Here is today’s sermon based on Matthew 6:19-24 and 1 Corinthians 15:25-26:

I have been thinking about death a lot lately. Not that I plan to die anytime soon but given my line of work it is inevitable. I spend my days, or at least part of my days, delving in theology and the study of the Bible which more often than not involves the afterlife and eternity. Questions about death and life after death are common for ministers to be asked. In addition, as a Chaplain, I have to be prepared for the inevitable death among the Soldiers I serve. I have to be ready to counsel family and other Soldiers as well as conduct memorial services. It is just part of the job.

On top of that, I have been rereading the Harry Potter series which deals with good, evil, and death on an increasing level as you go through the series. In fact, the scripture verses for today’s sermon come in part from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Yes, there is scripture in Harry Potter. In case you are curious, the Matthew text can be found on the grave of Dumbledore’s mother and sister and the 1 Corinthians text can be found on Harry’s parent’s graves. Have no clue who they are – just hang on a moment or two. So I read the books and something occurred to me this week. In fact, a sermon began to develop from the close of the book and I want to share with you this morning two different stories of death and then in light of these scriptures, what lessons we can take for living but more on that in just a minute.

Last but not least, I have been thinking about death lately because tomorrow is my birthday and I am getting a bit older. I once considered myself old until I reached this age! One’s mortality always seems to come to the surface around a birthday.

So back to Harry Potter.

The first story involves Albus Dumbledore – the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You see in his early life, he desired the three Deathly Hallows more than anything else he could imagine. These 3 things – the elder wand, the invisibility cloak, and the resurrection stone, when united, would make someone the master of Death and Dumbledore sought them with all of his energy, time, and resources. Rather than store his treasures in heaven, Dumbledore sought to be the master of death by seeking earthly treasure and the inevitable result was death – not his death but his sister’s death. He chose poorly.

Then we have Harry Potter who also finds himself in possession of the Deathly Hallows but there is a big difference. You see, he doesn’t want to be the master of death – he wants to save his friends and so he uses the Deathly Hallows to face He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and give his life in their place. Sorry for the spoilers for those who haven’t read the books or seen the movies but yes Harry dies. It is a noble death – the kind that Jesus refers to as one of the greatest things you can do for another. Harry realized that his treasure was not on earth but somewhere else and this is what leads him to lay down his life for others. He chose wisely.

So what lessons can we take from these stories? Well, the obvious is that Christians have to be poor and miserable because we cannot store things up on earth, right? I don’t think so. I don’t think that is what this scripture is saying because frankly, if we did, there would be very few Christians in the world because who wants to be miserable the entire life? I have a few aunts who may fit this category but most people don’t. I believe most people would prefer to be a little comfortable. No, I think scripture, and in light of our gospel today, is telling us that it is okay to have things, it is okay to have a car, a house, a savings account, and even air conditioning but we can’t let those things rule our life. We can’t spend a lifetime pursuing those things because when we do, death wins. When a person is so consumed by treasure that he or she will do everything and anything to get treasure, all that waits is an empty life followed by death. My New Testament professor from seminary, Mitzi Minor, whom I do quote often, puts it better than I could when she says that we all know people who are breathing but not really living. That is the first lesson, pursuing treasures on earth leads us to be merely breathing and not living life abundantly.

The second scripture is more interesting to me. You see, death still takes us because God has not yet fully destroyed death. We all will die but we know there is something else on the other side. William Penn said: “For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.” I think we all help destroy death when we share the gospel with someone. I think we all help death die when we live rather than just breathe. And there is where panic sets in because people often dread having to share the gospel with someone else. It makes us uncomfortable, okay at least it makes me uncomfortable to think about walking up to someone and opening my Bible and sharing the Good News, but it shouldn’t because there are other ways to share the gospel. You see, if we, as Harry did, lay down our lives for our friends so they might live, we are sharing the gospel. If we offer a smile to someone on the street rather than look down or look away, we are sharing the gospel. If we offer a hug or a kind word to someone during a bad day, we are sharing the gospel. If we do a random act of kindness with no desire for recognition, we are sharing the gospel. I am not saying that sharing the gospel and offering to pray the “sinner’s prayer” is not important; what I am saying is that when we live our life abundantly in spite of death, we are sharing the gospel. When we live in spite of death, we are storing our treasures in heaven and we are serving God because we are living. It more than simply coming to church for an hour on Sundays. It is more than professing to be a Christian. It is living abundantly and fully and appreciating the life God has given us! Mother Teresa said it even better: “People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway.” In other words live and live life fully!

I have been thinking about death a lot lately but not out of fear or a sense of panic. I have been thinking about death in terms of defeating death – that is not avoiding it but living abundantly so when it comes, I have no regrets and death takes nothing from me. I believe this is our challenge as Christians – to live so death takes nothing from us. Let’s stop merely breathing and start living! Amen.

Here is today’s worship bulletin.