A few weeks ago, Lisa invited me to participate in our Lenten Wednesday Communion Services. The theme for the several messages was the Saints. I took my turn this evening. I enjoyed this time much more than last. I could speak for one without the horrible cold during Advent. I also stepped out of my comfort zone and was much more personal than academic. The text follows. Yes, I hit a few emotional moments, but they all waited more me to regain momentum. I guess I can't preach close to home without a few bumps.
Heb 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
2 Cor 4:7-9 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
Continuing on with our focus on saints, I had to think for a few minutes about what makes a person a saint. Growing up in the American Baptist Church, we did not have saints that I remember. As I tried to focus on what a saint even was, I remembered a conversation I had a few years back with my cousin Trudy. We chatted on line (actually posted comments back and forth on her blog) about what a saint meant to her from within the Orthodox Tradition. She could not find the blog entry and neither could I. Here is the summary she provided for me in a recent email:
Until she brought that delightful phrase "Saints Triumphant" to my attention, I did not know that many faith groups within the Church refer to those who have gone before as the Church Triumphant and those of us still trapped in space-time, still alive if you prefer, as the Church Militant, the ones wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
I found one reference to "saints" at the American Baptist website, but it referred to being a redeemed people living a life as visible saints. The best I can summarize from the United Methodist information is that "we" believe in people with saintly behavior, but not in "Saints." I further poked around on the Internet and found that the Anglican tradition has saints, or at least provision for saints, but they have only acknowledged one. They do have a “calendars of commemoration” including people like C.S. Lewis and Dr. Martin Luther King. So if we lean to the Methodist "saint" of "saintly" people, then I can pick my saint.
Oh, I did find this extra tid-bit about the Orthodox tradition on Wkikipedia:
For me the key phrase is "This does not make the person a saint." We turn to the lives of saints for inspiration for the same reasons we turn to anyone else for inspiration and guidance. So for my saint, I want to share about Saint Jim the Younger whose feast day is his birthday, February 10th. I know the title of the message says "St James the Lesser" who is an acknowledged saint, but I want to find my saints a little closer to home. I have known about Saint Jim from the days he was my older brother Jimmie. We are both the sons of Saint Jim the Elder (that would be my Dad). We grew up together in the quintessential childhood tucked away in the Northern border state of Montana. As we got older and life got busier, Jim moved to the neighboring state of North Dakota while I moved further into the state of frustration and confusion. I had a hard time settling into adult life. After one conversation about my woes, Jimmie told me "You can self-actualize at night." Jim established himself in a good job in oil fields while he self-actualized at night finding the girl next door and two kids, one of each. Thanks in part to Jim's simple admonition; I finally found my niche in life. I found a steady paycheck and happiness in the computer industry using gifts I did not know I had until I got outside my comfort zone.
Now a phrase like "You can self-actualize at night" may not mean much to you, but to me it freed me to run the race set before me rather than worrying about the race I thought I should be running. I settled into my race and Jim into his. On one visit to Dickinson, I learned another valuable lesson. Jim had been an athlete of sorts in school. While we were all doing the normal school sports, Jim discovered weight-lifting, competing one year in junior nationals. The trophy still sits on display at the family home in Billings. On my visit, I went with Jim and his wife Cec to watch then in a softball game. They played in a local league with a twist. Not only were the teams co-ed, but at least half the team had to come from the local community of developmentally disabled adults. Yes, Jim knew how to compete, but he also knew when compassion was the greater goal.
Along the way, Jim picked up a bad cough. The first doctor did not hear or see anything to alarm him. About a year later, in 2004, the next doctor used that fateful word, cancer. We knew heart disease in my family, but cancer, that was something new. We did not know how what to do. Jim learned the hard way. By October of 2005, he wrote these words in an email to friends and family:
I should mention that until he was on disability, Jim never missed a paycheck from TMi, even though he had not been able to work for months. Jim's email continues quoting a cousin who had to deal with the ravages of a local flood.
The last time I saw Jim was in April of 2006 at my daughter Stephanie's wedding. Jim was there with his entire family. A ghost of his healthy self, he was there to share in a family moment, the wedding of our parents' first grandchild. While there, Jim and I found some private time to talk. He told me how much Cecilia had meant to him over the 20 years of their marriage. He talked about drawing away from the family emotionally, forcing them to think about the problems he had solved in the past so they would not be totally lost when he was gone. After I moved here to Denton in June of 06, I remember a long phone conversation we had talking about when it was okay to stop fighting the cancer and take the next big step. In August, I was on my way to Billings to meet up with the rest of the family to drive to Dickinson for the celebration of his short, powerful life.
