The End
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV, Cycle B
Object:
The End
Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say -- 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." (v. 23-27)
In 1978, Burt Reynolds starred in a dark comedy titled, The End. He played Wendell Sonny Lawson, an unscrupulous real estate tycoon who was diagnosed as being terminally ill and given three months to live. Not wanting to live his last few months in pain waiting for the end, he tries to pull a "Kevorkian" and commit suicide. A failed attempt lands him in an insane asylum. There he enlists the help of a delusional mental patient named Marlon, played by Dom DeLuise. After several unsuccessful attempts to kill himself, he escapes from the institution.
Still seeking death during a seaside drive, he devises a plan to swim out into the ocean until he is completely exhausted and then drown. But after swimming out quite a ways, he says, "Here I come, Lord." Then he dives down into the ocean. But thinking of his daughter, Sonny changes his mind and decides that he does want to live.
After surfacing, he begins swimming back to the beach. He says, "I can never make it. Help me Lord. Please. I promise I'll try not to kill myself anymore. Save me and I swear I'll be a better father. I'll be a better man. I'll be a better everything. All I ask is ... make me a better swimmer."
He continues swimming and says, "Oh God, let me live and I promise to obey every one of the Ten Commandments." After naming two of the commandments, he realizes that he doesn't know the Ten Commandments. He then changes his promise: "I'll learn the Ten Commandments."
He swims a little farther and promises he will be honest in his real estate business -- only selling lake front property if there is actually a lake. Then he promises, "Help me make it and I'll give fifty percent of every thing I make. Fifty percent. I want to point out that nobody gives fifty percent. I'm talking gross, God."
With the shore in sight he says, "I think I'm going to make it. You won't regret this, God. I'm going to start donating that ten percent, right away."
We laugh, because there is truth in it. Too often, we pray panic-button prayers packaged with flowery promises. We only turn to God when every other option has failed -- when we realize we can't make it on our own. We promise we'll never speed, slack, cheat, lie, or steal if God will just get us out of our latest mess. As if God hasn't heard that before. Our motto appears to be: When the going gets tough, panic. Try to pray your way out of the problem.
In contrast to our tendency to try to pray our way out of problems, Jesus shows us how to pray our way into faith. In the scripture, Jesus bypasses the panic-button prayer option. Knowing he was going to Jerusalem for "The End" -- to be crucified, Jesus didn't pray, "Father save me from this hour." Instead, he embraced his call of crucifixion. He could because he knew the power of God was with him. He prayed his way into faith.
It's your choice. You can either try to pray your way out of a problem. Or you can trust the power of God and pray your way into faith. We can get in line with God instead of trying to get God in line with us. You can learn from Jesus and trust God -- pray your way in to God's glory.
Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say -- 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." (v. 23-27)
In 1978, Burt Reynolds starred in a dark comedy titled, The End. He played Wendell Sonny Lawson, an unscrupulous real estate tycoon who was diagnosed as being terminally ill and given three months to live. Not wanting to live his last few months in pain waiting for the end, he tries to pull a "Kevorkian" and commit suicide. A failed attempt lands him in an insane asylum. There he enlists the help of a delusional mental patient named Marlon, played by Dom DeLuise. After several unsuccessful attempts to kill himself, he escapes from the institution.
Still seeking death during a seaside drive, he devises a plan to swim out into the ocean until he is completely exhausted and then drown. But after swimming out quite a ways, he says, "Here I come, Lord." Then he dives down into the ocean. But thinking of his daughter, Sonny changes his mind and decides that he does want to live.
After surfacing, he begins swimming back to the beach. He says, "I can never make it. Help me Lord. Please. I promise I'll try not to kill myself anymore. Save me and I swear I'll be a better father. I'll be a better man. I'll be a better everything. All I ask is ... make me a better swimmer."
He continues swimming and says, "Oh God, let me live and I promise to obey every one of the Ten Commandments." After naming two of the commandments, he realizes that he doesn't know the Ten Commandments. He then changes his promise: "I'll learn the Ten Commandments."
He swims a little farther and promises he will be honest in his real estate business -- only selling lake front property if there is actually a lake. Then he promises, "Help me make it and I'll give fifty percent of every thing I make. Fifty percent. I want to point out that nobody gives fifty percent. I'm talking gross, God."
With the shore in sight he says, "I think I'm going to make it. You won't regret this, God. I'm going to start donating that ten percent, right away."
We laugh, because there is truth in it. Too often, we pray panic-button prayers packaged with flowery promises. We only turn to God when every other option has failed -- when we realize we can't make it on our own. We promise we'll never speed, slack, cheat, lie, or steal if God will just get us out of our latest mess. As if God hasn't heard that before. Our motto appears to be: When the going gets tough, panic. Try to pray your way out of the problem.
In contrast to our tendency to try to pray our way out of problems, Jesus shows us how to pray our way into faith. In the scripture, Jesus bypasses the panic-button prayer option. Knowing he was going to Jerusalem for "The End" -- to be crucified, Jesus didn't pray, "Father save me from this hour." Instead, he embraced his call of crucifixion. He could because he knew the power of God was with him. He prayed his way into faith.
It's your choice. You can either try to pray your way out of a problem. Or you can trust the power of God and pray your way into faith. We can get in line with God instead of trying to get God in line with us. You can learn from Jesus and trust God -- pray your way in to God's glory.
