"PRESS ON!"

I remember the final episode of the sitcom, "Seinfeld." I – and nearly everyone I talked to about it – felt disappointed with it. After nine great seasons, the finale seemed, well...kind of "forced" and anti-climactic.

Personally, here's how I think it should have ended. Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer get into Kramer's car and start off to go to a movie. Meanwhile, the cast of "Friends" all pile into a cab going the opposite direction and...yada, yada, yada...they all end up on "E.R."!!

But regardless of how it ended, really...how could it have NOT been disappointing? Nothing could have measured up to all the hype and expectation that preceded the show. In a way, those of us who were fans of the show ruined it for ourselves by expecting a show about "nothing" to suddenly be a big "something!"

Doesn't work. We do that in our lives, too, you know. We try to compartmentalize and compress life into a lot of planned, choreographed "events" – and it doesn't work...because life is a constant, fluid, ever moving, ever-changing reality.

I remember once, several years ago, speaking with a young man who wanted information about having a Holy Union some five months later. He went on and on about how special and perfect he wanted it all to be – just like a romantic, well...fairy tale! I have no doubt that, having gotten his expectations up so high, when the day came he was bound to have felt a little "let down." No "event" is ever quite the same has we have imagined, good or bad.

And it seems that if we're not trying to orchestrate upcoming "events" in life, then we're canonizing the moments of the past. How often do we say to one another things like: "Remember when we...." – "I used to be the...." – "I once had the most fabulous...." – whatever.

Unfortunately, the reality of the present moment holds no regard for the things of the past. Life has a tendency to ask, "What have you done for me lately?"

We may often feel anxious...irritated...conflicted in our lives because of one simple problem: our expectations. You see, we have a tendency to expect things to be one way...while the true reality is something else. This is no truer in any area of our lives than in our relationship with God. You see, we tend to want God to adjust things to our desires...not vice versa. We will find peace only when we come to understand the reality of how God functions...and then learn to accept and apply that reality to our own lives.

So...how does God function? Well, while we have a tendency to envision how the future "should" be...or to expect things to always be like they've been before, God is in the business of ongoing creation. In God's way of doing things, we can't be sure what's ahead – though we can be sure God will be there...and we can't expect things to not change – because God is the only thing that doesn't change! Change and short-term uncertainty are always parts of the way God functions in our lives.

The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, told the people of Israel that...yes, they had been taken out of bondage and led safely across the Red Sea. But now that's over; move on! God said, through Isaiah, "Remember not the former things, nor consider the ways of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness...."

The escape from Egypt was over; now the people of Israel were wandering in the wilderness...called yet again to trust God in the face of the new and unknown. "...consider not the ways of old....Behold, I am doing a new thing...." God is moving before us and urging us to keep up! Theologian Elizabeth Stuart has described God as being like a beautiful woman we are pursuing...and every time we go into the room where she just was, we catch only a whiff of her perfume...as she has moved on ahead of us. We want to "arrive" at a destination...God wants us to keep moving!

The apostle Paul understood this in his life and tried to explain it in his letter to the Philippian church. At one point in his life, you see, Paul had "arrived." He was a big shot. In chapter 3, he lists all of his "attainments": he was from the tribe of Benjamin, he says...a "Hebrew of Hebrews!" In other words, "classy pedigree!" Regarding religious authority, he was a Pharisee! (Religious know-it-all.) He had, in fact, been so enthusiastic about his position and beliefs that he helped to persecute the fledgling Christian church. As for his "legalistic righteousness" – "Honey," Paul says, "I was flawless!"

And then he met Jesus Christ. And the power of that encounter uprooted him from his comfy place in society and thrust him on a journey...a journey toward something that could never be fully attained in this lifetime: to share completely in the experience of knowing Christ and, ultimately, to attain the resurrection to eternal life. Paul says, "Not that I have already obtained all this...but I press on to make it my own. I do not consider that I have made it...but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Hear the similarities between the words of Isaiah and the words of Paul? "Remember not the former things...I am doing a new thing." "...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on...."

Our human desire is to just get to a place...obtain a thing...find a certain person...or grow to a certain point, then dig in and stay put! God says, "Move on!" Our human desire is to "arrive" at a destination; God's goal for us is to stay, faithfully, on a journey. So we must choose: our way or God's way.

We do have that choice, you know. We can choose to live our way, trying to keep things in place and still and unchanging. Unfortunately, though, since the prevailing reality of the cosmos is God's way, we are bound to stay conflicted...trying to swim against the tide of the universe. Or we can do things God's way. We can "press on" in this journey, staying open to those "new things" that God will be doing all along the way.

And, so...assuming, for the moment, that we want to do things God's way, what adjustments must we make in order to shift from seeing life as a journey toward a goal...to seeing life as God intends it: a continuing journey of faith?

Well, first of all, if we want to faithfully continue this journey we're on, then we can't stay put – spiritually, emotionally, intellectually or, in some cases, even physically – in one spot! As Paul says, "Press on!"

A large college class was graduating, outdoors, on a hot and humid day. As the graduates walked across the platform and received their diplomas from the university president, he smiled, shook their hands, and said loudly, "Congratulations!" Then, in a much lower voice, one that was firm and could be heard only by the graduates, he would say to each one, "Keep moving!" He was only trying to keep the line moving across the stage, but his words were good advice for a lifetime: "Keep moving."

After every achievement or milestone in life – growing up, graduation, creating relationships, getting a job, even after retirement – the best advice is, "Keep moving." Don't stop. Don't stagnate. There is more to life than you have found so far. At whatever transition you find yourself, this is not the end; it is only another beginning. Keep moving. "Press on."

Another thing we must do, if we could accept God's goal for us of faithfully continuing our journey, is to trust the path before us. Sometimes I envision this spiritual journey we're on as being like a scene in one of those fantasy adventure movies. The hero has to step out into seemingly empty space, trusting that there will be solid ground there when his foot comes down. He takes a deep breath and steps out...vvvooommm...suddenly, there is a floor beneath him. He takes another step...vvvooommm...more floor. But he looks back and...yyeennggg...the floor behind him has disappeared. He can't go backwards...he can only move forward now – trusting one step at a time.

This journey with God is like that. "Remember not the former things...I am doing a new thing." "...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on...." Many times the next step in this journey we're on with God won't be instantly clear to us. But we can't just give up. As that homespun philosopher Yogi Berra once said, "When you arrive at a fork in the road...take it!" Press on! You see, we're not just running blindly through a meaningless life in order to die and get to heaven. Our eternal journey has already begun and we're meant to relish it...experience it...rejoice in it...learn from it.

As we all stand here this morning at an "ending," we need to recognize that it's really just a turn in the road of our collective journeys. I will always, always treasure the time I have been with this church, on a journey. I have some regrets – things I wish I'd done differently, perhaps...people I wish I had gotten to know better – but mostly I have only great pride and fond memories and the gifts of love, laughter and relationships to carry with me.

And, I press on. As I continue my journey, I believe that I've learned some things that will make the next part of my life even better. And certainly, I've learned some things that will help me draw closer to God...which is, after all, the point of this journey in the first place!

Now, church...what about you? God is saying to every one of us this morning: "Forget the former things...press on to what lies ahead...I am doing a new thing."

Take the hand of Christ and go forward. Expect God's provision and power to be with you. Keep being faithful and keep on evolving. Press on, church – press on! Amen.

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