Not only had Jim taught me many important lessons about living, he also taught me what it meant to die with dignity and grace. At the celebration of his life, their pastor told of talking with Jim about dying, about sharing his fears. Jim's response was something like "Why be afraid, I have no reason to be afraid." Why be afraid indeed.
This takes us back to the words from Paul's letter to the saints in Corinth. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; Jim taught me what it meant to put flesh to these words. In the face of cancer, Jim was afflicted, but his spirit was not crushed. He did not understand why he had to face cancer. While we were at Stephanie's wedding, Cecilia told me that not even the doctors were quite sure why Jim was still alive. Perplexed yes, but Jim knew that G-d was with him all the way. In that final week-end, they took Jim to the hospital for a treatment to ease his breathing. Knowing all too well the consequences of his decision, he chose to end his battle with cancer on his own terms. Death held no fear for Jim and falling asleep to being present with the Lord held promise of great joy.
I am now two years older than Jim when he passed over to the Church Triumphant. The Church Triumphant! What a great way of framing the church. The Church Triumphant being those of the great cloud of witnesses who have passed from the confines of space-time into the glorious Now of G-d's presence. Those of us in the Church Militant continue to draw strength and courage from the Saints who have gone before. Thanks be to G-d.
Heb 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
2 Cor 4:7-9 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
Continuing on with our focus on saints, I had to think for a few minutes about what makes a person a saint. Growing up in the American Baptist Church, we did not have saints that I remember. As I tried to focus on what a saint even was, I remembered a conversation I had a few years back with my cousin Trudy. We chatted on line (actually posted comments back and forth on her blog) about what a saint meant to her from within the Orthodox Tradition. She could not find the blog entry and neither could I. Here is the summary she provided for me in a recent email:
The term "Saint" in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition is given to a person who has achieved theosis - returning to the holy state of Adam prior to the Fall while in the Garden of Eden. It is something that all Orthodox Christians work towards but few attain. Upon their "falling asleep in the Lord" (or death), they become Saints Triumphant.
Until she brought that delightful phrase "Saints Triumphant" to my attention, I did not know that many faith groups within the Church refer to those who have gone before as the Church Triumphant and those of us still trapped in space-time, still alive if you prefer, as the Church Militant, the ones wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
I found one reference to "saints" at the American Baptist website, but it referred to being a redeemed people living a life as visible saints. The best I can summarize from the United Methodist information is that "we" believe in people with saintly behavior, but not in "Saints." I further poked around on the Internet and found that the Anglican tradition has saints, or at least provision for saints, but they have only acknowledged one. They do have a “calendars of commemoration” including people like C.S. Lewis and Dr. Martin Luther King. So if we lean to the Methodist "saint" of "saintly" people, then I can pick my saint.
Oh, I did find this extra tid-bit about the Orthodox tradition on Wkikipedia:
"All persons currently in heaven are considered to be saints, whether their names are known or not. There are, however, those saints of distinction whom God has revealed as particularly good examples for us. When a saint is revealed and ultimately recognized by a large portion of the Church, a service of official recognition is celebrated. This does not 'make' the person a saint; it merely recognizes the fact and announces it to the rest of the Church."
For me the key phrase is "This does not make the person a saint." We turn to the lives of saints for inspiration for the same reasons we turn to anyone else for inspiration and guidance. So for my saint, I want to share about Saint Jim the Younger whose feast day is his birthday, February 10th. I know the title of the message says "St James the Lesser" who is an acknowledged saint, but I want to find my saints a little closer to home. I have known about Saint Jim from the days he was my older brother Jimmie. We are both the sons of Saint Jim the Elder (that would be my Dad). We grew up together in the quintessential childhood tucked away in the Northern border state of Montana. As we got older and life got busier, Jim moved to the neighboring state of North Dakota while I moved further into the state of frustration and confusion. I had a hard time settling into adult life. After one conversation about my woes, Jimmie told me "You can self-actualize at night." Jim established himself in a good job in oil fields while he self-actualized at night finding the girl next door and two kids, one of each. Thanks in part to Jim's simple admonition; I finally found my niche in life. I found a steady paycheck and happiness in the computer industry using gifts I did not know I had until I got outside my comfort zone.
