When I first read my father's sermon, "Take Time," there was a part of it that made me wince. I immediately decided I would just as soon not write about it. But as I thought about it today, I decided that I needed to address the troublesome passage.
When it came to enjoying leisure time, my dad was the first to admit that he knew the topic all too well because of his failures, not because of his successes: "When I told my wife that I was going to preach a sermon on the Christian theology of leisure and the importance of taking time off, she just looked at me rather strangely, chuckled a bit and turned away. But this didn't discourage me because over 20 years of preaching, I have learned that a minister has to accept himself as a sinner and must realize that when he speaks he is not speaking for himself, but for God." My dad was confident that his own difficulties with leisure time would help make what he had to say about the issue meaningful for his congregation.
Dad went on: "A number of years ago I gave my father a poster to hang in his fishing cabin on the Susquehanna River. It was a picture of a misty morning on a calm lake. In a little skiff were a father and his son looking at the two corks floating at the ends of their fishing lines. The sun was tipping its hat over the mountains in the distance. Stretching across the scene was peace, refreshment, easy-going small talk. Two wistful words beneath the border appropriately released the message: TAKE TIME."
"I was thinking the other day that maybe I really bought that poster for myself. My father, always a hard worker, was also always good at taking leisure time. He had a number of hobbies and interests that served him well before and since his retirement. Not so me, and I'm not proud of that."
Then came the words that made me cringe: "If the Lord lets me live a normal lifespan I am now probably about mid-point in my career. I've done a lot of reflecting on that recently, and there are some things I want to do a little differently during the second half of my working life. They can be summed up in the phrase, 'Take Time.' Take time to reflect on the meaning of my life. Take time to reflect on the meaning of my work. Take time to give relationships priority over accomplishments. Take time to remember that in God's sight my basic worth is already established and does not depend on how full my calendar is, how many meetings I attend, or how many names I add to the church rolls."
Dad was not at the mid-point of his career. He was nearing its end. Just twenty-one months later, he passed away.
Sometimes a sermon is preached with words. Sometimes, it's by example ... good or bad. If my father had it to do all over again, I'm sure he wouldn't have waited twenty years to decide that it's important to take time. There's a reason why the Sabbath comes every week without fail. We need it that often. We shouldn't put off the opportunity to take time.
From: "Take Time"
Ephesians 2:4-10
Preached 8/2/1987 at Paoli UMC
"I was thinking the other day that maybe I really bought that poster for myself. My father, always a hard worker, was also always good at taking leisure time. He had a number of hobbies and interests that served him well before and since his retirement. Not so me, and I'm not proud of that."
Then came the words that made me cringe: "If the Lord lets me live a normal lifespan I am now probably about mid-point in my career. I've done a lot of reflecting on that recently, and there are some things I want to do a little differently during the second half of my working life. They can be summed up in the phrase, 'Take Time.' Take time to reflect on the meaning of my life. Take time to reflect on the meaning of my work. Take time to give relationships priority over accomplishments. Take time to remember that in God's sight my basic worth is already established and does not depend on how full my calendar is, how many meetings I attend, or how many names I add to the church rolls."
Dad was not at the mid-point of his career. He was nearing its end. Just twenty-one months later, he passed away.
Sometimes a sermon is preached with words. Sometimes, it's by example ... good or bad. If my father had it to do all over again, I'm sure he wouldn't have waited twenty years to decide that it's important to take time. There's a reason why the Sabbath comes every week without fail. We need it that often. We shouldn't put off the opportunity to take time.
From: "Take Time"
Ephesians 2:4-10
Preached 8/2/1987 at Paoli UMC
No comments:
Post a Comment