The Miracle Cure!

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

How many times will you hear some version of "Wow... time has flown!" in the next day or so?  As we adjust to entering "2013" many of us will wonder about the passage of time -- what the year will bring -- what changes are in store? How will we age or grow?


As long as humans have aged they have thought, written or sung about the impact of time.  Some people have been fascinated by the quest for eternal youth.  Years ago there was a search for the fountain of youth, then there were elixirs and creams that would cleanse from within and smooth or clarify the skin.  Then laser technology and botox boosted the number of human beings walking around looking years younger than their age dictates.

The older I become, the more grateful I am for one of my mentors who has taught me much about how to age.   He relies upon the miracle cure that assures vigor and vitality.

He is ninety two years old, and makes no effort to disguise that reality.  He moves slowly when he must, yet he is a dynamo and a powerhouse regularly.  He asks for help when his old brain fails to retrieve detailed information, yet he regularly proclaims the Gospel with compelling and often life changing power.

This guy retired from full time ministry over 25 years ago.  And in the last 25 years he has served more than 5 churches,and has completed several successful interims.  He has walked the mission field and is currently looking for the next one.  He has learned to play the piano, and now he studies the principles of voice projection so that his words can reverberate a la Orson Welles.  I have sailed with this guy, and he revels in a sporty day on the unbriney blue.  He is a carpenter and a woodcarver, an artist, an insatiable reader and a fluid writer.  In addition to all of that his servant heart pulses vigorously, overseeing the planning and building of 21 Habitat for Humanity homes in 16 years.

He has had open heart surgery and has stood before cancer, and says that he knows what it is like to have Death standing at his shoulder. Now he says he is looking with great excitement towards the next adventure.  He stands in constant wonder about what God is up to, and what God is going to do next!

This man is a walking, breathing, serving manifestation of a human who lives with one foot in youth and the other in age.  He is humble, yet assertive.  He puts up with no nonsense yet delights in the surprise of humor, especially when he himself can be the source of glee.

I recall a moment at his last congregation where he served as visitation pastor, he was given minutes notice (yes!  minutes!) that he was both to preach and preside.  (For a variety of reasons he was often called upon by his colleague with little advance planning.)

He was shaken for a minute or two.  He admits that he had a moment of anger and frustration, wondering why he couldn't have been told the night before (at least!) that he was needed in this way.

Then he stepped to the pulpit and preached with power, conviction and joy.  I asked him how he did it.

His answer was sincere, simple and clear.  His answer pointed to the source, the miracle cure.  "The call of the Holy Spirit never lets me down," he says.  "When I begin to speak in His name, or as I offer the sacred and holy words of liturgy, something happens that transforms me from within.  I am supported, inspired and invigorated, because I am responding to His call."

I thought of this amazing man when I read today's scripture.  Surely the ninety-two year old body is continually dissolving.  It will weaken and eventually (and he says this himself) my mentor won't be the one standing at the edge of the grave speaking the words of commendation:  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

But the more the guy ages, the more I see the eternal light of Christ radiating from all that he says and does.  His eyes twinkle with the call of the Spirit.  His countenance shines with the Love unleashed upon and within him from the moment he was baptized.

Indeed, I look upon this man and I can see all that is temporary about him giving way and pointing to what is eternal!

I think I wanna be like him when I grow up!