Fan The Flame
Sermon
Sermons On The Second Readings
Series I, Cycle C
You may have noticed that I read earlier from the King James Version of the Bible and not the New International Version from which I usually read. I read from a Bible that was given to me by my father which was passed on to him by his father. I read earlier from my Grandfather Carver's pulpit Bible from which he began preaching over ninety years ago and used for over forty years. Needless to say, when I accepted this Bible from my father I received it as a sacred trust. I received it as if somehow I could continue the ministry of my grandfather, that I could accept his vocation and preach with the same power, love, discipline, and humility that characterized his life. I was determined that the same word he preached would be kept alive in me and never die.
Some of you also may have noticed that this plant is not the typical arrangement that usually adorns the communion table of our church. This plant, a hyacinth hosta, belongs to my wife Sharlon and has been in the Thomas, Smith, Davis family for well over 100 years. This form of life had its origin in the nineteenth century and can be traced back to Sharlon's great-great-grandmother Thomas. It has been passed on by the females of each generation. Can you imagine what it would be like to receive such a gift and to realize the responsibility of keeping it alive for future generations? Would you want to be the one who let it die? I should think not!
It is much in the same dynamic that Paul writes to Timothy, his "dear son" (v. 2). Paul constantly prays for his younger protege (v. 3). He recalls, with great longing, Timothy's tears upon their last parting (v. 4). Here are the deep, personal, and emotional words of an imprisoned man who has realized that his time upon earth is very short. He will never see Timothy again. These are his final words to his beloved son. But, these are more than words of a drippy sentimentality. These are words of challenge from one soldier of the cross to a would-be successor. These words have the ring, "I am going, almost gone, get on with it!" Get on with what? And how do you do that?
Paul challenges young Timothy to remember the "sincere faith" which first dwelt in his grandmother, Lois, and in his mother, Eunice (v. 5). Just as Paul had been faithful to the traditions of his forefathers, he reminds his son in the ministry to be faithful to the faith of his foremothers (v. 3). These two dedicated Christians not only taught him the "Scriptures from infancy" (2 Timothy 3:15), but no doubt fleshed out that word daily in concrete, practical action.
James Beinke relates a story of four ministers whose conversation quickly drifted to shop talk. "I prefer the King James Version of scripture," one noted, "for its eloquent use of the English language." A second minister gave forth that no Bible could match the New American Standard for its faithfulness to the Hebrew and Greek text. "That may well be," responded the third, "but I prefer the New International Version for its contemporary language and easy readability." There was a thoughtful period of silence, after which the fourth minister said, "I like my mother's translation the best." It was with some surprise that the others said, "We did not know that your mother had translated the Bible!" "Yes, she did," he replied. "She translated the Bible into her daily life, and it was through her translation that I came to faith."
Young Timothy saw faith with a face on it. He inherited and benefited from a faith that began with others, that was lived out and passed on to him. That faith had fashioned and formed the young Christian. The faith of his foremothers had helped to determine and define who Timothy was.1
The movie, Cry Freedom, chronicles the story of Steve Biko as told by his friend, Donald Woods. Steve Biko, later martyred, was a proponent of "black consciousness" in South Africa in the 1970s. He strongly spoke out against apartheid, the policy of racial segregation which denied the existence of non-whites in South Africa. He vehemently opposed the policy that tried to wipe out the memory of non-whites by requiring Afrikaans, the local white language, to be the only language of instruction in the schools. The government of South Africa in the '70s required that children be taught in language not their own so that the children would lose part of the memory of their ancestors. It was a requirement meant to separate children from their families and to fracture the memory of families and their communities.2 Steve Biko died trying to oppose such an effort because he knew if they lost their language they soon would lose their stories. If they lost their stories, they soon would lose their identity. They would forget who they were.
It is true in South Africa. It is true today on this Memorial Day weekend. It is true here at First Baptist Church and every church. We never must lose our stories. If so, we lose a sense of who we are. We must keep alive the faith stories of our forefathers and our foremothers.
At First Baptist, we must keep alive the story of Suzy McNulty who, almost 100 years ago, started and taught the Alert Bible Class for men which grew to over 200 members. We must keep alive the story of Bess Hill whose faithfulness and generosity will serve this church until Jesus comes. We must keep alive the story of Foley Vaughn, who mortgaged his own home to rebuild First Baptist Church after it was destroyed in the Civil War. We must keep alive the story of Sam Miles and others who relocated First Baptist in the 1960s but stayed downtown to perform a ministry to the inner city that is matched by no other. We remember who we are as we remember their contributions.
