United Methodist Church Hyde Park, NY

THAT LITTLE DASH
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Miss Jones, an elderly spinster, lived in a small midwestern community. She had the distinction of being the oldest resident of the town. One day she died, and the editor of the local newspaper wanted to print a little notice commemorating her death. However, the more he thought about it, the more he became aware that, while Miss Jones had never done anything terribly wrong, she had never actually done anything noteworthy.

While musing over this, the editor went down to have his morning coffee and met the owner of the tombstone establishment in the little community. The tombstone maker stated that he had been having the same problem. He wanted to put something on Miss Jones’ tombstone beside just her birth and death dates, but he couldn’t think of anything of any significance that she had ever done. The editor decided to go back to his office and assign to the first reporter he came across the task of writing up a small article suitable for both the paper and the tombstone. Upon returning to the office, the only person around was the sports editor, so he gave him the assignment. If you pass through that little community you will find the following statement on Miss Jones’ tombstone:

Here lie the bones of Nancy Jones,
For her, life held no terrors.
She lived an old maid.
She died an old maid.
No hits, no runs, no errors.

All kinds of information can be found on tombstones, but one item is exactly the same on every marker: the “dash” between the dates. That little dash doesn’t tell us anything . . . and yet it represents the whole life of the individual. Our 39th president, Jimmy Carter, has written that one of the most unforgettable funerals he ever attended was for Mrs. Martin Luther King, Sr., mother of the great civil rights leader. He and a number of others made brief comments, but the truly remarkable presentation was from the Reverend Otis Moss of Cleveland, Ohio. He said there would be a marker on Mrs. King’s grave, with her name and a couple of dates – when she was born and when she died – and a little dash in between. After extolling the great life of Mrs. King, he reminded his listeners that everyone has what might be considered just a tiny dash. The question, he said, is this: what do we do with that little dash, which represents our lives on earth?

Some people – like Miss Jones – barely live. They merely exist, frittering away their lives in trivialities, plagued by mediocrity. They don’t try to do anything great. They don’t give themselves wholeheartedly to anything or anyone. Some people settle for less than life might offer because they are afraid it comes at too high a cost. In her book, God Is No Fool or Who Do You Think You’re Kidding, Lois A. Cheney writes this account of just such a one.

He saw people love each other. He saw friends love friends. He saw mothers love children. He saw husbands love wives. And he saw that all love made strenuous demands on the lovers. He saw love require sacrifice and self-denial. He saw love produce arguments and anguish. He saw it bring disappointment, pain, and even death. And he decided that it cost too much. And he decided not to diminish his life with love.

He saw people strive for distant and hazy goals. He saw them strive for success. He saw them strive for high ideals. He saw young people strive for attainment. And he saw that the striving was frequently mixed with disappointment. And he saw the strong fail, maimed, and even killed. He saw it force people into pettiness, grasping at those things they both saw and didn’t see. He saw that those who succeeded were sometimes those who had not earned the success. And he decided that it cost too much. He decided not to soil his life with striving.

He saw people serving others. He saw men and women give money to the poor and helpless. He saw whole groups work to build, to cleanse, and to heal others. And he saw that the more they served, the faster the need grew. He saw large portions of money freely given line already fat pockets. He saw new schools filled with uncaring teachers. He saw ungrateful receivers turn on their serving friends. And he decided that that cost too much. He decided not to soil his life with serving.

And when he died, he walked up to God and presented God with his life. Undiminished, ummarred, and unsoiled, his life was clean from the “filth” of the world, and he presented it proudly to God saying, “This is my life.” And God said, “What life?”

Some people virtually throw away their lives by making the wrong choices or establishing the wrong priorities. That was what happened in the time of the prophet Jeremiah. The people of Israel “went after worthless things” and “became worthless themselves.” The priests, rulers, and prophets of Israel failed to lead the country in the way of God, and the people changed their glory for things “that do not profit.” They abandoned a full life with God for an empty life without God. Through the prophet Jeremiah God warned them that they were wasting their lives. This foolish wastefulness is a sin. It is a refusal to live out God’s intentions for their lives.

Many people have made the same foolish choice. When a man was asked to explain the meaning of an epitaph he had written for his tomb – Born a human being; Died a wholesale grocer – he said, “I was so busy selling groceries that I did not have time to get married and have a family. I was so busy selling groceries that I didn’t have time to travel, even though I had the money. I was so busy selling groceries that I did not have time for the theater, for lectures, for concerts, for movies, or for reading. I was so busy selling groceries that I did not have time for community service – religious, social, or political. All of these areas of life were pushed out by the grocery business. I was successful. I became a wholesaler. But I was so busy making a living, I never had time to live.”

We all would like to have full and abundant, meaningful and successful lives. But how? The full life doesn’t depend upon our talent or I.Q., our social standing, bank account, or influence. It is based instead upon interrelationships. This morning’s passage from the letter to the Hebrews reminds us that the only important thing in life is living in relation to God and others. The author gives practical advice about how one should live. The lifestyle advocated here includes hospitality, care for those in dire situations, faithfulness in marriage, a proper regard for money and possessions, respect for those who are models of faithful living, and faith in Jesus Christ as the eternal model for living that guides, unifies, and enables life. All these maxims are summed up in the simple opening: “Let mutual love continue.” The meaningful, purposeful, God-pleasing life is a life characterized by care, concern, purity, fidelity, freedom, generosity, and loyalty.

How should one live? You can fritter your life away in mediocrity. You can lose it by default, if you’re unwilling to spend it. You can throw it away in bad choices or poor priorities. “I hold my life in my hand,” said the psalmist. Or you can do something important with it. You can love, and care, and strive, and serve – which is exactly what God hopes and expects you will do with this precious gift.

G.A. Studdert-Kennedy, English clergyman and poet, chaplain to King George V, said that when his life was completed and he stood before God, one question would be asked by the Almighty: “Well, what did you make of it?”

A meaningful and successful life is one that is pleasing to God. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote this lovely description of a successful life.
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children,
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty,
to find the best in others,
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived.
This is to have succeeded.

Our names and dates of birth have been established and recorded. We are now working on our “dash.” What important way will you use that little dash between birth and death? What will your dash say about your life?