CHOOSE
LIFE
DEUTERONOMY
30.19; COLOSSIANS 3.1-4
EASTER
SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2008
WESLEY
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Douglas
Norris
You
may think you have many choices open to you; but, actually, there are
only two, two basic choices. Moses challenged the Hebrews in the
wilderness, following their escape from Egypt, Deuteronomy 30.19,
“Today I have set before you life and death…Choose life!” Those
are the choices: life or death.
There
is an immortal line in Morris West’s novel, The Shoes of the
Fisherman. The Pope, walking through a poor section of Rome
incognito as a regular priest, is asked by a doctor to attend to a
dying man. The Pope pronounces the absolution and after the man dies,
asks if he might help the family. A woman answers, “They can cope
with death. It’s only living that defeats them.”
The
women and men disciples of Jesus could cope with death. They went to
the tomb to anoint his body with spices, the common practice of the
day. Mary wept in the garden. They knew what to do with death and
grief. But, when confronted with the resurrection, when confronted by
life, they were uncertain and confused.
The
ancient Egyptians had an obsession with death. Can you imagine the
resources, engineering expertise, and manpower it took to erect the
pyramids, which were burial tombs? Unduly preoccupied with death, the
Pharaohs’ fascination with the after-life lasted for centuries.
Our
culture also has a strong preference for death rather than life. We
prefer to wage war and send weapons of destruction around the world,
rather than providing health care, jobs, houses and schools. Pyramids
of death take priority over basic necessities of life.
Samina
Faheem Sundas, founder of the American Muslim Voice, in her speech at
the Day of Remembrance pointed out the similarities between Pearl
Harbor and 9/11. Our country hysterically chose death when it
incarcerated Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor, and now, after
9/11 Muslims are forced to register, deported, and subject to racial
profiling and stereotyping. I quote from her speech, “They have had
us locked in different boxes. If you are Native Americans then you
must be alcoholics, if you are African American then you must be drug
dealers and hookers, if you are Chinese American then you must be a
spy, if you are Japanese American then you are not loyal, if you are
Latino Americans then you must be illegal nannies and gardeners and
now the flavor of the decade if you are American Muslim/Arabs then
you must be terrorists…I will do everything in my power to make our
country peaceful and harmonious, where every one of us feels
accepted, loved, respected and safe. We are all human beings with so
much more in common than we realize. We bleed red. We cry when we are
hurt. Our tears have no color. When we are afraid, we try to flee to
a safer place. We all smile in the same language.”
I
like that: we all smile in the same language. Choose death means to
stereotype, react in fear, harass, and discriminate. Choose life
means to work together in mutual respect, cherish our diversity, and
send a clear message that we are one.
Even
the church emphasizes death. The major works of religious music and
art deal with the passion and death of Jesus. There are very few
works on the resurrection. The church through the centuries has not
really known what to do with the resurrection. The weakest part of
the famous Oberammergau Passion Play is the portrayal of the
resurrection. The popular masterpiece, Jesus Christ Superstar, ends
with the death of Jesus. The resurrection is ignored. It is easier to
paint the crucifixion than it is to paint the resurrection. We really
have not understood the meaning of resurrection. We have yet to learn
how to live in the reality of resurrection.
In
church worship and practice, traditionally we seem to enjoy wallowing
in guilt. Fire and brimstone sermons reinforce how sinful we are.
But, forgiveness, experiencing forgiveness is short-changed.
Admitting our sinfulness and confessing it to God is a necessary part
of the forgiveness process. But, let’s not stop with confession.
Let’s not stop with the death of Jesus. Let’s move to the
resurrection where we experience life. We all know how to feel
guilty; it’s forgiveness we have a difficult time accepting. As I
reflect on conversations with parishioners over the years, I find
that what they find most difficult is forgiving others and forgiving
themselves.
We
know how to live with death; it’s life we have a hard time with!
Have you noticed how much easier it is to tear down than to build up?
