Sermon preached by John A. Huffman, Jr.
January 1, 2006
Copyright © 2006, John A. Huffman, Jr.
All rights reserved.

So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.
Psalm 90:12

Today we celebrate the coming of the wise men with their gifts and with their worship. They bowed before the Christ child.

We don't know much about them. We don't know how many of them there were, although the popular notion is that there were three. We do not know the exact country from which they came, although it was somewhere in the east. We do not know the exact time of their arrival, except that we do know that it was some time after the birth of Jesus, while He was still in Bethlehem and while paranoid King Herod was still on the throne. We do know that they made great sacrifice in time and interest, in gifts and in inconvenience.

We also know that they were men.

Do you know what would have happened if there had been wise women instead of men? This week, I came across exactly what would have happened. Listen closely as I read it to you.

They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought disposable diapers as a gift!

This is New Year's weekend. What better way to spend New Year's Eve or New Year's morning than to come into the sanctuary with the family of God and celebrate the Lord's Supper! Do you know a better beginning for a new year?

As we come to the Table, I would like to share with you eight New Year's reminders to wise men and women. Ask the Lord to speak to you as you prepare your heart for the sacrament.

Reminder #1: Wise men and women strongly affirm that there is a God.

The psalmist stated it so succinctly, "Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 14:1).

This is not the moment to give an apologetic argument for the existence of God. We read much about the ongoing debate about "Creationism" or what some hope is a bit more acceptable notion called "Intelligent Design." I'm not particularly uptight over how God designed all there is. If He chose, He could have done it in an instant, or He could have prolonged it in millions of years of theistically designed evolution. The Bible starts out with the basic assumption that, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." That's the starting point for wise men and women.

Reminder #2: Wise men and women believe that the fear of the Lord in the beginning of wisdom.

Psalm 111:10 declares, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding."

This word fear is not to be misunderstood. You and I need not cower before an insensitive, uncaring divine being who ruthlessly abuses His creation. He is a holy, righteous God. His moral purity and the fact that He is all-powerful cause us to stand in humble awe before His presence. He is the Creator; we are the creation. At the same time, this God is personal, coming to us in the form of a baby in Bethlehem all the way to the crucified, risen and ascended Savior of the world, whose name is Jesus Christ. You and I are privileged to bow down before Him and worship, as did the wise men of old.

You and I cannot take His coming too seriously. It is the epic event of all human history. Somehow we have to get beyond the sentimentality of nostalgic Christmas celebrations to the reality of what really happened. C. S. Lewis, in his book Miracles, describes what it is to really find God active in our loves.

It is always shocking to meet life where we thought we were alone. "Look out!" we cry, "it's alive." And therefore this is the very point at which so many draw back--I would have done so myself if I could--and proceed no further with Christianity. An "impersonal God"--well and good. A subjective God of beauty, truth and goodness, inside our own heads--better still. A formless life-force surging through us, a vast power which we can tap--best of all. But God Himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the cord, perhaps approaching at an infinite speed, the hunter, king, husband--that is quite another matter. There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly: was that a real footstep in the hall? There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion ("Man's search for God!") suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?

Reminder #3: Wise men and women have learned to make the most of every day.

Our text for today is Psalm 90:12. It reads, "So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart."

In my 41 years of ordained ministry, I have presided at several hundred memorial services. At most of them, I have read portions of Psalm 90. This magnificent passage of Scripture describes the fleeting nature of life, lived even at the longest. The psalmist opens the chapter by writing, "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God" (Psalm 90:1-2).

He goes on to write, "For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers" (Psalm 90:4-6).

Then he makes this strong statement about how short life is, even one who lives to a ripe old age: "For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh. The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger? Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart" (Psalm 90:9-12).

It's that last phrase that haunts me. I've quoted it so often from the King James Version, which reads, "So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

A sign of immaturity is the tendency of someone who thinks so little about life that they live as if they're going to live forever in this life. The longer we live, the more aware we become of the fragile nature of this life. How sad it is to see someone who has never stopped to contemplate how short life really is from beginning to end.