Paul reminded Timothy that the faith that now lived in him had first lived in others (v. 5). Now, it was his responsibility to accept it and to embrace it.
Thomas G. Long tells the story of Belden C. Lane, a university professor who had studied narrative and storytelling. Lane was invited to be a featured storyteller at one of the national storyteller's festivals. The assignment both excited and frightened the teller of yarns. Never before had he been in the position of telling stories to such a critical audience in a performance setting. When he arrived, terrified, he crossed paths with another featured storyteller, a woman from New York well-known for her narrative skill. He confessed his fear, "I don't feel like a real storyteller."
"You know," she said, "I don't think there are any storytellers. There are only stories and each of us gets to carry one of them for a while."3
How privileged we are to carry the stories of those who have preceded us in the faith. How privileged we are that their faith stories have been passed on to us. How privileged we are to see that those stories are not forgotten.
Paul challenged Timothy not only to remember the faith of his foremothers, but to embrace and nurture that faith as well. One way to embrace and nurture that tradition was to "fan the flame of the gift of God" (v. 6 NIV) that was imparted to Timothy by Paul in the laying on of hands. What was this gift whose flame Timothy was to fan? Some have said that it was nothing less than the gift of prophetic ministry that Paul was calling Timothy to continue. Is Paul here calling Timothy to take up the mantle to follow in the old missionary's footsteps? Others have said that Timothy is challenged to accept and nurture whatever gifts God has given to him, some as yet to be defined, and some only to be discovered as he utilized the ones of which he knew. There are those who say that this "gift" refers to the gospel faith itself first found in his foremothers, but yet it must be accepted and nurtured by the young minister to make it his very own firsthand faith.
Perhaps Paul is prodding Timothy to get on with it! "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity ..." (v. 7). Has young Timothy been timid? Has he been reluctant or "ashamed," or wavered in his own faith? (v. 8). Whether he has or not, Paul reminds Timothy that God has given to him the spirit of power to face any situation, even suffering, if need be (v. 8). God has given to him the greatest gift -- that of love. God also has given to him the spirit of self-discipline or self-control. In the original language the word translated self-discipline is the word sophronisnos which connotes the "strength to be faithful in the face of persecution." Paul had suffered for his faith. Timothy should not be surprised if the same lot befell him.
Yet Paul was firmly convinced that everything he had entrusted to God would be held in safe keeping and ready for him whenever the "day" might come (v. 12). It was with full confidence that Paul urged Timothy to guard the sacred trust given to him because he knew that that which Timothy would securely guard, one day would guard him (v. 14). This is why without wavering Paul could exhort young Timothy to remember, accept, and nurture the sacred gift of the gospel that had been entrusted to him.
George Croly seems to have captured this same spirit in his hymn, "Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart"
Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh:
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.
Teach me to love thee as thine angels love,
One holy passion filling all my frame;
The baptism of the heaven-descended Dove,
My heart an altar, and thy love the flame. Amen.
It is in this same spirit that First Baptist has adopted the theme "Stewards of God's Grace" for our current stewardship campaign. We, too, must remember how much we have been given. We must not only accept that for which so many have paid but nurture it as well. When one makes a financial commitment to the ministry of this church, we are saying that we do not want to let the flame be extinguished. We want to pass it on to others.
What is the best way to keep the flame alive? What is the best strategy to keep and nurture the gospel from which we have so benefited? It is quite simple really! We follow the example of Lois and Eunice. We share it! The best way for one to keep alive the word given to me, symbolized by Grandpa's Bible, is to multiply it in the lives of others. The best way for Sharlon to keep alive her great-great-grandmother's hosta is to take small parts and share it with children and grandchildren. There are parts of this plant in her family's homes all over this country.
We have the gospel word because others gave it to us. We have the very life of Christ because others accepted, nurtured, and passed it on to us. We are here today because of others. Will others be here because of us?
I dare say that most of us had never heard the name of James Jeffords before last week. Now everyone has heard the name of James Jeffords. One man quit one political party and joined another political party and threw the balance of power in the most powerful group of people on earth completely upside down. One man's action changed committee chairperships, committee structures, majority and minority leaders, even who introduces bills in the United States Senate. Whether you agree with his action or not, you will have to agree that is a lot of power for one person. One person!
