Community
Church Sermons
The Fifth Sunday in
Lent – March 28, 2004
“Losing To Win”
Rev. Margaret Manning
Good Morning! What an awesome privilege and honor it is for my husband Sonny and me to be able to worship with you all this morning. These past several months have presented many wonderful opportunities, new relationships, and what we believe will be a wonderful, new church home. And speaking of new church homes, I have already been initiated into the mysterious, and apocryphal collections of stories and jokes that circulate around here about your beloved pastoral team. In fact, I heard that Marty recently took up skydiving. They took him up to 10,000 feet and told him to wait three seconds after he jumped to pull the ripcord. So Marty jumped. One - two - three...he pulled the ripcord. Nothing happened. Thankfully, there was an emergency chute. Marty pulled on that ripcord.
Again, nothing.
So there he was, hurtling earthward at terminal velocity, figuring he was a goner.
Well, as he passed through 5,000 feet, Marty noticed a little speck below that kept getting bigger and bigger. As he hurtled downwards at nearly 200 miles an hour, he realized that the speck was actually an object flying UPWARDS at about the same speed. Then Marty noticed that the object was not just any object. It was Bob Puckett!!!
So there was Marty, shooting downward at 200 miles an hour, and there was Puckett, shooting upwards at 200 miles an hour. And as they approached each other in mid-air, Marty yelled over at Puckett, "Bob, do you know anything about parachutes????"
And as they passed in mid-air, Puckett yelled back, "No!...do you know anything about....GAS STOVES???"
Let us pray…
As people, we love to win. Losing at anything is never our goal or aim. If it was, well first of all people would think we’re crazy and second, we’d never have the Michael Jordan’s of the world, we’d never have the New England Patriots, no Serena Williams, no Lady Vols basketball team – you get the point. Winning has become one of life’s chief virtues – in fact, winning has become so important that folks will do anything to win, including, as we’ve heard in the news of late, taking performance enhancing drugs of all varieties. And this very sad development in professional sports further illustrates that one’s personal self-aggrandizement – one’s own elevation to the status of ‘winner’ is the priority over the team winning. I’m sure Jason Giambi wants to play for a ‘winning’ team, for example, but being a ‘winner’ and being esteemed for his own supposed accomplishments is much more important than the overall team goals, which is why he’s willing to risk his team status, in order to bolster his own performance through using illegal drugs. Perhaps athletes understand that in our society, winning is everything – winners are the heroes. Losing is, well, for losers, right?
Not only do we love to win, but also we order our lives to win, or we order our lives so that at least we’ll have the appearance of a winner. I may not be able to play basketball like Michael Jordan, or tennis like Serena Williams, but I can look good wearing Nike clothes and shoes, right? We buy the right stuff, we get the right jobs, we study the right subjects in college, we lie, we cheat, we steal so that we can win – win at making money, win at a successful career – win at looking good - win at forging strategic relationships - the list goes on and on. As human beings, we love to win, and we order our lives to win or at least to look like winners.
It’s no surprise, really that we’re like this. Winners are everywhere – paraded in front of us in the media, in our businesses, at our PTA meetings and in our churches – yes, even the church has it’s winners and it’s superstars – pastors of super-sized churches, with super-sized facilities budgets, and programs. Rarely, do we see or hear stories about those who have sacrificed themselves in some way, made it the priority of their lives to help others win and thereby “lose” by the world’s standards. If we do, they are the exceptions, the extraordinary ones.
It didn’t make the front page, for example, when Esther Kim gave up her chance for Olympic Gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was a vital member of the US women’s Tae-Kwon-Do team and a likely winner of the gold medal. Instead, she cheered her beloved friend and teammate, Kay Poe from the sidelines. It could have been so different. When the moment came for Kim to fight an injured Poe for a US Tae-Kwon-Do berth at the Games, Kim forfeited the match and gave away the chance both women had dreamed about. You see, Kay Poe injured her knee in a semi-final match – Esther Kim would have had an easy victory. She could have been a winner! But, instead of taking advantage of her friend’s weakness, she bowed out of the match and made Kay the winner. She chose losing so that her friend could win. But, this story is the exception, isn’t it? These are not the stories our media puts before us – rarely, do we see or hear about those who willingly sacrifice, who lose their lives so that others might win.
Well, the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree, as they say, because we see the same desire to win in our gospel passage we heard read today. The disciples, as Mark presents them in his gospel, wanted to win, and they wanted a ‘winning Messiah.’ Of course, by their definition, the Messiah could only ‘win.’ By his very nature and pedigree, he was a winner! You see, a Jew of that period was looking for the ‘son of David’ – King David, the mighty king who ruled Israel during its greatest historical period. The Messiah would come from David’s line and would come in, clean house, take over, and send the Roman government packing. The disciples wanted Jesus to win so that they could sit on his right and his left in the glory of his newly established, earthly kingdom – they even had debates and arguments over which one of them would be the greatest in Jesus’ soon-to-be kingdom!
