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Lenten Jewels - Sacrifice

LENTEN JEWELS

Sacrifice

March 18, 2006

Text: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17; Matthew 5:13 

Matt 5:13 

13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

NIV

2 Cor 2:14-17 

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.

NRSV 

Let’s start with a puzzle.

Behold, two objects.

One is a box of salt. Let’s call it, “Morton’s.”

One is a bottle of cologne. Its name? You have more to choose from: Passion. Obsession. Red. Hypnotic Poison. My favorite name for a cologne is, “Cigar.” Why not just call it, “Rotten Egg”? 

OK. Here’s the puzzle.

What do Mortons and “Cigar” have in common? [ask]

The answer: both have to be used, or they’re worthless.

Have you ever had a French Fry without salt? Yuck. But pour salt onto it, and it’s addictive. And what good is “Cigar” without spraying it out?  

I don’t know about you, but this stops me in my tracks from choosing to be reincarnated as “Obsession” or a box of Mortons.

I don’t want to be used—I want to use.

I want to call MY shots…

I want to follow MY dreams…

I want to follow MY schedule…

I want to accomplish MY goals for the day, week, month, year, lifetime.

I want to save MY money and spend it on stuff and vacations and retirement.

I want to see MY children grow up, then I want to wind up THEIR children on candy and sugar and send them back home. 

Don’t you agree with me? And don’t you get tired of all those things that infringe upon your dreams, schedules, goals, family, money? 

You know what happens if you give to one charity? You get fifty charities calling you up or sending you mail.  

You know what happens if you volunteer for one committee at work, or school, or even church? You get called every year or so: “We have an opening here…Would you be willing to serve?” 

You know what happens if you set aside your task-list at the office when you see someone in need, and you spend time talking with them, or helping in some other way? That person might start hanging around you, needing more time. Or that person might spread the word that you’re a nice person, and other folks will start bugging you.  

No, it seems like once you start “pouring” yourself out, there’s no stopping it. You discover you can’t check off as many things on your daily do-list as you’d hoped to check off. And you may come home at the end of the day utterly exhausted. 

Interesting thing, though. Jesus never told his disciples—“Go, and check things off your do-list.” No, he said, “Go, and be SALT OF THE EARTH.” Be shaken out. Be used.  

Paul, writing to the Corinthians, didn’t say, “Go, and study time management and assertiveness training.” 

No, he said, “Go, and be PERFUME.” Be squirted out. Be used. 

Boy, to be honest, there’s a big part of me that resists this salt-and-perfume thing.  

If I’m going to be used this way, then it means I have to give up some things, most especially, I HAVE TO GIVE UP PUTTING ME FIRST. After all, isn’t that what’s behind my time-saving, money-saving, goal setting techniques? Being in control? Being the “captain of my ship,” charting my course, steaming ahead to my destination?  

Can I allow myself to be shaken out, poured out? CAN I ALLOW MYSELF TO BE USED BY ANOTHER? CAN I PUT MYSELF AT THE DISPOSAL OF ANOTHER, EVEN IF IT PUTS A DENT IN MY SCHEDULE, MY ASSETS?  

Well, can I call myself “Christian” if I don’t? 

I really don’t think Jesus had much of a do-list. He didn’t carry a PDA or cell phone. Didn’t have a laptop. Didn’t have a personal assistant. He had ultimate destinations—like Jerusalem. But he didn’t consult Mapquest to find the quickest route. 

On the contrary—Jesus’ travels appear haphazard. He started his day going down one road, someone would ask his help, so he changed course and went down the other road. This must have driven the logical, engineer-type disciples absolutely crazy. “We were going to this village, now we’re going to that? What’s going on!” 

What was going on?

Jesus was allowing himself to be used.  

And because he did, we are here today. Because he poured himself out for us, we’re captivated by his spirit, captured by his love, amazed by his grace, freed from our sin. 

You know, some amazing things do happen when we do just a little of what Jesus did, giving himself away like this. 

For one thing.  

Allowing yourself to be used changes people.

Don’t you remember a time when someone was like Jesus to you—someone who changed her/his schedule in order to focus on your needs? 

I remember in seminary there was a first year student who was going through a very difficult time, personally and vocationally. One day he lingered at the door of his advisor, looking lost. His advisor said, “Hey, I have some time—if you’d like to talk about something, just have a seat.” The student said that incident changed him. Here was a busy seminary professor who said basically, “Young man, you’re more important than the lectures I have to prepare or the papers I have to grade. Sit down, let’s talk—I’m here to help.” That young man found direction when he sat down and talked—not because of any wisdom of that professor, but because the professor had poured himself out for him. 

I bet you can remember times in your life when someone said, “Hey, I have some time—if you’d like to talk, have a seat.” 

Sometimes it’s not always so evident how you might touch the life of another.

