer to this question, for sure it means the greatest
reward that can ever be, and an eternity to enjoy it.