BURY ME STANDING
2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8
OCTOBER 27, 2013
TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C
FARM HILL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, HARRISBURG, AR
INTRO. I have mentioned before my love for the science fiction show, Star Trek. One of my favorite characters is Worf, who is a member of the Klingon race. We named one of our cats Worf in his honor, and I call myself KevintheKlingon in some places on the Internet. Worf is a fascinating character. He was orphaned as a boy and raised by humans, even though he was an alien. Many times on Star Trek he is dealing with the tension between his Klingon birth and other influences he has received from humans and so on. In one episode, though, he goes home to the Klingon planet. He is going there to defend the honor of his father and his family. His father is accused of participating in a disgraceful massacre. If this goes through, it will disgrace Worf’s family for generations.
Through a series of political maneuvers, Worf is forced to give up on his quest to clear the name of his father. An agreement, a compromise of sorts, is worked out. Worf will accept what is called a discommendation, in effect admitting that his father was guilty. Everything else, the truth, all the dirty secrets, will be swept under the table. Things will never be the same between Worf and the land of his birth. However, one final thing must be done. Worf and his captain must walk out of the assembly. All of the Klingons, including his own brother, turn their backs to Worf in his disgrace, and he and his captain silently leave the hall.
What a way to go out, to move on in life! What drama! The apostle Paul was going out with a bang as well. With all that he had done because of God and for God in his life, he had much to reflect on, much to celebrate.
Does the Bible have anything to say about these kinds of transitions? Yes, it does. In the Old Testament, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and David each gave a farewell address. In the New Testament, Peter and Paul both wrote of their impending death in their final epistles. One’s final message is sometimes called a “swan song,” a term based on an ancient belief that the swan knew the hour of its death and announced it with a great cry or sweet song. In his swan song, what did Paul feel it was essential for us to know. What really counted when it was all said and done?
I. PAUL FINISHED THE COURSE (6-7). Say what you want about the apostle Paul, he was a finisher. He was no quitter. He was like Derek Redmond. Derek suffered an injury at the 1988 Olympics and had to drop out but was back at Barcelona in 1992 to race again. Redmond is winning his race, on the way to the finals, 175 meters from the finish line, when pop! His right hamstring blows out. He hops on his left leg a couple of times, then falls to the track. The medical staff rushes over to help. They bring a stretcher out. Tears streaming down his face, Redmond says, “There’s no way I’m getting on that stretcher. I’m going to finish my race.” He gets up and starts hobbling down the track, one painful step at a time. His dad was in the stands that day and felt the pain almost as much as Derek did. Dad raced down to the field and joined his son on the track. With a crowd of 65,000 cheering them on, they go the last 120 meters together, arms around each other. Just before the finish line, Jim Redmond releases his son and Derek crosses the finish line on his own (http://espn.go.com/ espn/ espn25/story?page=moments/94). No quit. No way. No how. That’s the way Paul was, too. What might have been running through Paul’s mind as he stood on the edge of forever?
A. Paul believed that his death was near. He said in verse 6, “I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come.” Paul was speaking of his soon coming martyrdom as an offering to God. He recognized that death, “my departure,” was imminent. When we know death is near, it changes our perspective on a lot of things. In John Grisham’s latest thriller, Sycamore Row, a man in the book who knows death is near does all he can to right a wrong from decades ago, one that he saw when he was just a boy. If you are preparing for departure, you have to pack in a lot of different ways!
B. Paul also believed that his fight was fought. He says in verse 7, “I have fought the good fight.” Paul waged a constant battle. He overcame all opposition. The book of Acts and 2 Corinthians 11 record some of the battles that Paul encountered. He bore the scars of battle, but he was victorious. He left to us all an example of a soldier of Christ who became all that he could be in his service to God. He left his mark upon the world of his day, and he stands head and shoulders above most of the historical figures of all time. I would say this is largely due to how he persevered and fought on in the midst of some of the most difficult of circumstances. What an inspiration and challenge to the rest of us! May we fight the battle in the ways he did.
C. Paul knew that his course was completed. As he says in verse 7, “I have finished the race.” Paul’s race ended in a Roman prison awaiting the executor. What a race he had run! It seems like we have had an increase in attnetion to superheroes in the last few years. They capture the attention of many kids and even adults. But it would be had to find a greater hero among humans than Paul. His race was not easy. He had a lot he had to do to get in the race, and a lot he had to do to stay in the race. A lot about Paul’s life was not easy. But all of it was possible, all of it was doable, because of the power of Jesus Christ at work in him! He may have had to drag himself across the finish line like Derek Redmond, he saw the prize in the flash of the executioner’s sword, but he was determined to finish the race, and he did.
D. Paul knew that the faith was kept. He reflects in verse 7, “I have kept the faith.” In all of Paul’s struggles, he never turned from the faith. He died daily to Paul and all that meant, because he was alive to Christ and all that meant! It reminds me of the story of the Greek wrestler Milo, who lived in the 6th century BC. He was the one who could carry a grown ox when he was a man because he carried the calf every day when he was a boy. Paul was like that. He kept on picking up his faith and not giving up. As the weight grew greater, he was able to carry it because of what he had allowed Christ to do in and for him.
