Gaining by losing The Rev. Dan Rondeau
Zechariah 12:8-10;13:1 | Psalm 63:1-8 | Galatians 3:23-29 | Luke 9:18-24
My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast. Psalm 63:8 Growing up I heard a lot of stories about saints. The stories of martyrs always held my attention. Hollywood helped, too. One of my all time favorites is A Man for All Seasons, about Sir Thomas Moore (remember I was Roman Catholic when that movie came out in 1966). Sir Thomas gained everything by losing everything. That movie can still bring tears. I have been ordained 29 years and every time I am called upon to celebrate the feast day of a martyr the question is the same: "Daniel, do you have this kind of faith? Do you live your faith so that if you were asked you could summon the courage to die for it?" Then there is today's text, which appears every year, and usually more than once: "If any want to become my followers, [Jesus says] let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9:23-24) After acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah of God, Peter is told to keep it quiet; and rather than praise, Peter and the others are given this warning. When Jesus speaks like this, I wonder anew, do I have this kind of faith? I hope I never have to find out. Meanwhile I am encouraged to pursue this kind of faith, by continually hearing these words of Christ. I am encouraged to pursue this kind of faith today not by stories of First Century saints dying in the Coliseum but by stories of men and women like you and me: stories from the last five years, a story from this very year, 2004. Faith and grace as a response to violence has a way of grabbing the heart and changing the depth of faith within us. To witness the faith of men and women who could easily be our neighbor or brother or sister has a way of inspiring the faith within us. On April 19, 1999 a 17-year-old girl, Cassie Bernal was asked, "Do you believe in God." We will never know what went through her mind in the moments before she answered aloud "Yes, I believe in God." As soon as she answered she was killed, one of the 15 victims at Columbine High School.1 Another story revealing the faith asked by Jesus has become part of all of us since September 11, 2001. It was faith, it was trust in the Lord, it was personal courage that got 32 year old Todd Beamer rolling with his fellow passengers that September morning on United Flight 93. Hoping for the best, courageous in the event the worst should happen, Todd led the others in an effort to regain control of the airplane, or crash it far short of its goal, if necessary. As you may remember he prayed the Lord's Prayer and Psalm 23 as he made his decisions and led the others.2 And the final example reveals the faith of an American woman, a Californian from Bakersfield, who died only 3 months ago. A Baptist working with a team from the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, she wrote a letter and gave it to her pastor before she left for Iraq. She instructed him to open it only in the event of her death. When 38-year-old Karen Watson was killed with 4 other workers in an ambush, her pastor opened the letter. Is it possible to have the kind of faith Jesus called for? What would that faith look like and sound like in 2004? Karen Watson speaks eloquently in her words and in her life: Dear Pastor Phil and Pastor Roger: You should only be opening this letter in the event of my death. When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn't called to a place. I was called to him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, his glory my reward, his glory my reward. One of the most important things to remember right now is to preserve the work…. I am writing this as if I am still working with my people group. I thank you all so much for your prayers and support. Surely your reward in heaven will be great. Thank you for investing in my life and spiritual well-being. Keep sending missionaries out. Keep raising up fine young pastors. In regards to any service, keep it small and simple. Yes, simple, just preach the gospel…. Be bold and preach the life-saving, life-changing, forever-eternal gospel. Give glory and honor to our Father. The Missionary Heart: Care more than some think is wise. Risk more than some think is safe. Dream more than some think is practical. Expect more than some think is possible. I was called not to comfort or success but to obedience….There is no joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving him. I love you two and my church family. In his care, Salaam, Karen3 What Jesus sets as a standard is not impossible. What Jesus asks is not just for some ancient set of disciples following him on the dusty roads of Israel. It is aimed at you and me. It is very personal. It is sobering. In all likelihood we will not be asked to sacrifice as much as Cassie Bernall, or Todd Beamer, or Karen Watson. But there is no doubt that we will be asked to make sacrifices—small and large—daily, as we follow Jesus. I look out at you this morning and know some of the sacrifices you make as individuals, as parents, as grandparents, as spouses, as men and women of faith in a workplace that is often inhospitable to the faith and to living as followers of Christ.4 As we remember and honor our fathers today I am beginning to understand the sacrifices my father made for me and for our family. I pray that you were equally blessed by a man who was able to live in the way described by Jesus. I look upon you and know I am in the fellowship of men and women, boys and girls, who daily make an effort to respond to God's grace no matter what. In the company of friends and family we share our burdens and our efforts to follow Christ, we give and receive encouragement. In our prayers we open our hearts to God's grace, we invite our God to help us "do something with our lives." And we gather here each week to give thanks for God's grace at work in us. We are not perfect, Lord knows; we confess this, laying that burden down at our Lord's feet. Sometimes we are weak in our efforts; we receive the Word of God as nourishment and the Bread of Heaven and the Cup of Salvation as sustenance. As we prepare to reenter the world we as God to send us out from here forgiven and refreshed to do the work he has given us to do. I am honored to be in such company, your company. At our 8:00 am Service today we baptized Haley Morgan Porter. Kristie and Chuck, her mother and father, have already begun to share with her, and with us, the kind of self-sacrificing love called for by Jesus. They promised to continue in this course, and we promised to help them and stand by them as they raise their daughter. We will also promised to help Haley grow into and keep the promises of her Baptismal Covenant. The sacrifices that Kristie and Chuck will make for love of God and for love of their daughter will not make the news. Their sacrifices will be added to the thousands of others made daily by you and me as faithful followers of Christ. Singly your daily cross bearing, or mine, may not amount to much, but added together it is enough to change the world. It is how the Kingdom grows: one person, one sacrifice, and one act of loving-kindness at a time. May God be glorified in our lives. Amen.
1 Her story was widely reported. See, for example, The Denver Post on the Internet: http://www.denverpost.com/news/shot0515b.htm 2 His story has been widely reported. There is a biography in print. Online, see http://www.snopes.com/rumors/beamer.htm 3 "Keep Sending Missionaries," Baptist Press (3-24-04); retrieved online from PreachingToday.com on June 17, 2004. ___________________________________________________________________________________________
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