Perspective

Trinity Presbyterian Church of Bethesda
08.31.08; Rev. John An and Rev. David Williams

Scripture Lessons: Psalm 90; Romans 12: 9-21

How long did this summer seem to you?

It seems like only yesterday that school was getting out.

Kids were feeling happy.

Kids were finally free!

No school!

Yay!

Parents were trying to figure out how to juggle them and work.

Parents were trying to get kids to summer programs and into camps.

No school!

Boo!

And now another summer is over.

When you’re an adult, those few months of summer are gone like the blink of an eye.

For that, we are truly grateful.

But when you’re young, a summer can seem like forever.

Those few months stretch out to the far horizon.

The distance between June and August is unimaginably large.

But when you’re young, your sense of time is very different.

Even a single afternoon can seem like an eternity.

Especially if you don’t have cable.

It is a matter of perspective.

As you become older, every day represents a slightly smaller fraction of your life.

Because of this, they seem to pass more quickly.

When you’ve seen more of life, time itself seems to grow smaller.

It’s a bit like looking down at this church.

It seems like a big place when you’re standing on the roof clearing the gutters.

It’s less so when you’re at 10,000 feet.

It so tiny as not to be visible at all when you’re in orbit.

It’s a matter of perspective.

Today’s reading from the 90^th Psalm is all about perspective

It’s an interesting Psalm for many reasons.

The Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 individual praise songs.

Those 150 songs are divided up into five separate collections.

Some scholars believe this is to match the five books of the Torah.

Psalm 90 begins the fourth collection of Psalms.

Of all of the Psalms, the 90^th is the only one to be attributed to Moses.

It describes human life, but not from our viewpoint.

This song, this prayer, is about how God sees us and all we do.

For God, a thousand years are as “yesterday when it is past.”

“Yesterday when it is past” is another way of saying no time at all.

Even the rise and fall of great nations, of whole civilizations, are less than a blinking of an eye to God.

For the Almighty God, all of our days of struggling and our planning are as fleeting as a dream.

How can we respond to One so immense and seemingly terrifying?

The Psalmist tells us.

In verse twelve, we hear that we are to count or number our days.

This will give us wisdom.

But what does wisdom teach?

What is the value of our lives, if they are so itty bitty in the eyes of God?

What should guide our decisions, as we move through the transitions of life?

It can’t be the pursuit of wealth, because wealth means nothing to God.

It can’t be the pursuit of power, because everything we have will pass away.

Each of us is moving towards a new stage in our lives.

For many, it means going into a new school year.

There are new classes to take.

There are new teachers to get to know.

There are new friendships to make and old friendships to make anew.

Change is everywhere.

We may struggle to know how to act in a time of change.

How to approach this new part of our lives?

How are we to decide?

Look at your life from God’s perspective.

Many of us think that we can put off living the life God is calling us to.

“I’ve got to get through this one thing, and then I’ll get right with God,” we say.

“I’m not mature enough in my spiritual journey,” we say.

“I’ll get around to living that life later,” we argue.

But God sees your life…all of your life…right now.

The way you live in this moment matters.

The way you deal with every instant matters.

Because in the eyes of your Maker, your whole life is just an instant.

But how are we to live joyously in those moments?

In the Book of Romans, chapter 12, the Apostle Paul tells us.

For life to be joyous, we are to love.

Not just love a little.

We are to love abundantly.

We are to show affection to those within the church.

We are to show love and care even to our enemies.

Every moment, every action, every deed needs to be filled with God’s love.

Because as we approach every change and every choice in our lives,

We have to remember that God’s perspective isn’t just eternal.

It is also defined by a love that claims authority over every tiny fraction of our lives.

So count your days as God counts them.

Be filled with the wisdom that brings joy.

Whatever may come in the weeks ahead

See it and respond to it with that love.

Fear Not!

Trinity Presbyterian Church of Bethesda; United Korean Presbyterian Church
Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008
Rev. John An; Rev. David Williams

Scripture Lesson: Matthew 28:1-10

(delivered concurrently in English and Korean)

Many wise souls throughout history have talked about fear.

President Franklin Roosevelt said

“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks said:

“Knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

Philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said:

“Don't waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you.

All of these great souls had one thing in common:

None of them had anything invested in today’s stock market.

If you have anything invested in the markets, you’ve probably seen it.

Watching the reactions of investors over these past few weeks

As the market surges and retreats like waves at a high tide

Makes many of us feel like a child that first time on a diving board.

Maybe you’ve seen that moment.

They’ve never jumped before.

It’s totally new and frightening.

They go out to the end of the board.

They look waaay down at the water.

And then they freeze.

They’re too scared to move.

“Jump!” shout their friends from the side of the pool.

But it looks so far!

“Climb off the board!” shout the people behind them.

But then they’d be embarrassed.

So they just stand there,

Just listening to the yelling.

What to do?

Many of us feel that way whenever we’re confronted with change.

There’s the terrifying possibility we might lose.

We might lose money.

We might lose face.

We might lose ourselves.

In the face of something we do not know,

We do not act.

From the Gospel of Matthew today we hear such a story.

It’s the story of the first ones to learn of Christ’s resurrection.

We hear that Mary Madgalene and the other Mary are on their way to the tomb.

They go to mourn the friend and the rabbi that they loved.

But people are already there.

It’s a detachment of guards, sent from Pilate to insure no mischief takes place.

Then there’s a sudden and terrifying presence.

Something unlike anything any of them had known before.

The stone rolled back

But the bright presence remained.

Every single person there felt afraid.

Of course they did.

But how did they express their fear?

Those guards “were like dead men.”

Fear overcame them.

Fear consumed them.

They could not move.

They were frozen and trembling.

The women felt that fear, too.

But they also had faith.

That faith meant that their fear did not control them.

At first, it was a fear mingled with joy.

What was happening was terrifying, but it was also good.

They saw the joy of that first Easter moment.

They felt fear and uncertainty in their hearts at this new thing.

But it did not consume them.

Even though they felt that fear, they were able to respond.

They heard that message, and left with “fear and great joy.”

Though fear was still in their hearts, they weren’t frozen.

They moved.

They acted.

And from faith, they left the empty tomb.

They didn’t leave slowly, either.

Hearing that message became the starting point of a new journey of faith.

It was, at first, a mixed and disorganized thing.

They still struggled.

They still felt uncertainty and fear.

But as they rushed down that path

Driven by equal parts terror and elation

They encountered Christ

And he drove their fears away.

All living faith is like that encounter.

All Easter faith is like that encounter.

It begins with the hearing.

But then comes the response.

Sure, there can be uncertainty.

Sure, there can be fears.

But despite those fears, you must be moving.

Despite those fears, you must be acting.

You can’t let yourself be paralyzed by doubt.

You can’t let yourself be frozen by overanalysis.

In that Easter moment, great and pure joy is offered up by God for your life.

Anything and everything can become new again.

Just set yourself down that path.

Let the joy begin to overcome your fears.

Trust that as you act and as you move

You’ll reach that point on the journey when your fears will be cast aside.

You’ll hear that welcome voice.

You’ll hear that welcome greeting.

“Do not be afraid.

Go, and tell what you’ve seen.”

He is risen.

He is risen indeed.