Teach Us to Number Our Days

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90: 12

September 10, 2001, was an ordinary day in New York City. For those who worked in the World Trade Center, it was business as usual. One day later, nearly 2,800 of them would be gone. For them, September 10^th is the last time they will ever walk out at closing time, ride home on the train, eat dinner with the family, fight over the remote. It’s the last bedtime story…the last kiss good night.

September 10^th is the first day on the job for disaster insurance specialist Scott Vasel, who is thrilled with the view of the Hudson River from his desk on the 97^th floor of the North Tower.

It’s a seemingly lucky day for Greg Clark, who survives layoffs that claim two dozen of his colleagues on the 104^th floor.

Telmo Alvear, a dinnertime waiter at Windows on the World, the restaurant atop the North Tower, agrees to cover breakfast the next morning for another waiter.

John Cruz, who works on the 101^st floor, sets his wedding date: September 21, 2002. Joseph Romanolo, whose office is four floors above, calls his father to say he’s selling his motorcycle—which he loves and his wife hates—and is buying a camper the family can enjoy.

The sun sets at 7:06 p.m. but no one sees it in New York City. A thunderstorm dumps almost half an inch of rain and floods the field at Yankee Stadium.

In Verona, New Jersey, Bill Erwin stays up late, folding two baskets of freshly laundered clothes. It’s a surprise his wife will discover the next morning, as he is en route to his office high in the North Tower.

Joe Kelly, who works on the 105^th floor of the North Tower, is at the Yankees game with his two sons. They wait to see if the field will dry out enough to play the game. In the Kelly family, Joe takes the pictures. As a result, he appeared in only two of 195 pictures from their vacation at Disney World, but tonight, a family friend snaps a shot of father and sons together. At 8:50 p.m., the game is cancelled, and Joe calls his wife on Long Island to say he and the boys are on their way home. This is goodbye. She’ll be asleep before they get back. The next morning he’ll leave to catch the 6:14 from Hicksville to Manhattan before she’s awake.

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” This is the request of Psalm 90: 12. Underneath the horror and the outrage, under the loss and trauma of that terrible day, this simple request stands as a small and steady beacon of light. What can we do with the memory of that national tragedy, now ten years past? We can apply Psalm 90:12 to the life we have. “Teach us to number our days…” Why? “…to get a heart of wisdom.” What is the wisdom of numbering our days? It’s that our days are numbered. It’s the awareness that today might be your September 10^th . That’s reality, whether we like to think about or not, and we usually don’t. But what Psalm 90: 12 is trying to tell you is that there is wisdom for living—not just being alive, but really living—and you can have that wisdom. If this is your September 10^th, are you satisfied with how things went? Are you happy with who you are and what you’ve done? If today is your September 10^th, do you feel like you’ve completed your mission? Did you tend to your family relationships the way you had hoped? Are you as close to God as you wanted to be? Your days are numbered. What are you doing with them?

Reflecting on 9/11, we come to the unavoidable conclusion that we may not have the long life we envision for ourselves. So often, the human response to inevitable death is: “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” Even churchgoing people fall into this philosophy. But you know what? There is so much more to life (especially Christian life) than scratching items off your bucket list. If Jesus has grabbed a hold of you and you of Him, then the fact that your days are numbered is not cause for fear; it’s a wake–up call. It’s a wake-up call that you receive at the beginning of day filled with possibility. If you really trust in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, then that means you will live forever with Him. His life is yours. That’s the absolute bedrock foundation of the Christian faith! A Christian believes that he or she will live forever with God because Jesus defeated death. So that takes the fear of death off the table for a believer. What’s left? The fact that our days are numbered, the Bible says. You’re going to live forever by the grace and power of Christ. You’re only going to be here for a little while. So count your days…and make your days count. That’s the point. Count your days and make your days count with Christ as your source, your purpose, your power for living.

Making your days count begins with making Jesus the center of your day, every day. It means letting Him be your heartbeat. It means He is the well that you draw from; he is the power you plug into, day after day after day. Are you doing that? Do you know how to do that? If we’re going to make our days count, we need to have confidence that Jesus goes with us, whispering in our ear, “I am with you always…””Do not be afraid.” We need to hear his Words and to talk to Him. This takes discipline; it takes effort; it takes remembering to do it, but if we try to make our days count without Jesus as the source, we’ll burn out. We’ll run out of gas. Plug into the power of Jesus every day.

