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Famous Last, Last Words Spencer C. Lawrence, Church of the Cross, Hoffman Estates, IL, April 29, 2007 It was once the custom to record the last words of those who were dying. For example, we know that Louis XIV, King of France, who dies in 1715, said, “Why do you weep? Did you think I was immortal?” Malcolm X said to the three men who assassinated him: “Let's cool it brothers . . . .” The poet Dylan Thomas who died in 1953 said, “I've had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that's the record . . . .” And Karl Marx, founder of communism, said this to his housekeeper who was eager to write down what he said: “Go on, get out - last words are for fools who haven't said enough.” Peter DeVries in his novel The Vale of Laughter tells about a man obsessed with famous last words. He’s also concerned to have the right language for his own last words. When asked to explain his fascination with final words he said that he thought those words represented the summing up of a life, and he wanted to sum up his life well. I am not so sure that last words always sum up a life or that they have any lasting meaning at all. But Jesus’ last words on the cross – “It is finished” according to John – pretty much sum up what he came to do. Jesus said that what he came to do – die for the sins of humankind – was finally completed. And the amazing thing is that Jesus’ last words weren’t really his last words. Because he rose from the dead, he made much more to say. His last, last words carry even more weight than his words from the cross. Luke tells us that as Jesus’ disciples were talking among themselves about the reality of his rising, he came and stood among them. Sensing they were startled, if not absolutely terrified, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.” He asked them why they were frightened and doubting. To prove that he was not a ghost but a real flesh and blood person, Jesus invited them to look at his hands and feet. He invited them to touch him and remember that a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones like he had. Luke says that they were joyful but still not sure, still wondering about it all. Then Jesus asked them, “Do you have anything to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish and he ate it in their presence. Wasting no more time, he went on to teach them from the Scriptures how Moses and the prophets and the psalms all spoke of him, spoke of his suffering and of his rising from the dead. He not only taught them, but opened their minds to understand what he was saying and the connections he was making. He added that repentance and forgiveness of sins be proclaimed in his name to everyone beginning in Jerusalem. He then told them to wait in Jerusalem until they had been clothed with power from God which would enable them to tell others about Jesus effectively. In the final scene of this little mini-drama Jesus ascended into heaven and blessed them as he rose. According to Luke these events constitute Jesus’ last actions on earth. His words are his last, last words. And in that sense they really do sum up his life, and not just his, but in some measure our own lives. For in his last, last words, we find the first words for the rest of our lives. It all begins with Jesus telling his disciples not to be afraid. The Gospel story starts that way, doesn’t it? With the angel telling Mary not to be afraid. Jesus tells his disciples to not be afraid. They’re not sure what they are seeing. Maybe he is a ghost. Maybe he is a figment of their imagination. It is not uncommon for people who’ve lost loved ones to believe they have actually “seen” them – even though they know they are dead. Maybe “seeing” Jesus was a wish fulfillment. Jesus assures them that he really is alive, and that he possesses a body not unlike the one he had before. It’s different in that he can walk through walls and just show up in the middle of a room without notice. But it’s similar in that he invites his disciples to touch him. And when they aren’t fully convinced he invites asks them for something to eat. C.S. Lewis pointed out that if anyone believed that Jesus’ resurrection was only spiritual then this story should put an end to that. Jesus’ resurrection was a bodily resurrection. His disciples could see him and hear him. They could touch him. And he could eat the same food they did. Novelist John Updike’s poem “Seven Stanzas at Easter” underscores this truth: Make
no mistake: if He rose at all And
if we will have an angel at the tomb, Let
us not seek to make it less monstrous, Jesus’ disciples needed to know that he had truly risen from the grave – not that he merely had been resuscitated or that he was a vague spiritual reflection of his past life. They needed to know that his rising was a real victory over death. They needed to know that there was nothing left to fear. Not the rejection of family. Not social isolation from friends. Not persecution by the authorities. Not even death at the hands of those who would come to hate them for what he was calling them to do and say. Because Jesus rose from the dead there is nothing left to fear. That doesn’t mean we will never be afraid. It just means that what we fear has no teeth. It is like the monster under the bed, the boogieman in the closet. It may be real in our minds but its reality has been eclipsed by a greater reality: Christ’s victory over all that seeks to hurt or kill us. