Rise up, O Men of God! or What We Can Learn from Dogs
A Sermon Delivered by The Rev. John D. Painter
at
Centenary United Methodist Church
Metuchen, New Jersey
June 6, 2010
(Men’s Sunday)
Texts: 1 Kings 17:8-24; Luke 7:11-17
Then the word of the LORD came to [Elijah], saying, “Go now to Zarephath, which be-longs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and pre-pare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and after-wards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.” She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.
After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. She then said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!” But he said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am stay-ing, by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” The LORD listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Eli-jah said, “See, your son is alive.” So the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.” —1 Kings 17:8-24, NRSV
Soon afterwards [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And aid, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favorably on his people!” This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country. —Luke 7:11-17, NRSV
Back some time ago when I selected the theme for my Sermon this morning, I had a nug-get of an idea about what I thought I might want to say. But try as we might, the Holy Spirit and I have had a difficult time turning that nugget into a whole piece. (Or maybe the Spirit was work-ing hard at it, but I wasn’t paying attention.) Sort of reminds me of the pastor’s son who, after observing his father struggling over the preparation of his weekly sermon, asked him, “Dad, doesn’t the Holy Spirit inspire your sermons?” To which the father replied, “Yes, of course.” “Then why,” the smart-aleck kid asked, “do you keep crumpling up all those sheets of paper and throwing them into the waste basket?”
Then yesterday I received the “Joke of the Day” from Beliefnet (www.beliefnet.com):
The pastor was greeting folks at the door after the service. A woman said, “Reverend, that was a good sermon.”
The pastor replied, “Oh, I have to give the credit to the Holy Spirit.”
“It wasn’t THAT good!” she said.
Back a few weeks ago I thought I might want to take the opportunity on my final Men’s Sunday to challenge the men of Centenary to remain fully engaged in all the aspects of ministry here. You know, one of the problems the church-at-large is facing is a sharp decline in the pres-ence and involvement of men. But I have continued to witness a strong presence of men at Cen-tenary in worship and in ministries of service and witness. Well that was the nugget…and it was pretty small to begin with.
So I took that as a sign from the Holy Spirit that another direction might be helpful. But what direction might that be? Well, earlier this past week…before leaving for Annual Confer-ence…while I was cleaning out some file drawers and cabinets, I came across the nugget of an idea for a sermon I have wanted to deliver for a couple of years but never quite got around to. So I thought, what the heck…I’ve got this Sunday left to preach, and the sermon for June 20 is al-ready pretty much written, so why not? But, will it fit into the Scripture? Well, maybe not com-fortably, but if the Spirit and I can squeeze and stretch it a little bit, maybe it will work.
I want you to sub-title this Message “What We Can Learn from Dogs.” Now, you may ask, what on earth do the stories of Elijah’s raising from death of the son of the widow of Zare-phath, and of Jesus’ similar raising of the son of the widow of Nain, have to do with dogs? Easy. I can pretty much guarantee that there were dogs present on both occasions. The authors of those respective books of the Bible may not mention them, but based on my own personal observation of the towns and villages of the Holy Land in both 1987 and again in 1992, there are numerous dogs and cats running loose throughout the streets of Israel/Palestine. And in at least one nota-ble—if not regrettable—place in the Gospels, Jesus uses the term “dogs” in reference to those who are not the children of Israel (See Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30). So he must have also encountered those delightful animals we have come to call “Man’s best friend” on occasion.
A message about What We Can Learn from Dogs might also remind us that the God has sometimes been called the “Hound of Heaven”: an acknowledgment of God’s dogged pursuit of us until we live our lives in full response to Jesus’ command that we love one another “As I have loved you.” And that leads us to remember that Jesus’ life and teachings are deeply rooted in the religious traditions of Judaism and its central command: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.”
Hazel was a quadruple-bypass surgical patient at the UCLA Medical Center, but for days she had barely moved or even opened her eyes. The situation was getting desperate. Hazel’s blood pressure was skyrocketing, and doctors were reluctant to proceed with the needed surgery. Then one of the members of the canine candy-striping corps was summoned. Koyla, a 145-pound shaggy white Great Pyrenees dog arrived and snuggled right in next to Hazel with her warm and furry body. As the staff gathered to watch, they detected movement in Hazel’s hand. And then this woman, who hadn’t moved a muscle for days, began to stroke the thick fur of the dog. With-in minutes she was smiling and talking and calling the huge dog her friend. Her blood pressure dropped, her vital signs improved, and she was able to undergo the life-saving surgery she needed.
