The Last Lecture of Jesus Christ -- FPC sermon excerpt
Keep awake.
That’s one way to summarize the last lecture of Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Randy delivered his final lecture in September 2007, after he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer — the same cancer that killed my father. He showed a love of life and an approach to death that many people found inspiring, and his lecture turned into a phenomenon, viewed by millions on television and on the Internet. He went on to write a best-selling book with columnist Jeffrey Zaslow titled The Last Lecture, a book about love, courage, and saying good-bye.
On July 25th of this year, Randy succumbed to cancer at the age of 47.
He expected maybe 150 people to attend his last lecture. After all, it was a warm September day, and he assumed that people would have better things to do than attend a final lesson from a dying computer science professor in his 40s. Randy bet a friend $50 that he would never fill the 400-seat auditorium.
Well, Randy lost that bet. The room was packed, and when he arrived on stage he received a standing ovation. He motioned the audience of students and colleagues to sit down. “Make me earn it,” he said.
According to columnist Zaslow of The Wall Street Journal (May 3, 2008 and September 20, 2007), Randy hardly mentioned his cancer in the course of his 70-minute lecture. Instead, he took everyone on a rollicking and riveting journey through the lessons of his life. He talked about the importance of childhood dreams, and the stamina needed to overcome obstacles. “Brick walls are there for a reason,” he insisted, showing slides of the rejection letters he had received over the years. “They let us prove how badly we want things.”
He pushed his audience to show patience toward others, saying, “Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you.” He celebrated his mentors and his students with an open heart, and revealed the depth of his love for his family.
Giving a nod to his techie background, Randy showed good humor. “I’ve experienced a deathbed conversion,” he said with a smile. “I just bought a Macintosh.” And wanting to show the crowd that he wasn’t ready to kick the bucket, he dropped to the floor and did one-handed push-ups.
Keep awake. That’s what Randy seemed to be saying as he invited his audience to rethink their ambitions and find new ways to look at other people’s flaws and abilities. Keep awake to what is truly important in life. After showing pictures of his childhood bedroom, marked up with mathematical notations he had drawn on the walls, he said, “If your kids want to paint their bedrooms, as a favor to me, let ‘em do it.”
Keep awake to what really matters. In this case it’s children — not bedroom walls.
After the lecture, Randy’s only plan was to spend his remaining days with his family. But a video of his talk began to spread like a virus across the Web. Randy was soon receiving emails from people around the world, telling him that his lecture had inspired them to spend more time with loved ones, quit pitying themselves, and even resist suicidal urges. Terminally ill people were inspired to embrace their own goodbyes, and have fun with every day they had left.
His last lecture really woke people up.
Then Randy gave part of his talk on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and ABC News named him one of its three “Persons of the Year.” People urged him to write a book, which he resisted at first, since he wanted to spend time with his family. But since he needed to exercise, and had to be alone as he rode his bike, he began to use his daily rides as a time to reflect on his lecture, his life, and his dreams for his family.
And so, for an hour each day, he would talk to columnist Zaslow through a cell-phone headset, and over the course of 53 long bike rides he shared the insights that became the book called The Last Lecture.
Keep awake. That’s what Randy Pausch says to us, and what Jesus says as well.
The 13th chapter of Mark contains The Last Lecture of Jesus Christ, given to the disciples during Holy Week — the last week of Jesus’ life. Jesus challenges them to keep awake for his Second Coming, an earth-shaking event which will occur at an undetermined time after his death, resurrection, and ascension. He promises that he will return as the Son of Man, coming in clouds with “great power and glory” to collect his people from the ends of the earth, and bring them into his kingdom (Mark 13:26-27). The danger is that the disciples will miss what really matters, distracted by the many assorted demands and details of day-to-day life. So Jesus says to them, “Keep awake” (v. 37).
That’s one way to summarize the last lecture of Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Randy delivered his final lecture in September 2007, after he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer — the same cancer that killed my father. He showed a love of life and an approach to death that many people found inspiring, and his lecture turned into a phenomenon, viewed by millions on television and on the Internet. He went on to write a best-selling book with columnist Jeffrey Zaslow titled The Last Lecture, a book about love, courage, and saying good-bye.
On July 25th of this year, Randy succumbed to cancer at the age of 47.
He expected maybe 150 people to attend his last lecture. After all, it was a warm September day, and he assumed that people would have better things to do than attend a final lesson from a dying computer science professor in his 40s. Randy bet a friend $50 that he would never fill the 400-seat auditorium.
Well, Randy lost that bet. The room was packed, and when he arrived on stage he received a standing ovation. He motioned the audience of students and colleagues to sit down. “Make me earn it,” he said.
According to columnist Zaslow of The Wall Street Journal (May 3, 2008 and September 20, 2007), Randy hardly mentioned his cancer in the course of his 70-minute lecture. Instead, he took everyone on a rollicking and riveting journey through the lessons of his life. He talked about the importance of childhood dreams, and the stamina needed to overcome obstacles. “Brick walls are there for a reason,” he insisted, showing slides of the rejection letters he had received over the years. “They let us prove how badly we want things.”
He pushed his audience to show patience toward others, saying, “Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you.” He celebrated his mentors and his students with an open heart, and revealed the depth of his love for his family.
Giving a nod to his techie background, Randy showed good humor. “I’ve experienced a deathbed conversion,” he said with a smile. “I just bought a Macintosh.” And wanting to show the crowd that he wasn’t ready to kick the bucket, he dropped to the floor and did one-handed push-ups.
Keep awake. That’s what Randy seemed to be saying as he invited his audience to rethink their ambitions and find new ways to look at other people’s flaws and abilities. Keep awake to what is truly important in life. After showing pictures of his childhood bedroom, marked up with mathematical notations he had drawn on the walls, he said, “If your kids want to paint their bedrooms, as a favor to me, let ‘em do it.”
Keep awake to what really matters. In this case it’s children — not bedroom walls.
After the lecture, Randy’s only plan was to spend his remaining days with his family. But a video of his talk began to spread like a virus across the Web. Randy was soon receiving emails from people around the world, telling him that his lecture had inspired them to spend more time with loved ones, quit pitying themselves, and even resist suicidal urges. Terminally ill people were inspired to embrace their own goodbyes, and have fun with every day they had left.
His last lecture really woke people up.
Then Randy gave part of his talk on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and ABC News named him one of its three “Persons of the Year.” People urged him to write a book, which he resisted at first, since he wanted to spend time with his family. But since he needed to exercise, and had to be alone as he rode his bike, he began to use his daily rides as a time to reflect on his lecture, his life, and his dreams for his family.
And so, for an hour each day, he would talk to columnist Zaslow through a cell-phone headset, and over the course of 53 long bike rides he shared the insights that became the book called The Last Lecture.
Keep awake. That’s what Randy Pausch says to us, and what Jesus says as well.
The 13th chapter of Mark contains The Last Lecture of Jesus Christ, given to the disciples during Holy Week — the last week of Jesus’ life. Jesus challenges them to keep awake for his Second Coming, an earth-shaking event which will occur at an undetermined time after his death, resurrection, and ascension. He promises that he will return as the Son of Man, coming in clouds with “great power and glory” to collect his people from the ends of the earth, and bring them into his kingdom (Mark 13:26-27). The danger is that the disciples will miss what really matters, distracted by the many assorted demands and details of day-to-day life. So Jesus says to them, “Keep awake” (v. 37).
posted by Henry Brinton | 10:22 AM
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