“To Lose is to Win” – John 12:20-33 – March 29, 2009
Recently my wife has been cleaning out some closets and contributing various items to the church’s garage sale. One evening she asked me whether or not I wanted to include some of my model sailboats. I was surprised that she asked me since she knew that one of my passions is sailing. I hesitated and then I said, “I need to think on that for awhile.” She reminded me that they were taking up a lot of space in the closet but because of my hesitancy she returned them. Meanwhile she was getting rid of some very nice collectibles; many of which I had given to her for gifts.
I don’t think I am any different than most people because most of us don’t like to give up our stuff. We hoard, collect, save and stockpile and consequently we are saturating our lives with things. My wife, on the other hand is freeing up her closet space to make it more organized. With all that extra stuff it is hard to find what she needs.
When Jesus told his Greek listeners that “those who love their life, lose it,” I believe he was speaking of the need to let go of the things in our lives that are taking up too much space. When we hold on to things there is no room for change, newness or the opportunity to “bear fruit.”
A seed has to die in order to become a vegetable, fruit or flower. In reality the seed is transformed or changed into something useful, eatable or beautiful. Because we don’t like giving up or losing we resist the possibility of transformation. Jesus’ message “that losing is winning” is not something we want to hear .
When Mike was three he wanted a sandbox and his father said, “There goes the yard. We’ll have all the kids in the neighborhood and they will destroy the grass.” And Mike’s mother said, “It’ll come back.” When Mike was five he wanted a jungle-gym set. “Good grief, that will create mud-holes and bare spots,” Mike’s dad said. Mike’s mother said, “It’ll come back.” Then summer came and Mike wanted a blow-up swimming pool in the back yard. Mike’s dad said, “You know what will happen? They will condemn are yard as a missile site. Our whole yard will be one big brown spot.” Mike’s mother said, “It’ll come back.”
When Mike was twelve, he volunteered his yard for a camp-out. Mike’s dad said, “Why don’t I just put grass seed in bowls and set them around the yard to feed the birds. Those tents will trample every grade of grass in the yard.” Mike’s mother said, “It’ll grow back.” Then Mike graduated and went away to college. That fall his dad had the most beautiful lawn in the neighborhood. But Mike’s dad didn’t notice. He anxiously looked beyond his green yard and said, “He’ll come back, won’t he?” (by Erma Bombeck, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul)
Jesus told his followers that he would come back. But, first he had to die. They didn’t get it and neither do we. We are conditioned to hold on to everything rather than let things go. Life is dying and rising and letting go in order to experience newness. Real life is allowing ourselves to be transformed into something much greater.
The arrival of the Greeks meant that they too wanted to be disciples of Jesus. They would be the ones who would plant the seeds for the beginning of the Church which spread throughout the Mediterranean. The community of faith would be transformed by extending to new territory and including others who were non-Jewish.
The newly transformed community would be one who “bore fruit.” They would be those who would plant seeds by letting go of the old and creating space for the new. Like Jesus they would make sacrifices for others. A loser becomes a winner when he/she makes sacrifices.
One time there was a soldier who stopped to help a woman reload her small two-wheeled cart, lift a child so he could get a drink from the water fountain, held the door for a woman struggling with her shopping bags, and gave directions to someone who was lost. Each time the soldier greeted people with words of encouragement. Another man, who had been observing him said, "How did you learn to live like that?" "Like what?" the soldier replied.
The man said something about being nice and helping people. "Oh, that," the soldier replied, "Well, of course, I'm a Christian!" But he went on. "During the Gulf War I served in a detachment that cleared mine fields. I had two close friends wounded, and I saw two Saudi soldiers blown to pieces right before my eyes. I never knew if maybe my next step might be my last. So I developed an attitude that since my next step might be my last, I'd just try to get everything out of this one. I learned to enjoy every moment. Every step is a whole new world, a whole new life. I just try to live a lot between steps" (The New Illustration Digest, No. 3, 1996)
The soldier was bearing the fruit that Jesus described. It meant living a daily life of sacrificial love. Jesus wants us to bear fruit. "Truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." To follow Jesus also means to "serve." That too is a difficult concept for us to accept since we would rather "be served, than serve." Living in that way requires us to live and act in ways that are normally foreign to us.
We are nearing the ending of the NCAA Basketball Tournament which is all about winning. We have this obsession to determine who is number one. But, what really matters is not the score at the end of the game but the game itself. Life is not a destination, a prize, a trophy, a contest or a final score. Life is a journey. There is nothing to win, just minutes and hours to live day by day. When we are consumed with being great or accumulating victories we are missing out on Jesus’ message.
A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the l00 meter dash. At the gun they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with the relish to run the race to finish and win. All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and paused. Then they all turned around and went back, every one of them. One girl with Down’s syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, "This will make it better." Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for ten minutes.
As Jesus said, “Those who love their life lose it.”
Dr. Keith Wagner