What is it about dogs that evokes such a positive response from most of us? How are they able to provide such comfort and reassurance to us? Chris Rose might know more about that than most of us, since she has been active with her beautiful dogs in similar kinds of canine minis-tries. Whatever it is, we know that our furry friends demonstrate a remarkable degree of loyalty and love that brings us a sense of well-being. And thinking about that inspires me to suggest that perhaps we should all try a little harder to be more godly and more dogly in our daily lives. The marks of the godly, dogly disciple are quite clear from Jesus: “If you love me, you will keep my commands” (John 14:15). Christian disciples are also on the receiving end of the comfort and reassurance of the Holy Spirit—the gift of Pentecost. If we were to seek to have the kind of min-istry in our churches, homes, schools and work places that pet partners have in hospitals and nursing homes, what would that look like? What would faithful obedience to the will of God mean in our lives, and in the lives of those around us?
Well, let me share with you what some have called the “10 Fundamentals of Dogness” that might help us answer those questions:
1) Greet loved ones with a wagging tail. Nothing is more important than feeling loved. The wagging tail affirms that this is where we belong. This is our home; this is our church family; this is a place where we are safe and loved.
2) Eat with gusto and enthusiasm—slobber flying everywhere, licking the dish clean un-til every last scrap of food is gone. (Except for the slobber and licking part, we Cen-tenarians are pretty good about the eating with gusto and enthusiasm part!) Dogs know that eating is a celebration of life. Breaking bread is holy. To nourish the body is not a chore but a sacrament. Animosities are dissipated, barriers broken down, and friendships renewed and strengthened when we eat together. Eat with gusto! Enjoy all the spices and flavors of creation!
3) On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree. Relax, slow down, and give yourself a time out. Opt out occasionally, unplug once in a while, and get lazy when you need to. However…
4) Run, romp and play daily. Physical exercise is as important for the soul as it is for the body. No disciple of Jesus Christ is as effective when the body is run down and health is unnecessarily poor. When we play and exercise, we feel better.
5) Be loyal. Loyalty is a good thing, though it seems to have fallen on hard times. Loy-alty is a critical element of Christian discipleship, for it speaks to our relationships with others: our spouse, our family and friends; our community; and, our vocation.
6) When you’re happy, dance around and wag your tail. Thankfulness and gratitude are powerful dynamics for successful living. Gratitude is itself a gift we give ourselves, helping us to maintain our perspective in the inevitable low moments of life.
7) If someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle gently. We all have bad days, and often it takes only a quiet word or a gentle touch to bring us around. Words are not always needed. Sometimes just a gentle nuzzle will do.
No matter how harshly you’re scolded, don’t pout. Run back and make friends. Don’t carry grudges. Make friends and keep them. Overlook the faults of others and assume the best. Don’t keep a score of wrongs. Don’t easily take offence. Hmmm, sounds almost biblical…
9) Avoid biting when a simple growl will do. We can be strong with love and firm with kindness. And finally,
10) Bark with your buddies—it’s an act of commonality. Barking says, “We belong in this together.” We are one.
In the three years that the disciples traveled with Jesus, they learned a great deal together. They learned about love and faith, affirmation and friendship, ministry and acceptance, and pa-tience and humility. In the final days of his life, when Jesus was preparing these disciples to lead the tiny community forward in faith, Jesus took the time to remind them of what was truly im-portant. Placing value on loyalty and obedience, Jesus reminded them of the central role of the Holy Spirit.
Dogs remind us of important truths in life, and sometimes they seem to do better at dis-playing human traits than we humans do in being more humble, loving, grateful, joyful and kind-hearted. A while ago Bob Carlson used this well-known prayer on our sign out on the front lawn: “Dear God, please let me be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.” Maybe that should compel us all to vow that we will never let our dogs be better Christians than we are.
And let the people of God say, Amen.
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