"It is Time" sermon at White Oak UMC on New Year's Day

I got to start off 2012 by guest speaking at White Oak UMC this morning.  It was a blessing to be back with them in worship today on the first day of this new year.  I enjoyed meeting new folks and meeting back up with folks I've met in the past.  Connections in the body of Christ are always a blessing!  A big surprise for me was that my daughter actually stayed through the entire sermon!! ☺ The music and the Children's message were a blessing and it was an overall great time.  Thanks to Tony for running the sound and for bringing in the Lion King theme song audio clip for me!

I think my mentor for Mentored Ministry would be pleased.... even though I didn't move around much (due to the microphone at the pulpit), I did most of the sermon without reading. ☺

Here is today's sermon:

“It Is Time!”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

White Oak UMC, January 1^st, 2012

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 (NRSV)

Everything Has Its Time

3For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
² a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

The God-Given Task

9 What gain have the workers from their toil?¹⁰I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with.¹¹He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live;¹³moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.

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Happy New Year!  This is the time of year that many folks are making resolutions and commitments for the New Year.  However, the Christian New Year started several weeks ago on the 1^st Sunday of Advent, November 27^th.  So, this is our 2^nd New Year to celebrate.  Other than to wish all of you a Happy New Year, I’m not going to talk about that aspect of time today.

The verses in Ecclesiastes lend themselves easily to a discussion involving Pete Seeger’s hit from the 1960s, “Turn, Turn, Turn” which he took from this Scripture.  How many of you remember that song?  Well, I’m not going to talk about that aspect of time today either.

When I read the verses in Ecclesiastes, what came to mind was Rafiki from the Lion King saying “It is time.”  It’s an expression I use quite a bit.  I became curious and started researching the Lion King for that line and to see what I could learn about it.

A little bit of background in case it has been a while since you saw the movie, as it had been for me..  Simba’s father Mufasa was killed in a stampede.  Scar, Simba’s uncle, was responsible for Mufasa’s death, but made Simba believe it was his fault.  So, Simba left the Pride Lands in fear and shame, scared to face everyone.

Simba grew up away from the Pride Lands, making some new friends along the way.  As Simba grows older, he can’t shake the past.  He still struggles with it.  He misses his father.  He is hiding from who he has been called to be, the Lion King, the leader of the Pride Lands, out of fear and shame.
One day, Rafiki catches some hair in the wind and scrambles down from the tree top to test the hairs.  He soon realizes that Simba is alive and he adds a mane to the baby Simba he had drawn on the tree trunk years earlier at his birth.  Rafiki is laughing with excitement and then proclaims, “It is time.”
Rafiki goes to find Simba.  They talk and catch up.  Simba wants to see his father, so Rafiki takes him to see his father. 

Here is what happens:

Rafiki: [after guiding Simba to a spot where he says will show him Mufasa] Look down there.
Adult Simba: [looks into a pool of water] That's not my father. That's just my reflection.
Rafiki: No, look harder.
[touches the water, as it ripples Simba's reflection changes to that of his father]
Rafiki: You see? He lives in you.
Mufasa's ghost: [from above] Simba.
Adult Simba: Father?
Mufasa's ghost: [appears among the stars] Simba, you have forgotten me.
Adult Simba: No. How could I?
Mufasa's ghost: You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.
Adult Simba: How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be.
Mufasa's ghost: Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king. Remember...

Simba looked at the signs—from his father and Rafiki and he trusted them along with the spiritual discernment from within.  Even though he still struggled, he was growing through the struggles.

A later scene shows the grown Simba talking with Rafiki about what he knows he must do.

Here is the dialogue:

Adult Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back will mean facing my past. I've been running from it for so long.
[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick]
Adult Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn't matter. It's in the past.
[laughs]
Adult Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the from way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it.
[swings his stick at Simba again who ducks out of the way]
Rafiki: Ha. You see? So what are you going to do?
Adult Simba: First, I'm gonna take your stick.
[Simba snatches Rafiki's stick and throws it and Rafiki runs to grab it]
Rafiki: No, no, not the stick! Hey, where you going?
Adult Simba: I'm going back!
Rafiki: Good! Go on! Get out of here!
[Rafiki begins laughing and screeching loudly]

Simba knew, as Rafiki did, that it was his time.  Yet, he was nervous about going back because of the past.  He knew that going back meant facing his past.  Rafiki taught Simba a valuable lesson about the past… one can either run from it or learn from it.  This is a lesson we can all learn.  Simba takes off, back to the Pride Lands.  It was his time.  His time to reclaim his rightful position as leader, his time to deal with the past, his time to take a stand for what was right and to be who he was meant to be.

