Sunday, January 13, 2013

To Stand Inside the Fire


A famous Okie once said, “We call them cool, those hearts that have no scars to show. The ones that never do let go and risk it the tables being turned. We call them fools those who have to dance within the flames; who chances the sorrow and the shame that always comes with getting burned.” The scriptures tell us those who stand in the fire, who risks all, who give all, who sacrifice all because they value the treasure they found, that is what the kingdom of heaven is like.

The kingdom of heaven, says Jesus, is like a man who, while plowing the field, hears his plow hit something, so he bends down, scoops away the dirt, and there finds buried treasure. He quickly covers up the treasure, leaves his plowing, runs to the bankers, sells everything he’s got, and then goes back to the owner of the field and asks, “Um, how much would like that rocky, worthless, barren field out there? Call me crazy, but I’d like to buy it.” Jesus says the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like that.

Have you ever found something that you thought was so valuable that you were willing to sell everything you owned, risk everything just to obtain it? When I was in sixth grade, my friend Gaylon said he had a copy of the first Wolverine comic. I told him I would give anything I had to get that comic; so the next day as I gathered my things, I gathered my Mark McGuire rookie card, Bo Jackson rookie card, first edition of X-Men, and my autographed Tony Dorset hat. As I left the house my dad asked me what I was doing with all my stuff. I told him I was trading it from the Wolverine #1 comic. He ordered me to leave my stuff and go to school. But when I got home that afternoon from school, he had bought me a copy of Wolverine #1. He saw that I was willing to part with every valuable object I had in order to purchase something I believe to hold more value.

The question Jesus asks us when we read the parable of the treasure and the pearl is this: What are you willing to give up for this treasure? It is the question Jesus asks the young rich man when the young man asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Keep the commandments.” Jesus says. “I have,” the young man responds, “But what else do I need to do?” Jesus, it seems by the scripture, would have been satisfied with the man, until he asks, “What else do I need to do?” “Sell everything.” Jesus says. Not just sell his belongings but his life. Sell it all because the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man discovered and buried, and the in his joy proceeds to sell all that he has to buy that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a fine merchant searching for fine pearls; on finding one very valuable pearl, he proceeded to sell all that he had and bought it.

When you want something, if it is something worth having, you are going to do anything possible to get it. You are going to take risks and chances that you may not often take. You take them, however, because you believe the risk is worth the reward, as the saying goes. Last week I said that a story is about a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it. That something could be anything from getting a new car to graduating high school or college. The something is our ambition, our goal for life and they help give meaning to our lives. I talked about how God was offering us an invitation to be a part of an epic story and that God has a role provided just for us.

For adults, it is hard to come up with adequate ambitions. The older you get the harder it is to think of anything else but retirement. I guess you could say for most adults retirement is the goal or ambition. You work 20-30 plus years doing a certain job with the result being able to comfortable retire and doing things you have always dreamed of doing. Does that sound about right? “When I retire we will finally be able to take that Alaskan cruise or that trip to the tar pits.” I believe the most difficult thing for us is to admit that Jesus came to offer us a better way of living; that he has given us an ambition greater than any we could imagine and that ambition is worth the risks we take.

Being a part of God's epic story requires a lot of risk on our behalf. We have to take the risk that God's faithfulness will hold up. We have to take the risk that we are following God's call even after months and months of prayer. We have to take the risk of offering love, grace, and compassion to others with no guarantee they will return such things. We have to take the risk of being taken advantage of, persecuted, or worse it, of failing.

One night a minster was tucking in his two boys, he sang to them a song that contained the word Christian. His oldest son asked, “Dad, what's a Christian?” A sudden panic came over the minister. He searched through his training: testimony? Might put him to sleep. An exegesis on John 14? Might be too heavy and too long winded. His son interrupted, “Well, Dad, what does it mean?” Before he could gather his thoughts he found himself telling his son, “It means 'little Christ'. People who are trying to live like Christ call themselves Christians.”

His son paused for a moment and asked, “Are you a Christian?” “Yes I am,” he replied.” His son the asked, “How do you become a Christian?” The minster explained that you simply say to God with all your heart, “I want to to join Jesus in loving you and loving others,” and then you try to live your life like Jesus.” His son thought it over for a second and said, “Let's do it.” They sat together on his bed and prayed a simple prayer.

His son got up and went to brush his teeth, listened to a bedtime story, and climbed into bed. Before he fell asleep he said, “Dad, I don't think I want to be a Christian.” “Why is that?” the minister asked? “Well, Jesus gets killed by the soldiers doesn't he?” “Yes...he does,” the minister answered but with calm assurance added, “But God raises him and his spirit is still with us today.” “I know that Dad...but I don't want to get killed.”

Silence. “Don't worry,” the minister said, “you're not going to get killed. That happened a long time ago.” His son yawned and with his closed said, “Yes, but if Jesus is still with us today, it can happen again. I don't think I want to be Christian, Dad.”1

The little boy realized that being Christian comes with risk. He realizes in his childlike way that the kingdom of heaven involves taking risks and that being a part of the kingdom heaven is not simply about being nice and have good morals—it often means facing the pain and evil in the world. It is why many of us do not really confront ourselves with what it means to be a true follower of Christ, to pick up our crosses and follow him. It is much easier to be a bystander than a participant in God's story. It is easier to live for retirement than to live for the kingdom of heaven. It is easier to live from our couches than from our crosses.

