Mark 1:9-11
One of the more depressing songs of the 1960s was a song titled, “Is That All There Is?” sung by Peggy Lee. It is a song that speaks of someone who goes through life and finds no meaning to the events of life. The lyrics are spoken and then the chorus sung.
I remember when I was a very little girl, our house caught on fire.
I’ll never forget the look on my father’s face as he gathered me up
In his arms and raced through the burning building out to the pavement.
I stood there shivering in my pajamas and watched the whole world go up in flames.
And when it was all over I said to myself,
“Is that all there is to a fire?”
Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends
Then let’s keep dancing
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball
If that’s all there is
And when I was 12 years old, my daddy took me to a circus.
“The Greatest Show On Earth.”
There were clowns and elephants and dancing bears.
And a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads.
And as I sat there watching, I had the feeling that something was missing.
I don’t know what, but when it was over,
I said to myself,
“Is that all there is to a circus?”
Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends
Then let’s keep dancing
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball
If that’s all there is
And then I fell in love, with the most wonderful boy in the world.
We would take long walks by the river
Or just sit for hours gazing into each other’s eyes.
We were so very much in love.
Then one day, he went away and I thought I’d die.
But I didn’t.
And when I didn’t I said to myself,
“Is that all there is to love?”
Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep-
I know what you must be saying to yourselves.
“If that’s the way she feels about it why doesn’t she just end it all?”
Oh, no, not me.
I’m in no hurry for that final disappointment.
‘Cause I know just as well as I’m standing here talking to you,
That when that final moment comes and I’m breathing my last breath
I’ll be saying to myself-
Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends
Then let’s keep dancing
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball
If that’s all there is
This is a 1960’s version of the theme of the book of Ecclesiastes. The writer of Ecclesiastes looked at life, even the spectacular life lived by Solomon with all his wealth, privileges, and pleasures, and concluded: (Ecclesiastes 1:2)
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
The writer of Ecclesiastes examines pleasure, achievement, the pursuit of justice, wealth, knowledge, and fame, and he concludes that none of this satisfies because at the end, we die. We turn to dust, and are no more. The wise and the foolish, the rich and the poor all share the same fate. So the writer of Ecclesiastes concludes: (Ecclesiastes 2:11 – The Message)
Then I took a good look at everything I’d done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing.
Was the writer of Ecclesiastes wrong in his observations? Did he miss the good moments of life and see only the disappointing moments of life? Not at all. The writer of Ecclesiastes looked at the moments of life, good and bad, and then considered what happens after that. And it is because all the moments of life are left behind when we go to the grave, that he considered them meaningless. What good is it to win a world championship when time will pass, it will be forgotten, and all those who played in the game will be dead? What good is it to rise to the top of your profession and gain the wealth of the world when you will lose hold of it all when you die? John Ortberg sums ups this understanding in the title of one of his books, When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box.
Jesus taught this truth in a parable about a rich fool. (Luke 12:16–20)
“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
Paul Simon wrote about this in one of his songs:
We’re working our jobs
Collect our pay
Believe we’re gliding down the highway
When in fact we’re slip slidin’ away
The world knows this truth, that the pursuit of the wealth, fame, and power the world offers is an empty pursuit. It does not and it cannot satisfy.
Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends
Then let’s keep dancing
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball
If that’s all there is
Why were we created? Is there a purpose to our lives? Why are we alive and breathing this morning?
We come to the end of our five-week series of sermons based on Henri Nouwen’s book, Life of the Beloved. He writes that “becoming the beloved is the great spiritual journey we have to make.” In helping us on this journey, he takes us through the steps in communion when the bread is taken (chosen), blessed, broken, and then given. We are walking with him through the last stage of being given this morning.
Nouwen writes:
We are chosen, blessed and broken so as to be given. The fourth aspect of the life of the Beloved is to be given. For me, personally, this means that it is only as people who are given that we can fully understand our being chosen, blessed and broken. In the giving it becomes clear that we are chosen, blessed and broken not simply for our own sakes, but so that all we live finds its final significance in its being lived for others.
