"Life at the End of the Line" - Mark 8:31-38 - March 19, 2000

Since my name begins with "W" I know what it means to be at the end of the line. All through school I was either near or at the end, always with the Youngs and the Zimmermans. At every graduation I was in the last group to cross the stage and receive my diploma. In the classroom I always sat in the last row near the back of the room. I never knew what it meant to be first until I became a pastor. Now, I am always permitted to eat first at potluck dinners.

I must confess its rather nice to be the first one to go through the line. You get to choose from all the best dishes and you have first choice on dessert. I wonder sometimes if I would have a different outlook on life if my name began with an "A."

We live in a society where being "first" means everything. Everyone wants to be number one or be part of a group that is number one. Competition is the name of the game. Our motto is "win, win, win, me, me, me." To find ourselves at the end of the line in anything is absolutely tragic. None of us wants to come in last. No one wants to wait.

Then, along comes Jesus. He totally ruins our winning formula by saying the phrase, "For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it." What? Lose instead of win? This does not compute. This is illogical. This is now how we were conditioned to believe. Surely this must be a mistake.

Jesus, however promotes an ethic of "end of the lineness." Not only are we to lose to win, we are to "deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him." For Jesus its even worse. He is to suffer, be rejected, and killed by a hostile world.

Why did Jesus make such a difficult statement? Who in their right mind wants to lose? Its obvious that the disciples didn’t want to hear this either. Peter denied it. As a consequence he was rebuked. Jesus is trying to make the point that it is only by sacrificial living that we can truly be what God intends for us to be. Losing is everything. Winning is nothing.

Last fall we were returning from Tennessee (going North) on interstate 75. That is the busiest highway in the Midwest. Unfortunately we had to stop because of an accident. When we came upon the scene the highway patrol were letting a few cars pass. About the time we arrived at the place of the accident the patrolman held up his hand and asked us to stop. We were next to pass, only we sat there for almost 45 minutes. You could imagine how irritated I was. Had I passed just one more car in the last 30 miles I would not be sitting there going nowhere.

I tried my best to be patient, not something that is easy for me to do. Finally, the tow truck pulled away and we got the green light to continue on our journey. That incident, however taught me a valuable lesson. For the next hundred miles, there were no cars or trucks anywhere to be seen. We had the entire interstate highway to ourselves, all the way from Lexington, Kentucky to Cincinnati, Ohio. Driving that day couldn’t have been more pleasant.

Perhaps there is something to this business of saving one’s life by losing. Perhaps to be at the end of the line is not always a bad thing. The problem is, most of us would ever want to be in that position to find out. To "lose" does not mean that life will be bad or even unpleasant. It doesn’t mean we aren’t persons of worth or that our life can’t be meaningful and exciting. To save our lives by losing is a concept that is totally opposite to what we believe, yet one that Jesus says will work.

Since Christmas I have been dieting, trying to lose some of the weight I gained during the holidays. I have been fortunate to lose about 12 pounds. I must tell you that before I felt sluggish, tired, and sometimes depressed. Now I feel as though I have more energy. Some of my clothes fit better and I simply feel better about myself.

Few would argue that losing weight is a bad thing. But what if we applied that same concept to the rest of our lives? What if we became persons who gave things away instead of collected stuff? What if we were more generous with our money than always spending it on ourselves? What if we were more patient, and give others the opportunity to be in line ahead of us?

I believe that Jesus is saying to us that life at the end of the line can be rewarding. He doesn’t suggest that it will be easy. He does, however say that it has everything to do with believing in him. And the good news is that what follows his suffering and personal sacrifice is the resurrection. For Jesus, losing has everything to do with winning.

In the March/April issue of Homiletics, there is a story by an unknown author that says it all. An American businessman was at the pier of a small, coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while.

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late; fish a little; play with my children; take siesta with my wife, Maria; stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life, señor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat; with the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, señor, how long will this all take?" To which the American replied, "Fifteen to twenty years." "But what then, señor?" The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich; you would make millions." "Millions, señor? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio