Proper 25

If you died tomorrow, how hard would it be for your loved ones to sort through your belongings? I stole that question from Ashley Hamer, a science writer and podcaster, in an article she wrote about the practice of Swedish death cleaning. Have you heard about this? It sounds morbid, but it’s actually a good idea. Swedish death cleaning is the practice of going through your possessions every few years and getting rid of the things you no longer need or no longer feel connected to. This isn’t a new fad for senior citizens; it’s for people of all ages who want to live a simpler lifestyle. It’s a way to live with less “stuff” in the present and to make things easier for your loved ones when you actually do die.

Of course, you never know exactly when you’re going to die. Unless you’re Mark Twain. Did you know that one of our nation’s most famous writers predicted his own death? According to a biography of Twain, in 1909 he was quoted as saying, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: ‘Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.’”

On April 21, 1910, 24 hours after Halley’s Comet was visible in the night sky, Mark Twain died of a heart attack.

Did Twain do anything differently in his final year of life? Did he write something brilliant? Contact all his loved ones? Do a Swedish death cleaning? I don’t know if he did anything differently, or if he just waited to die. We all think that we would use our time wisely under those circumstances.

In Deuteronomy 32, two chapters before this morning’s Old Testament reading, God warned Moses that he would die soon. In fact, he gave Moses exact instructions on how it should happen. Now put yourself in Moses’ shoes. How would you respond if God told you today when and where you would die? Moses responds by declaring a final blessing over the Israelites, a blessing that begins and ends with affirmations of God’s goodness. And then Moses does exactly as God has commanded him.

A few years ago, a team of scientists in Canada accidentally witnessed what happens in the brain at the moment of death. And it took them completely by surprise. They were running a test to measure the brainwaves of an 87-year-old man who had developed epilepsy. But in the middle of the test, the man suffered a sudden heart attack and died.

Strangely, their neurological tests showed that “in the 30 seconds before and after (the heart attack), the man’s brainwaves followed the same patterns as dreaming or recalling memories.” The scientists theorize that in the moments just before and immediately after his death, he may have been processing memories of his life.

Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, one of the scientists who participated in the neurological test, said, “This could possibly be a last recall of memories that we’ve experienced in life, and they replay through our brain in the last seconds before we die.”

What if it’s true that your life really does “flash before your eyes” as you’re facing death? If so, I wonder what thoughts replayed through Moses’ mind in those last few moments with God on Mount Nebo.

There are so many aspects of Moses’ life that can only be explained by the grace and mercy of God. He was born under an edict by the Egyptian Pharaoh that every male Hebrew baby should be put to death. He not only survived, he went on to grow up in Pharaoh’s household. From there, Moses was a murderer, a wanderer, a shepherd, a prophet of God, and a leader of the nation of Israel. His life was never easy. Yet Moses believed with all his being in the goodness of God. He could never doubt that God had been with him, guiding him with grace and mercy from the cradle to the grave.

Psychologist Dan McAdams led a study at Northwestern University that analyzed how people over the age of 70 tell their life stories. McAdams found that the life stories tended to follow one of two patterns: a contamination sequence or a redemption sequence. In the contamination sequence, the person looks back at their life and sees a challenge or heartbreak or failure with no redeeming qualities. It represents a loss in their lives. An example: I lost my job, and it took me a couple of years to get over the loss.

In the redemption sequence, the person looks back at their life and finds good things—new opportunities, new wisdom, a fresh start—that came out of their challenges, heartbreaks or failures. An example: I lost my job, and it forced me to take stock of my life. I decided to try a new career path, and I’m a lot happier now.

McAdams and his colleagues found that those people who had the most redemption sequences in their life stories were also the most generative in their lives. They had a desire to reach out and help others. They wanted to invest in creating a better future for the next generation. But the people who listed the most contamination sequences in their life story were much less generative. They were less likely to concentrate on creating a meaningful legacy for their lives.

Here’s the thing: two people can live very similar lives, enduring similar challenges and heartbreaks. One person looks back at their life as a series of hardships and injustices. The other person looks back at their life as a series of blessings. What makes the difference? The ability to see God with us every step of the way.

The second thing I think Moses saw when he looked back at his life was that God had given him the strength to accomplish far greater things than he could have imagined.As Moses stands on Mount Nebo and looks over the Promised Land he will never get to enter, we read in verse 7: “Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.” What a blessing! But it wasn’t physical strength that made Moses into a great leader. It was God’s power working through him that equipped him to lead the people of Israel out of slavery and through the wilderness toward the Promised Land. God strengthened Moses with courage, wisdom and determination to lead a nation to freedom.

People who commit themselves to following God will tell you that God always provides the strength to accomplish far greater things than they could have imagined. God wants to accomplish His promises through us.

And finally, when Moses looked down on the Promised Land he would never enter, I think he saw that God’s work would continue, and God’s promises would be fulfilled.God is faithful to His promises. God is faithful to His people. The God who called Moses when he was a solitary shepherd in the wilderness, the God who revealed His name and His goodness to Moses, the God who led the Israelites through the desert—this God would take His people into the Promised Land. Moses’ faith had not been in vain. His labor had not been in vain.

When Moses looked down on the Promised Land, I don’t think he saw an unfinished work. I think he knew that he played a vital role in God’s story of redemption. And now, God would finish the story that Moses began.

There is an old story about a godly man who was facing his impending death.

A friend asked, “Do you fear crossing over the river of death?”

Without hesitation, the old man replied, “I belong to a Father who owns the land on both sides of the river.”

I believe Moses faced his death with peace, even joy, because he belonged to a Father who owns land on both sides of the river. He never got to settle in Canaan because God had prepared a home for him in God’s Kingdom.

We can take assurance from Moses’ life. If we commit our lives to God, if we walk in God’s will and by God’s Spirit, we will discover that God is with us every step of the way. God will give us the strength to accomplish far greater things than we could have imagined. God’s promises will be fulfilled, in us and through us. And when we look back at our life, we will see the goodness of God from beginning to end.