|
I am not a
shopper. I am a hunter. When I need a suit, I go hunt for a
suit. Upon spotting it, I shoot it….allow them to measure it….tailor
it….then bag it….the better that I might walk out and wear
it. I don’t want to comparison shop for it, wait for the
store to reduce it, or go back home and ponder it. Find it,
shoot it and wear it….that’s my motto. A few weeks back, I
set a personal record. One suit. One sport coat. One pair of
slacks. Two shirts. Two ties. Two stores. Forty minutes. Talk
about power shopping.
By contrast, Kris
will do more research….make more trips…. take more time….save
more money….and make better choices. Julie, too. Which is
why, when Kris wants to shop, she takes Julie. When she wants
to buy, she takes me.
Both of the women
I live with have been known to buy two or three of something,
knowing that they are going to take all but one of them back.
That’s because they want to "live with the
decision" for a few days. I have learned that not
everything coming into the house is going to stay in the
house. Exceptions to this "trial and error" form of
purchasing are things sold on "clearance" or clearly
labeled "as is."
You can save a lot
of money on an "as is" item. But you also have to be
observant, given that the words "as is" mean that
there is something a little bit wrong with it….or maybe a
whole lot wrong with it. And if you buy it before finding it,
the store isn’t going to repair it or rectify it. You’re
going to be pretty much stuck with it, given that you
underestimated the flaw you saw. Either that, or you
overestimated your ability to live with it, once you got it
home.
Switch gears for a
minute. It has been a long time since I listened to Dr. Laura
on WJR. For one reason, they moved her to mornings and I don’t
drive much in the mornings. For another reason, she gets on my
nerves. As a would-be physician to soul and psyche, she has
the worst bedside manner I ever saw. She gives callers
(especially female callers) about three sentences….seldom
more than five….to state their dilemma. Then she levels them
with what she perceives to be the truth of the matter, asking
"how could they be so stupid" not to have seen it
themselves? I know why she chooses radio counseling over
office-based counseling. Because in the office, she’d have a
shovel right beside her chair, the better to hit her clients
upside the head, under the guise of delivering a wake-up call.
And if you do that too many times, somebody’s going to sue
you.
But the thing that
bothers me about her bluntness is how often she is right. Like
a couple of weeks back, when some woman called to complain
about her husband. Nothing new there. But her specific
complaint concerned her husband’s inability to face a family
crisis head-on. Apparently this fellow dealt with painful
things by dodging and denying them, even to the point of
disappearing when forced to face them. Concerning her husband,
this lady said: "You couldn’t ask for a greater guy in
good times. Unfortunately, he tends to disappear whenever it
gets bloody in the trenches. Shouldn’t he support me,
strengthen me and stand by my side?"
Sure he should
(said Dr. Laura). But the truth is, he never did. Not with
his first wife. Not with you. And from what you told the
lady who screens my calls, you knew that when you married
him. You picked him off the "as is" rack, but he
turned out to be prettier in the hanging than in the
wearing. Suddenly you woke up and discovered that "good
time Charlie" was never going to be "crunch time
Charlie." So don’t dump him for qualities he’s
never had. Just figure that you are going to have to hold
your own hand in the valley, and accept him for whatever you
saw in him when you picked him off the rack.
"Whack"
with a shovel. Next caller. "Bill from Birmingham, what’s
on your mind?"
Well, she’s
right. What you see is pretty much what you get….in the
buying game….and in the mating game. Everybody knows that.
Though nobody wants to believe that. Most of us figure that we
can take an "as is" garment….an "as is"
guy….an "as-is" gal….and make the desired
improvements. Which works, once in a while. But I have got to
tell you that the "rough" contains more mis-hit golf
balls than it does diamonds. So don’t over-trust your powers
of transformation. Keep your eyes open. Don’t gaze at life
through rose-colored contacts. Everybody out there lies a
little…. not so much by fracturing the truth as by
distorting it….packaging it in a deceivingly appealing light….holding
the shadow parts of their personality (well) in the shadows.
It was months into my courtship before I ever showed Kris any
of my less-desirable qualities. As I recall it, I even washed
the car in those days before picking her up for dates.
