Let us pray:
Lord, we are at a time in our lives when the world is uncertain and dangerous, a time when your people seem to be in turmoil, in the midst of so much that appears to have gone wrong. We pray that we may see clearly today the hope that you have given us. May we receive the blessing that you have for us as we worship you in spirit and in truth. Amen.

The TIME OF OUR LIVES! This weekend brings the first of our stewardship messages for this year—I’m glad you didn’t stay home because of that! You’ll be hearing sermons that reflect on the theme of “Cherishing and Sharing God’s Gifts.” So we are right off reminding you that “time” is a gift, in this first sermon, a gift that can be used and abused, one that is accepted but not always understood, certainly not controlled, yet one that is way too often taken for granted, although it has the utmost value for our lives… I mean, let’s face it, some of us have lived with it for quite a while!

Look closely at the quilt that is hanging at the side of the room. This quilt is a treasured family heirloom of Rev. George and Kathy Randle, members of this congregation. If you examine the picture squares, you will see what appear to be line drawings that are actually embroidered drawings of familiar Old Testament stories, done by hand, stitch by stitch, by George Randle’s mother. When George was very young, his mother would pull out the individual squares, one by one, and share each beloved scripture story with him.

In later years, when George and Kathy went to the home to clean it out, they found the squares scattered and dirty. At George’s request, Kathy gathered them all up, carefully washed them and bleached them, and meticulously pieced them into the quilt you see here. It’s now a precious gift for them both, and you can see it’s a labor of love and time.

Because time is a gift, we are recognizing that it is somehow precious in God’s sight. It’s the nature of that gift and the biblical view of time, that we will look closely at today, as we examine the importance of those scriptures that were read from the Psalms and the Gospel of Matthew.

Some famous people have shared words of wisdom about time, sometimes revealing deep truths. Marilyn Monroe once observed “I’ve been on a calendar, but I’ve never been on time.” Carrie Fisher noted that “Instant gratification takes too long,” while Kermit the Frog declared the memorable, “Time’s fun when you’re having flies.” And then there’s Gracie Allen’s unforgettable “When I was born, I was so surprised I didn’t talk for a year and a half.” That had to have seemed like a long time to a baby.

In the world of work, we’re always dealing with schedules, calendars, time clocks, agendas, time constraints, timeliness, and that oh-so-familiar topic, “time management.” We talk about “time management” as if we could begin to control time itself. Yet we can only control what we do with it. And it may be the most limited resource we have, for time is clearly the gift of our lives!

Yet God’s gift of time has become a human condition, for it’s humans who made calendars and clocks. And watches—did you ever think, why are they called “watches”? Is it a matter of focus? As we watched the short skit that Lauren and AnnaRose performed towards the beginning of the service, thanks to Karen Murphy and the girls giving their time, we saw there were a couple issues the student had to respond to as she interacted with the volunteer. In addition to deciding how to spend her time, she wrestled with judgment issues on the people that were being helped. Both of these—time and people--are wrapped in the words of today’s scriptures.

I was in the middle of a situation, not long ago, where I saw these two issues come up again and had to make a personal choice to get involved… Jerry and I happened to be eating dinner one summer night at a local restaurant, and we were sitting by an outside door because it was so nice and warm out and the door was wide open. As we ate, I became aware of two men standing directly outside the door—and they were arguing. Of all things, they were arguing about religion, and they were using a lot of time to do it. I could hear well enough to know that they were both Christians, and figured out that ordinarily, they were probably friends. Yet their voices became louder and louder—and their emotions more and more inflamed! I don’t even remember the specific topic of their discussion now, although I certainly heard enough of it, but I can’t forget the emotional intensity of their conversation. Jerry and I were about to leave the restaurant and I was really concerned that one of them might resort to violence at any moment, as the level of their voices rose louder and louder. So—I did the only thing I could think of, with a little bit of resistance on the part of my husband, because as I headed for them, I know that Jerry was concerned about me. I approached the men with, “Do you know what the first and the greatest commandment is?” And they stopped and both looked at me, abruptly defused, and, after only slight hesitation, answered me—thoughtfully and correctly! I said, under my breath, “Thank you, God” and they resumed talking, as friends once again.

Samuel Johnson once said, “We are more often required to be reminded than informed.” That’s true, isn’t it? God’s love has a power we can’t even imagine!

