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"For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1 Cor. 1:25)

August 16th, 2008

Words Worth Reading

Posted At: 12:28am by Rev. William M. Cwirla

A friend sent me this article recently. It's an essay by Tony Snow, the conservative commentator and former White House press secretary who died last month of colon cancer. His article, "Cancer's Unexpected Blessings," was published in Christianity Today (July 2007). It may well be old news, and I may simply be a latecomer on the bandwagon, but I missed this one. It is well worth reading.

I am greatly humbled by these words. We might quibble over their theological grammar and syntax. Mr. Snow speaks of God's offering "the possibility of salvation and grace," a rather "Catholic" way of putting it. Tony Snow was, after all, a convert to Roman Catholicism. God offers us much more than a "possibility" but an actual death and resurrection that embraced us long before we ourselves embrace Him. I say this because it is my office and duty as a pastor to say it, and I believe that with all the saints who have run the race before us, Tony Snow doesn't mind my saying so. Now we see through a glass dimly.

I am humbled in the presence of the dying because they are standing at the threshold of the most fearsome of holy ground - death. It is the wages of our sin, yes. It is also the battlefield of Christ's ultimate victory. In Baptism we are joined to Jesus in His death and declared forensically dead by God Himself. In death, God brings our Baptism to its fulfillment and says, "It is finished" over us. Mr. Snow's words teach us something of what it means to stand on that hallowed ground not simply with clenced and defiant fists, but with vibrant and hopeful faith in Christ. As I said, we may quibble with his words, but I am not, so far as I know, presently standing in his shoes. I pray that when the time come from me to embrace my own death, I will be as eloquent.

Much of what Snow writes, I have said, either from my pulpit or to various pilgrims I've known as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I appreciate his words, coming as they do from a man who knows to a reasonable degree of certainty how he will die. We all will die one day, though many of us live day to day in denial of that simple fact. But the dying know that in a much more concrete way. They know what will kill them. That's why I stand in awe when I am in the presence of the dying. Each in his or her own way teaches me something of life.

I like this paragraph from Tony Snow's essay:

"...God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease—smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see—but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension—and yet don't. By his love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise."

You can read the rest of Mr. Snow's essay here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/25.30.html?start=1

Edited on: August 16th, 2008 9:18 am

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August 16th, 2008

Words Worth Reading

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