Two Naïve, Incomplete Perspectives on Life
Ezra 3:10-13
I’ve noticed a few things have changed since I’ve gotten older
-okay—a lot of things have changed...
--okay, okay—nearly everything has changed...
-one thing that’s changed is that I don’t handle change as well as I
used to do
--I hate to sound so shallow and sentimental, but Christmas
didn’t seem like Christmas because we didn’t spend time at
my in-laws
in
---because of a variety of reasons—including the fact that
they
have sold their house and moved to
didn’t have the traditional family gathering there
-another thing I’ve noticed about getting older is that it seems like
the accumulation of losses in my life have a greater affect on me
(and I admit that I’ve suffered relatively few losses compared to
most of you)
Sometimes I’m practically overwhelmed by the losses our church
family has endured
-since coming to
that figure doesn’t include a considerable number of friends and
family you’ve lost who weren’t members here
-I’ve watched students leave for college, get married, move away
Now, a younger James Morgan would interrupt and say, “True, but
look at all we’ve gained...look at all the babies!
-“We have watched children growing up and maturing in their faith.
-“Now we have Tim & Kelly!
-“Look at all the people we’ve been given.” [raise your hand if you
were not here in 2000]
And I know that younger guy would be right. I wouldn’t trade those
people and those experiences for anything.
-but when my mind begins replaying all of the good-bye’s that have
been said, the tears that have been cried just in the last 7 years...
well, no offense to those who have stayed, but sometimes I
wonder how the building is still standing...we’ve lost
Steve and Dawn Phillips
Kensey and Mary Russell
Terri Potter Henry
Jim and Cathy Simpson
Freida Huntsman
Earl Weeks, Kathy Breeden, Nancy Haynes
Charlie and Linda Washburn
Kyle and Jenny Sherer
Mike and Jenna Pyrtle
Two sets of Jones’
-and that list is just scratching the surface...
-and while each name brings back good memories, each is also a
loss that is irreplaceable
--a younger James Morgan would say, “That’s life, dude. Get
over it.”
---that’s not entirely true, I would never say “dude”
--but an older James Morgan still struggles with those losses...
because this older James Morgan knows enough to realize
that this list of losses will only continue to grow—that’s life
---and we might as well add the Owens’ and the Prewitt’s
It’s funny how people, even entire generations will respond so
differently to change, to loss, to life in general
-take, for
instance, the reaction of the people in
the
--let’s pause for a brief word from the History Channel
---David’s son, Solomon, built a magnificent
960 B.C....it was destroyed in 587 B.C. when the
Babylonians conquered the Southern Kingdom of Judah
---when the Persians later defeated
Cyrus, decreed that the Jews could return to their
homeland to rebuild the
----in 536 B.C., the work began...and that’s where we
enter the story in Ezra 3
Read Ezra 3:10-13
Years ago, when I was younger, I preached a sermon on this text and
the theme was basically: Things change, so stop your whining
-now that I’m older, I read this text and I reach for the Kleenex
What I’ve come to realize this week is that the younger James and
the older James are both right and wrong...and that both
perspectives are naïve and incomplete—all at the same time
-let me explain
On one hand, you have this group who sees the new foundation and
they are just giddy
-they break into song...How great a foundation!
--and the trumpets blast and the cymbals clap all in this
exuberant explosion of sheer joy
Do you remember when we had the groundbreaking ceremony for the
fellowship hall?
-do you remember the excitement when the huge hole was dug
and when the concrete was poured?
--do you remember how we were parking at the Middle School
and the football stadium and walking through some nasty
weather because our parking lot was torn to pieces?
-I never heard a single person complain about that inconvenience
But do you remember in the spring of ’05 when the walls were framed
in and we had our first walk-through after a morning worship service?
-do you know what I heard?
--mumbling, grumbling, murmurs of disillusion and disappointment
---“This isn’t as big as I pictured it to be.”
---“This kitchen is so small.”
---“This isn’t much bigger than the old fellowship hall.”
I was so frustrated that day
-instead of creating enthusiasm, it only fed the doubt about whether
or not we were doing the right thing
--I left wondering if we had made a huge mistake and was asking
myself if it were too late to cancel the entire project
-I was confused why the same project could produce such radically
different reactions from people
--I know now that the problem was perspective
---standing in the frame of a building with no roof and no walls
makes the structure appear insignificant in comparison to
the outside world around it
---not everyone could make the visual adjustment required
There were other issues of perspective going on that cool spring day
as well as on the day the
One is our natural resistance to change
-it will be June until some consistently write “2008” on checks
-we get stressed out over basically anything new: a new semester,
a new roommate, a new job, a new neighbor
-some people require psychiatric help anytime Hy-Vee moves the
bread to a different aisle
Mark Twain à The only person who likes change is a wet baby.
Just like we heard in Matthew 2, change usually brings crisis
-because regardless how wonderful the angels were
-despite the blazing beauty of the star
-doesn’t matter how spectacular the Magi and their gifts were
--none of that exactly balances out the fact that the lunatic king is
trying to murder your baby…or that you have to become
refugees in some foreign country
---none of that was in the original contract was it?
--no, it’s all just a part of living life
---the part of living life that frustrates and confuses and
depresses and sometimes literally drives us crazy
---the part of
living life that wants to go
back to what’s familiar,
to what’s comfortable
Just like
the older generation in Ezra, the first reaction we have to
something new is to compare it to what we had
before
-Dr. Steve isn’t like Brother Don...
-James isn’t like
-Carla isn’t like Dawn or Mary Lou
-Jason isn’t like James...Joe isn’t like
Jason...and now we have to
deal with Tim?