Much time and energy are spent in complaining, griping, and
criticizing, which are expressions of death, rather than life. Even
when you do pay a sincere compliment, or an expression of
appreciation, do you usually feel compelled to add a “but…”
Have you noticed how some folks have a difficult time accepting a
compliment? They don’t know what to do with an expression of life
and affirmation. We are so death-prone we feel guilty when we make a
statement or receive a statement on behalf of life?
The
Easter message is life. This morning we proclaim, sing, and rejoice
that Christ is risen! Life is the message. The risen Christ is alive,
and so can you be alive! Therefore, choose life! When our
granddaughter, Adrienne, was four years old, her dad found her
"reading" the Bible. He asked, "What's the Bible
about?" She said, "God and Jesus." He said, "Tell
me about Jesus." She said, "He's invisible." She began
walking around the room, pointing, "You can't see him, can you.
But, he's all around. He's in heaven. I can't wait until I can go to
heaven. But, I'm going to make my cookies first!"
Choose
life for a Christian means that I can’t wait until I can go to
heaven, but I’m going to make my cookies first. A Christian is not
afraid of death; a Christian looks forward to heaven, but lives in
the here and now.
Don’t
let the forces of death defeat you. An old Chinese proverb says, “Man
who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it.” Don’t
let yourself be interrupted, blocked, slowed down, hindered,
hampered, deterred, or encumbered by negative forces. Michael de
Saint-Pierre said, “An optimist may see a light where there is
none; but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?” Don’t
let that pessimist blow out your light.
Choose
life! There are signs of life all around you, signs of hope, fresh
starts, new beginnings, new dreams. My challenge this Easter morning
is to choose life. Colossians 3.1-2, “So if you have been raised
with Christ, seek the things that are above…Set your minds on
things that are above.” Look for signs of life. Look for the second
chances, the fresh starts. It’s a beautiful world. Maybe a baby
will smile at you. I recently renewed my driver’s license. A woman
next to me had her baby girl sitting at her feet. I leaned down and
asked the baby, “Are you getting a driver’s license?” She gave
me a beautiful smile! When a baby smiles at you, it’s like the sun
breaking through the clouds on a dark, dreary day. A baby smiles and
death is pushed back to the sidelines; the negative forces are
overcome.
Look
around for signs of life. If you knock on the doors of households
here this morning, you will find the forces of death behind many
doors. Cancer, illness, grief, drugs, worries about children and
grandchildren, alienation, divorce. But I proclaim to you this
morning: Christ is risen! Choose life!
Choose
life begins with Choose Jesus. Commit your life to Jesus. Let Jesus
take first place in your commitments, goals, plans, dreams and then
all the other choices will fall into place.
I
have two friends currently serving long prison terms. One is older, a
former parishioner; the other is a young husband and father. Praise
God, they have both chosen Jesus. Rather than join a gang, use drugs,
engage in battles; rather than choosing bitterness, anger or
self-pity, they have chosen Bible studies, deepening their faith,
witnessing to others, helping others with documents, etc. The young
friend actually wrote that he is happy. In prison, he found the Lord!
Look
carefully, and you will find in the midst of death, in the midst of
the problems, tiny sprouts sticking their heads up through the earth,
ready to grow, reaching for the sun, new life, new chances, new
opportunities, beauty, joy, fun. Paul wrote, Philippians 4.8,
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable…think
about these things.”
Choose
life and, I challenge you, stamp out death whenever and wherever it
lifts its ugly head. When you feel tempted to say something negative,
when you feel the urge to gripe, to complain, to point out someone’s
faults, when you catch it on the tip of your tongue, say out loud,
“Christ is risen! When you begin to think negatively—doom, gloom,
depression, counting the problems; when you find yourself choosing
death instead of life, say out loud, “Christ is risen!” Claim the
power of the resurrection.
Choose
Jesus! Choose life! Become obsessed with life, not preoccupied with
death. Christ is risen!
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