A Funeral For "I Can'ts"
Sermon
Sermons On The First Readings
Series II, Cycle B
A Funeral For "I Can'ts"
She was near retirement. Some people thought of her as being old and "over the hill," but she had an idea. The idea was fresh and memorable. She was a schoolteacher in Michigan. Many people thought that schoolteachers made little or no difference in life compared to the powerful people in business and politics. They were wrong.
She told her students to write down as many "I Can'ts" as they could think of. She wrote her list as the students wrote their lists. She included: "I can't get John's mother to come in for a teacher conference." "I can't get my daughter to put gas in the car." "I can't get Alan to use words instead of fists." It seemed like an exercise in negatives.
A little girl wrote: "I can't kick the soccer ball past second base." "I can't do long division with more than three numbers." "I can't get Debbie to like me."
A boy wrote: "I can't do ten pushups." "I can't hit the ball over the left-field fence." "I can't eat only one cookie."
All the students were instructed to fold their lists and put them into a shoebox. The teacher added her list to the box and put the lid on. Next, she told her students to follow her down the hallway. She stopped at the janitor's closet, got a shovel and headed out to a corner of the playground, with the students in procession following her. She stopped, dug a little hole, and instructed the enthusiastic students to make the hole three-feet deep. The box of "I Can'ts" was then placed carefully in the hole and covered with dirt.
The teacher then told her students to join hands and bow their heads as she gave the eulogy. She said, "Friends, we gather today to honor the memory of 'I Can't.' While he was with us on earth, he touched the lives of everyone, some more than others. Unfortunately, his name has been spoken in every public building -- schools, city halls, and state capitols, and yes, even the White House. We have provided 'I Can't' with a final resting place and a headstone that contains his epitaph. He is survived by his brothers and sisters, 'I Can,' 'I Will,' and 'I'm Going To Right Away.' They are not as well known as their famous relative and are certainly not as strong and powerful yet. Perhaps someday, with your help, they will make an even bigger mark on the world. May 'I Can't' rest in peace and may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in his absence. Amen."
The students returned to their classroom where they celebrated the passing of "I Can't" with cookies, popcorn, and fruit juices. The teacher made a tombstone from butcher paper and wrote, "I Can't" at the top of it with the date at the bottom. She posted the tombstone on the bulletin board and thereafter pointed to it whenever a student said, "I can't."
Five "I Can'ts" Abraham Had To Overcome
Our story of Abram, who had made a covenant with God and got the new name "Abraham" for himself, is filled with potentially defeating "I can'ts." Let's look at five of them. Please note that all five are spoken by the demonic inner voices that tempt all of us with negative attitudes.
First, Abram surely responded, "I can't" when he was called by God to depart from the evil, idolatrous land of Ur (in today's Iraq). The story is recorded in Genesis 12. His parents must have told him he couldn't and shouldn't run off to an unknown place just because he heard a mysterious voice telling him to depart. His wife, Sarai, must have said, "You want to go where?" when she first heard of his plans. His neighbors and friends surely pleaded, "You can't" as Abram prepared to journey to an unknown land. But by faith, Abram replaced "I can't" with "I will." He then launched out, bringing some of his family and friends along on the journey to the unknown promised land.
Second, according to our text (Genesis 17:1-7 and 15-16) Abram, now to be called "Abraham," told his family and friends that God had promised that he would be the father of a great nation. He must have felt, "I can't" and yet by faith he accepted the promise. His family and friends must have replied, "You can't. You don't even have one son yet." The mockery must have increased when the years passed and Sarai, now called "Sarah" was barren. But by faith, Abraham clung to God's promise.
Third, when the years passed and no baby came, Sarah came up with an idea. She told her servant girl Hagar that she should have sexual relations with Abraham and have a baby. "I can't have this heir," she must have thought. "Abraham and I will raise this child as our own." Ishmael was born to Abraham and Hagar. Conflict arose between Sarah and Hagar. How often Sarah must have regretted her hasty decision! Hagar and Ishmael were sent away. According to tradition, Ishmael became the father of the Arab people.
Fourth, after years of waiting in vain, strangers approached Abraham's tent. Old Abraham told his old wife that they must provide hospitality for them. When one of the strangers said that Sarah would have a baby, she laughed at the absurdity of the statement. "I can't have a baby," the old woman was saying with her laughter. Nine months later a baby was born to the senior citizens. They named the baby "Laughter." That's what the Hebrew name "Isaac" means in English.
Fifth, when Abraham sensed the command of God to take his son Isaac to a mountain in Moriah and sacrifice him there, the inner voice of reason must have protested, "I can't." In addition, the voice of Sarah must have protested, "You can't do that." But off to the mountain Abraham went because he was certain that it was God who was calling. When his son asked, "Where is the sacrificial lamb?" Abraham answered, "God will provide a lamb for the burnt offering." Then Abraham bound his own son and placed him on the altar. The inner voice must have raged, "I can't do this," yet in faith he raised the knife, only to be stopped by an angel who said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him: for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me" (Genesis 22:1-12). Here we have a test of faith in the face of reason. More importantly, here we have a preview of God's sacrifice of his only begotten son.