Making your days count also means recognizing your calling. Do you realize what God has called you to do? You may say to yourself, “Well, God hasn’t called me, has he? I’ve never heard a voice telling me what to do. That’s for extra-spiritual people.” Wrong. Do you recognize and realize your calling? Do you know how to find out? Just ask yourself who you are! Are you a husband or wife? Son or daughter? Parent? Grandparent? Brother? Sister? Are you a friend or mentor to someone? God has given you these relationships, and when you put your heart into them, you are honoring the Lord. When you love and forgive and put your soul into other people, you are making your days count.

Who are you? What’s your vocation? Financial services? Teacher? Administrator? Are you a manager or counselor? Repairman? Are you an artist? A writer? Are you retired from a position that gave you a whole portfolio of experiences? Realize that God placed you in your profession, and when you do your work to the best of your abilities, you are glorifying the Lord. When you think of your work as a way to give praise to God, you are making your days count.

You really want to make your days count? Recover a sense of mission in your life. The secret here is that mission and joy go hand in hand. If you have no joy in your life, then chances are you’ve lost, or never had, a sense of mission pushing you forward. Think of it this way: if you’ve ever asked, say, a seven-year-old what they want to do when they grow up, have you ever heard them say, “Oh, I think I want to push papers in an office cubicle somewhere.” No! They are joyful in their response. “I want to be an astronaut. I want to be a fireman. I want to play in the big leagues!” They have dreams, they have a mission, and it’s joyful. Where does that go? Or think of the great stories, the great books, the great movies. How many of those are about saving the world? We get wrapped up in these heroic stories, the epic tales of good versus evil, because we want to be part of that! We yearn to be tested, to have significance, to have a mission. If you’re going to make your days count you need to recover that mission for you, and guess what? If you’re a Christian, you have one. Jesus gave it to His Church. That mission is to make more disciples of Jesus Christ. That mission is to let your gospel light shine. Do you see? Right here is where your calling and your mission intertwine, and where your calling and your mission intertwine, there is joy. When you use your abilities to show and tell others about Jesus, you are making your days count.

One more way to make your days count, and I’m just going to mention it quickly, is to take the appropriate time to rest. Rest, after all, is rooted in God. He did it first, after creating the world, and he embedded rest into the routine of humanity. We need rest in order to function. Let’s not confuse an overbooked schedule with living out our calling and mission. The beauty of the gospel is that we don’t have to kill ourselves with busyness to get God to love us. He loves us already. His Son was killed to prove it. Pastor John Piper put it this way: “[Jesus says] I am your rest, and there is good work for you to do each day until you’re home.” When you rest in the Lord and take care of yourself so that you are at your best when it’s time to serve, you are making your days count.

“So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart to wisdom.” Today we remember a terrible tragedy in our nation’s history, but we also remember those who sacrificed their lives in the attempt to save others, who ran into burning buildings when everyone else was running out. Their calling and their mission was clear, and we are right to think of them as heroes.

Hope for our nation and hope for our world comes from another true hero, who sacrificed his life for all on the cross; who ran into the fire to cancel the debt of our sins. He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If He is your Savior and Lord, make Him the center of your day. Recognize your calling and your mission. Find your rest in Him. Then you can count your days and make your days count.

Turn and Become Like Children

Jesus loved and honored children. If you’re familiar with Him then you almost take that for granted. Our Lord’s attitude towards children has shaped the way His Church does business. The Church’s desire to “receive the little ones” has given birth to Christian Day Schools, Christian Preschools; and yes, Christian Sunday Schools. On this day when our kids advance to a new Sunday School class, we’re rallying around a teaching ministry aimed right at children. Who could argue against it? A Church that does not honor or serve its children chooses to ignore the spirit in which Jesus honored children. Bad choice.

However, as important as instructing our children in the Word of God is, it’s not the main point of today’s Gospel Reading. Jesus doesn’t plop a child down in the middle of his disciples in order to say, “You guys really ought to start a Christian School.” In fact, Jesus does this to say, “This child could school you. You have to learn from this child, or you’ll never make it in the kingdom of heaven.” The point of this reading is less about teaching our children, and more about what they can teach us.

It seems the disciples had been bouncing around the question “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of God?” That’s one of our favorite obsessions, isn’t it? From greatest player to greatest president; from greatest singer to greatest school—we concern ourselves with who is number one, which is almost always based on what? High performance. The disciples were doing this with the kingdom of God, and while it might be fun to debate who the best quarterback is, if you start doing this with God and His kingdom, it stops being fun, and starts being spiritually dangerous. So Jesus calls to a child and sets this child right in the middle and says: "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

So, what does it mean to “turn and become like children”? It’s pretty important that we know. Jesus said, if you don’t turn and become like [a child], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. What do children have that we need? We’d better have a good answer!