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said. He also told his disciples what he wanted them to do. He wanted them to take the good news of his death and resurrection to everyone – Jew and Gentile alike, but he wanted them to start in Jerusalem. But before they could do that they needed to be prepared. So he instructed them in the books of Moses and the prophets and the psalms. He pointed out which parts spoke of him, which texts told of his suffering and which spoke of his resurrection. He wanted them to understand that what was happening was intimately connected to what God had been doing all along. It was rooted in the past; it was a fulfillment of what God had long ago promised to Abraham. Armed with this new understanding of how things were, they were to go everywhere telling about his dying and rising and how God was calling all people to repent of their sins and receive forgiveness. They were witnesses to all these things and, like witnesses in a courtroom, they were to give accurate and reliable testimony. This is essentially the call of the church still today. It’s not different from what Matthew wrote at the end of his gospel when he recorded how Jesus told his disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and them teaching them to obey everything Jesus had told them. While we’re also called to love each other the way Christ has loved us, we are even more pointedly called to bear the good news in word and deed to those who are like us and to those who are very different from us. It’s really not that hard in our corner of the world. Most people who live around us are likely already Christians. If they aren’t they have lived in a Christian saturated culture most of their lives. They know the basic story; they understand the lingo; they are not surprised when people talk like Christians. In other parts of the world, however, it’s not that easy. Sometimes it’s downright dangerous. A press release from the World Evangelical Alliance last week reported the deaths of Christian workers in Turkey: Three workers at a Bible publishing house in Malatya, Turkey were killed on Wednesday, April 18, in the latest apparent attack on Turkey's minority Christian community. The three Christian men . . . were bound and had their throats slit in a Christian book publishing office. Several people have been detained for questioning regarding the killings. The murder has sent shockwaves across the Christian minority in Turkey, and the Christian community worldwide. Political tensions have been rising in the secular but largely Sunni Muslim country over the past year. Earlier this year, Armenian Christian editor Hrant Dink was shot dead by an ultranationalist youth. Last year, a Catholic priest was killed. With some Christians actually suffering physically for their faith, it’s time that we American Christians begin taking a few risks for the sake of the gospel. It’s time that we show a little courage telling others the good news of God’s love in Christ Jesus. Some may be thinking, “This sure doesn’t sound Presbyterian.” It’s true that we don’t talk about this much in Presbyterian churches but it’s long been a part of our understanding of the church’s task. Our Book of Order announces that one of the six great ends (or purposes) of the church is to proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind. That we’ve not been very good at it goes a long way in explaining why s a denomination we lose 30,000 to 40,000 members annually. If you don’t know what to say then begin taking advantage of the adult Christian education options we offer every quarter. If you don’t know how to begin a conversation about Jesus Christ then you can take advantage of the adult class on evangelism we’re offering at 9:30 A.M. each Sunday this quarter. The main task of the church is to tell others about God’s love made plain in Jesus’ dying and rising. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid. Proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in my name.” The final thing he told them to do was to remain in Jerusalem until the power of high – the power of the Holy Spirit – came upon them. In other words, carrying the good news of God’s love everywhere was not something they could do in their own strength. It originated with God; it was shaped by God and it would have to be empowered by God. It was not just another human enterprise. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t plan, that shouldn’t think about what we’re doing, that we shouldn’t calculate the cost. It does mean that in the end, it’s the Spirit of God who gives us the strength to fulfill Christ’s mission in the world. It doesn’t matter how many degrees we have. Nor does it matter how much money we have. Nor does it matter how great our building is. What does matter is whether or not we are led by and empowered by the Spirit. “Oh,” some may say, “this definitely doesn’t sound Presbyterian.” Wrong again. The Presbyterian Confession of 1967 puts it this way: The Holy Spirit creates and renews the church as the community in which [we] are reconciled to God and to one another. He enables [us] to receive forgiveness as [we] forgive one another and to enjoy the peace of God as [we] make peace among [ourselves]. In spite of [our] sin, he gives [us] power to become representatives of Jesus Christ and his gospel of reconciliation to all . . . . How do we connect to the power of the Spirit? Unlike those first disciples we don’t have to wait on the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has already come. The Spirit came at Pentecost and the Spirit has been coming ever since. If you have entrusted yourself to God through Jesus Christ the Spirit is alive within you. The gift is already yours. What we can do is pray for the Spirit to grant us occasions to bear witness to Christ. And in anticipation of the Spirit providing those for us we can ask the Spirit to give us courage to share the good news as best we can. In short, we can ask the Spirit’s help in giving a reason for the hope we have within us. Jesus’ last, last words are “Do not be afraid. Proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in my name through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus’ last, last words have become the first order of business for us - his followers.
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