The "I can'ts" and the "You can'ts" all had to be put away and replaced by "I will, since the Lord has called."
Replacing "I Can'ts" With Faith
The Second Reading for the second Sunday in Lent is Romans 4:13-25. In this lesson, Saint Paul tells us that Abraham is a great example of what faith means. Faith is not a matter of obeying rules, but obeying God, Saint Paul says. "The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith" (Romans 4:13). When God calls you to do something, your spouse, your friends, your reason, your stubborn willfulness, your lack of confidence, or satanic voices may say, "You can't." Your temptation is to concur and say, "I just can't do that." But if God is calling, faith means clinging to the promise of God.
The Gospel Reading for the second Sunday in Lent (Mark 8:31-38) says the same thing in the context of Jesus' pending suffering and death. Like Peter, we would just as soon not have Jesus accomplish his purposes by dragging us through the horrors of his crucifixion, but like Peter, Jesus' rebuke is necessary for us to see the way of the cross is the only way to Easter.
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."
-- Mark 8:31-33
In other words, Peter said, "You can't."
Jesus said, "I will. Watch me and learn."
Jesus then told the people, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." He laid out the path of overcoming suffering by clinging to the higher voice of God. He said that there would be dark, shadowy valleys in life, but to hold onto the hand of God when these wilderness temptations assault you. When life tumbles in and things go wrong, an inner voice cries, "I can't go on," but another inner voice says, "I am with you always, even to the end." We can overcome the first voice by listening to the second voice.
Remembering the story of the suffering Savior is the way we get through the great ordeals of life. Jesus' suffering and death on the cross and his glorious resurrection become a way out of the negatives which threaten to defeat us. The cross is in the form of a plus. The cross is the greatest plus in life.
The opening story about the Michigan teacher could be interpreted as the power of positive thinking, which is a lot better than the power of negative thinking. But the ultimate resolution for burying the "I can'ts" of life is the story of Jesus, his death, and resurrection.
Saint Paul tries to get us to focus on the positives in life rather than the negatives. Then he urges us to become overcomers by focusing on Christ and his cross as the way to overcome life's negatives. He says, "... Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8). What gets your attention, gets you, so give your attention to the good things, Paul says, and give your attention to what Christ has done for us.
In Colossians 1:13-14 Paul speaks of the way the cross that makes us citizens of heaven and thus buries the "I cant's" of this worldly life. "He [God] has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." He adds, "So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1-4).
Paul buries the "I can'ts" of people who live as if this life is all there is. He rises to the highest "I can" of a man of faith by putting into practice a secret he has learned. "I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:12).
She was near retirement. Some people thought of her as being old and "over the hill," but she had an idea. The idea was fresh and memorable. She was a schoolteacher in Michigan. Many people thought that schoolteachers made little or no difference in life compared to the powerful people in business and politics. They were wrong.
She told her students to write down as many "I Can'ts" as they could think of. She wrote her list as the students wrote their lists. She included: "I can't get John's mother to come in for a teacher conference." "I can't get my daughter to put gas in the car." "I can't get Alan to use words instead of fists." It seemed like an exercise in negatives.
A little girl wrote: "I can't kick the soccer ball past second base." "I can't do long division with more than three numbers." "I can't get Debbie to like me."
A boy wrote: "I can't do ten pushups." "I can't hit the ball over the left-field fence." "I can't eat only one cookie."
All the students were instructed to fold their lists and put them into a shoebox. The teacher added her list to the box and put the lid on. Next, she told her students to follow her down the hallway. She stopped at the janitor's closet, got a shovel and headed out to a corner of the playground, with the students in procession following her. She stopped, dug a little hole, and instructed the enthusiastic students to make the hole three-feet deep. The box of "I Can'ts" was then placed carefully in the hole and covered with dirt.
The teacher then told her students to join hands and bow their heads as she gave the eulogy. She said, "Friends, we gather today to honor the memory of 'I Can't.' While he was with us on earth, he touched the lives of everyone, some more than others. Unfortunately, his name has been spoken in every public building -- schools, city halls, and state capitols, and yes, even the White House. We have provided 'I Can't' with a final resting place and a headstone that contains his epitaph. He is survived by his brothers and sisters, 'I Can,' 'I Will,' and 'I'm Going To Right Away.' They are not as well known as their famous relative and are certainly not as strong and powerful yet. Perhaps someday, with your help, they will make an even bigger mark on the world. May 'I Can't' rest in peace and may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in his absence. Amen."
The students returned to their classroom where they celebrated the passing of "I Can't" with cookies, popcorn, and fruit juices. The teacher made a tombstone from butcher paper and wrote, "I Can't" at the top of it with the date at the bottom. She posted the tombstone on the bulletin board and thereafter pointed to it whenever a student said, "I can't."
Five "I Can'ts" Abraham Had To Overcome
Our story of Abram, who had made a covenant with God and got the new name "Abraham" for himself, is filled with potentially defeating "I can'ts." Let's look at five of them. Please note that all five are spoken by the demonic inner voices that tempt all of us with negative attitudes.