Eventually,
however, there were telling signs she could have seen, had she
paid better attention. Maybe she did and took me anyway. You
will have to ask her when she comes back from California. By
which time I hope you’ll forget. Thank God for people who
not only see things "as is," but buy them anyway.
Which recalls the
hymn….one of our favorites, really….that suggests that God
shops from the "as is" rack. You know how it begins:
"Just as I am, without one plea." Then we get to the
second verse, the one that suggests: "Just as I am, and
waiting not, to rid my soul of one dark blot." Which
means that we don’t have to do a spot check (let alone a
shirt, shoes, shave or soul check) before God comes rummaging
along. Point being, that God buys from both the high and low
end of the merchandise mix. Good for God. Better still, good
for me.
So what do we do
with this story of a very good man who fails to pass muster?
He comes to Jesus, suggests "eternal life" as the
category of conversation, and then asks what the requirements
are. Upon hearing them, he says: "I’ve met them."
What’s more, in another version of the story, he suggests
that he has been meeting them from his youth. Wow! Good deeds….
he’s done ‘em. Ten commandments….he’s kept ‘em.
Which may even be true. I don’t read that Jesus disputed his
claim. If so, his record is not to be sneezed at. I’d trust
my church to him. I’d trust my daughter to him. I’d trust
my life to him. One could do worse….a whole lot worse.
But the fellow,
himself, senses a shortfall in his spiritual development or
his readiness for the Kingdom. "What do I lack?"
That’s what he wants to know. To which Jesus says: "If
you would be perfect…." Ah, maybe that’s the key. I
once heard Krister Stendahl say: "Perhaps this little
story reveals an ethic required only of a few….those who
would go even further with Jesus….dig even deeper with Jesus….hang
even tougher with Jesus. Maybe this is for the would-be Eagle
Scouts of Christian discipleship…. this requirement of
possession-selling."
"Sell it
all," says Jesus. "Give it away," says Jesus.
"Liquidate and disseminate," says Jesus. And we see
the man weighing it wordlessly in his mind. Maybe yes….maybe
no. On the one hand…. on the other hand. And then I picture
him walking away….slow of step….stooped of shoulder….chin
on chest….long of face. Why? Because he can’t do it. He
just can’t bring himself to do it.
But the question
is: "Why this elevated standard?" Why didn’t Jesus
take him as is….work with him as is….see what could be
done with him as is? I would have. So would you. It’s a
question that has always puzzled me. I confess that I have no
answer. I know you don’t like it when preachers lack
answers. But I haven’t got one.
You can say that
Jesus didn’t exclude him….that the man excluded himself.
But why, for this fellow, was the bar set so incredibly high?
And you can say (as does most everybody) that the man’s
money got in his way. Most of you then quickly add: "Not
for me, but for some." Or, more to the point: "Not
for me, but for him." And you could be right. By all
means, separate yourself from this fellow. When reading this
text, that’s the first thing I do (separate myself from him,
I mean). One doesn’t want the scriptures to hit too close.
Except that Jesus,
once the fellow departs, turns to his disciples (including you
and me) and says: "Rich people aren’t going to find it
easy when it comes to matters of eternal consequence."
Which is followed by this proverb about the inability of
camels to pass through the eyes of needles. And, at this
point, the scholars can really hang you up. That’s because
the "needle’s eye" is not necessarily an opening
in a needle for sewing, so much as it may be a low-ceilinged
gate into a walled city, requiring bending. But it really
doesn’t make much difference. This word about camels and
needles is meant to be humorous to the point of being
ludicrous. Jesus is making a "funny" here. You’re
supposed to laugh. For what the image is saying.…even
screaming….is that the entrance of rich people into the
kingdom of heaven borders on the impossible.
Which bothers the
disciples immensely, given that they (too) have bought into
the prevailing philosophy of the day. I’m talking about the
philosophy that says: "If you are rich, it is proof that
God has blessed you." And don’t be too quick to
relegate that philosophy to the dusty shelves of history. It’s
still around. And, to some degree, most of us still believe
it. I mean, I believe it….even though I’m not proud of it.