Why is this true? Why is it in giving that we find our significance? Why does giving make life meaningful?
We find significance and fulfillment when we give because that is how we are created to be. We are made in the image of God and in the perfect relationship of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each person of the Trinity is constantly giving to the others. Each person in the Trinity gives to the other two persons of the Trinity. Each person in the Trinity is receiving from the others and giving to the others. The giving nature of the Trinity, the outward focus of the Trinity led to our existence.
The Triune God did not need any other being. The Triune God was complete within itself. But the outward focus of the Triune God, thinking more of others than itself, led to the creation of men and women to share in its fellowship.
We exist because of the outward focus of the Triune God. And because we are created in the image of God, we find significance when we are given, when we also are outward focused.
Why is it so difficult for us to give? If this is how we were created to be, then why is it not more natural for us to give to others?
Transmitters receive information that is then sent out. We depend on them for radio and television reception, for our phone calls, and for wireless connection to the internet. We are meant to be transmitters. We are chosen by God. We receive the blessings of God. We receive healing from God for our brokenness. Our cup overflows with the goodness of God in our lives. We are his beloved daughters and his beloved sons. From all this fullness we receive, we are meant to send the goodness of God out into the lives of people around us as we give ourselves to others. We are meant to send out what we have so abundantly received.
The problem is that we are more sponges than transmitters. Sponges absorb. And we are dry sponges, wanting more and more for ourselves. Because of our sinful nature, we are self-absorbed. God blesses us and we say, “Thank you,” and ask for more. We want more and more from God and believe God exists to give us a good life. We take and take from God and when we do not get what we want or when something happens we don’t want to happen, we blame God for not taking better care of us.
We define good and bad days by what happens to us. When we feel good, God is good. When we struggle, we wonder where God is. We absorb praise and glory for all our achievements. We evaluate all of life by how it effects us. Because of our sinful nature, we are self-absorbed.
This past Thursday I was at Les Jardins Exotiques, on the road from Sale to Kenitra. This is a beautiful garden with ponds and bridges, tunnels and paths that are a delight for children to explore. Annie and I walked along the paths and saw teenagers along the way. We were exploring the gardens, but at every stop, these teenagers were taking pictures of each other. One would pose and the others would take pictures. Then it was time for another of them to pose. They were doing this at the beginning of the path and I thought that would be all. But every time we saw them, wherever they were, they continued to pose, taking shots of each other. And when they were not posing for shots, they were taking selfies. The beauty of nature was there to behold but all they could do was focus on themselves.
We see this self-absorption in ourselves whenever we look at a group photo. Someone takes a photo of a group and then each person looks at the photo to see if it is a good shot. How do we know which photo is a good one? Each of looks first at our own image and if we look good, it is a good shot. We look at ourselves and only then begin to look at the others in the photo.
We are sponges and sponges do not naturally give. And yet it is when we give ourselves to others that we find fulfillment and significance. Nouwen writes:
Our greatest fulfillment lies in giving ourselves to others. Although it often seems that people give only to receive, I believe that, beyond all our desires to be appreciated, rewarded and acknowledged, there lies a simple and pure desire to give.
We need to encourage this desire to give. How can we do this? How can we be followers of Jesus who give to others? There is no better place to look than at the example of Jesus. In Philippians 2:1–11, Paul urged us:
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Consider others better than yourselves. That is easier said than done. We not only have to take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on others, we have to value others more highly than we value ourselves. “Impossible!” you say. “Who could possibly do that?” Paul goes on:
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus was faced with the choice of remaining in the joy and blessing of his relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, or leaving that and becoming man, being born as an infant who would face the world with all its limitations and pain. Jesus did this because he thought more of us than he did for himself. We were trapped in our sin, destined for eternal destruction and Jesus saw our need, had compassion, and acted. Jesus became man. Jesus sacrificed and died on the cross so we could live with him for eternity. In his dying, Jesus experienced the withdrawal of his Father’s presence and cried out in his last moments, (Mark 15:34)
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
There are many things difficult to understand. This, for me, is the most difficult: Jesus was separated from his eternal relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus made this sacrifice for us. Amazing love! How can it be?