In addition, a Jew of this period was also looking for the prophet Elijah who ‘cleaned house’ in Israel during the days of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel and ‘won’ over the prophets of Baal. We can see this desire as well, when Jesus point blank asks his disciples ‘who do people say that I am?’ The disciples answered, that some said, ‘Elijah’ the great prophet. Again, the ultra-religious among Jesus’ disciples, and the Pharisees or those trained by Pharisaical teaching, would be looking for their winner to defeat the forces of sin – just like Elijah did with the prophets of Baal. They were looking for a Messiah who would only establish his kingdom once all those vile sinners were cast out and defeated.
Now, the disciples were not the only ones who were expecting
Jesus to be a winner. The gospels make it very clear that as a result of all of
Jesus’ miracles and healings, the people following him thought this as
well. They wanted a winner and shared
the same expectations for a second Elijah, or a second King David like our
disciples. In fact, in John’s gospel,
after Jesus feeds the 5,000 he withdraws and goes away because the people were
intending to come and take Him by force to make him king. The disciples wanted a winner. The people wanted a winner – so much so
that they planned to force him into a revolution against Rome to become their
winning King.
Curiously, however, Jesus doesn’t act like the winner the disciples and the people wanted. Curious, isn’t it, that on several occasions Jesus tells those he’s healed not to tell anyone about him – or to tell anyone who he is. Not the ‘typical’ response of a winner, is it? Jesus doesn’t hold a victory celebration after he feeds the 5,000 – Luke tells us, in his gospel account, that after this miracle, Jesus went off to pray alone; he doesn’t shout about his greatness from the rooftops – he does the exact opposite! He tells the people and the disciples to ‘be quiet’ and not to tell anyone who he is.
Now Mark understands that Jesus knows the Messianic expectations surrounding him. Jesus, remember, was in the synagogue from an early age, asking questions of and dialoguing with the religious teachers and scholars of his day. He understood that the Messiah would complete and fulfill the work of both Elijah and King David. He knew the Messiah had to win; had to be a winner. This is why, I believe, Mark’s gospel pays particular attention to Jesus’ curious behavior regarding his identity. In chapter 1:34, for example, after Jesus exorcises demons, Mark tells us that, “Jesus was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.” He orders the deaf and dumb man in Mark 7:36 not to tell anyone about him. And he commands the blind man he heals in the passage preceding ours – Mark chapter 8 and verse 26 – not to even enter his village but to go to his home directly. What is going on here Jesus? Don’t you want to win? Don’t you want to be a winner? Where is your victory celebration, shouting your win from the rooftops?
If all of this isn't enough, right in our own passage, in verse 30, right after Peter correctly declares Jesus to be the Christ, the Messiah, he tells them to be quiet and warns them to tell no one about him.
Well, if you’re like me and you stumble across this passage with all the cultural and historical notions of winning in the forefront of your mind, you’d be asking what I believe is the most important question - why doesn't Jesus act like a winner? Why wouldn't Jesus want the people to know who he was? Jesus doesn't act like a winner because he knows the kind of winner the people expect and want. They want a winner; a person who has ordered his life to win. The people want a victor, the king, the Mighty One who will overthrow the Roman government. They want a political hero, untouched by defeat. They want a spiritual hero who will rid the kingdom of sin and sinful people.
But here, in our passage, we see that as soon as Peter has declared Jesus to be the Christ, Jesus first tells the disciples to tell no one, and then he tells them that he's going to suffer and be rejected by everyone - killed in fact. Mark makes the point to tell us in verse 32 that Jesus stated this to them very plainly - matter of fact, no big deal. You know why; because losing is the job description for the Messiah, not victory. Suffering is the job description for the Messiah, not comfort. In fact, crucifixion is the job description for the Messiah, and not coronation, as the people wanted. Jesus had to suffer - he couldn't be the Messiah without suffering. Isaiah 53 gives the job description of the Messiah as one who “will be like a lamb led to the slaughter…he would be smitten, stricken, pierced through, crushed and chastened for our iniquities." This is not the usual way to look at a winner is it? We are used to seeing winners as the victors, not as defeated, suffering servants.
