| "Winning While Losing" Sermon Preached By Rev. Richard E. Stetler - March 16, 2003 Psalm 22:23-31; Mark 8:31-37
We Americans are conditioned
to enjoy competition. In collegiate basketball, for example, sports
enthusiasts are in a period of time called March Madness.
Teams play in their respective tournaments and then embark on a
national path to the Sweet Sixteen and eventually they arrive
at the Final Four. Last year the University of Maryland won
the NCAA Championship to the jubilation of Terrapin fans everywhere.
When it comes to competition
we may believe that most of us are on the sidelines as observers,
but this is not so. Life is filled with competitive moments. Last
week I was driving to Trinity United Methodist Church in Frederick
with the chair of our Conference Trustees. The 10:00 a.m. meeting
put us on the beltway during the final death throes of the
morning rush hour. As we arrived at the juncture where Rt. 95 merges
with Rt. 495 the traffic came to a standstill. Several cars sped past us on
the right shoulder. Drivers up ahead who saw them coming pulled
onto the shoulder to prevent their forward movement. Both of us
listened to the symphony of horns being sounded by angry drivers.
The communication was, "Look, if we have to sit here, we all
have to sit here." We can become upset with morning traffic
patterns or we can enjoy watching children play with their $27,000
toys. Competition is well ensconced
in the majority of us. If someone offends us, we often use body
language that says, "I have been hurt and I want an apology." If a
Member of Congress makes an offensive comment about the power of the
Jewish Lobby in America, commentators not only go on the offensive
but critics begin asking him to step down. Lawyers try to win cases.
Doctors try to beat the odds of prolonged illness or death in their
patients with medications or surgical procedures. Teachers try
various techniques to get disinterested students to develop an
enthusiasm for learning. It appears that we cannot escape the
climate that inspires us to compete for victory. In our lesson this morning
Jesus placed before his listeners an entirely different point of
view. He told his disciples that he was going to suffer much and be
rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the
Law. He said that while he would be killed, he would return to life
after three days. Peter spoke to Jesus privately
and in essence said, "Why are you saying these things? What are you
thinking? We have everyone where we want them! Everything is coming
together. You are the Messiah. We have victory within our
grasp. All you have to do is lead us!" Jesus became publicly critical of
Peter's words and shared his wisdom with his disciples about competition
and winning. Here are the words that may appear foreign to us, "If any
of you wish to come with me, you must forget yourselves. If you want to
save your own life, you will lose it; but if you decide to lose your
life for the truth, you will save it. What have you gained if you win
everything in the world, but lose your identity, your understanding and
your relationship with God?" We want to ignore this arena of Jesus'
teachings. This kind of thinking goes against everything we have been
taught. We know that, "Evil will only triumph if good people sit back
and do nothing." In fact, this was the basis of Peter's argument.
Jesus’ message was very powerful. Thousands of people were listening.
This was not the time for Jesus to be talking about his death. Jesus' message was designed
to teach humanity a lesson while losing to the rules we humans generally
use to make our judgments. As we watch Jesus deliberately place
himself in harm’s way, we are astounded by how that small mustard
seed grew into an extremely large shrub where numerous civilizations
built their nests in its branches. When we make a decision to
risk for the sake of love, we bring into motion all kinds of invisible
forces that were not a sure thing when we made our choice. This is
what faith looks like. This is what it means to allow God to create
through us. In 452 C.E., during the reign of
the Roman Emperor Honorious, gladiatorial combat was in great demand
among spectators in the Coliseum. These very popular games pitted
warriors against wild beasts as well as each other. A Syrian monk named Telemachus
regularly spoke out against the games. He would proclaim his opposition
to anyone who would listen, "How can you find joy in the sport of
watching people kill each other or be torn to pieces by wild animals?"
Everyone knew that he was a harmless old fool and only a few paid
attention to him. After all, what did he know? One day Telemachus left the
spectator stands and leaped onto the floor of the arena and verbalized
his protest to the assembled throng. Once again he cried out, "These
games are not right. In your hearts you know that this is true. I
implore you -- do not support these games with your presence! They must
stop!" Because he had interfered, those
in charge of the games gave the order for the gladiators to kill this
unarmed, pathetic inconvenience. Telemachus was pierced by numerous
spears thrust at him by the gladiators. He fell bleeding to the ground.
This was his last performance. The crowd grew quiet. This
personality who was known to everyone was clearly the loser, yet his
words held a mirror in front of those assembled. A small flame was
rekindled in the nearly burned out consciousness of people he loved. In
a matter of months, gladiatorial combat came to an end forever. The next
time you visit the Coliseum in Rome, remember Telemachus.
