Frayed Ends And Torn Seams
Sermon
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
For a man killed by a hit-and-run driver
Frayed Ends And Torn Seams
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Sometimes we feel like we are at the end of our rope -- where there isn't even enough room to tie a knot and hang in there. The strands, the threads of rope just seem to run out.
A moment like this is like that. The events of the past few days have brought much grief to all of you. The tragedy of the accident that killed Eldon and left Chris in the hospital cuts deep into the fabric of your lives, leaving frayed ends and torn seams.
There was once a woodsman who, in the course of his daily work, snagged his clothes on the bushes and trees of the forest. This woodsman was a very independent sort of person who would accept no help from other people. To repair his own clothes, he would use old threads from other parts of his clothes. Of course, by the end of the summer, he had no decent clothes even for work. The threads of his clothes were being used and reused, so that his garments were unraveling and threadbare.
Our lives would certainly be threadbare if we were left to our own resources. The good news from God's Word is that we have one on whom we can rely. Jesus Christ, himself, experienced the tragedy of life. He was born in poverty and never raised himself out of it. He was rejected by his neighbors; they would not accept him in their midst. Jesus Christ knows firsthand much of the life that Eldon led. He also died an ignoble and tragic death.
But, Jesus' death was not the last event in his life. Tragic as it was -- at the end of his rope as he was -- yet, God had in store for him his resurrection from the dead. And, it is through his resurrection that we have the promise and assurance of our resurrection unto life eternal. This promise is for Eldon. It is for all of you. At that time, he promises you a robe of righteousness which will be for you an everlasting garment, thick in fabric and rich in color.
The frayed ends and torn seams, the threadbareness of this life will be replaced with splendid clothes, well-woven and well-fitted.
Our Lord does not make us wait forever to share in this goodness. He provides us with threads to begin to weave the fabric of our daily lives so that the garment we would wear in this life may appear like the garment he will give us at the time of our death.
Threads: to repair torn seams, patch up frayed ends, and add to the length of our rope.
Threads: that help us weave the fabric of our daily lives into more thickness and richness of color.
He provides us with the threads of love, perhaps the strongest threads of all. At a time like this, it is natural to come together and share your hurts and care for each other. However, soon even this time will pass and you will begin to return to your individual ways. There impatience, frustration, anger, dissatisfaction will be present. But, if you seize the threads of love now -- if you take the love that God gives you especially at this time and use it in your relationships, your life will receive blessings upon blessings even in the midst of grief.
Threads of love. He also provides us with the threads of acceptance. How easy it is to be angry at how things happen in life. How easy it is to be angry at other people who may be involved in some way in causing us hurt and sorrow. But, to accept that which has been is a key to successful living. There is a prayer that is used in Alcoholics Anonymous that goes like this:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and
the wisdom to know the difference.
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change....
Yet, the courage to change the things I can.... This is the third thread God offers you today. In religious language, the courage to change the things I can is called repentance. The threads of repentance: to change one's behavior, one's lifestyle, to turn about and set out to build a new life. This certainly is not within our power if we try to do it by ourselves. We need those close to us and around us to help us.
Eldon was making an attempt at this change -- this repentance -- in his own struggle with alcohol. Now, as you are seeking to rebuild your life, accept the support of those around you; but, take it into your own hands as you would needle and thread and sew the threads of repentance into your future which begins now. You can with the help of God.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Threads -- the threads of love, the threads of acceptance, the threads of repentance.
Take them now, today, as they are being offered you from God. In this way, you will be able to hope once more. For the end of your rope is still a long, long way away. There is still much living to be done. In just a few minutes we will be leaving to bury Eldon in the town cemetery. When that is done, let us each return to the living we must each do and begin to weave the threads of love, acceptance, and repentance into the fabric of our daily lives. Amen.
-- Mark J. Molldrem
Frayed Ends And Torn Seams
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Sometimes we feel like we are at the end of our rope -- where there isn't even enough room to tie a knot and hang in there. The strands, the threads of rope just seem to run out.
A moment like this is like that. The events of the past few days have brought much grief to all of you. The tragedy of the accident that killed Eldon and left Chris in the hospital cuts deep into the fabric of your lives, leaving frayed ends and torn seams.
There was once a woodsman who, in the course of his daily work, snagged his clothes on the bushes and trees of the forest. This woodsman was a very independent sort of person who would accept no help from other people. To repair his own clothes, he would use old threads from other parts of his clothes. Of course, by the end of the summer, he had no decent clothes even for work. The threads of his clothes were being used and reused, so that his garments were unraveling and threadbare.
Our lives would certainly be threadbare if we were left to our own resources. The good news from God's Word is that we have one on whom we can rely. Jesus Christ, himself, experienced the tragedy of life. He was born in poverty and never raised himself out of it. He was rejected by his neighbors; they would not accept him in their midst. Jesus Christ knows firsthand much of the life that Eldon led. He also died an ignoble and tragic death.
But, Jesus' death was not the last event in his life. Tragic as it was -- at the end of his rope as he was -- yet, God had in store for him his resurrection from the dead. And, it is through his resurrection that we have the promise and assurance of our resurrection unto life eternal. This promise is for Eldon. It is for all of you. At that time, he promises you a robe of righteousness which will be for you an everlasting garment, thick in fabric and rich in color.
The frayed ends and torn seams, the threadbareness of this life will be replaced with splendid clothes, well-woven and well-fitted.
Our Lord does not make us wait forever to share in this goodness. He provides us with threads to begin to weave the fabric of our daily lives so that the garment we would wear in this life may appear like the garment he will give us at the time of our death.
Threads: to repair torn seams, patch up frayed ends, and add to the length of our rope.
Threads: that help us weave the fabric of our daily lives into more thickness and richness of color.
He provides us with the threads of love, perhaps the strongest threads of all. At a time like this, it is natural to come together and share your hurts and care for each other. However, soon even this time will pass and you will begin to return to your individual ways. There impatience, frustration, anger, dissatisfaction will be present. But, if you seize the threads of love now -- if you take the love that God gives you especially at this time and use it in your relationships, your life will receive blessings upon blessings even in the midst of grief.
Threads of love. He also provides us with the threads of acceptance. How easy it is to be angry at how things happen in life. How easy it is to be angry at other people who may be involved in some way in causing us hurt and sorrow. But, to accept that which has been is a key to successful living. There is a prayer that is used in Alcoholics Anonymous that goes like this:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and
the wisdom to know the difference.
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change....
Yet, the courage to change the things I can.... This is the third thread God offers you today. In religious language, the courage to change the things I can is called repentance. The threads of repentance: to change one's behavior, one's lifestyle, to turn about and set out to build a new life. This certainly is not within our power if we try to do it by ourselves. We need those close to us and around us to help us.
Eldon was making an attempt at this change -- this repentance -- in his own struggle with alcohol. Now, as you are seeking to rebuild your life, accept the support of those around you; but, take it into your own hands as you would needle and thread and sew the threads of repentance into your future which begins now. You can with the help of God.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Threads -- the threads of love, the threads of acceptance, the threads of repentance.
Take them now, today, as they are being offered you from God. In this way, you will be able to hope once more. For the end of your rope is still a long, long way away. There is still much living to be done. In just a few minutes we will be leaving to bury Eldon in the town cemetery. When that is done, let us each return to the living we must each do and begin to weave the threads of love, acceptance, and repentance into the fabric of our daily lives. Amen.
-- Mark J. Molldrem
