Dr. Jon Burnham preached this sermon on Luke 21:25-36
at Batesville Presbyterian Church on December 3, 2006.
at Batesville Presbyterian Church on December 3, 2006.
A young man wanted to attain spiritual enlightenment so he joined a Zen Buddhist monastery. The rules of the monastery were very strict. The young man's teacher put him in an intense training program as if he were a spiritual athlete, the young man was made to study and meditate for hours every day. Furthermore, the young student was to be silent 24 hours a day and 364 days a year. He was allowed to speak to his spiritual teacher only once a year and even then he was allowed to say only five words.
At the end of his first year of study and silence the young student finally got to see his teacher. After careful consideration, the student's chose to say, as his five allotted words, "The food here is terrible." His spiritual teacher did not respond and the student returned to his little room for another year of solitude and study. The food did not improve.
At the end of his second year the student eagerly visited his teacher and spurted out his allotted five words, saying, "My bed it too hard." His teacher did not respond and the student returned to his tiny room for another hard year of silent study. His bed remained hard.
The third year was very grim for the student and when it finally ended he had his conference with his teacher and he told the teacher, "This regiment is impossible. I can't take it any more! I quit!"
His teacher replied: "I'm not surprised to hear you say that. All you've done since you got here is complain."
Imagine limiting yourself to only five words per year and then getting a chance to speak to someone you admire and tell them your five words. Imagine how alive you would feel when you finally got your chance to speak your words. Think of how focused in the moment you would feel. Your hands would be tingling from nervous excitement. Your heart would be aching for the opportunity to finally communicate what you have been thinking for the past twelve months. You would come to that moment with a great sense of anticipation and laser like focus. Extraordinarily gifted athletes and musicians speak of playing in "the zone." You would be in that zone when you came to speak to your teacher. The sense of aliveness you would feel in that moment is what Jesus experienced in every moment of his life and that is what he wants us to experience.
The young Zen student sought enlightenment. I have recently come to an enlightenment of my own. As if a light had been turned on in my mind, I now understand that I have spent a great part of my life living in unreality. By that I mean I have lived much of my life in a make believe place called "the future." I was rarely able to enjoy the present because I was thinking about the future. However good the present moment may have been I often threw it away and instead put my attention on all the possible problems I imagined I may encounter in the future.
Other people, perhaps you are one of them, err in the opposite direction. They live their lives in the past. Alabama Coach Mike Shula was having a terrible week after losing to Mississippi State in football this season. The Alabama fans and supporters were questioning the young coach about losing the game and he was having trouble putting the game behind him. He needed to put the game behind him so he could focus on the upcoming game. In desperation, Coach Mike finally called on his father seeking advice and his father, legendary Coach Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins, told his son, "You can't change the score." Those are words of wisdom for those of us who have trouble letting go of the past. You can't change the score. Whatever it is from the past that keeps you from living in the present -- let it go. You can't change the score.
Our challenge is to live our lives neither in the future nor in the past but in the present moment. Our state championship football team just ended their fourth consecutive season with a 15-0 record. They accomplished this amazing feat by playing their season one day, one practice, one game at a time. That is the secret to success. Focus on the present moment. What are you lacking in this moment? Nothing. We lack nothing in the present moment. Focus on the present moment. Whatever you are doing do it with all your attention. If you are driving, drive. If you are walking, walk. If you are praying, pray. Only this. Nothing more. That is what Jesus is teaching us this morning.
As Jesus puts it: "Be alert at all times." Let's begin this practice this morning as we partake of the Lord's Supper. Let us eat this bread and drink this cup fully awake to the presence of Christ in this sacrament. Let us focus our attention like a laser beam on this single moment as a sign of our intention to live each moment in the present tense. As it was for Jesus, so it is with us, it's now or never. We can't change the score. The past is gone and the future is beyond our grasp. All we have is this present moment. We begin the Christmas season with the intention to live each moment in "the zone," wide awake, in the moment, fully open to God. It's now or never. Those are the only two options we ever have. We choose now. We choose now. We choose Christ right now.