First, Abram surely responded, "I can't" when he was called by God to depart from the evil, idolatrous land of Ur (in today's Iraq). The story is recorded in Genesis 12. His parents must have told him he couldn't and shouldn't run off to an unknown place just because he heard a mysterious voice telling him to depart. His wife, Sarai, must have said, "You want to go where?" when she first heard of his plans. His neighbors and friends surely pleaded, "You can't" as Abram prepared to journey to an unknown land. But by faith, Abram replaced "I can't" with "I will." He then launched out, bringing some of his family and friends along on the journey to the unknown promised land.
Second, according to our text (Genesis 17:1-7 and 15-16) Abram, now to be called "Abraham," told his family and friends that God had promised that he would be the father of a great nation. He must have felt, "I can't" and yet by faith he accepted the promise. His family and friends must have replied, "You can't. You don't even have one son yet." The mockery must have increased when the years passed and Sarai, now called "Sarah" was barren. But by faith, Abraham clung to God's promise.
Third, when the years passed and no baby came, Sarah came up with an idea. She told her servant girl Hagar that she should have sexual relations with Abraham and have a baby. "I can't have this heir," she must have thought. "Abraham and I will raise this child as our own." Ishmael was born to Abraham and Hagar. Conflict arose between Sarah and Hagar. How often Sarah must have regretted her hasty decision! Hagar and Ishmael were sent away. According to tradition, Ishmael became the father of the Arab people.
Fourth, after years of waiting in vain, strangers approached Abraham's tent. Old Abraham told his old wife that they must provide hospitality for them. When one of the strangers said that Sarah would have a baby, she laughed at the absurdity of the statement. "I can't have a baby," the old woman was saying with her laughter. Nine months later a baby was born to the senior citizens. They named the baby "Laughter." That's what the Hebrew name "Isaac" means in English.
Fifth, when Abraham sensed the command of God to take his son Isaac to a mountain in Moriah and sacrifice him there, the inner voice of reason must have protested, "I can't." In addition, the voice of Sarah must have protested, "You can't do that." But off to the mountain Abraham went because he was certain that it was God who was calling. When his son asked, "Where is the sacrificial lamb?" Abraham answered, "God will provide a lamb for the burnt offering." Then Abraham bound his own son and placed him on the altar. The inner voice must have raged, "I can't do this," yet in faith he raised the knife, only to be stopped by an angel who said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him: for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me" (Genesis 22:1-12). Here we have a test of faith in the face of reason. More importantly, here we have a preview of God's sacrifice of his only begotten son.
The "I can'ts" and the "You can'ts" all had to be put away and replaced by "I will, since the Lord has called."
Replacing "I Can'ts" With Faith
The Second Reading for the second Sunday in Lent is Romans 4:13-25. In this lesson, Saint Paul tells us that Abraham is a great example of what faith means. Faith is not a matter of obeying rules, but obeying God, Saint Paul says. "The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith" (Romans 4:13). When God calls you to do something, your spouse, your friends, your reason, your stubborn willfulness, your lack of confidence, or satanic voices may say, "You can't." Your temptation is to concur and say, "I just can't do that." But if God is calling, faith means clinging to the promise of God.
The Gospel Reading for the second Sunday in Lent (Mark 8:31-38) says the same thing in the context of Jesus' pending suffering and death. Like Peter, we would just as soon not have Jesus accomplish his purposes by dragging us through the horrors of his crucifixion, but like Peter, Jesus' rebuke is necessary for us to see the way of the cross is the only way to Easter.
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."
-- Mark 8:31-33
In other words, Peter said, "You can't."
Jesus said, "I will. Watch me and learn."
Jesus then told the people, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." He laid out the path of overcoming suffering by clinging to the higher voice of God. He said that there would be dark, shadowy valleys in life, but to hold onto the hand of God when these wilderness temptations assault you. When life tumbles in and things go wrong, an inner voice cries, "I can't go on," but another inner voice says, "I am with you always, even to the end." We can overcome the first voice by listening to the second voice.
Remembering the story of the suffering Savior is the way we get through the great ordeals of life. Jesus' suffering and death on the cross and his glorious resurrection become a way out of the negatives which threaten to defeat us. The cross is in the form of a plus. The cross is the greatest plus in life.
The opening story about the Michigan teacher could be interpreted as the power of positive thinking, which is a lot better than the power of negative thinking. But the ultimate resolution for burying the "I can'ts" of life is the story of Jesus, his death, and resurrection.
Saint Paul tries to get us to focus on the positives in life rather than the negatives. Then he urges us to become overcomers by focusing on Christ and his cross as the way to overcome life's negatives. He says, "... Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8). What gets your attention, gets you, so give your attention to the good things, Paul says, and give your attention to what Christ has done for us.
In Colossians 1:13-14 Paul speaks of the way the cross that makes us citizens of heaven and thus buries the "I cant's" of this worldly life. "He [God] has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." He adds, "So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1-4).
Paul buries the "I can'ts" of people who live as if this life is all there is. He rises to the highest "I can" of a man of faith by putting into practice a secret he has learned. "I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:12).
