Thoughts from Pastor Stan

SERMON NOTES

June 28, 2009

THE FALL

INTRO

Recently saw a commercial about Strawberry Nutrigrain bar.  It begins with this view of the alarm clock going of at 6:45 and the events throughout the day ending with watching TV; then repeated, over and over; until one day they eat the Strawberry Nutrigrain bar (the savior from living a meaningless life in a rut).

COMMERCIAL:  Nutrigrain bar

Question:  Is this your life?

      Who here needs a Nutrigrain bar so that life has meaning?

MYTH OF SISYPHUS 

Commercial is reminiscent of the Myth of Sisyphus.

In Greek Mythology, Sisyphus (the founder and first king of Corinth) was punished, for his trickery, by being condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of rolling a huge boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down.  He was cursed to repeat this meaningless task for an eternity.  Sisyphean means, “endless and unavailing, as labor or a task”

CAMUS’ MYTH OF SISYPHUS

In 1942, Albert Camus (Nobel Prize recipient for literature; 1957) wrote the essay “The Myth of Sisyphus.”  He sees Sisyphus as personifying the absurdity of human life, but concludes "one must imagine Sisyphus happy" as "The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart."  Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd:  man's futile search for meaning, unity and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values.  Reflecting on life.  Reflecting on our 9 to 5 nonnutrigrain bar world.  Thus, Camus concludes life is absurd.  Which brings us to our Call to Worship.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Life is absurd (a/d)

Intro “THE FALL”

Published:  1956 (Last Completed Work of Fiction)

            According to Jean-Paul Satre is “one of his most beautiful and his least understood.”  Setting:  Amsterdam (the “ lowest” city)

                          The concentric canals (Reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno - circles of Hell)

                          In a bar, in the center of the city (“red light district”) called “Mexico City” (the”highest” city) 

HUMAN CONDITION (enjoys the high places):

1. “I have never felt comfortable, except in loft surroundings.  Even in the details of daily life, I need to feel above” (Camus, p. 288)
2. Amsterdam, is a city below sea-level, it is a cold, wet place, where a thick blanket of fog constantly hangs over the crowded, neon-light-lined streets.

PARADOX:  likes the highest point, but finds himself in the lowest

Main Character:  Jean-Baptiste (John Baptist) Clamence

Series of Monologues by the self-proclaimed “judge-penitent”

1. Reflects upon his life to a stranger
2. Shares his success as a wealthy Parisian defense lawyer (the high places)

1. Highly respected by his colleagues

                              At the beginning of the monologues, he is basically saying, ‘hey!  Look at me.  Aren’t I great.’  Then the monologues turn on the realization that he isn’t as great as he thought he was, when he investigated the motive for his good works.  He was not driven to do good, but to be seen as someone who does good.  He wanted the honor, the power, etc. of doing good.  

1. Conversation functions as a confession (the low places)

                               Thus in the midst of the lowest city, Amsterdam; in a bar named Mexico City, the highest city, a well respected lawyer gives a monologue that converts the seedy bar into a confessional.

1.  Then reveals his crisis

1. & his ultimate “fall” from grace (The Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden)

POINT:  Clamence is reflecting upon the way he has lived his life, which challenges us the reader to examine the way we have lived our own life

Conclusion:  life is absurd.  Lets learn to come to terms with it (get over it).  Assume personally responsibility(revolt!)

POINT:  Albert Camus invites us along this journey of monologues to investigate our lives and motives as he proclaims life is absurd and life is meaningless.  Thus he brings us to the shores of Ecclesiastes 1:2. 

SCRIPTURE:  Ecclesiastes 1:2

Meaningless, Meaningless.  Life is Meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 1:1

MEANINGLESS/VANITY

“Vapor, Vapor, Everything is Vapor.”

"vanity/meaningless" repeated over 40 times in Ecclesiastes.

This word literally means vapor, but it is the kind of vapor (emptiness) that describes the experience of witnessing a mist/fog; there in the morning; gone by noon, as if it never existed. 

“All we are is dust in the wind” (Kansas)

ENDURANCE - “as though it never existed”

"Endurance"  the boat was there in minutes later the ice floes swallowed it up and then came together and as if it did not exist at all.

In other words, this word, vapor, means devoid of meaning

sometimes the lives of people are like that.

QUESTION:  Is Ecclesiastes 1:2 right?  Is Camus right?  Is life meaningless?  Is life absurd?

Meaningless Existential Vacuum

If true; then why not get all you can out of life, party on!  And then make a smooth exit.  Or like James Dean said “Live fast.  Die young.  And leave a good looking corpse?

If there is no God,  then we might as well as have as much fun as possible and then get out.

IMPLICATION:  If there is no God all things are permissible (Dostoevsky; Brother’s Karamazov)

IMPLICATION:  If there is no God, then why do things for others (altruistic)?

Do things for others to make me feel better about myself (The Fall/John Calvin)

QUESTION:  But if there is a God, does that change anything

ALBERT EINSTEIN 

Argued to find religion is to find meaning in life (paraphrase)

MESSAGE OF ECCLESIASTES

God changes everything.  God is the purpose of life.  A relationship with God is the purpose of life.  a relationship with God magnifies our relationship with others.  

This is the final conclusion when one observes life (the teacher) without God (under the sun) as opposed to (under heaven) everything is meaningless.

However, with God, we find meaning in life.  Through Jesus that we experience abundant life.

CONCLUSION

If there is no God, party on!  If there is a God, party on God’s way!

CHALLENGE

This summer, self reflect.  Know Thyself.  Know thy God.