This week alone, I've been reminded of how important it is to number my days, to contemplate how short life is. I visited our own Eunice Jones at Flagship Nursing Home who, after many months of painful physical disabilities, has been diagnosed with extremely invasive cancer. I rushed to the hospital to visit our dear Marie Palmer, who has given her life to this church and now has suffered a stroke and all the physical uncertainties that surround such a physical malady. On Friday, I presided at the burial at sea of Jodi Rockness' mother, Marcia Middleton, who, for the last several years, has been in serious physical decline with Alzheimer's. It's a sobering moment to spread the ashes of one who so recently was so vital and now is gone forever from our presence into the presence of Jesus Christ.

My mother has been visiting us for the last two weeks. She's 92 years old. We've had long, lingering times during this Christmas season to savour our friendship and relationship. Father, who worked until he was 85, declined into dementia and died a year ago last May. Mother, at age 92, is mentally alert and agile in spirit. As I said my farewells Thursday morning, I held her hands, praying for her, wondering if the next time we would be together the circumstances would be so good. And then, as I prayed for her, I prayed for myself, acknowledging that I've buried many a person much younger than myself. You never know how many days you have ahead. Even as I said my farewells to my mother, I was startled to realize that 14 years ago we spread our daughter Suzanne's ashes in the Pacific. She was just 23 years old, one fourth the present age of my mother.

Reminder #4: Wise men and women become increasingly aware of life's many seasons.

The Bible says that there's a time for everything.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reads as follows:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

The truly wise person knows that there will be those celebrative good times but also knows that life is not always a party. Tragedy is part of life.

As a pastor, day in and day out, I see it all.

My first or second Thanksgiving here, on Thanksgiving Day, I gave a meditation titled "Three Reasons Not To Be Thankful This Thanksgiving." I mentioned that those three reasons were God, country and family. I proceeded to mention how, at any given time, there can be serious problems surrounding our relationship with God, problems in a nation such as the United States, as wonderful as it is, and breakdown in relationship, even within the nuclear family construct.

One of my long-term friends, going back to Anne's and my wedding, took great offense that, at a Thanksgiving Day service, I would even mention anything negative. All he wanted to hear was positive. Perhaps unwisely, I stated, "You're trying to live in Disneyland."

At the moment, he was quite upset with my observation. A few years later when I had forgotten the conversation, he came back and reminded me of what I had said. This time, he apologized and said, "You were right. I was living in a Disneyland. Now I can't hold it together that way anymore." Then he went on to describe problems he was having with his children, awareness of tragedy in the lives of his friends. And in recent months, I had the sacred privilege of walking through the valley of the shadow of death with him as he struggled with pancreatic cancer, holding his hands and the hands of his wife and children even as he breathed his last breaths. The man led such a "charmed life" for so long, and yet now he is only a memory to us who loved him and were loved by him.

Reminder #5: Wise men and women come to grips with what is most important is life.

The writer of Ecclesiastes, who most of us believe to be King Solomon, had it all; and yet, as he enumerated all of his successes in life as measured in the variations on the themes of money, power and sex, he discovered that, as an end in themselves, these all lead to emptiness. "Vanity of vanities," he cries out, "I have beautiful clothing, and the moths get in and destroy." On one occasion, I happened to sit behind Laurence Rockefeller, one of the wealthiest men in the world. I noticed a half a dozen moth holes in the back of his Brooks Brothers suit. That's what Solomon had observed. His wealth couldn't hold back the moths. Robbers had a way of breaking in and stealing. Even some of his most trusted advisors ripped him off. Finally, he notes there are seasons for everything in life, and each of these seasons has its strengths and weaknesses. He concludes, "Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them. . .'" (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

That's why it's so important to begin this new year with the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Put first things first. It's never too late to come to the Lord. Granted, in the best of all worlds, we come as young people and stay faithful to Him all through life. At the same time, He tells us to come at any time to Him. The reality is today is the first day of the rest of your life. You are young, no matter how old you are, in terms of the time between now and your death. Now is the hour of decision. Now is the moment to remember your Creator, while you're still young in terms of what's left before you.