The Psalms remind us of God’s timelessness, God’s eternal nature, and of that gift of time while we are all transients here on earth. The latter verses form a prayer, one that asks “How long, Lord, how long?” as the people pray for God to redeem the time and to deal favorably with God’s people. This is not unlike the blessing prayer we gave earlier for those who would receive the gifts made by the hands of our church family.

The Pharisees in Matthew’s gospel were testing Jesus when they asked him that all-important question, “What is the greatest commandment?” The answer has its origins in the Hebrew Bible and all the prophets and is stressed repeatedly throughout the scriptures, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and all your mind,” and then, Jesus put the 2nd commandment right with that first one and told the Pharisees, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

It is amazing that this happened in the last week of Jesus’ short life and ministry, for he was approaching his death. He not only had the answer for the Pharisees, but he responded with a great challenge that appears to reveal both His divine and human nature, when he describes himself as “the son of David,” and continues on to ask, “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They were powerful words coming from this person who at this point had such a tremendous and faithful following and had done such miraculous things, yet who was embroiled in such conflict with the powers that be… He, who knew the law and who lived it, yet was on his way to the cross… What courage, yet what commitment to what he believed in! Jesus—whose time was so limited, yet he used every minute of it in a way that glorified God! There can be no question that Jesus’ very being was wrapped up with the commandment and the time.

His message of “loving God” and “loving neighbors” has been described as a double-stranded gold chain upon which hang all the gems of God’s other expectations.

For us, we need clarity about charity.

It is not always easy to decide what to do and when to do it. While the moral obligation is clear, the day to day implementation can be fuzzy.

Just this week, we’ve received word of two more absolutely horrible disasters that we are being asked to respond to: the Guatemalan mudslides and the terrible devastation of the earthquake in Pakistan. Maybe such as these are the easiest decisions. We are compelled to respond. However, it may be more difficult to give our time than our other resources, but the most loving response will maximize all of our available resources.

More difficult are those close to us, personal family decisions that involve both our time and our love. I always counsel couples about to be married that marriage is giving more than 50 % to the other partner and that you can love the person without loving everything they do. In living this out, we are reminded again that the time we have is a gift from God, and the time we give to others is a gift of love to them.

There’s a story I’ve read about a husband and wife who had some great conflicts in their marriage. The wife, in her frustration, simply prayed she would love her husband more—and she did! The time given in that prayer became an act of love that greatly improved the situation.

My own marriage and family life was never easy while our children were growing up, because Jerry worked out of town and was gone virtually every week, and only home on weekends, while I was raising 3 children. When I was approached about working for this church, almost 20 years ago, I didn’t know how I would do the job, because it involved so many evening meetings and I believed I needed to be at home with my children at that time. Miraculous in the timing, Jerry took a new position in town that he started on exactly the same day I began working for this church. Time and love worked together again.

In our church, we have witnessed the gifts of time and love. We have seen what they can do. In the early days of the Angel Tree ministry, we would put on a week long camp for children in the county who had a parent in prison. All the adults were volunteers who gave of their time to do this. We did this for more than one year, and we received thank you notes from some of the parents. One father in particular wrote from prison to give his heartfelt thanks for what had been done for his child, in the name of Christ. He, too, had given himself to Christ in prison and was a new person, although he would not see his child for some years to come.

Many of you are now familiar with our ongoing mission work at the church in Caborca, Mexico. We have sent many volunteers down there, year after year, doing many different projects, from remodeling and constructing a fellowship hall, to painting and other repairs, to building a playground, a medical mission, and doing evangelism in the local area. We have also helped in many other ways, both financially and hands-on, from afar. Most important, we have developed a relationship with the people down there. Admittedly, there has been turnover in pastoral staff, at their church and ours, but there continues to be strength in our relationship.

At this time, I’d like to share a brief look at what the Caborca experience has led to. Pastor Cecilia Quintero was the first pastor we knew there. She has since been transferred, and went on to become a District Superintendent in Mexico. She recently got married and invited some of us to her wedding. These are the pictures Arlene Comon brought back with her from the trip. (show CD)

Those who take the time to go to Caborca, or to other needy areas to help—whether in our church, community or world—give their time in a way that reflects their love of God and others. They are living the great commandment in a genuine way that reminds us of what a commitment of time linked with our faith can do. Prioritizing in a way that allows this to happen is an attribute of true discipleship and rewarding stewardship. As individuals and as a church community, let us reflect and pray about what we can all do with the time that we have, remembering to do it all in love for our God and for others. Amen.

Sermon delived by Rev. Carol Mumford on October 16, 2005.