Let’s think for a minute. What would you say is the biggest difference between children and adults? Lots of ways to answer that question, of course. I would suggest that one of the biggest differences between children and adults is control. Control over their lives. Adults have it, to some degree. Children don’t, and they know it. Here’s one example—the child that declares, “When I grow up, I’m going to stay up all night, play as many video games as I want, eat only Fruity Pebbles cereal…” you get the idea. Parents set the rules, and, best case scenario, they enforce them. The bottom line rests with the parent, not the child. Now, in the culture of Jesus’ time, children had even less control over their lives than they do now. Roman citizens—fathers of the household, in particular—had the right to execute their children if the situation warranted it. There was a cultural assumption that a person was not truly of value until they became an adult.

So what does it mean to “turn and become like children”? It means more than just ‘having a child-like faith’—though that’s part of it. When Jesus says “turn and become like children” He’s saying “surrender control of your life to God.” Become the child and let God be the Parent. Let Him set the rules. Let Him set your agenda. Let Him guide your steps. Trust that He has your best interests in mind. Turn and become dependent on God. Turn and give Him control of your priorities. Surrender control to God.

Is that what you want? Of course, there’s that side of us that’s going to say “no.” There’s that sinful side of us who’s going to rebel. When Jesus says “turn and become like children,” the word “turn” says a lot! Turn from what? Turn from this obsession with who’s got the best track record—who’s risen to the top. Jesus says that attitude will prevent you from entering the kingdom of heaven. How can it do that? Here’s how author and pastor Timothy Keller describes it: “It is possible for religious people to live very moral lives, but their goal is to get leverage over God, to control Him, to put Him in a position where they think He owes them. If you believe that God ought to bless you and help you because you have worked so hard to obey Him and be a good person, then Jesus may be your helper, your example, even your inspiration, but He is not your Savior. You are serving as your own Savior.” Jesus says, “…unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Turn from the religion that says: God’s got to bless me ‘cause I’ve been so good. Become like children, who have nothing unless it’s given to them. Become like children who have no leverage, no control over anything that happens. Become like children who are fully dependent on someone else to care for them. Surrender control of everything you have; everything you love; everything you are to God. That’s what Jesus is saying to you.

Now listen: Jesus isn’t asking anything of you that He hasn’t already done. He surrendered control of His life to His Father. There was a cup that He had to drink for us; that cup was the suffering of the cross. The Gospels reveal Jesus’ great distress in Gethsemane, a scene portrayed in that window up there, with physical agony and death just hours away. But Jesus went through with it. He surrendered to His Father’s will. He endured the horror of the cross. Why? Why? So that your sins could be forgiven today. He died on that cross so that His body and blood could be served to you today, forgiving your sins of pride and control and the chronic need to be number one—they’re all wiped clean away. Having surrendered His life to His Father, His Father then returned Jesus’ life to Him on Easter morning, so whoever believes in Jesus’ death and resurrection will have life returned to them as well, better life; risen life; not only a future home in heaven but a new birth today, a radical reset of who you are and what you’re about. Don’t you want that? Don’t you hunger for that? It’s here for you in the gospel of Jesus.

The sinner inside lives in fear of losing control. The sinner inside is convinced that surrendering control of my life to God means that I lose. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth: giving control of your life over to God means that you win. Yes, you will lose some things that are worth losing, but what the believer in Jesus gains is far greater. What is it that you gain? The Holy, Eternal, All-Powerful God of the universe becomes your Dad, and you become His daughter or son.

Turn and become like children. Return to your Father God and let Him parent you. Accept His guiding hand and the decisions He makes for you. Happily receive the gifts He gives to you. Surrender control. Depend on Jesus. Remember your baptism. You have become God’s child in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

ServeFest 2011

A big "thank you" to everyone who supported our ServeFest project. Approximately 75 boxes were filled for our nation's servicemen and women. It was a great day to part of the Trinity family.

Trinity's project caught the attention of our local media. For WHIZ's coverage, click here, and look for "Church Shows Appreciation for Troops."

