In any case, there´s this one line which reads:
´I follow baseball, rugby and motorsport´.
My current CV is titled CV2007 but this line is a little inaccurate. I don´t follow baseball anything like as much as I used to and I only follow the 6 Nations and the Rugby World Cup (46 days to go!). The truest part of the statement would be that I follow motorsport, although really these days I only follow motorbike racing. I don´t even know what´s happening with the WRC this year.
Later on in my ´Personal Interests´ section, I explain that:
´I own a sports bike and accordingly… attend several race meetings each season.´
I attend several race meetings? Because I follow motorsport, I guess. Perhaps you haven´t been listening carefully, for me though the fatal error in my ‘Personal Interests’ section is not that I expand how interesting I am with the statement regarding going to race-meetings, but the absolute lack of mention of what I do similarly with baseball and rugby. After all, I follow baseball and rugby as well – I included them in the same sentence, so the three must be similarly-matched tastes.
The truth, however, is entirely different from my presentation of the facts on my CV – I know more about motoGP and World Superbikes, my office has pictures of Valentino Rossi and Ducatis – there are no pictures of anything to do with rugby, although I do have a framed aerial photograph of a Yankee Stadium and Camden Yards… nevertheless, I have no idea who is leading the divisions or where my favourite teams are in the rankings. When it comes to rugby, I’ve never watched club rugby and I struggle to name more than a handful of players in the international sides.
I do know the top 3 in all the major motorcycle championships.
All of which is I know, vastly interesting on a Sunday morning and, I can assure you, deeply relevant… I´ve mentioned three pastimes, three hobbies, three interests, all of which I am engaged in to vastly differing degrees, and yet the word I used to describe all three levels of interest was ´follow´.
And of course, therein we find what should keep us vastly interested on a Sunday morning, and which we should find deeply relevant – each one of us, you and me together, we´re individually and collectively called, to follow.
We are called to follow Christ. Here are a few instances of that calling:
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
(Mark 8:34)
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
(1 Cor 11:1)
Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1,2)
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21)
These are just a few examples from the New Testament – you know there are more. Had I chosen more, we might have been here most of the morning just listening to the repeated call to follow Christ. And that wouldn´t have been any bad lesson in itself necessarily, because it would have driven home that we are called to follow, to follow, to follow, to follow…
Except that isn´t quite the lesson I had intended. I am hoping that we acknowledge, accept and admit that we are to follow Christ, and that we´ve been called. My question is how do we interpret this calling? In a similar vein to my following baseball? Or is it a little more engaged than that rugby, perhaps? Or should we go all-in, more like motorcycling?
From the four quick references I gave, two things should be abundantly clear – these are that firstly, the call to follow is an active engagement, isn´t it? And secondly, there´s more to following than simple tracking or trailing, spy-style.
Mark´s gospel indicates it with ´take up your cross´ while Paul encourages the Corinthians to follow the example of Christ and the Ephesians to walk in the way of love, as Christ did…
So already, it should be evident that following Christ isn´t an academic study or a theory exam. Following Christ, being a follower of Christ, becoming like Christ, being a Christian, all are the same and all require more than checking baseball scores on the internet, or remembering to watch rugby games when they are important enough.
In what manner, then, might we find ourselves following Christ? Perhaps we can find some tips or hints in the Bible, again?
For example, how about Matthew 5:38-42:
´You have heard that it was said, Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek,
turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you´.
Such things can be difficult enough when it´s someone you love or care for but someone you don´t like, or who doesn´t like you?
Shay´s lesson a couple of weeks ago touched again on Mark 10:21:
Jesus looked at him and loved him. ´One thing you lack,´ he said. ´Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.´ At this the man´s face fell. He went away sad, for he had great wealth.
It´s quite a gut-wrencher to discover you´ve been barking up the wrong tree all along, and that you missed the point entirely.
There´s Paul´s comment in Philippians 2:7 which we´ve touched on in John´s class:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
Can we really truly be followers, be Christlike, and not have to do this bit?
Luke 22:39-44
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ´Pray that you will not fall into temptation.´
He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ´Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.´
An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Now I know that I am blessed with the ability to uh… perspire… freely and copiously – I can do it on the treadmill, when I´m working in the house, when I´m preaching and indeed, when I´m sitting at rest doing absolutely nothing! I do know however, that I´ve never been under such duress or stress that I sweat so heavily that drops of sweat are like drops of blood – nor, as John has mentioned previously and as most commentators prefer, have I ever experienced the rare condition known as hematidrosis – when blood finds its way into your sweat-glands in times of extreme stress, and so your sweat contains blood.
