"Grace At Any Age"
Find your gifts, and use them!
Sermon Preached by
The Reverend Dr. Andrew Stirling
Sunday, June 5, 2005
Text: I Timothy 4:6-16
Whoosh! A red-and-white Mini Cooper was going down the M6 motorway in England, between Birmingham and Manchester. According to the Manchester Guardian, this car was captured on CCTV, a special television that monitors traffic on all of Britain's motorways. But in this particular case the circumstances were unique - the car was travelling at 120 miles per hour! The driver was a member of the Manchester police constabulary. When he arrived at work, he was greeted by his commanding officer, who wanted to know what he had to say for himself. The officer said, “Well, I was late for work and, as I am an enforcer of the law, I felt it was important that I arrive on time to carry out my duties.”
The commanding officer looked at him with incredulity and said, “Your argument may or may not be plausible, but there is one mitigating problem.” And he took him up to the CCTV booth and there was his Mini, doing that speed five days in a row. “Furthermore, I want you to look closely at this video. Have you noticed that on each of those five days you are being followed by the same five cars?”
And the police officer put his head in his hands and said, “Yes, I see they are the same cars.”
“Those are your neighbours. They also want to get to work quickly, and they have decided that if they follow you they'll be safe. It's not just that you've driven at 120 miles an hour, but you have caused five other people to drive at 120 miles an hour.”
Needless to say, he was suspended.
So often, we are being watched when we don't realize it. We are living in a day and age when technology is making the Big Brother syndrome that “You are being watched” all the more real. From camera phones to webcams to video cameras to close-captioned television to surveillance cameras in elevators and stores, believe you me, we are being watched, even though we do not realize it. Technology is causing others to see what we are doing in an unprecedented way.
However, as human beings, we have always been watched. We are being watched by our spouses and children, by our siblings, by our classmates at school, by our fellow church members. We are observed: what we do; what we say; how we say it; how we do it; when we do it. These are observed by other human beings around us, whether we like it or not. It is a reality of life: We are being observed.
Now, this morning, let me speak to the members of the confirmation class: making a public Confession of Faith. We in this church are here to support you. We are here to nurture you. However, from this moment on in your life, you will be a member of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church and the United Church of Canada. You will always be a confirmed member. You will forever be associated with the church and with the faith. You will be forever associated with this moment, and I am telling you now that it is a high calling, for you will no longer act and speak on your own, you will act and speak as a member of a Christian community, of a faith community. You will speak as someone who has been confirmed with one another. You will speak and you will act as someone who has publicly confessed Christ.
Many, many years ago, in biblical times, there was a young man whose name was Timothy. We are told that he probably wasn't a teenager. He was known in Greek as a “neosis,” someone who could become eligible for call-up to the military, so probably in his late teens or early twenties. Nevertheless, from a leadership point of view, he was a young person. The apostle Paul gives him some very clear guidance. He says, “You know, if you're going to provide leadership, make sure no one looks down on you because of your age, because no matter what your age, you can be an example for God. You can be an example for good. If you set this example for good, you will be able to lead others to a greater knowledge of God, and to a greater and a living faith.”
Now, Paul goes on and says a couple more things to Timothy. Things that he ought to think about, things that he ought to practise and things that he ought to do to be a good example. These are what I want to share with you this morning, and what I hope you will hold in your heart from this day on.
The first thing Paul says is “I want you to practise the faith. Faith isn't just something that you say, it isn't just a confession that you make, it is something that you live: To practise the faith is to set an example in your conduct, in your purity, in your love, in you faith and in your speech. Hold fast to the public reading of Scripture.”
In other words, because Timothy was called specifically to be a preacher, he was to worship through the proclamation of the Gospel. Paul continues, “In your teaching, set an example for other people. To do that, you really are going to have to stay close to God. You are going to have to stay close to the Gospel. It is going to have to be part of your life. If you do that, and if you are faithful, then no one should look down on you because of your age.” In other words, no matter who we are or how old we are, we can be an example for others.
After all, we learn by example, do we not? Sam Levenson, a comedian who had a show in the U.S. a number of years ago, and was a little strange, told the story of his mother accompanying him on his first day at school. His mother went to the teacher and embarrassed him to death. Can you imagine - your first day at school, your mother is giving the teacher instructions on how to look after you! She went up to the teacher and she said, “Now look, from time to time, Sam might do something wrong [understatement!], but if he does, may I suggest that you always punish the child next to him, because my son learns by example.” Well, we all learn by example. We do emulate those who are around us, and follow those who are important to us.
Well, today, you have become an example. You can be a bad example. In fact, I found out this week that the word for ”˜flu comes from the Italian word “influenza,” and “influenza de foddo” literally means “the influence of a cold.” In other words, you can be a flu virus for people. You can be a negative influence. Or, alternatively, you can be a good influence.
Young Timothy had to understand that he had to stay close to God if he was going to be a good influence - in what he said; in what he did; in how he forgave; in how he preached; in how he loved. This morning, then, you need to make sure in your heart and your mind that from this day on, you are going to practise your faith: You are going to be a good influence.
Paul said one other thing to Timothy, and this, I think, is the most important. He said, “You must also practise the gifts that you have been given.” Paul likened it to physical exercise. He said, “I want you to practise the gifts that you have been given. You have to exercise to keep your body fit and strong, so you have to use the gifts that God has given you to keep your faith strong and keep the church strong.”
The great soccer legend Pele was once asked: “What do you think is the secret of your success?” In the 1960s, he was one of the greatest athletes in the world. He said, very honestly, “I am the first to get to practice, and I am the last to leave: That is my secret.” In other words, true greatness - doing great things and good things - actually does take some effort. God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit. God gives every one of you unique gifts in order that you might serve Christ and the world, but you have to exercise that faith. You have to practise those gifts, if you are going to grow and be the positive influence and example that God must surely want you to be. When you do that, great things can happen.
There was an interview a few weeks ago with Sir Bob Geldof. He used to sing for a group called the Boomtown Rats - not my choice of name for a group! (Frankly, I know I am stepping on toes here, but Bob Geldof wasn't the greatest singer the world has ever known.) He was asked why he is doing so much for Africa. Why he is planning another charity concert. Why he is trying to help people in Darfur and people with AIDS in Africa?
He said simply, “I know I have been given a gift. It might not necessarily be being the greatest singer in the world, but I have certainly had the gift of opportunity, and I have had the gift of being with a good band and having a couple of good songs. Surely, if I have been given those gifts, do I not have a responsibility to use them, not just for myself, but for someone else?” This was echoed last night in an interview with Sarah McLachlan in Halifax, who is also going to be participating in “Live Eight.”
When we are young, we may not yet know what gifts we've been given. As I look at you, I don't know what your gifts are. You might have the gift to lead, the gift to heal, the gift to inspire, to teach, to love, to have great faith. You might have the gift of nurturing people. It might be the gift of administrating and providing leadership in the church. It might simply be the gift of being with others who are in need, and sharing with them the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the great adventures of life is discovering your gifts. However, as Paul said to Timothy, “Just because you are young, don't let anyone look down on you or on your gifts, but use what has been given to you.” My friends, members of the confirmation class, may each one of us do as Paul suggested to Timothy, because God's grace is for any age, and Christ and the faith that he instills is for all time. Today, as you make your Confession of Faith, may you feel the joy of that influence. Amen.
This is a verbatim transcription of the original sermon.