What we
tend to overlook is the obvious fact that God never intends
for Carla to be another Dawn Phillips...or
for Kelly to be another
Andrea Bennett...or Tim to be another Joe
-God, in His grace and in His wisdom, has
gifted them differently
and He has called them here at this
point in time to accomplish
His
purposes...which does not include
making you or me happy
But think
about this younger generation for a moment
-why were they able to celebrate?
--they had never had the privilege of
growing up in the old
--they grew up in exile…they had no
religious history to speak of
---for them this was the beginning of
something totally new and
exciting…how else could they react
except to burst in praise?
Think for
a moment—that describes a lot of new Christians today
-many didn’t grow up in Sunday School…most
have never seen a
flannel board…they don’t know our
hymns…basically, they come
in with no pre-conceived ideas about what
church should be
--and sometimes all they’ve done is read
the New Testament and
asked innocent questions like, “Why do
you do it that way?”
-and many of us have a big ol’
conniption fit, afraid of…guess what?
--we’re afraid they’re going to come in here and change everything!
-admit it:
it’s not us vs. them…it’s us (i.e., all of us)
vs. change
Look at
something wonderful
-v. 12 à
But many of the older priests…
--many, but not all…
-I think that’s significant
--it means we can’t stereotype a certain
generation
---some of the most flexible, most
innovative people I know in this
church are
as old, or older, than my parents
---some of the most tradition-bound are
my age
---and sometimes our students are the
worst about changes(!)
--it means we can’t use our age, our
generation, or our version of
“the good ol’
days” as an excuse to whine
--it also means that we would be pretty
smart to figure out why
some of these older priests were able to
rejoice even though they
knew this new temple would never be like
the original
Of course,
if we’re going to do that…we’re going to be assuming
because Scripture doesn’t tell us why...here are a few guesses
First, I
think they recognized the big picture
-they knew they were witnessing a miracle
--they are rebuilding the
--they’re not in
pagan king…they are free…they are home
I think,
too, that they realized that
-the place of worship is essentially non-essential
--the New Testament church met in the homes
of believers
-it’s the heart of worship
that’s critical
--Jesus emphasized that to the woman at the
well—He told her
what’s required is to worship God in
spirit and in truth
I also
think they realized they couldn’t go back to the good ol’
days
-reality check: the old
-we can learn invaluable lessons from the
past…and we can share
memories…but we can never turn the clock
back to 1955
Somehow
they realized complaining rarely helps the problem
-sure, I understand sometimes you need to protest
on the Capitol
steps to draw attention to the evil of
abortion
--but I’ll trade 10 anti-abortion bumper
stickers for one person
who’ll commit
to help a young mother who made the right
choice…or who will show grace to one who
didn’t
-this isn’t rocket science, but I need to ask
it anyway: does
complaining about the present get you any
closer to the past?
--living in the past says, “God was in
charge then, but not now”
--living in the past ignores the opportunities
and blessings of today
--living in the past leads to indifference,
or worry, or even anger
-if we’re honest, we’re most angry with God
for the way things are
Perhaps
most importantly, I’m convinced they believed God was
leading the rebuilding of the
-only God could have prompted Cyrus, king of
Jewish captives in the first place
-only God could have provided the outpouring
of the offerings to
rebuild the
-and so if God is behind all of this, the
dimensions of the foundation
must be part of His design, as well
-and if that’s true, then we have
reason to rejoice!
Listen to
what they were singing to God:
He is
good!
His love to
Think
about this for a moment
-those who were rejoicing—young, old, or
in-between—were all
praising God for a temple that hadn't even
been built yet
--they had a joy that was full of faith
for the future
Through
the prophet Haggai, God encourages the builders
Their
strength does not come from the size of the
strength comes from God alone
-God is pointing to the future
--it's not to deny the wonders of the past
--it's not to make light of the problems
of the present
--it’s just to say the same God holds all
of them in His hand
And that’s
good to know, because any realistic vision of 2008 is filled
with an incredible amount of uncertainty at
best
-if we survive the campaign, nomination,
and election process we
will
have a new president on November 4th
--and he may be a Mormon, or
pro-choice, or he may be a she
-there will be weddings and divorces,
births and funerals...
retirements and relocations...gifts and
losses
When I
look toward 2008…I’m tempted to cry for the good ol’
days
-I see some of the challenges and changes
that are coming and that
seem so overwhelming…and there are times I
tell myself, “Run
away now. Run away as fast as you can. Don’t ever look back.”
And that’s
when God reminds me I’m acting just like the older priests
-who focused on the past—nostalgia that led to the sin of apathy
-who focused on the building—the sin of self-confident pride
-who focused on what was lost…and missed all that was gained
-who missed-out on ministry…and missed-out on people
-who missed-out on the celebration…and missed-out on the joy
-who missed-out on worship…and who ultimately missed God
I can’t do
that…we can’t do that
-I refuse to fear the future…despite the
changes, the challenges, and
most frightening of all—the unknowns
I’m
confident that great things lie ahead in 2008
-not
because of my preaching or any of my abilities
-not
because of your sacrificial giving or your tireless service
-not because there will someone new in the
Oval Office
-not
because of Tim & Kelly
I’m
confident that great things lie ahead in 2008
-because my trust lies in the God who is
leading us into 2008
--in the God who knows what is around every
twist and turn
--in the God who is able to overcome the enemy
--in
the God who does not change…who is the same yesterday,
today, and forever
I want to
close by re-issuing the challenges and promises God gave
to these same people through the prophet
Haggai…
-listen for one in particular you need to
hear today
--perhaps you need to thank God for His
promise
--maybe you need to ask God to fulfill His
promise
--perhaps you need to make a commitment to
God to meet one of
these challenges
*Be strong…and work. For I am with you.
*My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.
*I will fill this house with glory
*The silver is mine and the gold is
mine
*The glory of this present house
will be greater than the glory of the former house
*And in this place I will grant peace