Hal Warlick relates a story told by Peter Euberroth, who not only served as the Commissioner of Major League Baseball but directed the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. On May 10, 1987, in Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he talked about the "strongest and finest athlete he had ever seen." Believe it or not, it was not one of the great athletes who tied on baseball spikes or wore Olympic colors. He saw this strongest athlete about a month before the Olympic Games when the Olympic Torch was being run across America by relay. Every runner had to donate $3,000 to charity to qualify to carry the nine-pound torch a kilometer or about .6 of a mile. People stood five and six deep along the journey to cheer and encourage the runners. At one point a female runner finished with a strong stride only to have to bend over to light the torch of the next participant in the relay. The next runner had to hold the torch with both hands because she was a nine-year-old little girl, very severely crippled. Obviously, she could not run a kilometer. But they lit her torch anyway. There was a policeman there with a big white plastic helmet on, gunning his motorcycle engine impatiently. He started ahead, waiting for her to take a step. She tried to take one halting step after another. Finally, she was able to limp with a little cadence, going hesitating step after hesitating step.
She had trained for a year with a ten-pound hammer because the torch weighed nine pounds -- but it was still obvious that she wasn't going to make a kilometer.
Everyone learned later that the little crippled girl and her mother raised the $3,000 by bake sales and garage sales to donate to charity in her little town in New Mexico.
This little girl had a huge smile on her face as she limped along. She kept going, with the huge torch wobbling in her two hands. She became wringing wet with perspiration and slowed almost to a stop several times. As she walked, a strange thing happened. Instead of being five deep along the roadside, the crowd became ten deep and twenty deep and thirty deep. They had banners saying, "Run Amy Run. Run Amy Run." And people started to cheer. Her whole school turned out. She was exhausted, but this beautiful smile was still on her face. The little athlete made her kilometer. She lit the flame of the next runner who was off like a shot. There was a special look of triumph on her face. This little girl had achieved what was seemingly impossible. As she stood, the motorcycle policeman was not the only one who wiped away tears.
Peter Euberroth stated, "This young lady ... was the finest and strongest athlete that I ever saw."4
One young lady!
Will you be one to pass the flame that has been entrusted to you?
____________
1. Preaching, May-June, 1990, Volume V, Number 6 (Jacksonville; Preaching Resources), p. 36.
2. Lectionary Homiletics, May-June, 1990, Volume V, Number 6 (Midlothian, Virginia: Lectionary Homiletics, Inc.), p. 12.
3. Thomas G. Long, Whispering The Lyrics (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 1995), p. 70.
4. Harold C. Warlick, Jr., What To Do When Everyone's Doing It (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 1992), pp. 40-42.
Some of you also may have noticed that this plant is not the typical arrangement that usually adorns the communion table of our church. This plant, a hyacinth hosta, belongs to my wife Sharlon and has been in the Thomas, Smith, Davis family for well over 100 years. This form of life had its origin in the nineteenth century and can be traced back to Sharlon's great-great-grandmother Thomas. It has been passed on by the females of each generation. Can you imagine what it would be like to receive such a gift and to realize the responsibility of keeping it alive for future generations? Would you want to be the one who let it die? I should think not!
It is much in the same dynamic that Paul writes to Timothy, his "dear son" (v. 2). Paul constantly prays for his younger protege (v. 3). He recalls, with great longing, Timothy's tears upon their last parting (v. 4). Here are the deep, personal, and emotional words of an imprisoned man who has realized that his time upon earth is very short. He will never see Timothy again. These are his final words to his beloved son. But, these are more than words of a drippy sentimentality. These are words of challenge from one soldier of the cross to a would-be successor. These words have the ring, "I am going, almost gone, get on with it!" Get on with what? And how do you do that?
Paul challenges young Timothy to remember the "sincere faith" which first dwelt in his grandmother, Lois, and in his mother, Eunice (v. 5). Just as Paul had been faithful to the traditions of his forefathers, he reminds his son in the ministry to be faithful to the faith of his foremothers (v. 3). These two dedicated Christians not only taught him the "Scriptures from infancy" (2 Timothy 3:15), but no doubt fleshed out that word daily in concrete, practical action.
James Beinke relates a story of four ministers whose conversation quickly drifted to shop talk. "I prefer the King James Version of scripture," one noted, "for its eloquent use of the English language." A second minister gave forth that no Bible could match the New American Standard for its faithfulness to the Hebrew and Greek text. "That may well be," responded the third, "but I prefer the New International Version for its contemporary language and easy readability." There was a thoughtful period of silence, after which the fourth minister said, "I like my mother's translation the best." It was with some surprise that the others said, "We did not know that your mother had translated the Bible!" "Yes, she did," he replied. "She translated the Bible into her daily life, and it was through her translation that I came to faith."
