2012
Sermons
Dez 30 - Jesus Must
Dez 30 - I Will Not Forget
Dez 28 - Hear, See, Do
Dez 27 - Fresh Every Morning
Dez 24 - The Fullness of Time...for Us
Dez 23 - Emotions of Advent: Graced Wonder
Dez 16 - Confused Anticipation
Dez 9 - Moods of Advent: Anger
Dez 2 - Moods of Advent: Anxiety
Nov 25 - Not Overwhelmed
Nov 18 - Piles of Troubles
Nov 11 - Thankfulness
Nov 4 - The Communion of Saints...
Okt 28 - Look back, around, ahead!
Okt 21 - Consecration Sunday 2012
Okt 14 - The Right Questions
Okt 7 - God's Yes
Okt 6 - Waiting
Sep 30 - Insignificant?
Sep 23 - That pesky word "obedience"
Sep 16 - Led on their Way
Sep 15 - Partners in Thanks
Sep 12 - With Love
Sep 9 - At the edges
Sep 2 - Doers of the Word
Aug 26 - It's about God
Aug 19 - Jesus Remembers!
Aug 15 - Companion: Gratitude
Aug 12 - Bread of Life
Aug 11 - God's Silence and Speech
Aug 5 - One Faith, Many Gifts - Part 2
Jul 29 - One Faith, Many Gifts
Jul 25 - Rescue, Relief, Reunion, Rest
Jul 22 - Faithful Ruth, Mary, and God
Jul 15 - New World A-Comin'
Jul 8 - Take nothing; take everything
Jul 1 - Laughter
Jun 24 - Salvation!
Jun 17 - Really?
Jun 10 - Renewed by the Future
Jun 3 - Remember, O Lord
Jun 3 - Out of Darkness, Light!
Mai 27 - Dem bones gonna rise again!
Mai 20 - It’s all about me, me, me.
Mai 13 - Blame it on the Spirit
Mai 12 - More than Problems
Mai 6 - Pruned for Living
Apr 29 - Called by no other name
Apr 22 - No and Yes
Apr 22 - Who's in charge here?
Apr 22 - Time Well-used
Apr 15 - The Resurrection of the Body
Apr 8 - For they were afraid
Apr 7 - It's All in a Name
Apr 6 - For us
Apr 6 - No Bystanders
Apr 5 - The Scandal of Servant-hood
Apr 1 - Two Processions
Mrz 28 - The Rich Young Man, Jesus, and Us
Mrz 25 - The Grain of Wheat
Mrz 18 - Grace
Mrz 14 - Elijah, Jezebel, and us
Mrz 8 - The Best Use of Time
Mrz 7 - David, Saul, and Us
Mrz 4 - Despair to Hope, for Abraham, for Us
Mrz 2 - The Word and words
Feb 29 - Jacob, Esau, and Us
Feb 26 - In the wilderness of this day
Feb 22 - It Doesn't End Here
Feb 19 - Why Worship?
Feb 12 - The Person is the Difference
Feb 5 - Healing and Service
Jan 29 - On the Frontier
Jan 22 - What about them?
Jan 15 - Come and See
Jan 14 - Joy and Pain at Christmastime
Jan 8 - To marvel, to fear, to do, and thus believe
Jan 1 - All in a Name
Remember, O Lord
Alice Helm Funeral - June 3, 2012
There are good reasons why the Psalms have been around for 3,000 years.
Anger, sorrow, despair, joy, relief, confidence, impatience, anxiety....
They are all there;
the full range of thoughts and feelings which we may have are reflected throughout the Psalms....
and God understands it all.
Those persons who wrote down the Psalms long ago faced problems just as we do including sorrow and loneliness.
They wondered if God cares,
or indeed, if God has power at all.
They were not afraid to express their anger, fears, and doubts in prayer:
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he, in his anger, withheld his compassion? [77:9]
They can wonder it out-loud, expressing their sorrow and confusion, because of their basic trust that God does hear and care.
I will cry aloud to God
I will cry aloud, and he will hear. [77:1]
I invite us all into that same attitude this day;
to say to God what each of us are thinking and feeling –
God can take it!
Sorrow – that Alice's heart just could not take any more strain of work or repair.
Loneliness – that the relationships which we have had are no longer possible in the same old way.
Annoyance – perhaps with ourselves over things that have been said or done, or we never got around to saying or doing.
Relief – that Alice does not have to deal with any more pain.
And perhaps even just a twinge of jealousy that she now participates in the good things which we have in anticipation.
So, let's go ahead, and tell God about each of them.
We can borrow the Psalmist's words, or use our own; God hears either way.
And more than that!
Something happens.
As we pour out our complaints and hopes and observations, God begins to shape us into what he would have us be and do in the future.
That is the impetus behind a prayer that Rob said was given to Alice years ago and that he has asked to be shared today:
Lord,
You invite all who are burdened to come to you.
Heal me with you hand.
Touch my spirit with your compassion.
Touch my heart with your courage and love for all.
Touch my mind with your wisdom, that my mouth may always proclaim your praise.
Teach me to lead others to you by my example.
Bring me to health in body and spirit, so that I may serve you with all my strength.
The prayer is not just asking for comfort, but for transformation, and that makes it an excellent prayer.
May we indeed come to make the best use of the time and opportunities which God has granted to us.
As we pray together,
as we talk together,
as we worship God together,
as we share in God's table of grace in the Holy Communion,
our loneliness can begin to dissipate in the recognition that God has placed us in the community of the church, where we are connected through the Lord Jesus Christ
not only to each other now in this room, but with Alice and with all of our ancestors in the faith as well.
As we pray together and as we greet family and friends, some of the sorrow and annoyance about things which could not be
may be transformed into an openness to explore what new things and persons and relationships God will reveal to us.
All of this change will be possible because we trust the word of God which we heard from the Lord Jesus when we were baptized: You are mine, forever. I will hold onto you, no matter what.
In confidence, the Psalmist says:
I will remember the work of the Lord, and ponder his mighty deeds.
You are the God who works wonders.
By your strength you have redeemed your people.
There is no getting around it;
there will be difficult times ahead.
Although our relationship with Alice is not ended, it is certainly much different now than in past days.
Rob will feel that difference the most keenly of us all.
So we go ahead and say so;
we tell God in prayer.
God promises that he will do something with those prayers,
that he will yet make something wonderful of Alice, and of us. Amen.
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Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him. |