Making the Best of It

“Making the Best of It”

I Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-10 and Ephesians 5:15-20

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Rev. J. Douglas Paterson
There was a successful executive whose work required him to travel a lot, and so he decided to learn how to himself. He took flying lessons and then bought his own plane. He rather enjoyed the convenience of flying himself around. After a few years he decided to purchase a pontoon plane so he could fly back and forth from his beautiful summer home on the lake.
On his first flight in his new plane, he absentmindedly started to head for the airport landing strip, just as he had always done. Luckily, his wife was with him and when she saw what he was doing she shouted to him, “Pull up, George. You can’t land on the runway. You have pontoons on this plane.”
Looking flushed and a little humbled, the businessman quickly hit the throttle and veered off toward the lake. Landing safely in the water, he brought his plane to a stop, shook his head and said, “I don’t know where my mind was. I just wasn’t thinking. That was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done.
Then he opened the door and stepped out right into the lake.
My mind operates like that sometimes. Some people may have it all together, always know the right thing to do. But then there are the rest of us ― those of us who sometimes open the door and step right out into the lake.
I have, perhaps, occupied that state of mind more than usual these last couple of weeks. As prepared as I was for my father’s passing, it still causes the neurons in my brain to fire a little differently, perhaps missing their mark even more than usual.
I want to thank all of you for the tremendous outpouring of support and condolences. It was quite uplifting and a source of support that really does carry one through the rough and uncertain turbulence that life often offers. I understand that the Church (capital C) often does not put its best foot forward in the world. It often seems racked with the same political, self-preservation squabbles that the world concerns itself with. But I don’t understand why someone would not want to be part of the Christian fellowship that lifts you when you are down, loves when you feel unlovable, carries you when you cannot walk. That is what you have done for me and I am humbled and grateful, and I am privileged to occupy this pulpit (place) from whence I can share my gratitude.
It was three weeks ago that I bid you adieu to leave on my vacation. At that time I commented on the irony of the Scripture reading from the lectionary that talked about Jesus and the disciples needing time to get away from it all and rest. I took it at its word and left.
Equally ironic is our lectionary Scripture lesson for today. First Kings has Solomon dealing with his father’s death. What is he to do now that the mantle of one generation has been passed on to the next? Not only did Solomon have to concern himself with the emotions of losing his father, but he also found himself with the responsibility of being King of Israel.
If my own experience is any indication, there is a good chance that all Solomon wanted to do is to crawl into a hole for a while and just let the world happen without him. It is not a good time to be burdened with kingship and all the responsibilities that incurs. Chances are he would be landing his pontoon plane on a runway or step off into the lake. “Just leave me alone,” I can hear him screaming.
Do you know how that feels? Have you ever been in that place? You have nothing left to give; you have nothing left to offer. “Just leave me alone and let me crawl into my hole for awhile. Better yet, let’s just skip this day altogether.”
That is possible you know. The Samoans did that last year. They decided not to have a December 30th. They went straight from December 29th to December 31st. Actually what they did was to give back a day that they added back in 1892. You see, the International Date Line runs right through the Samoan Islands. Back in late nineteenth century the United States was their dominant commerce partner, so they decided to push the International Date Line just off to their west so that they could align their date with the workweek of the U.S.
But over time, nearby New Zealand and Australia, and the Far East have become the major trading partners with Samoa, so they felt the need to realign their workweek with theirs. So at midnight on December 29th, 2011, they pushed the International Date Line back to the east and it instantly became December 31st, skipping December 30th altogether.
You and I have both experienced days that we would gladly have skipped altogether. I am convinced that if King Solomon could have he would skipped the days where he had to grieve for his father and at the same time assume the responsibility for his people.
Only Solomon, as one who gave ultimate respect and homage to the God who created all that is and all of our moments, and we, who worship that same God as revealed in Jesus, understand that all of our moments are a gift from God that we do not wish to skip, but to accept, treasure and value.
The great puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards at age 19 resolved: “Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way that I possibly can.” Each moment is a gift from God. How do we make the best of it?
Often, when we talk about “making the best of it,” making the most of a situation, it is acknowledging that the situation isn’t perfect, at least from our perspective. We might have wished that things were different, that circumstances would have transpired differently. But it is what it is, therefore keep a stiff upper lip. Keep moving forward. Make the most of what you have.
Solomon found himself grieving the loss of his father and at the same time taking on the burden of being responsible for the whole kingdom of Israel. While at some point he knew it would have to come to this, when confronted with it there are moments when you just don’t know what to do. What Solomon did was to give himself time to go worship and pray and discern.
He went up to Gibeon to offer his sacrifices and the Lord appeared to him and simply said, “Solomon, ask what I should give you.” Solomon confessed that he was young and hadn’t a clue. He didn’t know how to be king or how to deal with the people, or how to manage this whole transition of life’s circumstances. And so he simply asked for wisdom – to have an understanding mind to govern wisely and to discern right from wrong.
God was very pleased. Solomon could have asked for anything. God left it wide open. He could have asked for riches, for long life, or military prowess to keep his enemies at bay. Instead he asked for wisdom to make the most of the situation he found himself in.
It is a theme that is echoed in our Ephesians passage. Paul says, “Be careful how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time because the days are evil.” Be careful to live wisely in order to make the best of it, “making the most of our time.”
It is interesting that the Greek word here for “making the most of our time,” is “exagorazo,” which literally means to “buy back,” that is “to redeem.” It harkens to our understanding that “to make the best of it” somehow means that our situation isn’t perfect, at least from our perspective, and therefore we have to settle for second best, or at least for something less than we were expecting.
But that would be a mistake. “Making the best of it” is not a consolation prize. The days are evil, Paul says. Make of that what you will. I don’t want to get into a discussion about what is or is not evil and what that might mean for you and what it might mean for me. But what is clear is that life happens. Sometimes when life happens things are good and happy: we fall in love, we experience good friends, we enjoy our time, we get to eat chocolate. Sometimes when life happens we judge things as not being good and it might make us sad: we lose a job, we get injured, relationships end, we experience the death of a loved one.
Life happens. But when we walk in wisdom, whether we judge a moment to be good or bad, we recognize that it is a moment that is gifted to us by God. And to redeem that moment, to make the most of it, is to acknowledge that life is an awesome gift, to be experienced and celebrated whether we are on the mountain of elation of in the valley of despair.
It’s a strange definition for wisdom, isn’t it? It doesn’t require intellectual ability, simply a faith to trust God with all our moments and treat them as a valued gift. “Be careful,” Paul says, “That you might live as wise people.”
I pray it will be true in your life and in mine. Amen.