Young Timothy saw faith with a face on it. He inherited and benefited from a faith that began with others, that was lived out and passed on to him. That faith had fashioned and formed the young Christian. The faith of his foremothers had helped to determine and define who Timothy was.1
The movie, Cry Freedom, chronicles the story of Steve Biko as told by his friend, Donald Woods. Steve Biko, later martyred, was a proponent of "black consciousness" in South Africa in the 1970s. He strongly spoke out against apartheid, the policy of racial segregation which denied the existence of non-whites in South Africa. He vehemently opposed the policy that tried to wipe out the memory of non-whites by requiring Afrikaans, the local white language, to be the only language of instruction in the schools. The government of South Africa in the '70s required that children be taught in language not their own so that the children would lose part of the memory of their ancestors. It was a requirement meant to separate children from their families and to fracture the memory of families and their communities.2 Steve Biko died trying to oppose such an effort because he knew if they lost their language they soon would lose their stories. If they lost their stories, they soon would lose their identity. They would forget who they were.
It is true in South Africa. It is true today on this Memorial Day weekend. It is true here at First Baptist Church and every church. We never must lose our stories. If so, we lose a sense of who we are. We must keep alive the faith stories of our forefathers and our foremothers.
At First Baptist, we must keep alive the story of Suzy McNulty who, almost 100 years ago, started and taught the Alert Bible Class for men which grew to over 200 members. We must keep alive the story of Bess Hill whose faithfulness and generosity will serve this church until Jesus comes. We must keep alive the story of Foley Vaughn, who mortgaged his own home to rebuild First Baptist Church after it was destroyed in the Civil War. We must keep alive the story of Sam Miles and others who relocated First Baptist in the 1960s but stayed downtown to perform a ministry to the inner city that is matched by no other. We remember who we are as we remember their contributions.
Paul reminded Timothy that the faith that now lived in him had first lived in others (v. 5). Now, it was his responsibility to accept it and to embrace it.
Thomas G. Long tells the story of Belden C. Lane, a university professor who had studied narrative and storytelling. Lane was invited to be a featured storyteller at one of the national storyteller's festivals. The assignment both excited and frightened the teller of yarns. Never before had he been in the position of telling stories to such a critical audience in a performance setting. When he arrived, terrified, he crossed paths with another featured storyteller, a woman from New York well-known for her narrative skill. He confessed his fear, "I don't feel like a real storyteller."
"You know," she said, "I don't think there are any storytellers. There are only stories and each of us gets to carry one of them for a while."3
How privileged we are to carry the stories of those who have preceded us in the faith. How privileged we are that their faith stories have been passed on to us. How privileged we are to see that those stories are not forgotten.
Paul challenged Timothy not only to remember the faith of his foremothers, but to embrace and nurture that faith as well. One way to embrace and nurture that tradition was to "fan the flame of the gift of God" (v. 6 NIV) that was imparted to Timothy by Paul in the laying on of hands. What was this gift whose flame Timothy was to fan? Some have said that it was nothing less than the gift of prophetic ministry that Paul was calling Timothy to continue. Is Paul here calling Timothy to take up the mantle to follow in the old missionary's footsteps? Others have said that Timothy is challenged to accept and nurture whatever gifts God has given to him, some as yet to be defined, and some only to be discovered as he utilized the ones of which he knew. There are those who say that this "gift" refers to the gospel faith itself first found in his foremothers, but yet it must be accepted and nurtured by the young minister to make it his very own firsthand faith.
Perhaps Paul is prodding Timothy to get on with it! "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity ..." (v. 7). Has young Timothy been timid? Has he been reluctant or "ashamed," or wavered in his own faith? (v. 8). Whether he has or not, Paul reminds Timothy that God has given to him the spirit of power to face any situation, even suffering, if need be (v. 8). God has given to him the greatest gift -- that of love. God also has given to him the spirit of self-discipline or self-control. In the original language the word translated self-discipline is the word sophronisnos which connotes the "strength to be faithful in the face of persecution." Paul had suffered for his faith. Timothy should not be surprised if the same lot befell him.