Being the Body--Part Two

At a meeting of the American Psychological Association, a presentation was made on how members of the various sections of 11 major symphony orchestras perceived each other. The percussionists were viewed as insensitive, unintelligent, and hard-of-hearing, yet fun-loving. String players were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and unathletic. The orchestra members overwhelmingly chose "loud" as the primary adjective to describe the brass players. Woodwind players seemed to be held in the highest esteem, described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit egotistical. Interesting findings, to say the least! With such widely divergent personalities and perceptions, how could an orchestra ever come together to make such wonderful music? The answer is simple: regardless of how those musicians view each other, they put their feelings aside and submit to the leadership of the conductor. Under his guidance, they play beautiful music.

If the church is an orchestra, then the conductor is Christ. Or to use language we explored last week, if the church is a body, then the Head, the “brain,” if you will, is Jesus. Through baptism, repentance, and faith, you are connected to Someone who is literally out to save the world. You and I have a calling, and that calling is to play the beautiful music of the gospel for all to hear; that calling is to be the body of Christ in this community.

To answer that calling, we need help. We need direction, and we need energy. Good news! God supplies us all of those things and more through His words in the Bible.

The portion of the Bible that we’re dealing with today picks up right where last week’s Epistle reading left off. Saint Paul starts by saying: “Let love be genuine.” Let love be genuine. I think it’s safe to say that more people have been brought into the church by the kindness of Christian love than by all the theological arguments or worship styles or special programs combined. A person will get up and get ready and drive all the way across town, past who knows how many other churches, if they know that they will be loved at the church to which they’re going. Genuine love is demonstrated within this body not just by what we say, but by what we do. When there is a need, genuine love does something to help. You can take the pulse of any plan, any activity, by saying, “How does this plan or activity make God’s love for His creation obvious and unavoidable?” Are you doing what you do with love as the motive?

In verse ten, Paul continues, “Outdo one another in showing honor.” How are we doing when it comes to showing honor and respect to one another? According to the journal U.S. News and World Report, 89 % of Americans think that incivility, rudeness, and a general lack of respect is a serious problem. Now listen to these statistics. 73 % think mean-spirited political campaigns are to blame; 52% think talk radio is to blame; and 1% thinks their own behavior is to blame. Something doesn’t quite add up.

The fact is, thanks to sin, it is not natural for me to think about someone else’s needs before my own. It is not natural for me to set aside my own desire to be honored; it may not be natural, but it can be done, through the forgiving power of Jesus. We must never forget that Jesus, second person of the majestic Trinity, came into this world to kneel down and serve. The King of Creation became its slave. Our holy God was treated as a criminal and hung from a cross, punished for sins that were not his own. They were yours, and they were mine. His rising to life on the third day means many things—one of which is that his sacrifice was accepted by the Father, and now it counts for us all. And so we trust in the service Jesus performed. His service is the only thing that saves us from self-destruction and eternal punishment. And His service shows us who we become with Him inside us.

A king once organized a great race within his kingdom. All the young men of the kingdom participated. A bag of gold was to be given to the winner, and the finish line was within the courtyard of the king’s palace. The race was run, and about halfway through the contest, the runners were surprised to find a great pile of rocks and stones in the middle of the road. But they managed to scramble over it or to run around it and eventually to come to the king’s courtyard. Finally, all the runners had crossed the finish line except one. But still the king did not call the race off. After a while one lone runner came through the gate. He lifted a bleeding hand and said, "O King, I am sorry that I am so late. But you see, I found a pile of rocks and stones in the road, and it took me a while, and I wounded myself in removing them." Then he lifted the other hand, and in it was a bag. He said, "But, Great King, I found beneath the pile of rocks this bag of gold." The king said, "My son, you have won the race, for the one who makes the way safer for those who follow is the one who runs best."

There is great reward in serving, but it’s not a bag of gold. The reward in serving is fulfillment, an overwhelming sense that you are finally doing what you were born to do. You’re being a person in whom Jesus Christ has made a home. You’re making the way safer for those who follow.

And see, that’s what is going to open eyes to the reality of Jesus Christ. People will see that your values are different. They will wonder why you care more about making the way safer for others than you do about winning the race. The difference Jesus makes confuses people. It disarms them. They’re not used to it. They’re used to being used. They’re used to being lied to. They’re used to being taken advantage of. The difference Jesus makes can be a shock, when you’re not used to being loved.

Now listen to this: Living out this difference is what you were put here for. Do you know that? Living out this difference is what Trinity was put here for. Do you accept that? This is what being the body of Christ is all about. God grant us the grace to know it, accept it, believe it, and live it.