Life is full of risks and conflict. True there are unnecessary risks that we do not need to take but we often take those risks without ever thinking anything of them. We risk being absent from our families when we work long hours. We risk being poor friends when we do not make time to sit and talk. We take risks when we ignore one another and when we seek war over peace. We take risks when we seek to remove those who are different, who disagree, who are outsiders, or those whose beliefs differ from our own. We take risks each day in different ways and not know it but it comes to taking a risk for the kingdom of heaven we, as the song goes, choose to stand outside the fire.

The parables of the treasure and the pearl are not just about God's great love but of the love for the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven burns in our hearts in such a way that we not only take the treasure but the whole land on which it is found because what they have found is better than that which they had. The life they had cannot compare to the life that they found. Their old story cannot compare to their new story and to their new role in the kingdom of heaven. When our ambitions and desires are that of the kingdom of heaven there are no unnecessary or silly risks; there is nothing we wouldn't do to see the ushering in of God's kingdom. We, like the wise men, would travel years just to see a child in a manger. We, like the disciples, would follow Christ to our own forms of the cross. We, like our ancestors, would give our lives to see the kingdom of heaven come to life. We would not count the cost or the risks instead we would trust in God's faithfulness and go forth in faith.

Once there were three brothers who, after their father died, tended to his garden with great love and care. They considered it their inheritance and great treasure. God smiled on their devotion and sent his prophet, Elijah, to visit the brothers with an offer of gifts. Elijah approached the first brother when he was gardening. “I can offer you one of three gifts. You may have either this jewel that will bring you great wealth, this scroll that will give you great wisdom, or the love of a fine woman.” The first brother took the jewel. Elijah visited the second brother, who chose the scroll. The third brother wanted the love of a fine woman.

Elijah and the third brother traveled the earth to find this special prize. Elijah consulted with the animals in every town, for he could understand their language and knew that animals saw humans in their true form. When he was satisfied that the third brother had the best woman, Eljiah performed the marriage ceremony, wished the couple well, and left.

Many years later, disguised as a beggar, Elijah returned to see how the brothers had used their gifts. He went to the mansion of the first brother, who by now was the wealthiest man in the land, and asked for alms. He received instead blows from the first brother's servant. Elijah then demanded of the brother: “Give me back the jewel I gave you. What good is all your wealth if you cannot share it with one less fortunate?” And even though the brother asked for another change, Elijah took back the source of the wealth and left the brother in poverty.

He journeyed to the second brother, a wise scholar. Elijah sat in the back of the study house and asked a simple question. The second brother sneered and said, “You expect someone as wise as I to answer such a simple question?” Elijah demanded the scroll of wisdom back, saying: “What good is all of your wisdom if you cannot answer a simple question?” And even though the second brother asked for another chance, Elijah took back the source of wisdom and left the brother.

He journeyed to the third brother. Before he could approach the small house where the couple lived, the wife ran to greet him and welcomed him into their modest home, in the spirit of Sarah. Elijah stayed the evening, sharing the couple's food, laughter, and stories. Their home was filled with love and joy. And although Elijah knew that the third brother had the jewel and wisdom of his wife, he gave the couple the actual jewel and the scroll to remain in their family, along with their lover, for generations to come.2

What good is being a part of the kingdom of heaven if we do not participate in the kingdom of heaven? What good is joining the story if we simply desire to sit off in the corner and allow others to tell the story? What good is finding the treasure if you are not willing to give everything you have to obtain it? What good is the pearl if you are not willing to sell everything to buy it? What good is following Christ without living a risky life?

The kingdom of heaven brings out our passion for this life. We offer up all that we have to see it come forward because we know, deep inside, the kingdom of heaven is better than anything of this world. To live a life without passion and risk is to live a life without texture, contrast, and depth.3 Sue Kidd once said, “I'm discovering that a spiritual journey is a lot like a poem. You don't merely recite a poem or analyze it intellectually. You dance it, sing it, cry it, feel it on your skin and in your bones. You move with it and feel it caress. It falls on you like a teardrop or wraps around you like a smile. It lives in the heart and the body as well as the spirit and the head.4

May we find a passion, an ambition, a role in this story of the kingdom of heaven to live passionately and with risk to see this kingdom come forth. May we stand inside of the fire without fear of getting burned.


1Yaconelli, Mark. Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practicing the Presence of Christ. Zondervan 2006
2Stavish, Corrinne. “The Treasure in the Field and the Pearl of Great Price” The Storyteller's Companion to the Bible Vol. Eleven. Dennis Smith & Michael Williams ed. pg 56-57
3Yachonelli, Michael. Dangerous Wonder. Navpress 1998. pg 109
4Kidd, Sue Monk. When the Heart Waits. Harper San Francisco, 1990. pg 71

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