Yet Paul was firmly convinced that everything he had entrusted to God would be held in safe keeping and ready for him whenever the "day" might come (v. 12). It was with full confidence that Paul urged Timothy to guard the sacred trust given to him because he knew that that which Timothy would securely guard, one day would guard him (v. 14). This is why without wavering Paul could exhort young Timothy to remember, accept, and nurture the sacred gift of the gospel that had been entrusted to him.
George Croly seems to have captured this same spirit in his hymn, "Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart"
Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh:
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.
Teach me to love thee as thine angels love,
One holy passion filling all my frame;
The baptism of the heaven-descended Dove,
My heart an altar, and thy love the flame. Amen.
It is in this same spirit that First Baptist has adopted the theme "Stewards of God's Grace" for our current stewardship campaign. We, too, must remember how much we have been given. We must not only accept that for which so many have paid but nurture it as well. When one makes a financial commitment to the ministry of this church, we are saying that we do not want to let the flame be extinguished. We want to pass it on to others.
What is the best way to keep the flame alive? What is the best strategy to keep and nurture the gospel from which we have so benefited? It is quite simple really! We follow the example of Lois and Eunice. We share it! The best way for one to keep alive the word given to me, symbolized by Grandpa's Bible, is to multiply it in the lives of others. The best way for Sharlon to keep alive her great-great-grandmother's hosta is to take small parts and share it with children and grandchildren. There are parts of this plant in her family's homes all over this country.
We have the gospel word because others gave it to us. We have the very life of Christ because others accepted, nurtured, and passed it on to us. We are here today because of others. Will others be here because of us?
I dare say that most of us had never heard the name of James Jeffords before last week. Now everyone has heard the name of James Jeffords. One man quit one political party and joined another political party and threw the balance of power in the most powerful group of people on earth completely upside down. One man's action changed committee chairperships, committee structures, majority and minority leaders, even who introduces bills in the United States Senate. Whether you agree with his action or not, you will have to agree that is a lot of power for one person. One person!
Hal Warlick relates a story told by Peter Euberroth, who not only served as the Commissioner of Major League Baseball but directed the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. On May 10, 1987, in Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he talked about the "strongest and finest athlete he had ever seen." Believe it or not, it was not one of the great athletes who tied on baseball spikes or wore Olympic colors. He saw this strongest athlete about a month before the Olympic Games when the Olympic Torch was being run across America by relay. Every runner had to donate $3,000 to charity to qualify to carry the nine-pound torch a kilometer or about .6 of a mile. People stood five and six deep along the journey to cheer and encourage the runners. At one point a female runner finished with a strong stride only to have to bend over to light the torch of the next participant in the relay. The next runner had to hold the torch with both hands because she was a nine-year-old little girl, very severely crippled. Obviously, she could not run a kilometer. But they lit her torch anyway. There was a policeman there with a big white plastic helmet on, gunning his motorcycle engine impatiently. He started ahead, waiting for her to take a step. She tried to take one halting step after another. Finally, she was able to limp with a little cadence, going hesitating step after hesitating step.
She had trained for a year with a ten-pound hammer because the torch weighed nine pounds -- but it was still obvious that she wasn't going to make a kilometer.
Everyone learned later that the little crippled girl and her mother raised the $3,000 by bake sales and garage sales to donate to charity in her little town in New Mexico.
This little girl had a huge smile on her face as she limped along. She kept going, with the huge torch wobbling in her two hands. She became wringing wet with perspiration and slowed almost to a stop several times. As she walked, a strange thing happened. Instead of being five deep along the roadside, the crowd became ten deep and twenty deep and thirty deep. They had banners saying, "Run Amy Run. Run Amy Run." And people started to cheer. Her whole school turned out. She was exhausted, but this beautiful smile was still on her face. The little athlete made her kilometer. She lit the flame of the next runner who was off like a shot. There was a special look of triumph on her face. This little girl had achieved what was seemingly impossible. As she stood, the motorcycle policeman was not the only one who wiped away tears.
Peter Euberroth stated, "This young lady ... was the finest and strongest athlete that I ever saw."4
One young lady!
Will you be one to pass the flame that has been entrusted to you?
____________
1. Preaching, May-June, 1990, Volume V, Number 6 (Jacksonville; Preaching Resources), p. 36.
2. Lectionary Homiletics, May-June, 1990, Volume V, Number 6 (Midlothian, Virginia: Lectionary Homiletics, Inc.), p. 12.
3. Thomas G. Long, Whispering The Lyrics (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 1995), p. 70.
4. Harold C. Warlick, Jr., What To Do When Everyone's Doing It (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 1992), pp. 40-42.