Reminder #6: Wise men and women have learned to make a regular spiritual inventory of one's life.

Those of you in Alcoholics Anonymous or any twelve-step program know this language, don't you? It comes straight out of the Bible.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Psalm 139, which concludes with these words in verses 23 and 24: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

That's the wise way to live, isn't it? Stop, think deeply upon life. As you come to the Table this morning, thank God for His many blessings. Identify the areas of sin. There is wickedness in each of us. Lay that hefty bag of garbage at the foot of the cross, and identify those areas in which you need His guidance, His wisdom. Ask Him to lead you in the ways everlasting, even as you ask Him to help you search out all that is crucial in your life.

And there is nothing wrong with making some New Year's resolutions that come out of this spiritual inventory. I am impressed by these self-reflective thoughts by William Ellery Channing. They lift such resolutions to a much higher level for me than do my customary aspirations.

I will seek elegance rather than luxury, refinement rather than fashion. I will seek to be worthy more than respectable, wealthy and not rich. I will study hard, think quietly, talk gently, and act frankly. I will listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with an open heart. I will bear all things cheerfully, do all things bravely, await occasions and hurry never. In a word, I will let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common.

Reminder #7: Wise men and women are willing to forgive as well as be forgiven.

I love to be forgiven. There are times I'm a bit more reluctant to forgive.

Jesus told us in His model prayer, which we call the Lord's Prayer, that, when we pray, we, with great integrity, should cry out, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."

He's asking us to both be forgiven and be forgiving. The two fit together in a wonderful, delicate oscillation. How sad it is if we want forgiveness, and yet we're not willing to share it with another and we gnarl up in bitterness.

Edwin Markham, a great poet, as he approached retirement, discovered that the man to whom he had entrusted his financial portfolio had spent every single penny. Isn't that a fear we all have? Somehow what we worked so hard for will disappear? And how tragic it is when it's because of the duplicitous activity of someone we trusted. Markham's dream of a comfortable retirement had vanished in an instant. Of course, he was furious; and with time, his bitterness grew by leaps and bounds. One day, Markham found himself trying to calm down by diverting his attention to drawing circles on a piece of paper. Looking again at the circles he had drawn on the paper, Markham was inspired to write these insightful lines:

He drew a circle to shut me out,
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout;
But love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle to take him in.

These words today are by far Markham's most famous among his hundreds of poems. But more important than his professional accomplishment is the freedom from anger he experienced by offering forgiveness to the man who had stolen his life-long savings.

Are you plagued by anger and bitterness? Have you been holding a grudge? Forgiveness is a healing experience, not just because it frees the offender, but because it can free you from hurt.

Reminder #8: Wise men and women come to the Lord with the gift of their whole selves.

Wise men of old brought their gold, frankincense and myrrh. More than that, they brought themselves at great personal inconvenience, at great risk over many miles, to bow down before the Christ Child, whose identity I doubt they fully understood.

We know much more, do we not? You and I are privileged to come to the Table, taking seriously our personal relationship with the Lord. We are privileged to renew our devotion to Him in our 2006 Growth Covenant. We are privileged to come pledging a daily time to be with Him in personal Bible reading and prayer. We are privileged to promise to be engaged weekly in worship, Bible study and fellowship, engaged in corporate worship, growth and sharing. We are privileged to pledge our tithe to God, giving Him the first 10 percent of our income, believing that He will adequately provide a better lifestyle on the 90 percent that remains than when we consider it all ours, not something temporarily loaned from Him. We are privileged to pledge a daily witness for God, actively telling our faith story to others and using our spiritual gifts in the service of Jesus Christ.

As you come to the Table today, I urge you to think deeply of what it is to be a wise man, a wise woman. Come, eat of the bread, drink of the cup, celebrating what God has done for you in Jesus Christ. As you take seriously what we've talked about this morning, I'll guarantee this will be one of the very best years in your entire life!