by the Rev. Edward Chinn, D.Min. Pastor, All Saints’ Church

I begin by complimenting you. Every one of you is a victorious survivor. I know that every person sitting in this church building has been through life’s hurts. There are physical hurts, hurts on the body from disease and accident. There are hurts on the heart. You are a victorious survivor because you have lived on through life’s hurts. Surviving those hurts gives you the wisdom that I wish could be passed on to the young. Listen to George Eliot: “The sorrows of childhood are not so poignant as those of adult life, but then we must remember that childhood is not comforted by the memory of out-lived sorrows.” Every one of you has out-lived some sorrow in your life.

The young have not had that victory. Listen to these disturbing figures from a 1995 book titled Generation on Hold: Coming of Age in the Late Twentieth Century (New York University Press). The authors, James E. Cote and Anton L. Allahar state that today’s youth are 10 times more depressed than their parents. Many suffer from an identity crisis. The study reports an 85 percent increase in violent crime committed by adolescence between 1987 and 1991. There has been an increase use of drugs and alcohol over the past 40 years. There has been a 72 percent rise in suicides among teens since 1968. Founder of the Faith Incubators Project says: “Forty percent of all American teenagers have their potential suicide plan in place” (The Lutheran, May 1999). These teenagers do not have the benefit of out-lived sorrows.

Malchus Lived On Through Life’s Hurts

The idea for this message came to me during Holy Week. There is a minor character in the story of Holy Week. He appears in one scene and then disappears. Remember when Jesus had finished his Last Supper with his friends. He went to a private garden (Gethsemane) to pray. The Temple police came to arrest him. One of the police was a man named Malchus. He was doing his job. In the act of arresting Jesus, Malchus got hurt. Jesus’ friend, Peter struck him with his sword and cut off his ear. To me, Malchus is a symbol of people who get hurt in their daily lives. Malchus got hurt physically.

Then, listen to the names that appear in the first lesson today: Peter, James and John, Andrew, Philip, and the other apostles. They gathered in a room in Jerusalem with the women, with the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers (Acts 1:14). Every one of those persons had lived on through the terrible hurt of Good Friday. They were not hurt on their bodies. They were hurt on their hearts. Imagine the hurt of his mother and his closest friends on Good Friday evening. Jesus, the friend with whom they had lived and talked and dined, had died a horrible death. They had all lived on through life’s hurts.

John Hockenberry Lived On Through Life’s Hurts

There is a correspondent on television named John Hockenberry. He broadcasts from a wheelchair. He is 42 years old. He was born in 1957. At age 19, he was a student at the University of Chicago. During a break from school, John Hockenberry hitchhiked across the country. A woman stopped here car. John got in. The woman drove on. She fell asleep at the wheel. There was a crash. The woman was killed. John Hockenberry’s spine was crushed. He has been in a wheelchair ever since. He spent twelve years as a correspondent for National Public Radio. He joined ABC in 1992. He moved to NBC in 1996. He also reports on Dateline. He has lived on through that hurt to broadcast from the battlefields of the world. He has been a victorious survivor.

Victorious survivors have three things in common. They are the “Three Ps”. If you have been a survivor, then first, there are People who believe in you and count on you. Second, there has been a Purpose that is bigger than yourself and that gives you a reason to get up in the morning. Here at All Saints’ Church, we symbolize that Purpose by a Star. Third, there has been Power-Power from God that comes into us through our faith.

Muhammad Ali Lives On Through Life’s Hurts

Everyday we meet people who are living on through life’s hurts. Last Sunday evening, Muhammad Ali made a guest appearance on the television program, Touched By An Angel. Ali appeared to an 11-year old boy who lived in poverty. The boy had Ali as an idol. The boy took up boxing so he could beat up the bullies who had been picking on him. Tess, the angel played by Della Reese, spoke for Ali and told the boy to use his fighting attitude to fight for his family. It was hard to see Muhammad Ali bearing the effects of Parkinson’s disease. Nevertheless, Ali is living on through on of life’s hurts. His courageous attitude wins him the title “The Greatest.”

King David Lived On Through Life’s Hurts

Sometimes those hurts are on the body; other times the hurts are on the heart. In ancient Israel, King David lived through many hurts. He had killed a giant as a teenager. He had written songs that still survive. He had organized his kingdom. He had stolen another man’s wife. He and the woman, Bathsheba, saw their baby die. One of David’s sons led a rebellion against him. This son, Absalom, broke his father’s heart. David lived on because he had people who believed in him; he had a purpose for living; he found power in his religious faith. David lived on through his hurts. Though David and Bathsheba had been hurt, and had hurt themselves, they had a son-Solomon. No doubt, Solomon’s wisdom (in The Book of Proverbs) came to him because he had parents who had lived on through life’s hurts.

“An Everyday Survival Kit” for People who Get Hurt

Life is difficult for all of us. We need to build ourselves “An Everyday Survival Kit.” Collect the following items: a toothpick; a rubber band; a Band aid; a pencil; an eraser; some chewing gum; a mint; a Candy Kiss; a tea bag; Use the items in your Survival Kit in the following way. Use the toothpick to remind you to pick out the good qualities in others (see Matthew 7:1). Use the rubber band to remind you to be flexible because things might not always go the way you want, but it will work out (see Romans 8:28). Use the Band-Aid to remind you to heal hurt feelings, yours or someone else’s (see Colossians 3:12-14). Use the pencil to remind you to list your blessings everyday (see Ephesians 1:3). Use the eraser to remind you that everyone makes mistakes, and it’s okay (see Genesis 50:15-21). Use the chewing gum to remind you to stick with it and you can accomplish any-thing (see Philippians 4:13). Use the mint to remind you that you are worth a mint to your Heavenly Father (see John 3:16-17). Use the Candy Kiss to remind you that everyone needs a kiss or a hug everyday (see 1 John 4:7). Use the tea bag to remind you to relax daily and go over that list of God’s blessings (see Thessalonians 5:18). God will see you through all of life’s hurts and you will be victorious survivors!