Setting Your Past on Fire

SERMON FROM DECEMBER 28, 2008

Well, here we are again. Sermon time. Last time was a movie moment, so I think this time, I will go back to sharing something from my past. You see, when I was younger, I had a slight problem with fires. I was three years old and absorbed in another fine episode of Sesame Street. It was a great one and Cookie Monster was about to chow down on some cookies. I was drinking some milk and I felt that I should take Sesame Street lessons to heart. I was going to share my milk with Cookie Monster. Now, you young kids probably have never seen a really old tv, but in the 70s, tvs were often made from black molded plastic with air slots in the back to cool down the tube. Well, to a three year old, those slots look like a good place to share milk with Cookie Monster. With a good slosh of milk, the tv began to spark and smoke. I decided to let my mom know – “Mommy, fire on tv.” Mom thought I was reporting some news event, until the smoke detector went off.
Needless to say, I learned a bit that day. Sadly, my parents did not learn from that moment. I was four and again watching Sesame Street. This time, the Count was teaching us how to count pennies. Hey, I had pennies and I wanted the Count to know he had taught me well. Again, the tv had slots and I had pennies. So the Count and I counted pennies, that is until I shorted out the tv and it smoldered again. Again, mom was not happy and I learned another lesson.
When you graduate from high school, sometimes, you get together with friends and have a bonfire and burn up some old textbook from high school that tormented you. Did I mention I went to one of these bonfires. Well, fortunately for the neighbors, only the birdhouse in their tree caught fire. Another lesson learned.
But in all seriousness, my past is riddled with interesting stories that make up who I am perceived to be. Sadly, my past often prevents me from being who I am. Your past makes up who you are all perceived to be, but also prevents you all from being who you are. What does that mean? We will find out that answer at the end of our lesson today.
Each one of our scripture readings provides some interesting insight into this concept of setting your past on fire. Our reading from Luke should be put into context. Travel MINISTRY. Jesus has just rebuked the Pharisees – which I know is a shocking action for Jesus to do. However, it was the reason for the rebuke that is so important. The Pharisees were questioning Jesus as to why he was “working” on the Sabbath. He had cured a man’s shriveled hand. The Pharisees could not believe that he would do anything on the Sabbath. And Jesus’ pure response was simple – which is lawful on the Sabbath - “to do good or to do evil. To save life or to destroy it.” That’s a powerful rebuke of past traditions. And he teaches his apostles about blessings and woes. Then he talks about good fruit from a good tree – our first reading today. The good man brings forth good things from the goodness stored in his heart. The evil man brings forth evil from the evil stored in his heart. What you store in your heart is what you send out later. Letting go of past wrongs, ill feelings, bad thoughts, and so on will free your heart from being a storehouse of evil. Open your heart to the good things and good things will come forth.
Then we turn to Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, where in our reading, he talks about reconciling yourself with God. It’s a short and sweet message – believe in Christ and you will be made new. The old things will pass away. Everything will become new. More importantly, our wicked pasts were demolished through the death and resurrection of Christ. All our past sins were washed away. Everything we had done to separate ourselves from God was wiped clean. Our past had been set on fire. But the message calls for more than that. Just as God had done with us, so should we do with others. All past wrongs are to be purged. All slates are to be wiped clean. We cannot be new if we hold on to the past.
But there is one more message we heard today, it is from Paul’s letter to the Philipians. He writes to them from prison and reminds them about the good they have been doing. This was a church that began on the banks of a river and they had grown in unity and fellowship. They were not without their failings, but Paul saw the good in these people. Paul exhorted them to press harder toward the goal. It was this line in our reading - Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Paul puts all the past behind him and focuses on the goal in front of him – to be a strong follower and disciple of Christ. Nothing from years ago is going to impede his progress. He did his wrongs and he knows them. There is no reason to dwell on them. The goal is clear and it is in the forward momentum that he reaches it.
So here we sit, trying to absorb these three passages into something that is relevant to our lives. And it is this time of year that it comes into play. Yes, I am going to mention the “R” word – resolution. It comes from the word “resolve,” which has many meanings. The definition of resolve that I choose to use – “to find an answer.” We use resolutions often as a mechanism to cope with past misgivings and malfeasances. My resolution is to quit smoking. My resolution is to stop swearing. My resolution is to give more to charity. Our resolutions are our way of looking at our past and assuaging our guilt by hoping to change things in the coming year.
WRONG ANSWER. That is not a resolution. A resolution isn’t about patching up the past. It’s about letting the past go because it impedes the goal. This year, my resolution is to find an answer. The question for which I am going to find an answer is – How can I be a better Christian? And to do that, I must move forward. I have to set my past on fire. I have to give up all of the petty things that I want, that I believe, that I cling to. And guess what? You do too.
Now, I am going to invite several guests up to the stage. They have actions, feelings, states of being on paper. We are going to set our pasts on fire. Don't worry, my firesetting days are long behind - I hope. FIRE STARTS
There it is – a clean slate. Good can come from our hearts because all that is evil has been burned away. Everything past has become new. We can forget that which is behind us and strive toward the goal. To be a better Christian. Those of you with white sheets of paper – stand up for our congregation. Go home today and set your past on fire. Amen.