Monday, November 22, 2021

Sermon (November 21) by Rev. Robert McDowell


     I came across a humorous list of famous last words spoken immediately before something dreadful happened to the person who spoke those words. Let me share a few of them with you.

     Famous last words:

·      Oh, don’t worry, he’s probably just hibernating.

·      What does this button do?

·      So, you’re a cannibal. That’s interesting.

·      Are you SURE the power is off?

·      Yeah, I made the deciding vote on the jury, so, what of it?

·      I pulled the pin but remind me what I’m supposed to count to?

·      I wonder where the mother bear is.

·      Trust me. These are the good kind of mushrooms.

·      Ok, let it dow, but slowly.

·      Don’t worry. I’ll get your toast out.

·      Hey, this doesn’t taste right.

·      Nice doggie.

·      That’s really odd.

·      Hey, that’s not a violin!

     And last, but not least, probably my favorite famous last words…

·      What do you mean, duck? I don’t see a duck anywhere.

 

     Famous last words. Our Old Testament reading for today includes David’s last words. Our scripture begins with, “Now these are the last words of David.”

 

     And since David is one of the most prominent people in the entire Old Testament, it’s worth paying attention to what his last words are to the people of Israel. This reminds us of some other noted Old Testament figures who also offered last words, people like Jacob and Moses.


     For David’s last words, the writer of II Samuel builds the suspense by saying and I’ll use The Message translation for this, 

 

     “The voice of the son of Jesse, the voice of the man God took to the top, whom the God of Jacob made king, and Israel’s most popular singer! God’s Spirit spoke through me, his words took shape on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke to me, Israel’s Rock-Mountain said, ‘Whoever governs fairly and well, who rules in the Fear of God, is like the first light at daybreak without a cloud in the sky, like green grass carpeting earth, glistening under fresh rain.’”

 

    We’ll pause here for a moment because I want to point out how poetic these last words of David are. David’s last words are painting a picture of what it means to be someone who has lived his life as God’s spokesperson on behalf of God’s people.

 

     The poetry of this first portion of his last words is so beautiful. David is telling us that whenever we are open to allowing God to speak through us, it is like that first light at daybreak that allows the green grass to glisten. 

 

     A couple of months ago, a friend of mine had taken an early morning picture of the sunrise that reminds me of David’s poetic way of describing what it’s like to hear and share God’s words with God’s people. Under that beautiful photo she had taken, my friend had the words, “I like mornings.”

 

     This is what David is describing in what it has meant to communicate God’s goodness and faithfulness to God’s people. It is as refreshing as waking up to a beautiful sunrise. 

 

     David’s last words to us remind us of just how important it is for us to share God’s word of hope and new life with those we encounter. Do our words help brighten someone’s day? Do we convey the glistening rays of God’s light of grace with those around us?  In his last words, David is celebrating how God has used him to shine a little of God’s light to the people who were entrusted to his care. 

 

     During this week of Thanksgiving, I am especially thankful for the many ways that you shine God’s light of love with each other and with people in our community. You do this whenever you share with someone how you have experienced God’s presence in your life. When we share our stories of faith with others, it reminds us of God’s goodness and presence in our lives.

 

     A couple of months ago, Penny and I helped to move our son into his new apartment. We had rented a U-haul and spent two days carrying heavy furniture up and down stairs. We were exhausted, sweaty, and sore from all the moving.

 

     But as we we were leaving his house to walk toward our car and come back to Athens, an older couple who live just a few doors down from our son’s new apartment were taking their dogs for a walk out on his front sidewalk. And they stopped just to welcome our son into the neighborhood. 

 

     They were so nice and even though we were all really, really tired from a long day of moving furniture and setting up his apartment, those very kind words of his new neighbor felt like the first light at daybreak that allows the green grass to glisten.

 

     When we speak God’s words of welcome, hope, and new life to those around us, it lifts us up and can make all the difference in the world. It’s interesting that this first part of David’s last words is all about the importance of sharing God’s words of grace with others. 

 

     And then we have these last few verses of David’s last words. David says and again, I’ll be using “The Message” Translation…

 

     “And this is just how my regime has been, for God guaranteed his covenant with me, spelled it out plainly and kept every promised word - my entire salvation, my every desire.”

 

     And this last part of David’s last words focus on God’s covenant and faithfulness. I do like how the New Revised Standard Version puts it. 

 

     “For God has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and secure.”

 

     David’s last of his last words focus on God’s covenant and God’s faithfulness that will continue on even after David is gone. Kings come and go. Pastors come and go. People come and go. But God’s covenant faithfulness will continue on and on and on.

