November 21st: "Famous Last Words: Blessing and Charge"

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 The First United Presbyterian Church of Loveland

“Famous Last Words: Blessing and Charge”

Rev. Amy Morgan

November 21, 2021

First Reading:  Genesis 49, selected verses 

Then Jacob called his sons, and said: "Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come. Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob; listen to Israel your father.”

And Jacob blessed them, blessing each one of them with a suitable blessing. Then he charged them, saying to them, "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors-- in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah--the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites."

When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

Second Reading:  John 20:24-29

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

 26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."

 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

"I'm going to the bathroom to read." These were the last words of the King, Elvis Presley. Not the ones he would have chosen, perhaps, if he had been given the choice. 

The last words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were addressed to his beloved wife. He turned to her in their garden and said, “You are wonderful,” and then clutched his chest and died. Not a wordy legacy for one whose life work was defined by words, but touching, nonetheless. 

Blues singer Bessie Smith left this world saying, “I’m going, but I’m going in the name of the Lord.” Her final declaration was a testimony to her faith in the God she belonged to in life and in death. 

Our scriptures today contain more famous last words. 

In Genesis, Jacob, the patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel, speaks a blessing to each of his sons. We didn’t read them all today, but Jacob’s blessings are a bit of a mixed bag. Some of them are more Elvis – “Ruben, you are as unstable as water” – and some are more Arthur Conan Doyle – “Joseph, the blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills.” In the middle of his blessings, Jacob takes a kind of Bessie Smith break, saying, “I wait for your salvation, O Lord.”

These blessings are not all what we typically think of as blessings. They are revelations, truths, sometimes hard truths, spoken in love. These are the last words of a dying man to the sons who will be his legacy. These words will profoundly impact and shape a generation and determine the course of history for a people who will look to Jacob’s sons as their tribal leaders and claim their ancestral identity from them.

But these blessings are accompanied by a charge. Jacob’s sons are assigned the task of burying him with his beloved people. They are charged with making sure he remains part of the tribe, even after his death.

We may not spend much time pondering what we’d like our last words to be. At least, I hope we don’t. I’d hope we would instead spend our time pondering how to live and serve in the here and now. But if we give just a little thought to the famous last words of others, we might consider, at least momentarily, the legacy we might hope to leave. 

Jacob’s legacy is a blessing and a charge that continues to echo through the people who claim him as their spiritual father. Likewise, the legacies we leave are both a blessing – we hope – and a charge, a responsibility. The legacy we leave to our family, our community, and our church will shape generations. It will testify to our faith in God and in those who will receive our legacy. But it will also come with the responsibility to keep us connected to our family, community, and church by carrying forward the work we believe in and commit ourselves to. 

Even more than that, our legacy provides the possibility for people we have not met, and will never meet, to have faith. 

Today is the last Sunday in the Christian year, the Sunday when we remember the legacy of Christ our King. And so, it is appropriate to meditate on Jesus’s last words. Not his words from the cross, as we do on Good Friday, but his last words on earth as the resurrected King. 

In the Gospel of John, the last words of Jesus are a little tricky to sort out because John’s gospel has two endings. The first ending is the one we read today, where Jesus’ last words are: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” A summary statement closes the book on this gospel, and then it is reopened awkwardly with the story of the miraculous catch of fish and breakfast on the beach with Jesus. 

If we stick with this first ending, however, I think we again get a glimpse of what legacy means in the Christian life. Thomas was provided with the opportunity to see the resurrected Jesus face to face, to touch the wounds in his hands and his side. Jesus’ last words could be seen as chiding Thomas for desiring this tangible proof of the resurrection. But they could also be seen as a blessing and a charge from his Lord and his God. Thomas was blessed with an experience of the Christ, and he is charged to take that experience and help bless those who will come after him, who have not and will not have that experience of Jesus. 

We have all been blessed to hear the experiences of those who have encountered Jesus in a variety of ways. Some subtle and almost imperceptible. And some miraculous and even somewhat tangible. The people who have declared before us, “My Lord and my God,” are those who have help us to believe even without seeing. That is the legacy they have gifted to us, and the legacy we are charged with carrying on. 

One of those people who has created such a legacy is Lorraine Albert. Lorraine started going to church as a child in a Ford model A. She has gone to church all her life and became a part of the 1st on 4th family more than 30 years ago. At First United she has made friends and connected with people in the community. Now, at 103 years old, Lorraine continues to bless this community in many ways. As we gather with her for Communion each month in the chapel at Sugar Valley Estates, where she resides, she shares her love of singing and her love of scripture. She tells us stories about growing up on a farm, and about her history in our church.

Lorraine has also planned to leave the church a legacy that will last beyond her lifetime. Her stories and smile and songs will remain with us, of course. But she has also chosen to remember First United Presbyterian Church in her will. She doesn't know what that amount will be but she feels good giving to the church that has given so much to her. She told us, “I've gone to church all my life. And I know the church can use my money. I'm not going to say how it needs to be used. It can be used however it's needed.”

This undesignated gift from Lorraine - whenever it is received and however much it is amounts to - will be an expression of Lorraine’s lifelong love for Jesus and love of the church. Her life has been very long, but thanks to this gift, her legacy will be even longer. This legacy will be Lorraine’s blessing and her charge to us so that those who have not yet seen may still believe.

At 1st on 4th, we are committed to making sure Lorraine’s gift, and all legacy gifts to the church, are stewarded responsibly, to continue the mission and carry forward the blessing of this family of faith. Mark is going to share more about our newly established Legacy Fund ministry, and how it will ensure that blessings continue and responsibilities are fulfilled.