I am rich, relatively speaking. And I overhear myself say (all
the time): "My life has been blessed." But I’m not
alone, given that I hear most of you saying that, too.
"We have been so incredibly blessed," you say. The
implication being that God has had something to do with the
good things that have come your way. But now, in this text,
Jesus is saying that the things that grease our way through
this life are going to throw up obstacles in the next. Doesn’t
sound fair, does it? I mean, if the "big sinners"
can be taken as is, why not the "high rollers?"
The disciples are
astonished. Not curious. Not bemused. Not mildly intrigued.
Not slightly surprised. They are astonished. To their way of
thinking, Jesus has set the bar so high that no man (or woman)
can hurdle it. Leading Jesus to say: "You’re right. It
can’t be hurdled. It’s nigh unto impossible….save for
God. All things are possible for God." God can do what we
can not. God can change what we will not. What you see is what
you get…. today. But as for tomorrow, if God be allowed room
to work, some remodeling is possible. Earlier this summer, I
told you of my belief that old dogs can learn new tricks….not
just because the Yellow Pages are full of phone numbers for
dog trainers, but because ours is a gospel of multiple chances
and marvelous makeovers. As to how God might accomplish that
with rich people wedged in needles’ eyes, I love the line of
the late archbishop Richard Chenevix Trench who, in a sermon
preached in Westminster Abbey (circa 1850), said: "God
solves that problem by taking the money from the man, or
taking the man from his money." In my case, I’m praying
for the latter.
God can do things
like that. God can do things with our stuff. God can do things
with our lives. Assuming, that is, that God be accorded an
opening. Which can come at any time. Fred Craddock tells of an
early pastorate in Washita Creek, Oklahoma….population, 450
on a good day (450 on a bad day, too). There were four
churches in Washita….Methodist, Baptist, Nazarene and
Disciples of Christ. Each church had its share of the town’s
women and children. As for the town’s men, most of them
worshiped at the café. That’s where you could see all the
pickup trucks parked….Wednesdays….Sundays….every other
day, for that matter.
The patriarch of
the café congregation was Frank. Frank was 77 when Fred first
met him. Frank was a good man….strong man…. rancher….prospering
cattleman. What’s more, Frank had history in Washita. Born
in a sod house, he survived it….outgrew it…. moved beyond
it. Frank did not lack for credentials.
Everybody knew
that old Frank would never go to church, even though Frank
(himself) wasn’t obnoxious about it. In fact, one day he
said to the preacher: "You know, I work hard. I take care
of my family. I mind my own business. As far as I’m
concerned, everything else is fluff." Translated, that
meant: "Leave me alone, preacher. I’m not a
prospect." Which is why Fred and the entire town were
surprised (while the men of the café were dumbfounded) when
Frank….all 77 years of him….walked down the aisle on a
Sunday morning and asked to be baptized.
Within the day,
the talk was ripe in the community: "Frank must be sick.
Possible heart trouble. Guess he’s scared of meeting his
Maker. Never thought old Frank would do that. But you know,
when a man gets scared…."
But that’s not
the way Frank told it to his preacher on the day after the
morning before. His preacher began by saying: "Uh, Frank,
you remember that little saying you used to lay on me….the
one about how you work hard, take care of your family and mind
your own business?"
"Yeah,"
said Frank. "I guess I said that a lot."
"You still
say that?"
"Yeah, I
guess I do."
"So what’s
the difference?"
"Well,"
said Frank, "I guess it took me 77 years to figure out
what my business was (and who owned it)."
If you can believe
Luke, Jesus got it figured out when he was 12 (about what his
business was and who owned it). At least I recall something
said to his mother to the effect of: "Didn’t you know
that I would be about my Father’s business?" Twelve
years old. Imagine that.
Unfortunately, the
rest of us are a little slow. Meaning that it takes a little
longer. But just when you think it’s never going to happen….just
when you think that the old dog you live with (or the old dog
you are) is never going to change….just when you finally
make peace with the idea that the way things are is pretty
much the way they’re gonna be….
God has a trick up
his sleeve.
|