There are not many of us who are called to die for others. But we are to follow Jesus in his example by thinking more of others than we do of ourselves. We are to be outward focused.
Mother Teresa gave herself to the poor of Calcutta. Jackie Pullinger does this with drug addicts in Hong Kong. There are many people God has called who have sacrificed their life so they could help others. It may be that God is calling you to do this in some part of the world, but even if you do not give yourself in such a dramatic way, you are still called to give of yourself.
Nouwen writes:
Our humanity comes to its fullest bloom in giving. We become beautiful people when we give whatever we can give: a smile, a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a word of live, a present, a part of our life…all of our life.
I observe people when I sit in an airport, on a tramway car, a bus, any public space. I look at someone who sits reading a book or just looking bored, lost in thought. There is an absence of life in the faces of people who sit there, unconnected to the people sitting next to them. And then a friend comes by and greets them and a smile transforms that person into a beautiful person. The smile lights up the person’s face into a beautiful radiance. A smile is a gift we give to others.
We don’t have to reserve our smiles just for our friends. We need to be conscious that the people we pass by in the course of our days are people God loves. They may be strangers to us, but they are not strangers to Jesus. We may pass by, but we can give as we pass.
When I drive down the roads of Rabat and pedestrians are crossing, I stop to allow them to pass in front of me. This causes irritation to the drivers behind me, but it is amazing to see how much this little action means to the people who cross. People smile. They wave. They give me a thumbs up. My stopping tells them that I have thought of them, that I think they are worth noticing, that I am not more important than they are.
I don’t often give to beggars, but I always look at them and smile. I let them know that I know they exist. I say thank you to guardians. When I go to the bank, I always greet the security guard. I notice people society tends to dismiss as unimportant because I am aware that these invisible people are loved by God. Jesus died for them so they could be with him in his eternal kingdom. They deserve to be noticed. They deserve whatever kindness I can offer.
We give when we invite people into our world. It may be for a coffee or tea. It may be for a meal. But when we bring people into that space and share some drink and food with them, we are honoring them. Nouwen writes:
Isn’t a meal together the most beautiful expression of our desire to be given to each other in our brokenness? The table, the food, the drinks, the words, the stories: are they not the most intimate ways in which we not only express the desire to give our lives to each other, but also to do this in actuality?
A really peaceful and joyful meal together belongs to the greatest moments of life.
I have great memories of meals with people, sitting around the table, talking and laughing. It does not have to be a fancy meal. Sometimes we are reluctant to invite people to share a meal with us because we cannot make it a five-star meal. But all we need is a bowl of soup with some bread. The meal is not the focus, it is sharing the space and time with someone else that is significant.
I hope you get the point that giving does not mean you have to serve God in what the world considers some grand way. In Christian circles, missionaries and pastors are honored for giving themselves for the sake of the Gospel. But the truth is that missionaries and pastors can be just as self-absorbed as anyone else in the world. God will not give you extra points for having been a missionary or pastor. But God does want you to be his son or daughter, given to others.
This is not a sermon telling you that your work, your career is unimportant. Being good at what we do is part of our witness to the world. Joseph was a good servant to Potiphar. He was a good aide to the jailer and he was a good second-hand man to Pharaoh. Whether a servant or ruler, Joseph worked hard at being competent in what he did. Paul said (1 Corinthians 3:10) “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder.”
God told Moses to get skilled craftsmen to build the Tabernacle. We are called by God to be good at what we do.
What I am telling you this morning is that while your work is important, it does not have ultimate importance. It does not matter if you work as a maid or cook or if you earn enough money to have a maid and cook work for you. It does not matter if you rise to the top level of your company or organization or if you remain at the same level until you retire. It does not matter if you end life with lots of money in the bank or just a few dirhams in your pocket. It does not matter if you have thousands of people who know you or just a few. None of this matters because none of it will last. All of this will fade away, disappear. What does matter is how you treat people in whatever it is you do.