There was a man who called up saying he wanted to talk to a pastor. Almost 100% of the time it’s someone wanting money. Our assistance to people in need is vouchers for food and gas—we don’t give money, or that would rapidly deplete our resources and limit the number of folks we can help.  

But this guy sounded different. So, for 45 minutes on a grueling, busy Monday morning, I talked with him. I listened to the pain and disappointment in his life, listened to how he was a victim. And slowly, ever so slowly, he turned the conversation to…money. $110, to be exact. I told him our policy. He didn’t like it. He got angry. He rose up and started walking to parking lot. I walked with him. He told me how hypocritical churches were, didn’t care about people like him. He told me how I’d better hope that when I died, I didn’t see him standing next to Jesus at the Pearly Gates, because he’d be sure I didn’t get into heaven. 

Now, I must confess, that didn’t sit too well with me. 45 minutes of listening, offering prayer, offering assistance, and then being told—in an interesting fashion—that I’m going to, well, you know.  

And yet, isn’t this what happens at times as we try to be the salt of the earth, the perfume of the Christ? We give of ourselves as we think Christ would give, and it doesn’t always turn out like a Hollywood movie, with a happy ending. Sometimes we’re told we’re going to… 

But who knows? Somewhere down the road, that guy might look back at that time when the church didn’t reject him, didn’t cave in to him, and offered him something more. 

If he did, he might remember the aroma of Christ.  

Allowing yourself to be used changes the world.  

Terrorists have it all wrong. They think their violence will change the world. But violence only brings on more violence.

What changes the world isn’t people who blow themselves up. You blow yourself up, I don’t have a chance to talk with you—to understand your cause, your agenda. Suicide bombers are cowards. It takes courage to take a stand, and continue living as you bear the consequences. 

What changes the world is people who give themselves away—who live to dialogue with people, helping change minds and hearts. People who believe so strongly in their cause that they’re willing to make a living statement by making a living sacrifice. 

What broke the back of racism in this country? Was it the Black Panthers, throwing firebombs? No. It was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., willing to be thrown in jail and abused. What broke down the wall of apartheid in South Africa? Was it civil war? No. It was Nelson Mandela, willing to be imprisoned. What broke the power of hate and cruelty in this world? Was it Jesus leading a legion of angels to defeat the bad guys? No. It was Jesus dying on a cross—a statement so powerful that a gruff Roman soldier was moved to exclaim, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" 

The world isn’t changed by force. 

The world is changed by people willing to sacrifice for what they believe in. 

I see people in this church changing the world.

Whenever I go downstairs to Trinity Hall and see a group of people sweating in a kitchen to put on a dinner, in order to raise money for missions: I see people changing the world. 

Whenever I see 25 people sitting around tables on a Sunday night, making plans for a capital campaign that will help us pay down a debt and start more ministries: I see people changing the world. 

Whenever I walk down the halls on a Sunday morning and see teachers patiently teaching kids who are on a sugar high from our cookies and donuts: I see people who are changing the world. 

Whenever I read the weekly financial report and see how generously the members of this church are giving of their money to touch people’s lives here and around the world: I see people who are changing the world. 

Right now, looking at you: I see people who are changing the world, people who are…the aroma of Christ. [squirt] 

Allowing yourself to be used changes you.  

It’s odd—we hold back, trying to stay in control of our lives—we still have a hole in our hearts, still have a feeling there’s more in life that we’re missing out on. 

But when you allow yourself to be used up—how life takes on a richer, deeper texture. When you give yourself away—the people you meet, the resources you discover, the satisfaction you feel: all this you would miss out on if you kept only to your schedule, goals, dreams, etc. 

Paul had it right when he said in 2 Corinthians [fr. Bible]:

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed… [4:7-9] 

I see people with this extraordinary power, as Paul called it. Events in your life made you feel afflicted, confused, depressed, lonely. And yet you’re here on Sundays, singing hymns of hope, checking things off the Ministry Menu. You don’t close yourself in, licking your wounds, whining about how bad life is. In the midst of the badness of life, you’ve affirmed life’s goodness by giving yourself away to others. And by doing that, you discover just how sweet life is. You discover that extraordinary power. Maybe it comes from being with people who, like you, are the…aroma of Christ. [squirt] 

By this time, you should be tired of me squirting this cologne.

Well, let me leave you with another image. 

This…is “Old Man,” as my son Cameron named him. Old Man was once was a deep blue, and a bright white. Years of extreme use by Cam as a toddler took care of that. He used to be healthy but, as you can tell, years of being hugged, squeezed, and thrown around resulted in back surgery—you can see the stitches and patches. 

But I will always remember how this ragged toy could dry my son’s tears, and chase away nightmares. 

And through it all, to this day, Old Man… 

still has a smile on his face.

We now know why, don’t we?

For whom will you be the salt of the earth?

For whom will you be the perfume of Christ?

For whom will you be Old Man?