Dared to Lose

Dared to Lose--October 16, 2018

[Jesus said:] "As for yourselves , beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations. When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given to you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved." [Mark 13:9-13]

The challenge of Jesus is the challenge to lose.

Not just to risk the possibility of losing. Not just to try really hard even if we are afraid we might lose. Jesus knowingly sends his followers into situations in which we will not be persuasive, in which we will convince neither our closest family nor public leaders, and in which we will endure physical suffering, mistreatment, and even death because we have not persuaded them to spare us.  Jesus tells his followers, "I am sending you to bring the good news to people--and they will not accept it sometimes.  Do it anyway."

I don't know what else to call it but the way the world around will see it: we are dared to lose.

Now, I know this is a hard enough message to get excited about, but there is a corollary to it that is going to be even hard for us to swallow at first (and yet ultimately all the more beautiful to hear it on Jesus' lips).  Jesus' commission to his followers to bring the good news into situations where we know it will be rejected, and to do it nevertheless, means that for the followers of Jesus, we do not get to say that winning is all that matters.

This is an important stand that the followers of Jesus need to take, because the pressure is immense and temptation is strong to say, "It doesn't matter how we get things done, or what tactics we have to use, so long as we come out the winners."  The conventional wisdom of the day fully embraces the idea that things like our integrity, our character, and the truth are negotiable if it gets us our way, or if we get to have (or keep) control, or if we get to call ourselves "winners" at the end of the day.  That kind of thinking is everywhere, and we are seriously lacking for good examples and role models to offer our children of people who would rather keep their integrity in tact and lose than sell out for something they can call a victory.

So in a moment like this, where other heroes or examples are lacking, Jesus dares us to be the ones we have been waiting for. Jesus challenges us to embody the alternative. When I wonder late at night who will teach my son, my daughter, about the kind of courage that does not sell out and say, "Who cares whether I kept my commitments or not?--I won!", the voice of Jesus in these verses speaks back to me and says, "You.  I am sending you... and a whole bunch of other disciples.  You will show your children and a people yet unborn what it looks like to love so fiercely that you don't care about winning so much as you care about living that love for everybody."

Jesus has been saying that to us for two thousand years now.  And the followers of Jesus have taken that challenge seriously.  In the first few centuries, the Empire said, "Burn a little incense to Caesar and call him 'Lord,' even if you don't mean it, and then you can be on the winning side--Caesar's, while you also go do your churchy thing the rest of the time.  See--that's win-win!"  And in the face of that pressure to do whatever was easy and comfortable, the early followers of Jesus said, "No, thank you--we'll take the lions and crosses instead," and they lost their lives because they would rather suffer that loss than to lose their integrity.

In the 1930s, the officially Reich-approved Church said, "Look, just let Hitler be in charge of the civil authorities, and then you can do your church thing and you won't get in each other's way.  Don't make waves about the disappearing families from the Jewish neighborhoods, because that's a civil matter, and in exchange you'll get to share in the victories of the Reich. See--it's win-win!"  And in response, the underground movements like the Confessing Church of Bonhoeffer said, "No, thank you--we'll take our places with the ones you have forced to wear the six-pointed yellow stars on their clothes, even if that is standing beside them against the wall for the firing squad."

And in the 1960s in the American South, there were plenty of church leaders among the Respectable Religious Crowd of their day who said, "Let's just allow the governors and mayors to keep segregation in place, and let's keep quiet on this issue, because it is terribly controversial and unpopular--and we don't want to end up losing influence or political clout because we chose to speak up for the civil rights of all people in this country!  Just look the other way, and you can have full pews and the blessing of the local government--see, it's win-win!" And over against that powerful temptation, there were a handful of followers of Jesus who said, "No, thank you--we'll accept jail, and death threats, and being labeled an 'angry mob' even though we are no such thing.  We are willing to get any of that stuff thrown at us rather than sell out on Jesus' call to love all people rather than just protecting ourselves."

See, Jesus' challenge for us to lose faithfully--to suffer loss while keeping our integrity--has been a thread of continuity, even if it has sometimes seemed like just one tiny strand in a larger fabric of hypocrisy and cowardice from time to time, throughout the two-thousand-year history of Christianity.  Time and again, Jesus has called people and said, "You--I'm sending you to be the example you have been longing for.  I'm sending you to be the one who doesn't give up your integrity for the sake of keeping power or influence or comfort."  We sometimes like to pretend that this passage from the Gospel only applied to the early years of Christianity when we were still basically regarded as a sect of Judaism having an in-house squabble with other branches of Judaism. We still sometimes think we don't have to pay attention to Jesus' challenge anymore because good old Constantine made it legal to be a Christian back in the 300s AD.  We still sometimes think that what's most important is whatever it will take to get "our way" on top, and if that means burning incense to Caesar on occasion, hey, that's just part of the way it goes.  But Jesus keeps on calling us to embody the alternative to the selling out and power-hungry hypocrisy around us, even if we don't "win" on any given day.  He's giving that challenge to you, and to me, right now.

Let's be ready for it, then.  When we hear other voices around us say, "It doesn't matter if it's true or not--it only matters if it will get 'our side' an advantage," we will say, "No!"  When we hear others say, "Whatever it takes to keep our religious clubs in a comfortable situation, let's go along with that!" we will say, "No!"  And when we hear the temptation on our own lips saying, "Who cares about character--I want don't want to look like a 'loser'!", we need to look ourselves in the mirror and say, "No!" yet again.

Because here is the thing--Jesus can do something with losses.  Jesus can do something amazing with rejection, with suffering, with imprisonment, and even with death.  Jesus can bring resurrection victory in the midst of loss.  But sold-out and lost integrity is like salt that has lost its saltiness.  So, after all the "nos" we may have to speak in these days, there is a YES:  

Yes, it does matter how we do things, regardless of whether we "win" or "lose" at the end of the day.  

Yes, our integrity is of more worth than holding onto a comfortable perch.  

Yes, our following Jesus does rule out incense for Caesar and silence for the Reich and endorsement for Jim Crow.  

Yes, we do need examples and role models who will embody the alternative to all of those.  

Yes, we are the ones called in this day to be that difference.

And yes, it is better to lose and be faithful to the reckless love of Jesus than to be called a "winner" by the Powers-That-Be any day of the week.

Let us dare, along with our Crucified Lord, to lose today, and to lose faithfully.

Lord Jesus, we know you are sending us today into situations that look like utter loss.  Give us your kind of courage to give up reputation, comfort, convenience, and prestige for the sake of your reckless love for all.