Yuku free message boards

When I was very young I used to watch adventure shows both animated in

cartoons and the more "real" shows like

Flicka

Bullwinkle Show

and wacky moose. One theme that seemed to run through all these shows,

whether about so-called "real" people or the cartoon variety creatures, was

that someone was always getting into trouble and the heroes would always

rescue them. Rocky and Bullwinkle would always win the day whether they

were rescuing someone or just getting out of impossible jams themselves.

The endings of the stories were always happy. And, there was always

another subtext or theme that flowed through these heroic rescue stories.

That subtext was

give of themselves-their time, talents, courage, and sometimes risking of

their lives-to save the day, to save someone.

At the beginning of

always be these little snippets of adventure scenes. My absolute favorite was

the one where Rocky would open the mouth of the gigantic circus lion and

stick his head into its mouth and then close it after extracting his mouth. I

loved to see that huge mouth open and the little squirrel with his aviator's

cap stick his head in. (Rocky had an old WWI aviator's cap on because, of

course, he was a "flying squirrel.") That scene always fascinated me and

made me laugh out loud.

Whenever I read the 17

Timothy 4 where Paul is writing to Timothy that he "was rescued from the

lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me

for [the] heavenly kingdom," I can't help but think of little Rocky the flying

squirrel sticking his head into that lion's mouth. Hmmm, somehow I doubt

that Saint Paul (or his scribes) had that image quite in mind when writing

this passage!

In our passage from 2 Timothy, Paul is writing about a very serious

matter. He seems to be writing a sort of farewell letter or discourse, much

the same way Jesus talked to his disciples when he was drawing nearer to

Jerusalem and to the cross. It appears that he knows his days in this earthly

life are numbered and he is imparting wisdom to his beloved pupil.

The passage begins with an odd image. "As for me, I am already

being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come." (2

Tim.4:6) The writing conjures up the image of one's life as a good wine that

has been poured out-perhaps for others to drink, perhaps to season the

ground. The image

wine. It has a very Eucharistic, communion like sense doesn't it? If one is

poured out as a libation

the road and they feel as if their life is a blessing to God, to other people and

to them? When you pour out a libation into your cup or chalice it is in

essence to consume a joyful symbol of congratulations and honor and hope.

The writer perhaps is saying that Paul's life has been used as a blessing by

God to the Gentiles; his ministry has been a blessing. Perhaps we can think

of

blesses God and the body of Christ-the local church and the church

universal. We are all a really God's good wine poured generously out for

others.

Then the writer moves us to another image of an abundant and

generous life. The image is a race metaphor: "I have fought the good fight, I

have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Tim. 4:7) Fighting the good

fight can be seen a engaging in struggle. Remember that the Jewish people

then and today have a sense that life was indeed a struggle and the

relationship with their God,

Egypt, wandering in the wilderness, being thirsty, etc). The good struggle,

though, is one in which as you go through it you are formed in way in which

God can best use your talents, actions, words, thoughts, deeds, to witness to

and increase the kingdom of God. When one is in the midst of struggle it is

very hard to comprehend how all the pain and frustration and anger and hard

stuff is worth anything. Often times it is only after all is said and done that

you begin to understand how those times and events molded and shaped you

into the person who God wants you to be. I dare say that some of us, maybe

most of us, will not fully understand what living this life was all about until

we have the ability to look upon our lives with new eyes. Perhaps we really

are being molded for the kingdom, or realm, of God that one day will be

completely fulfilled.

"I have finished the race." Sometimes life really does seem like a race

doesn't it? Before we know it our childhood is over, we've finished school,

perhaps we've married, perhaps we have raised children and they are off

raising their own families. Where does the time go? What are we all racing

toward? (Now, here, I have to apologize to those who dislike using sports

metaphors in the sermon, but, hey, even St. Paul slipped sometimes!)

A race has these components: preparation to run the race, the start of

the race, the running of the race, and the finishing of the race, and the

aftermath of the race. I ran track in junior and senior high school. Now, I

really didn't like preparing for races, all the hard work, the pain in my sides

and muscles and lungs that came from running miles and miles, and wind

sprint after wind sprint. It is tough but oh so necessary work. It helps build

speed and endurance and form in my stride and body. And, I remember how

the butterflies in my stomach used to flutter madly just before the race

began. The adrenalin would get pumped up and enable me to have the

explosion of speed and ability to sense when that starter's gun would fire.

Then after the start when the race was on, it seemed like time would slow

down-I could sense the people in front of me and back of me and beside,

hear their breaths and movement of their arms and legs, sense the track

below my feet and my muscles and breath working in unison with one

another; and I could see that finish line and the white string strung across the

track at the finish line. My senses were never more keen and heightened

than they were in the midst of the race. I think this

really living into every split second and moment

race is what we so often miss during the larger race of our living day to day.

So many of us, including myself, are not able to have these heightened

senses in each moment of the day. How much more we could make

meaning of our lives and what we do if only all of our senses-if the

physical, mental, and spiritual senses of our lives could be more intense and

aware as we walked through the moments of our day. We could better

adjust how we act and react within the world so that we might be more

compassionate towards others in the moment, more generous with others and

ourselves in the moment, more alive to the possibilities of each moment,

more aware of the choice to live within the moment of the kingdom of God

rather than in the moment of banality. And when we have finished this race,

or this day, or week, or month, or year, or lifetime we will have known that

we have lived each moment to its fullest, to its most generous and abundant.

We hear these stories of people who learn that they have a few short

months to live and how their lives are transformed and they really begin to

live for the first time. Let us not deny our deaths, but rather keep them in

our sights-keep that finish line string in your sights so that each moment of

the race is more important; so that we can grab onto the greatest potential of

each moment and live each moment to the fullest.

"I have kept the faith." It is only by keeping the faith that life and

living each moment to the fullest that we can live life abundantly. Jesus said

"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10)" and

that should be our life's burning desire and the hallmark of every moment in

which we live-to accept and live into that abundant life that Jesus give us.

But it takes faith and belief that life really does matter-and that you living

life matters-in order to live in this world in an abundant manner.

But let's leave the race and libation metaphors now and get back to

Rocky and Paul and their heads in that lion's mouth.

moments and days be eaten by the lion

habit or addiction or pain or jealously or desire is your lion's mouth which

seemingly can swallow you whole? Think about those things that dull your

senses to the fullness of every of living abundantly in every moment-think

of those things that take away your opportunity to live the life that really is

life in every moment. Those things are

Faith in God's purposes and support can rescue you, too, from the

lion's mouth. Living with generous and compassionate hearts can rescue you

from the lion's mouth. Paul talked about some affliction that he had that was

a constant struggle for him. Whatever that thing was that he struggled

against was

his entire life to stay out of that lion's mouth; but sometimes he would fall

into it, as we all do from time to time, but he had faith that God could rescue

him from that lion's mouth. Believe it or not, I once even had a dream that I

and my older sister, Nan, had fell into a lion's mouth and were rescued by

the compassionate, generous, loving, justice-seeking Jesus that I had come to

know. I don't remember what was going in my life when I had this dream,

but I bet you I was struggling mightily against some lion's mouth that was

threatening to swallow me up. Put your trust in God and pray to be rescued

from your own lion's mouth!

God

to being saved. You have to let go of the fear and doubt and all those who

say you have to be one thing or another. Fight the good fight; run the race

with your heart, mind, and eyes wide open, and keep the faith that God can

indeed help rescue you in those times when the lion is threatening to

swallow you! But there is a person named: Jesus Christ who is ever with us, and while God is fighting your battles with you, then SMILE!

~by Rev. Kevin M. Smith
Love to all in Christ our Lord, Sam