Do you use people to get what you want, or do you value them? In business, it may be that you have to fire someone because their performance is inadequate. I had to do this a number of times when I had my business. But even then, you can care about the person, whether or not that will be appreciated. Treat people you work with and work for with respect. Honor them as men and women God created.
As we move through life, we bring life to others as we pay attention to them and care for them. This is what we are called to do. Even in death, we are called to give life to others.
Steve Hayner and his wife, Sharol, were at Park Street Church in Boston when Annie and I also were part of that ministry. Sharol was Annie’s high school leader. Steve was president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for several years and then president of Columbia Seminary. He died on January 31 from pancreatic cancer. He wrote and blogged about his dying over the nine months after he was diagnosed. Two weeks before his death, he wrote: “Love embraces me. Joy uplifts me. Gratitude settles me. When I lean into love, joy, gratitude and service, I worry less, because eternity surrounds me and God’s grace upholds me.” Steve gave as he died. His blogs, texts, and emails are being collected into a book that will be published by InterVarsity Press. He will continue to give even after he has died.
My friend, Michael Prewitt, suffered from a brain tumor for three years and died, just a half hour before I arrived at his home on July 18, 2014. When people came to see him and asked him how he was doing, he would form a cup with his hands and say, “I am in God’s hands.” In the last week of his life, his pastor visited and asked him, “How are you doing Michael?” Michael was too weak to speak but formed a cup with his hands.
I talked with the visiting nurse who had cared for Michael in his last months. She told me how encouraged she had been by Michael and how she had once again begun attending church because of Michael’s example. I told Michael, one time when I called him from Rabat, that his struggle with his brain tumor would be his best sermon. He preached wonderfully as he died.
Both Michael and Steve gave as they died.
I share this because the world does not view death as an achievement, but it is in every moment of our lives, even to the day we die, that we can give to others what God has given to us. We can shine in life and we can shine in death.
Both Steve and Michael knew they were God’s beloved sons. This is what allowed them to give throughout the course of their lives and even up until their deaths.
This is where our giving starts. We have to know, deep within ourselves, that we are God’s beloved. We cannot give love if we do not know we are loved. But when we know we are God’s beloved child, then we become people who are given. Blessing pours out of us because we have been so blessed ourselves. We receive love and are filled so it naturally spills out onto those around us. We give as we have been created to give.
If you have never surrendered to Jesus, then that is the place to start. Growing up in the church does not give you a relationship with Jesus and that is what we all need. We need to be drawn deeper and deeper into a relationship with Jesus so that he becomes the most important person in our life. What Jesus thinks of us needs to be what is most important to us. The good news is, that Jesus thinks you are wonderful and he chose to die for you so you could live with him.
I am not exhorting you this morning to be more giving. I want you to discover in the depth of your being that you are much loved. If you find it difficult to bless others. If you find it difficult to say good things about others, you don’t need to be told to bless others; you need to know that you are God’s beloved child.
By all means, put forth your best efforts, but hold on to Jesus. Be honest with God. Don’t try to pretend you are better than you are. Become open and honest with God about what you keep so carefully hidden from others, and even yourself. Allow the love of God and others to bring healing so that the person God created you to be will arise.
As we become less self-absorbed, we pay more attention to people around us. We are able to think more of others than we do of ourselves. This will make us people who are given and then we will naturally experience the deep satisfaction and fulfillment of giving to others.
This morning, as we take communion, come to the one who gave himself for you and who has been raised to the highest place. Surrender to Jesus this morning. Ask for his help to see you as he sees you. He has chosen you. He blesses you. He loves you in your brokenness and heals you. He wants you to experience the joy of being given.
*************
Deuteronomy 33:12
“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him,
for he shields him all day long,
and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”
