Nov. 14, 2004

“By Your Endurance you will gain your souls--Do not be weary in doing what is right”

    Friends, we are now in the last two weeks of the Christian year. You can tell by the long dark chilly nights, and the shorts days. The leaves are down—there is frost on the windows—the growing season is over. The earth and soil, trees and many animals are going to sleep until spring. This is a time of endings, in nature’s cycle.

Now, how do you get ready for this seasonal end game? Do you dress differently? [Will you wear shorts and sandals outside today-no way.] Will you use different tools? [You don’t need your lawn mower now, and you’ll need your snowblower soon.]

We need to be properly equipped to take on the endings of the seasons and the growth cycles and the dark and the cold, don’t we?

And today’s readings from scripture represent some of the Bible’s teaching to us about dealing faithfully—on the inside----with life’s endings and challenges and hard seasons and transitions. For example, when St. Paul told the people in Thessalonica not to be lazy about their work, he was not talking about their employment status, he was talking about keeping their faith working even in the face of life’s challenges, even in light of their questions about death and dying. We are to be active, hopeful lights of faith even when the world seems to hibernate, EVEN WHEN, as some Thessalonians thought, they had already earned their salvation—and therefore concluded they didn’t need to care about anyone else.  As St. Paul said, “Never grow weary in doing what is right”.

     Similarly, Jesus today exhorted the people of the church of his day to pay less attention to gazing at their beautiful Temple and dogmatic constructions and devote much more of themselves to holding on to God’s hand through challenges and to shining God’s love on the dark places of life and upon the shadows of the world. “Your witness is not complete”, Jesus said. “WE have to hold on,  We have love and care to offer until our lives, and our families, our world wakes up and heals and take shape upon earth as it is in heaven.”

So kindle the fire of your soul like a woodstove in November in New Hampshire. Do not grow cold—do not give in to darkness or grief or despair or to spiritual complacency. As a 7^th century Celtic prayer puts it so beautifully, “God kindle my heart within, A flame to love my neighbor---O Son of the lovliest Mary, from the lowliest thing that liveth to the Name that is highest of all Kindle thou my heart within, the Holy Son of God to shield me”.

It is dark and it is cold this season in more ways then one as the Christian year draws near its end time. Indeed… “Kindle thou in our hearts O God, thy Holy Son to shield us.”

Now, it is one thing to prepare ourselves outwardly for long nights and cold weather, you find your hats and mittens and you put them on and you call the snowplow guy.

     But there are also dark, cold nights of the soul—tough cold and bitter days in our lives aren’t there. You must have an enduring faith to get through those times too. You’ve got to find your faith and love and courage and put them on too!

This past week a lot of good people from New Boston, Goffstown and St Paul’s School felt the loss of a wonderful young high school student, classmate and teammate. Cliff Nyquist died tragically this week in an accidental drowning. He was an extraordinary young man. A lot of people here are grieving for him and his family and friends today. It is dark times like this that threaten to blow out our inner flame and dim our inner light. Life has many such hardships and challenges and for my money none are so dark and cold as the untimely loss of a young one—a promising one—one of our best and brightest. And the truth is, unlike the predictable seasons of nature—none of us knows how long our life cycle on earth will be…AND THAT IS WHY you need to be spiritually, inwardly prepared to face the hard stuff, the end times—the dark times as a matter of enduring faith and honoring the gift of life we do have—however long or fleeting. Let Jesus’ words lead you, “by your endurance you will gain your souls.” Put on your faith and keep your flame alive inside. Be active in your prayers for Cliff and his family and for the world. Give thanks for this day—this gift to YOUR life and thereby honor God the author of all life itself.     

       And now, as we light this Paschal candle---this sign of resurrection---this symbol of eternal life and unquenchable hope, have enduring faith that Christ will break the darkness and warm the spirit. Our redeemer leads those who die to eternal life and in the Advent season beginning in a couple of weeks we will look for our Savior in a new year—a fresh way to better know life on earth as it is in heaven.

       So as you prepare outwardly for the end of the year of the church, make yourself a promise on the inside to endure by way of a working faith.

Indeed God kindle thou in our hearts within a flame of love---extending from the lowest thing that lives to the name that is highest of all, Jesus Christ our savior. For it is He who promises that by your endurance you will gain your souls. He knows you are the light of the world and you know your calling is to let it shine every day in the life with which you are now blessed. So get to it and stay with it even in, especially in these last days.

AMEN