Sermon: "Some Thoughts"

"Some Thoughts"
     
II Timothy 1:1-14      

"3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith."

(A sermon by this title was preached as my last sermon at Maple Grove before going on  "incapacity leave" beginning October 1, 2010. In that sermon I shared some of my unfulfilled hopes and dreams for our ministry together. I'm going to delete those thoughts and share in this blog the comments I made regarding my diagnosis, God's role, and heaven and hell.)

Let me share a little humor to start, like I often did in sermons, albeit poorly at times according to some. There’s a section in one of my favorite newsletters, The Joyful Noiseletter, titled “Signs and Wonders.”

A sign outside the Presbyterian Church in Struthers, Ohio announced: “Honk if you love Jesus – Text while driving if you’d like to meet Him!” (1)

A Huxley, Iowa veterinary clinic had one in front of their establishment that read: “1000’s of years ago cats were worshipped as gods. Cats will never forget.” (2)

Freedom Baptist Church in St. Augustine, Florida included this phrase on their sign one week: “Now Open between Easter and Christmas.” (3)

An elderly woman went to a clinic to see her doctor. The old doctor was training a young doctor and referred the woman to the young doctor to see how he worked.

Within ten minutes the woman came out of the young doctor’s office screaming.

“What did you do?  What did you say to her?” the old doctor asked.

“I told her she was pregnant,” the young doctor replied.

“You’re crazy!” the old doctor said.  “She’s 68 years old, has five children, and 15 grandchildren.”

The young doctor replied with a satisfied grin, “Cured her hiccups.” (4)

One more? A pastor was playing golf with a parishioner. On the first hole, the pastor sliced the ball into the rough, and under his breath muttered “Hoover!”

On the second hole, the pastor’s ball went straight into a pond. “Hoover!” he again said, a bit louder this time.

On the third hole, the pastor’s drive landed on the green only a few inches from the hole. “Praise God!” he exclaimed. But his short putt missed the hole, and he exclaimed loudly again, “Hoover!”

Finally, his curious opponent asked the pastor why he said, “Hoover.”

The pastor replied, “It’s the biggest dam I know.” (5)

OK, enough. I'd like to share with you some attitudes/beliefs/concepts about the church – at least the churches where the Croys have been blessed to serve – Lima Grace: for just nine months at the end of our senior year at ONU - Miamisburg Parkview: for the final two years of seminary, Urbana for four years, Lima Trinity for seven years the first time, Linden Heights for four years, Worthington for four years, Lima Trinity again for another ten years, and finally here at Maple Grove for these last eight years. I loved every place I served. The church has been for me the biblical image of the Body of Christ in each of those settings. I leave the ministry of serving the local church as a paid minister without regret – without anger – without disappointment in the people of God. In every one of those places, people were Christ to me and in the communities. I have been privileged to serve among some really special folks!

The church is the physical body of Christ – the world only knows Christ when the church is the church – when we get together and worship with music and words and symbols, when we offer up food and clothing and stand up for the poor and disadvantaged in our communities and the world, when we cry with those who hurt and rejoice with those who know the joy of new life. In order for us to be all we can be - in order for the church to be all it can be - it's important, dare I say absolutely essential and necessary, that we spend time together. We need to share with one another our hopes and dreams and disappointments – our pasts, the realities of daily living, and our hopes and dreams for the future.  

Now, I'm going to go a totally different direction with the rest of this blog. I want to say a few things regarding death and dying – about heaven and hell. First, my funeral or memorial service has not happened yet. I am not dead – only dying – and all of you are as well.

To be sure, I am not happy about my diagnosis. I don’t want to die. I’m not looking forward to death. I don’t want to disappoint anyone here this morning, but I am not one of those persons who can’t wait to die to go and be with God – to see my dad or my brother or my grandparents or to walk some gold covered streets. Oh, I know there may be a time closer to the end when I may want to die to end my pain or the discomfort of the process of dying, just as there have been those times when I’ve prayed for the release from this life for those who’ve been at that point on their journey. But, that's not where I am right now. I plan on continuing to get out of life what I can and continue to give of myself as much as possible.

