State of the Parish
January 21, 1996
One of my all-time favorite movies was Dead Poets Society.
In the movie, there is an outstanding scene where Robin Williams tries to have his teenage students explore the world outside of themselves. He takes his class into the foyer of the gym, where they look at old photos of former students – now dead and gone. Standing with them, Williams tells his students one thing – one fact of life. All will die, including them. All will die.
And because of that inescapable fact, he presents them with a quick Latin lesson. He says to them, “Carpe Diem,” which he tells them means: “Seize the Day.” Then he has the students lean close to the ancient photos, and as they do, he whispers to them as if from the grave: “Carpe Diem. Carpe Diem.”
I want to use Robin Williams’ words as the focus for this sermon. I am doing this, for I believe that God is calling St. Philip’s to “seize the day;” Carpe Diem. We are in a unique position. We are at the end of one chapter and at the beginning of another – a chapter that moves us into the year 2001, where God calls us to build for future generations.
Now let me be perfectly honest. I have been here with you for 19 years… and together, we have had our good times and bad times. By and large, things are going well – very well. There’s a good spirit and a few large problems. We’ve even managed to convince ourselves that the overcrowding in the Sunday school, and lack of parking, the tight quarters for staff, and the absence of enough rooms for adult classes are really blessings in disguise. They are reminders of our popularity. So this past year, I’ve been saying to myself: ‘Why not make this last chapter, this next five years, a peaceful one? Why not be remembered as the rector who was hard-driving, making great changes at the beginning, but ending up smiling, beloved, managing with a light touch – this great person? Why not??’
Unfortunately, we’re not called to sit back and relax and slowly pass into retirement. Unfortunately, God has plans for us. Somehow, God is saying to each of us: ‘You can’t settle for the past. Those who follow me must follow me into the future. They must be willing to live in chaotic times.” The word for this next Chapter in our life together doesn’t come from Ann Landers, who might say: “Enjoy, go with the flow.” Instead, it comes from a writer like the Hispanic, Unamuno, who wrote: “Que Dios, no nos paz, y si gloria.” ‘May God deny us peace, but give us glory.”
Ah, there’s the rub. We want peace and not glory. For some, it’s peace at any price. Even if we have to ignore God’s call to us. For some, peace means settling down and enjoying what we have worked so hard to accomplish. For some, peace means letting the future take care of itself.
Several years ago I heard a talk by a European statesman. I don’t recall the topic, but there was one point he made that hit a responsive chord, and I wrote it down on the back of an envelope. He said: ‘Do you know the difference between a politician and a diplomat? A politician tries to work things out now. He asks the question: What’s in it for me?’ And then, hopefully, he concerns himself with his constituency. A diplomat builds for the future. He asks the question: What kind of a legacy am I leaving for future generations?'” I am convinced that God is looking for spiritual diplomats. There are already enough church politicians.
And yet . . . and yet . . . the arguments of the church politicians are so very tempting. “Can’t we postpone? What’s the urgency? Let’s wait until a more propitious time. Maybe we can leave the work for someone else.”
Unfortunately, our sooner or later often adds up to never. The deepest tragedies of life are not the foolish things we do. They are not even the failures we often have. The deepest tragedy is not to be willing to risk, to take a chance, to move out on God’s call.
There is a wonderful line from an old play, The Music Man, where the band director turns to the prissy, conservative spinster librarian, and says: ‘Keep putting off till tomorrow what can be done today and you’ll soon find your life has been nothing but a collection of empty yesterdays.” Seize the day, St. Philippians, seize the day.
Good people, I am asking you to listen closely to God’s call to us. To not put off till tomorrow what can and must be done today. The challenge facing us is whether we will be comfortable and simply settle for enjoying what we have, or become mature and begin to contemplate leaving a legacy.
Remember, remember, to be young is to study in schools that you did not build. To be mature is to build schools in which you will not study. To be young is to sit under trees you did. not plant. To be mature is to plant trees under which you will not sit.
To be young is to benefit from a church you did not make. To be mature is to build on to a church from which you might not benefit.
Good people, St. Philippians – God is calling us to act maturely, to leave a legacy, to begin building the next chapter.
Carpe Diem . . . Carpe Diem . . .
AMEN.