Now a phrase like "You can self-actualize at night" may not mean much to you, but to me it freed me to run the race set before me rather than worrying about the race I thought I should be running. I settled into my race and Jim into his. On one visit to Dickinson, I learned another valuable lesson. Jim had been an athlete of sorts in school. While we were all doing the normal school sports, Jim discovered weight-lifting, competing one year in junior nationals. The trophy still sits on display at the family home in Billings. On my visit, I went with Jim and his wife Cec to watch then in a softball game. They played in a local league with a twist. Not only were the teams co-ed, but at least half the team had to come from the local community of developmentally disabled adults. Yes, Jim knew how to compete, but he also knew when compassion was the greater goal.
Along the way, Jim picked up a bad cough. The first doctor did not hear or see anything to alarm him. About a year later, in 2004, the next doctor used that fateful word, cancer. We knew heart disease in my family, but cancer, that was something new. We did not know how what to do. Jim learned the hard way. By October of 2005, he wrote these words in an email to friends and family:
I am feeling OK, which for me is really pretty good. I have not had a treatment for several months. I still have limited desire to eat but do so on a regular basis. Plan on starting a pill to keep the cancer at bay soon.
I have not gone back to work. TMi is still taking fantastic care of me. I have applied for social security disability and two other plans I am enrolled in. So I should come out OK. Praise to God for all the things we did right before this happened.
I should mention that until he was on disability, Jim never missed a paycheck from TMi, even though he had not been able to work for months. Jim's email continues quoting a cousin who had to deal with the ravages of a local flood.
Throughout the entire catastrophe I never once believed that we had been abandoned by God. Even in times of alarm I clearly had the sense that God was with us and that not one of us was going to be lost before our time. I believe that God was never in the storm, that God was never in the flood. God was in the few simple, loving acts of kindness that we witnessed.
This is exactly the way I feel. God did not give me cancer; He did not want me to have cancer. He is not testing me because he knows I can handle it! When God learned I had cancer, a tear was shed and a plea to let God help. I believe that God has helped me through all of you.
The last time I saw Jim was in April of 2006 at my daughter Stephanie's wedding. Jim was there with his entire family. A ghost of his healthy self, he was there to share in a family moment, the wedding of our parents' first grandchild. While there, Jim and I found some private time to talk. He told me how much Cecilia had meant to him over the 20 years of their marriage. He talked about drawing away from the family emotionally, forcing them to think about the problems he had solved in the past so they would not be totally lost when he was gone. After I moved here to Denton in June of 06, I remember a long phone conversation we had talking about when it was okay to stop fighting the cancer and take the next big step. In August, I was on my way to Billings to meet up with the rest of the family to drive to Dickinson for the celebration of his short, powerful life.
Not only had Jim taught me many important lessons about living, he also taught me what it meant to die with dignity and grace. At the celebration of his life, their pastor told of talking with Jim about dying, about sharing his fears. Jim's response was something like "Why be afraid, I have no reason to be afraid." Why be afraid indeed.
This takes us back to the words from Paul's letter to the saints in Corinth. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; Jim taught me what it meant to put flesh to these words. In the face of cancer, Jim was afflicted, but his spirit was not crushed. He did not understand why he had to face cancer. While we were at Stephanie's wedding, Cecilia told me that not even the doctors were quite sure why Jim was still alive. Perplexed yes, but Jim knew that G-d was with him all the way. In that final week-end, they took Jim to the hospital for a treatment to ease his breathing. Knowing all too well the consequences of his decision, he chose to end his battle with cancer on his own terms. Death held no fear for Jim and falling asleep to being present with the Lord held promise of great joy.
I am now two years older than Jim when he passed over to the Church Triumphant. The Church Triumphant! What a great way of framing the church. The Church Triumphant being those of the great cloud of witnesses who have passed from the confines of space-time into the glorious Now of G-d's presence. Those of us in the Church Militant continue to draw strength and courage from the Saints who have gone before. Thanks be to G-d.
Comments
It was a very moving, personal sermon powerfully presented. We were with you every second. Blessings on you for sharing with us your personal saint. I would name him St. Jim the Blessed.
- Christie Wood