 

     This celebration of God’s eternal faithfulness is at the heart of our Christian faith. It’s important for us to remember that David, as great as he was in being the King of Israel, also had many faults and failings throughout his life. David could have spent most, if not all of his last words lamenting all of his past mistakes and sins, but instead he knew that it was important to focus on God’s eternal faithfulness.

 

     One of the reasons that we baptism infants before they are able to make their own decision about being a child of God, is because baptism is primarily about what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. 

 

     In baptism, God first makes a promise to us and claims us as children of God. And from there, we live in response to God’s faithfulness in our lives. And when we fall short in living out who God has called us to be which we all do from time to time, it’s important for us to remember that God’s faithfulness to us never changes. 

     

     God’s claim on our lives is steadfast. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and there is nothing we can do to make God love us any less.

     

     God’s love is an everlasting love.

 

     These are David’s famous last words that he spoke to the people. Remember that we are all called to speak God’s words of grace and hope to the people around us and always remember that God’s love is an everlasting love.

 

     As I’ve been thinking about David’s last words, I was reminded of the last words of John Wesley, the 18th century founder of what we know today as the United Methodist Church. 




[John Wesley’s Last Words, 1791]

 

     An Anglican Priest, Wesley lived to be 87 years old. These words come from his personal journal which will serve as the conclusion for today’s sermon.

 

     Listen to these last words of John Wesley from March 1st, 1791, London, England.

Tuesday, March 1, after a very restless night (though, when asked whether he was in pain, he generally answered "No," and never complained through his whole illness, except once, when he said that he felt a pain in his left breast when he drew his breath), he began singing:

“All glory to God in the sky, And peace upon earth be restored.”

[Having sung two verses] his strength failed, but after lying still awhile he called on Mr. Bradford to give him a pen and ink; he brought them, but the right hand had well nigh forgot its cunning, and those active fingers which had been the blessed instruments of spiritual consolation and pleasing instruction to thousands, could no longer perform their office. 

Some time after, he said to me, "I want to write": I brought him a pen and ink, and on putting the pen into his hand and holding the paper before him, he said, "I cannot." I replied, "Let me write for you, sir; tell me what you would say." "Nothing," returned he, “but that God is with us." 

In the forenoon he said, “I will get up." While his things were getting ready, he broke out in a manner which, considering his extreme weakness, astonished us all, in these blessed words: 

I'll praise my Maker while I've breath,

And when my voice is lost in death,

Praise shall employ my nobler pow'rs;

My days of praise shall ne'er be past,

While life, and thought, and being last,

Or immortality endures.

     Here his voice failed him, and after gasping for breath, he said, "Now we have done--let us all go." We were obliged to lay him down on the bed from which he rose no more: but after lying still, and sleeping a little, he called me to him and said, "Betsy, you Mr. Bradford, and the others pray and praise." We knelt down, and truly our hearts were filled with the Divine Presence; the room seemed to be filled with God. 

A little after, Mr. Horton coming in, we hoped that if he had anything of moment on his mind, which he wished to communicate, he would again try to tell us what it was, and that either Mr. Horton, or some of those who were most used to hear our dear Father's dying voice would be able to interpret his meaning; but though he strove to speak, we were still unsuccessful. 

Finding we could not understand what he said, he paused a little, and then with all the remaining strength he had, cried out, "The best of all is, God is with us"; and then, as if to assert the faithfulness of our promise-keeping Jehovah and comfort the hearts of his weeping friends, lifting up his dying arm in token of victory and raising his feeble voice with a holy triumph not to be expressed, again repeated the heart-reviving, words, "The best of all is, God is with us!"


Famous Last Words

Sermon Discussion Questions
II Samuel 23:7
November 21, 2021

Our Old Testament reading from II Samuel includes David’s last oracle to the people of Israel. Notice how David’s last words were very poetic. “The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue… One who rules over people rustle, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land. Is not my house like this with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered ll things and secure.”

What do you think that David meant by describing his rule in this poetic way? How is ruling in the fear of God like the “sun rising…gleaming from the rain on the grassy land?”

Share a time when you have felt God’s presence in your life where it was like the sun rising… gleaning from the rain on the grassy land.

In our scripture reading, David is celebrating how God has used him to shine a little of God’s light the people who were entrusted to his care. Pastor Robert invited us to think about these questions in relation to David’s description of God’s presence in his life. 

Do our words help brighten someone’s day? Do we convey the glistening rays of God’s light of grace with those around us? 

Notice that David’s last words included a reference to God’s everlasting covenant. David was celebrating God’s faithfulness!

During this week of Thanksgiving, share how God has been faithful to you.

John Wesley, the founder of what has become The United Methodist Church offered these famous last words just before he died in London, England on March 1, 1791. Surrounded by his friends, Wesley said, “The best of all is, God is with us!”

What do you think of Wesley’s last words? In what ways can they give us strength and hope as we live out our lives?


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