These lessons from the Lion King help us today as we look ahead to the future, yet may be held back by the past, as Simba was.  We must look to our Creator God, remember who are, who were created to be—sons and daughters of the King.

Though there are some spiritual connections we can make with the Lion King, let’s look at another example, Jesus.  Here are some examples of when Jesus knew “it was time”.  Jesus knew when it was time to step into ministry (in the Gospel of John, Chapter 2 at the wedding in Cana we see where Jesus revealed himself for the first time, even though it was his mom pushing him into action.  His disciples believed in him after this action), when it was time to step aside to pray (there are several examples in the Scriptures of this throughout his life: Mark 1:35—“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”, Mark 6: 45-46—“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.”, Luke 5:16—“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”, Luke 6:12—“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” (when Jesus needed strength and refueling, he took time to get aside for a time of solitude and pray), when it was time to return to Jerusalem (Matthew 16:21—“From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.), when it was time to die (in Matthew 26:2 Jesus is talking to his disciples and says: “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”. 

How did Jesus know when it was time for each of these things?  Jesus was intimately connected with His Father.  He intentionally took time to pray and listen.  He knew he needed time in solitude and in prayer to be able to live out His calling in ministry.  After he spent time away in prayer, he was strengthened.  Then, he acted in faith and obedience for the task at hand, whatever that might be.

What about us?  How do we know when it is time for us to do something?   Like Jesus, we can take time to pray and listen.  If we are intimately connected with God, we have a better chance of knowing when it is time.  Personally, in most cases, I start to get antsy when the time has come for me to step up and doing something that I am supposed to do.  It is as if the spirit is churning within me and won’t become still again until I take that next step.  It’s a matter of spiritual discernment which comes through listening and prayer, through the relationship we have with God and through the relationship with fellow believers. 

Lebo M. wrote the theme song “It’s Time” for the Lion King.  It has some appropriate lyrics for the message today.   Just a few of the lyrics that I’d like to share with you today:

It's time
And this is meant to be your day, shine
And in your heart you'll know it's time
For you (to) take your place

Sometimes I wonder why people always seem
To turn around and lose their way
Look out your window, be grateful for this day

And make a change, it's okay
 

Link to the song "It's Time by Lebo M.

“Today is the day to listen to Christ’s voice.  Let your hearts burn and your minds yearn.  You will rediscover that Christ still calls us to his table, that he breaks bread with us, that he gives himself to us, and that his presence goes with us to the end of our days.” (Yearning Minds & Burning Hearts: Rediscovering the Spirituality of Jesus by Glandion Carney & William Long, p. 223)

What is it time for you to do?  Maybe God has been gently knocking on the door of your heart with something.  You know what it is.  It is between you and God.  Whatever it is, the time is now.  Don’t allow fear or shame or anything else to stop you from being obedient.  Remember who you are and whose you are.  Step out in obedience with faith, boldness and courage.   

Remember the words of the great prophet Rafiki from the Lion King: “it is time”.

Let us pray:

"God of this new year, we are walking into mystery. We face the future, not knowing what the days and months will bring to us or how we will respond. Be love in us as we journey. May we welcome all who come our way. Deepen our faith to see all of life through your eyes. Fill us with hope and an abiding trust that you dwell in us amid all our joys and sorrows. Thank you for the treasure of our faith life. Thank you for the gift of being able to rise each day with the assurance of your walking through the day with us. God of this new year, we praise you. Amen."

Link to the Closing Prayer for New Year's Day by Joyce Rupp
Joyce Rupp's Website 


Well, 2012 is off to a great start!  After worship we went to Las Margaritas and had some Mexican food and I was able to speak in Spanish some.  The sun is shining after a brief downpour this morning and the weather is more Spring-like than Wintry. 


Blessings on your journey!
~Debra