One thing is for sure – you don´t need to go very far or look very hard or scratch much beneath the surface before you discover that following Christ is not a walk in the park, it isn’t a joyride, it isn’t a piece of cake.
John mentioned last week in his opening comments a discussion he had had with ´someone´ about comfort zones. I guess he wanted to maintain someone´s anonymity and thus, their comfort zone.
But the someone was me. The discussion was, in some part, down to my watching some of The Last Temptation of Christ which is, by all accounts, an attempt to explore ´the dual substance of Christ´. He is so human and yet, so divine. How did it work in practice? He was a human being - just like us, we´re told so the temptations He faced must have been tempting, right? Otherwise they wouldn´t be tempting. And however it works, because I admit I struggle even trying to figure it out, it can´t have been as simple as being unable to give in to the temptation because He was God, because otherwise, what value is there in a life that could only ever be sinless?
Anyway, in Luke 22, we have it recorded that Christ prayed shortly before His betrayal, saying: ´Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done´. And it´s after this that Christ sweats blood.
Would anyone like to suggest that Jesus, at this point, was perfectly calm and unperturbed about what was about to unfold? It seems to me that these are the words and actions of a deeply troubled man – a man who is way outside his comfort zone.
And that´s this morning´s lesson. Too often we see the stereotype of Jesus – the paintings, the stained-glass – they all portray a man who is always in control and comfortable with the situation – I don´t think Luke 22 corroborates this picture. I think Jesus, albeit wholly-committed and loyal to God and His ministry, was like us. He would have had likes, dislikes, fears, and sometimes He would rather not have had to do what He knew He had to do.
Of course, the difference between Christ, and a follower, is He always did do what He knew He had to do. He overcame – whatever you want to call Luke 22 – His doubts, His fears – He stepped out of His comfort zone because He knew He had to – He too had been called to.
It´s been said before that service, for the Christian, is where the rubber hits the road. I´m beginning to see that there´s a whole new level of service beyond our comfort zone which truly takes on the mantle of Christlike service. I know there’s a lot of work to be done with the ‘dual substance of Christ’, but I know that Luke 22 gives me hope – a twofold hope. It´s apparent that Christ wasn´t always the “Natural Servant” every time. And it offers me an immediate gauge of my level of service – based on my own comfort-level.
When I was at University, I worshipped with the same congregation and was never offered a lift back to my Halls of Residence – except the week before Christmas, when I asked, and dropped off at Great Western Road. My Halls were another 2 or 3 minutes by car but I guess I´d already taken them out of their way enough by then. I remember being slightly appalled, but maybe they had an extremely small comfort zone.
I do believe this congregation is a family, and that we have a healthier attitude to service. But we should never be content to remain comfortable, because that isn´t getting it done. John was worried that you would find this lesson objectionable, especially so soon after the hard work and time and effort expended on the Holiday Bible School.
I hope not – at least, I hope you don’t object. I certainly hope that if you´re struggling with the lesson, it´s because of what´s being said rather than who´s saying it. I don´t think I´ve ever prepared a sermon I didn´t need to hear.
So I hope the lesson isn’t too objectionable… although if it is, I guess it is. I had hoped for challenging, certainly, and encouraging also. For if you spent some time earlier this month, or in the run up, or at other times in the year, feeling like you were out of your depth and distinctly uncomfortable, excellent! That is great news. Because that’s like Christ.
If you couldn´t, or wouldn´t, or didn´t, we can’t do anything about 5 minutes ago, let alone yesterday or the first week in July, or last Hogmanay.
But there will be other opportunities to serve outwith your comfort zone – for us all, even those of us that are trying to get out of our comfort zones.
None of us need wait until the next Christmas Carol Concert or the next Holiday Bible School – we can start immediately after the service: we can strive to push ourselves and each other onward and upward, following Christ together.
Push the envelope, push the bubble – are you still comfortable? Keep on pushing… is it a little uncomfortable now? A little more becomes decidedly unpleasant. How do we know when we can stop?
Christ was crucified. Our word ´excruciating´ is derived from the Latin ex cruciare (out of crucifixion).
And He didn´t stop there.