II. WE CAN FINISH TOO (8). When he has that little phrase in verse 8, “not only to me but also to all,” that’s where you and I come in! Paul was not racing by himself, and he did not expect to finish by himself either. Martin Luther King, Jr. was certainly one who looked forward to finishing. No doubt he planned on a longer life and more accomplishments, but he seemed to live a finished life. When he led the March on Washington in 1963, stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and declared “I have a dream,” he expected that others would take part in that dream as well. And for good or ill, millions have followed him in what he said since then.
Sometimes though we forget that it is the finishing that is the bottom line. “During a practice session for the Green Bay Packers, things were not going well for Vince Lombardi’s team. Lombardi singled out one big guard for his failure to ‘put out.’ It was a hot, muggy day when the coach called his guard aside and leveled his awesome vocal guns on him, as only Lombardi could. ‘Son, you are a lousy football player. You’re not blocking, you’re not tackling, you’re not putting out. As a matter of fact, it’s all over for you today, go take a shower.’ The big guard dropped his head and walked into the dressing room. Forty- five minutes later, when Lombardi walked in, he saw the big guard sitting in front of his locker still wearing his uniform. His head was bowed and he was sobbing quietly.
“Vince Lombardi, ever the changeable but always the compassionate warrior, did something of an about face that was also typical of him. He walked over to his football player and put his arms around his shoulder. ‘Son,’ he said, ‘I told you the truth. You are a lousy football player. You’re not blocking, you’re not tackling, you’re not putting out. However, in all fairness to you, I should have finished the story. Inside of you, son, there is a great football player, and I’m going to stick by your side until the great football player inside of you has a chance to come out and assert himself.’
“With these words, Jerry Kramer straightened up and felt a great deal better. As a matter of fact, he felt so much better he went on to become one of the all-time greats in football and was recently voted the all-time guard in the first 50 years of professional football” (http://www.sermoncentral.com/Illustrations/).
Something we forget about finishing is that it is done one day at a time. When a person retires from a job, that retirement is built on years of showing up to work. When someone builds a house, that is based on a million and one decisions and actions and mistakes and fixes. That is the way Paul finished, and it is the way we finish too. We build to that finish. It’s like the little story about the stages of recovery, where someone keeps walking down the street and falling in the same hole. Finally, they get to the point where they walk down a different street. To finish, we have to keep trying, and doing it again, and going another way to another place. But the finish is worth it!
III.. THERE ARE REWARDS FOR ALL WHO FINISH (8). That is not to say that we are in it for what we get out of it. We are in it to get to heaven. But God, in his goodness, gives us so much more. What does Paul have to say about those rewards?
A. We will receive a crown of righteousness. One would expect that Paul, the great warrior of the faith, would have many crowns awaiting him, and surely this is true. The crown of righteousness is but one of the rewards that Paul anticipated. Now that his course was finished, he awaited the crowning just as the winner of a race awaits the awarding of the medals. And how we love to receive those medals and awards! I understand that, in Special Olympics, all of those who compete get a participation ribbon. That way, they go home with something. Carol told me they had an awards assembly at her school the other day and some of the kindergarten students were crying because they didn’t get anything! We all love to get the crowns.
B. God himself will give us the crown. This righteous judge, who knows who we are and where we have been and what we have done, will give us the crown because, despite our limitations and only with the help of Jesus, we have earned it. Not that we deserve it, but we have done our best to earn it. Most of us love the chance to, even for a moment to be around a celebrity of one kind or another. A few years ago, I was at a national library conference and Henry Winkler was there! He played Fonzie on “Happy Days.” I got the chance to shake his hand and was so tempted to go, “aaayyyyyy,” but I managed to restrain myself. Still, it was such a highlight for me. But what will it be like to receive the crown from God himself? What a treat to look forward to!
C. We will get the rewards on the right day. Now, some scholars believe this is talking about the rapture of the church, or the judgment before the throne of God. We just don’t know. But what we do know is that, at just the right time, God will reward us with our crowns! Timing can be everything. What’s the difference between a raw hamburger and a burnt one? Timing. What’s the difference between getting on that plane or missing the flight? Timing. God knows what timing is needed, and he will take care of the rewards that he passes out in just the right time.
D. We will have a crowd to watch us get the rewards. All who have received the same blessings from God will be there to cheer us on, rejoicing in the fact that we have made it together. The reward is for all those who long for his appearing. Do you long for the coming of the Lord? Are you loving His appearing? If you don’t, let’s get in the race, let’s rearrange our lives, let’s fix whatever we need to fix, so we can run the race and finish in victory!
CON. “Bury me standing for I have lived my life on my knees.” Those are the words of Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho (‘pawlu ku’eʎu). In 1986, he walked the 500 mile Way of St. James in northwestern Spain on a pilgrimage, and life has not been the same for him since. I am not sure just how he has been impacted, but aren’t those words a great testimonial for the Apostle Paul? The one who was driven to his knees when first confronted by the light? The one who lived life after that in such a radically different way, who did not quit, who finished the race, who received the prize, and now tells us we can do all those things as well! Bury me standing for I have lived my life on my knees! What a way to go out, what a fine choice of words to leave us with. May we so live, may we so run, may we compete and finish and sing the victor’s song and claim the victor’s prize, so that God will be glad to pass it on to us, just as he must have been glad to pass it on to Paul. I want to stand there with him, I want you to join me there too!
Loosely based on “My Swan Song,” Arthur B. Walton, Faith Pulpit, Faith Baptist Theological Seminary, May/June 2001