Now, of course, you and I know the end of the story because we live after the resurrection. And we march towards that victory now during the season of Lent, in preparation for Easter Sunday! We know the end of the story that death cannot hold our Lord; Jesus will rise again on the third day! We know that Jesus won the ultimate victory - he won our peace with God, he won the victory over sin and death, and He won in ushering in his kingdom, the eternal kingdom of God. We know that at the end of time as we know it, according to the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:10-11 that “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God!” But, the path to that victory was losing, not winning as we think of it - as the disciples and the crowds thought of it. They wanted someone who ordered his life to win, not someone who ordered his life so that others could win. They wanted the triumphal entry of Palm Sunday to go on and on - to be the final word. But, Jesus knew that the Garden of Gethsemane, the beatings, the rejection from those he loved most, and the cross were his Triumphal entry. Jesus knew that the path to exaltation, to victory, to winning, meant being obedient to death, even death on the cross.
Jesus clearly understood the path to winning – to being a winner. He understood it for himself, and he states it clearly for his followers. Jesus calls the multitudes around him with his disciples and he spells it out for them. If they want to follow him, their Victorious Messiah, then they must "deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him." Can you imagine how shocked the disciples and the crowds were when they heard this one! Whoa, Jesus - that's not my typical definition of a winner. This sounds like a whole lot of losing to me. This is why Peter rebukes Jesus. He cannot fathom the notion of a suffering Messiah, a Messiah who loses. This is a contradiction in terms. He’s expecting David or Elijah, right? He has a human perspective on what his "winning" Savior should do and be. But, Jesus understands the spirit behind Peter's rebuke calls him by name. "Get behind me Satan!" Of course, Satan is tempting Jesus by trying to confuse his understanding of his own Messianic destiny. The Messiah cannot go to the cross; the Messiah must win! Jesus exhorts Peter, by reminding him that he is not putting his mind on God’s interests, but on human interests – human notions of winning! To Peter, Jesus looks like he's losing - he loses his life after all. But he loses in order that the disciples, the crowds, and you and me might win. Giving up his life was the way we would gain our lives.
Now, here's the rub. What is true for the master is no different for the servant. You and I must lose in order to win. We must be losers for Jesus' sake. We must lose our lives, so that others might win, like Esther did for Kay so that she could go for the gold at the Olympics. Just like we sang in our hymn, “I Am Thine, O Lord” –
“Draw
me nearer, nearer blessed Lord to the Cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
to thy precious, bleeding side.”
Losing seems so foolish even to those of us in the church, because it means not ordering our lives to win. Losing is foolishness to the church because we too have bought into worldly notions of winning. This is why this passage is so convicting, and it makes us so uncomfortable. We want to win just as badly as everyone else, don’t we? We don't want to lose, do we?
But the way to win, according to Jesus, is to lose our lives for His sake - giving ourselves totally over to him, and letting him use our lives so that others will win. He tells us that it profits a person nothing to gain the whole world and yet lose his/her soul. He tells us that in order to save our lives, we must lose them.
"What does this look like in real life? Well, I've learned that you all have recently experienced a true-life story of losing to win right here in Loudon County. On March 12th, 24-year old Sheriff's Deputy Jason Scott gave his life while responding to a local family's need for help... public servants understand that their job entails risk – risk and service that may ultimately demand them to risk their lives to serve and protect others. Their willingness to risk their lives for others makes a community, a community...they lose so others may win. But that's not the end of the story. I heard that Jason's family asked the community to pray for the family of the troubled young man who shot Jason. Instead of holing herself up in shock and anger, Jason’s wife Joni and her grieving family did an amazing thing. In the midst of terrible grief and pain, they publicly asked the community to pray for the Harvey family whose son Michael had committed the crime. They reminded us that the Harvey's had experienced a tragedy too in the loss of their troubled son. That's losing so others can win. Losing so others may be lifted up. But there's more to the story, too. The parents of the boy who shot the officer asked their pastor not to gloss over what Michael had done. In the hopes of helping others, they felt that other young people needed to hear about the terrible consequences of their own son's poor decisions. Not only that, but the Harvey's asked their family and friends to not send flowers or anything, but to make memorial contributions to the fund that has been set up for Officer Scott's little girl. Losing so others may win. And finally, the whole community - including many from this church - have given to that fund. Losing, in a sense, so that a little girl might win even in the midst of tragedy. Losing so others can be helped.
Whenever we experience
stories like this, our hearts are deeply stirred, almost as if we are being
brought into the presence of God's own redemptive love. And we are. It is the
same miracle we see here in Lent as Jesus goes to the cross and loses his life
for others. And now he calls us to do the same.
Jesus asks us to give our lives. Deny ourselves, take up our cross (the instrument of death, remember?) and follow Him. Follow him where? Follow him to death, and through that death to true life. Why? So that others may win. We give our lives, our time, our talents and money, so that others might win! For each of us this ‘losing’ will look different, and I cannot tell you what Christ will ask of you, but the call to ‘lose’ our lives for Christ’s sake is the same for everyone who calls Jesus, Lord.
Foolishness, isn't it? Or is it? Want to be a winner? Give your life away. Lose, so that others may win. Lose, for Jesus' sake. Amen.