New Year’s Eve December 31, 2024
“One Last Word” II Timothy 4:6-8
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. St. Paul (Recorded in II Timothy 4:6-8)
One last word. I wonder what it will be. What you say to your loved ones. What they say to you. I googled funny gravestones and this I what I found about some folks leaving one last word for us:
I told you I was sick!
Joke’s over. LET ME OUT NOW!
I think this came from a businessman: I made some good deals and I made some bad ones. I really went in the hole with this one.
This one came from a couple who lived where parking was at a premium: Katherine Ivison, Sterling Ivison We finally found a place to park in Georgetown.
Merv Griffin, a TV personality for decades, put this on his headstone, “I will not be right back after this message.”
Today is the last day of 2024. A new year begins tomorrow. What will your last words be today? I have some suggestions for you. How about: “Have mercy on me, Lord.” “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” “I once was lost, but now am found; was blind but now I see.”
Words are very important. We know that. We can’t take back words once they come from our lips. Jesus said, “But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Mathew 12:36-37)
But words can be life. Somebody, sometime, spoke words that gave you courage and hope. They told you how beautiful you look; how wonderful you are to them. They lifted you up with their words. And, I know, you have done that for others. You picked a word, just the right one, and the soul that was hurt was given hope and courage.
This afternoon I want to look at three of the most important people in the Bible and see the words that they used and compare them with the words that we may use.
Peter spoke one last word a bunch of times. In Luke 5 Peter witnessed a miracle that only God could do. And after he saw Jesus do that miracle, he didn’t want anything to do with Jesus. In that chapter it says, “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’” (Luke 5:8) His last word would have been most regrettable. His would have been a life without Jesus, without hope and grace. He would have lived and died in his sin. Isaiah, in the Old Testament, says much the same thing as Peter. He sees God in the temple and says, “I am ruined. I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5) But God cleanses his lips with a coal from the altar. His words were purified. Our last word is not always our last word. Thank God for that!!
Peter could be so cocky about himself. His words, at times, were pompous. When Jesus tells His disciples that they would all fall away when He was arrested, Peter spoke these words, “Even if all fall away, I will not.” (Mark 14:29) Famous last words, right? Then within a few hours he eats his words. “I don’t know that man.” “I’m not one of his.” 3 times. But they weren’t his last words because Christ wasn’t done with His words to him. After the resurrection, Jesus seeks Peter and says, “Peter, tend my sheep. Peter, take care of my lambs.” (See John 20:15-17) Jesus gave Peter one last word that changed his life. Forgiveness for his sins, and a calling that solidified his heart, changed what Peter would say from that moment forward.
The second of our folks, Paul, had a word about himself. He says, “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.” He goes on in that same chapter calling himself “the worst of sinners.” I guess he could have stopped there. Some people do. They say they are hopeless. They are too soiled. Too many mistakes. Too many sins. Nobody would ever have them.
But the one last word was a word of life from Paul’s Savior – Jesus. He says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” (I Timothy 1:15-16)
His last word, what we read in II Timothy, is a word reflecting what God did for his life. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” The Christian life is a battle. Many start but not all finish. Other things get in the way. Sin lies to us. The devil harasses us. It is a long way from beginning to end. But what a great word he had. He fought. He finished. He kept.
My will needs to be updated. At least that is what my lawyer tells me. The last time we did it I think I still had hair. It probably needs to be refreshed. But there is something that doesn’t need to be reworked, it is the preamble that begins the document. It reads, “First, I commit myself to God’s care, secure in His love for me and trusting in the salvation purchased for me through Christ’s suffering and death. I leave those who survive me with the comfort of knowing that I have died in this faith and have now joined my Lord in eternal glory. Second, I commend my loved ones to the protecting arm of God, knowing that He will continue to provide for them despite my absence; and I encourage them to place their faith and trust in Him alone.”
Our last word is based on His last word. In those last words of Jesus Christ on the cross of redemption we find the substance of our last word. Jesus proclaims, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) He is telling all, “It is completed, accomplished, fulfilled, done.” “Sins are paid for.” “Atonement for all is made.” And then from the cross we read, “Jesus called out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.” (Luke 23:46)
Whatever your last word for this year, or when that time comes, from this life, make it a glorious word. Speak of deep love for your loved ones. Bring complete praise to God for giving you a life that is much better than you deserve. Confess your absolute confidence that you are in the care of God now and eternally by the work of Jesus.
You might even copy the final words of St. Paul, making his words, your words, “The time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearing.” Amen!!