Now, please understand, my not wanting to die has nothing to do with a concern about the afterlife - what happens to me after I die - nothing to do with what I believe about heaven and hell. It has everything to do with loving this life – having absolutely wonderful memories of times with my lovely wife of 40 years (in a few days, 43 years!), Dorothy, and wanting to enjoy more days with her – being so proud of my two children, Jeremy and Megan, not just because they are both doing what they enjoy in life vocationally – being a coach and being a minister – but because of the really wonderful people they are – because of wanting to spend more time with Jeremy’s wife, Meladie, and our three grandchildren, Evan, Corinne, and William – because of not wanting my mom to have to experience the pain of the loss of another adult child – because of the love of so many other members of my family and the churches we have served and the communities in which we’ve lived. We’ve been overwhelmed by the emails, the cards, the Facebook messages, the phone calls from childhood friends, high school teammates, college friends, high school teachers and college professors, and church people from every church we’ve served.

You see, I’m not worried about the afterlife because as far as I am concerned I’m already experiencing heaven. Heaven and hell are here and now realities, not places we go to when we die. Let me be as blunt as I can be, I don’t believe in a future hell. I don’t believe  people go to a hell after they die. Hell is a here and now reality.

Now, I've held this view for a long time, but recently I came across a book by Keith Wright entitled The Hell Jesus Never Intended that helped me bring a little more focus to some of my ideas/thinking. In the forward of the book, David Jensen notes: "At the center of (Wright's) work is a rejection of hell as eternal punishment that awaits the unrighteous and a reclamation of Hell as a reality that we create for ourselves and others in the present. The Good News is not that we are saved from fires that loom in the future, but that God frees us for abundant life with each other, with creation, and with God's very self for all time. Jesus Christ doesn't save us from Hell, but saves us for God and each other." (6)

Hell exists all around us - I don't need to go into detail - you know the reality I am talking about. But, heaven exists all around us as well. And life involves this journey of wrestling with the realities of hell around us at the same time we're trying to create heaven for folks and ourselves wherever possible while dealing with all life throws our way. Friends, I am painfully aware of the reality of hell in this world of ours - around us all the time - but, I am also abundantly aware that I am living in heaven at the same time - that is, that I am already on the journey of eternal life - that God is with me.

Let me tell you why I chose to deal with this subject. I want you all to know that I do not believe that God chose for me to have ALS - some hells we don't choose and they aren't the result of us doing anything wrong - they just happen. ALS being a reality in my body is not the result of God punishing me for anything in my life - it's not a wake-up call telling me I should slow down or that there's something wrong with my spiritual life. Bad things happen to people - many people - for no good reason! I believe God is crying with me and with my family and with you and that is what comforts me. God is my comforter - the one who is walking with me through this.

And do you know how I will and am already experiencing God's comfort and why I am so confident in this belief that God is the comforter? It's because of you - because of the church - the resurrected Body of Christ - because of your witness throughout my life - the way I've observed you caring for others in pain - because of the way you've comforted those in pain - those who've wept - those in need - and the way you've included me in your prayers, emailed me messages, sent cards to me, hugged me, cried with me already. Thanks and may God continue to bless and comfort every one of you in the midst of the hells of your lives so that you may know heaven, abundant and eternal life, in this life!

1.     The Joyful Noiseletter, August-September, 2010, p. 5.
2.     Ibid.
3.     The Joyful Noiseletter, October, 2009, p. 4.
4.     Ibid., p. 2.
5. The Joyful Noiseletter, November, 2010, p. 2.
6. Keith Wright, The Hell Jesus Never Intended (Kelowna, BC, Canada,  Northstone Publishing, 2004), p. 10.