A passion for excellence. Diligence. Drive. Efficiency. The
competitive edge. These are the values of achievers, the essence of upward
mobility and the stuff of which success is made.
Enter Jesus, the Christ, Mighty God. The Everlasting Father.
Emptied. Weak. Dependent. Here to show us the way to greatness, heavenly
greatness, by becoming least. King turned servant. Downardly mobile. What sort
of ethic is this?
There are those who will find it exceedingly difficult to
understand, the Teacher said. Like the wealthy, successful, educated ones. But
there will be a few renegades and other out-of-step people who will be given
eyes to perceive the kingdom. They will listen to the homeless leader who owned
one change of clothes, didn’t budget to pay his taxes, and was an affront to
self-respecting, responsible believers.
“Take no thought for tomorrow… don’t worry about what you
will eat or wear… don’t lay up treasures here… give your coat… share your
bread… lend without expecting a return.” Wonderful rhetoric but highly
impractical. Suicidal if taken literally – and so the reasonable folks did not
take it that way.
Indeed, his teachings are suicidal for the successful. The
downward mobility of the kingdom strikes at the very heart of our earthly
strivings. It feels like death to let go of our diligent preparations for the
next step and the investments that insure our tomorrows. Who in their right
mind would gamble away a reasonably predictable and secure future on a
high-risk, intangible faith venture like the kingdom of God
Jesus the Christ. Mighty God. Destitute. He says we can’t
have it both ways, that our security is either in God or mammon. He tells us
that the servant is not greater than his master, that greatness – his and ours
– is found only in servanthood, in choosing the lesser positions while yielding
the better places to others. It is only in laying down our privilege, our
control, our comfort for the sake of others, he says, that we can know life as
he created it to be.
Heavenly hosts burst forth in hallelujahs (not tears) at the
sight of their naked, helpless Creator in the straw. Heaven’s best lavished on
the least of the earth. Glory to God, they exclaimed. The first fruits of a new
world order have come, and he has revealed the values of his kingdom:
vulnerability, obedience with abandon, lavish giving, faith that defies reason,
volitional downward mobility.
Foolishness. God has chosen the weak to lead the strong and
the foolish to confound the wise. His end? That all may know his utter
dependability to care for those who will risk trusting him.
- Robert Lupton
1 comment:
wow, thats really good and a challenge for me as we think about the life we live in Carlisle. Great seeing you this summer. Be Blessed.
Tim
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