In early 2002, there was a small news item that slipped past most people without causing much commentary or concern.  But you can be sure that all of the dogs of the world immediately sat up and began to whine. 

The headline: “Scientists Clone ‘Carbon Copy’ Cat.”  

I’m not kidding about this.  Scientists in Texas cloned a female calico kitten named "Cc:" – short for “Copycat” – an animal believed to be the first pet ever successfully cloned.  She came out of the “Missyplicity Project,” a multimillion-dollar scientific enterprise that had been attempting to clone a dog named Missy for her wealthy owners.  

The cloning of canines wasn’t working at the time, so Copycat jumped out to an early lead.  The score became Cats – 1, Dogs – 0.  The researchers on the Missyplicity Project hoped that the cloning of pets would become a popular procedure.  

As far as the dogs of the world, including my dog Ginger … well, they simply wanted to catch the cats.

  The cloning of Copycat actually began back in 1997, when a rich man named John Sperling read a newspaper account of a gene that was responsible for dramatically extending the lifespan of worms.  The article speculated that this worm gene could also be found in humans, and Sperling -- who was then 77 years old -- wanted to discover more.  So, with a pile of money at his disposal, he hired his cardiologist to dig into the science of longevity.

  Sperling became the driving force behind the Missyplicity Project, which tried to clone his dog and ended up with Copycat.  He has since moved on to researching, developing, and selling the new science of longevity.  One of his companies focuses on “optimal health,” and another works in the fields of stem cells, cloning, and what has become known as "regenerative medicine."  John Sperling wants people to live forever, says Wired Magazine, and he's promising $3 billion to make it so.  (Brian Alexander, "John Sperling Wants You to Live Forever," Wired Magazine, February 2004, http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.02/immortal.html)  

So what are we to make of worm genes, cloned cats and the science of longevity?  Truth be told, we all feel the lure of longevity, and virtually every one of us would like to live a long and happy life with optimal mental and physical health.  I know I would.  But our Christian faith teaches us that we are not going to live on this earth forever, and, in fact, most of our existence will be experienced in eternity.  A challenge for each of us is to focus less on long life, and more on eternal life.  

The apostle Paul gives us an excellent example in his second letter to Timothy.  “As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation,” writes Paul, “and the time of my departure has come” (2 Timothy 4:6).  Paul looks to the end of life without fear or panic, and he sees his death as a kind of a priestly sacrifice – “a libation,” a drink offering.  For him, death is not a horrible, senseless tragedy that is to be avoided at all costs, one that should be delayed if possible through expensive regenerative medicine.  Instead, death is the final offering of a life that has been devoted completely to God.  

Paul takes much the same approach that Martin Luther King, Jr. did on the night before his own death.  “Well, I don't know what will happen now,” King said to a crowd in Memphis on April 3, 1968.  “We've got some difficult days ahead.  But it really doesn't matter with me now.  Because I've been to the mountaintop.  And I don't mind.  Like anybody, I would like to live a long life.  Longevity has its place.  But I'm not concerned about that now.  I just want to do God's will.  And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain.  And I've looked over.  And I've seen the promised land.” (Martin Luther King, Jr., "I've Been to the Mountaintop," April 3, 1968, www.drmartinlutherkingjr.com/promised.htm)  

King knew that longevity had its place, but he was not concerned about long life in April of 1968.  Like the apostle Paul, King could say with all sincerity, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day” (vv. 7-8).  

Both the apostle Paul and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been to the mountaintop and seen the promised land.  As a result of their vision, they were focused more on eternal life than on long life, more on following the Lord than on finding a fountain of youth.  All that they really wanted was to do God’s will.  

And that, in the end, was quite enough.  

Life, you see, is all about quality … not quantity.  Longevity has its place, but long life can be really quite tedious and meaningless if it is not marked by good fights, challenging races, and faithful struggles.  Better to do God’s will and end up being “poured out as a libation” than do nothing of significance and end up feeling like a stagnant pool of water.  Better to put your focus on “the crown of righteousness” than on therapeutic cloning technology.  Better to see your life today as a preparation for eternal life, not as an existence that should be endlessly preserved through the most innovative and expensive tools of modern science.  

The truth of the matter is that we’re all going to die, whether it’s at age 50, 70, 90 or 110.  No worm genes or cloned cats can alter that fundamental fact.  So the question for us is not, “Will we die?”  That’s already been decided.  Instead, the question is, “How will we die?”  Or, more to the point, “How will we live in such a way that we are ready for eternal life?”  

Paul’s advice is to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith.  This means supporting worthy causes as Jesus did, remembering that he not only cared for hurting individuals, but also shattered the cultural conventions of his day and turned his society upside down.  Jesus consistently reached out to the least and the lost, and he worked tirelessly to help those persons who were ignored or rejected or abused by the power people of his day.   

To fight the good fight today could mean writing a letter to the editor about the war in Iraq, or working quietly in the community for affordable housing.  It might mean mentoring a young person through our Jail Ministry, or making a contribution to the medical supplies being delivered to Honduras by our Midlife Men on a Mission.  That’s a mission trip that is so exciting to me, personally; one that I am really looking forward to participating in at the end of October.  To fight the good fight could mean providing financial support for AIDS relief in Africa through the 25:40 organization, or volunteering your time to help the homeless at the Lamb Center in Fairfax Circle.  In all these ways, we grow inwardly as we look outwardly – we prepare for eternity by addressing the most pressing issues of our time today.  

The apostle Paul also challenges us to finish the race, and for people near the end of life this involves the spiritual discipline of “letting go.”  On one level, this means letting go of an attachment to medical miracles -- making the decision not to rely on heroic measures, experimental therapies, or resuscitation efforts in every medical crisis.   

But on another level, letting go means releasing our grip on money and power and control.  One of the most faithful actions that the members of the older generation can perform is to share what they have with the younger generation.  Within the life of our church, this can include giving a generous gift to a youth mission project, turning decision-making power over to a younger person, or relinquishing control over the music and worship programs of the church.  When people near the end of life let go of these attachments, they are making the statement that they trust God even more than they trust themselves – they trust God to take care of them and all the generations that follow.  “Letting go” is a major spiritual challenge, for the older generation in every congregation.  It’s one that we are facing here at FPC as we look to our church’s 50th anniversary … and beyond.

  Paul also implores us to keep the faith, which means relying on Jesus as we run the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on the “crown of righteousness” that will be ours in everlasting life.  It is so important for us to realize that this race will eventually end, despite all the advances that are made in the science of longevity, and when we exit this life and encounter our righteous judge at the finish line we will want to be prepared.  Keeping the faith is the key, according to Paul – trusting our Lord Jesus to be with us through every good fight, through every tough race, through every illness, tragedy, conflict and crisis.  Paul himself tells the story of how he was abandoned by others in a time of need, but “the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it” (v. 17).  

In the end, we are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  Eternal life in the kingdom of God is reached not through human achievements or modern medical miracles, but instead through keeping the faith.  The Lord will rescue us, just as he rescued Paul, and save us for his heavenly kingdom (v. 18).  

That’s a future that no science project can provide.  It has nothing to do with worm genes or cat clones or experiments on human longevity, and everything to do with following Jesus Christ.  

In the end, it’s Christ -- not a Copycat -- who leads us to eternal life.  Amen.           

 

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