Who could have known this would
happen? There was absolutely no evidence that such a result would
occur. When one person stands forth for the sake of love's vision
-- the unseen power of God moves the universe in directions humanity
could never have anticipated. It takes one person to stand up
and say, "This is not who we are!" Illustrations of Jesus' model
are everywhere in the pages of history. In the eyes of the Church,
Martin Luther was a loser. He was branded by the Church as a heretic.
When the Anglican church of England began to desensitize the faithful
with doctrines, dogma and meaningless rituals, John Wesley stood forth.
He was a loser and his critics labeled him a methodist. Rosa Lee
Parks was a loser, but she made a statement about human rights that was
heard coast to coast when she refused to move to the back of the bus.
She changed American culture forever. Such people lived and died
without understanding the full impact their lives would have on
fashioning the future. We cannot begin to imagine the influence we have
until we risk loss for the sake of love's truth. If we hide or remain
afraid, so much can be lost. Do we have the courage to
stand with the losers so that humanity might be the winners? It
certainly will not hurt any of us to listen again to Jesus' words.
There can be enormous consequences when we think, "Who am I that I could
influence anyone? What can I do; I am just one person?" When we think
like this, major opportunities can be missed. As angels in the flesh,
our mission statement of changing the future can become lost. One of the greatest disasters in
history took place in 1271 C.E. This was the year when Niccolo and
Matteo Polo visited Kubla Khan. Emperor Khan was considered the
sovereign authority over China, India and all the territories to the
East. He was most intrigued and touched by the life and teachings of
Jesus. After careful consideration, Kubla Khan said to the Polos, You must go to your high priest
and tell him on my behalf to send me one hundred men skilled in your
religion and I shall be baptized, and when I am baptized, all my barons
and great men will be baptized and their subjects will be baptized.
When this is done there will be more Christians here than there are in
the rest of the world. The tragedy was that nothing was
done to honor the emperor's request. During the next thirty years, only
a small group of missionaries was sent. The Church apparently did not
have a vision of how the world might look in the future if Christ had
been presented to the people of thirteenth-century China, India and the
East. And yes, Niccolo and Matteo were the parents of Marco Polo.
Jesus had a vision. He stood
forth alone with his vision when no one agreed with him. When he made
his decision, the invisible currents of thinking and history began to
move. How about us? Are we expending our energy to meet our needs of
the moment or do we live our lives with an eye on tomorrow's world?
Today each of us must behave and
think the way we want the world's people to behave and think in the
future. We never know who is watching. All the world's leaders were
once children who were not known, not privileged and not powerful.
Someone influenced them. Someone planted a seed. In our world we cannot afford for any of us to let any opportunity pass to make a difference in someone's life. As angels in the flesh, this is our task. This is who we are. If the future is to change, it will change because of what we do today. Are we prepared "to lose" so that the world's people might win? THE CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
What peace comes to us, O God, when we truly
understand that you love us just as we are. We are much like sheep in
your pasture, students who have come to the Master carpenter to learn
how to build a life. We thank you for inspiration. We thank you for
giving us the ability to refine our thoughts. We thank you for horizons
toward which to walk. Spare us from developing beliefs that produce
satisfaction with whom we have become. Inspire us to remember that each
day is a gift, each relationship holds the keys for personal growth and
each unpleasant challenge can become a moment we allow our love to
show. Use us for channels for your peace. We pray these thoughts
through the spirit of Jesus. Amen THE PASTORAL PRAYER
Ever faithful and loving God, when we pause
to recognize how our lives are filled with the beautiful treasures of
peace, joy, hope, thanksgiving, admiration, and generosity, how easy it
is to express the light that you have placed within us.
Yet we confess, at the moment,
that your treasure trove of gifts is surrounded by clouds that prevent
the clarity of our vision. We cannot travel anywhere, listen to,
watch or read about the news without experiencing words and ideas that
disturb and preoccupy us. There was a day when information was not so
readily available, but the world has grown much smaller. Fear and
uncertainty stalk humanity as never before. Inner peace is a
challenge to grasp and hold on to.
Inspire us, O God, during these days of Lent
to live peacefully, to express peace and to bring peace into every
relationship. We do have the power to let our faith show. We do have
the ability to represent what your Kingdom looks like even though it is
not yet here for so many others. Allow your presence to be felt by
everyone from world leaders to those in the trenches. Breathe peace
into all our lives so that we might choose wisely who we are when faced
with terror. We pray these thoughts through the spirit of Jesus, who
taught us to say when we pray . . . |