"Are We Losing It?" - John 12:20-33 - April 6, 2003

It’s annual bulk pick-up time again. That means here in Sidney you can set your bulk trash items by the curb and the city will take them away. It was a bit unsightly at the beginning of the week with items piled all over, but by the end of the week the neighborhoods have returned to normal.

I heard that one couple was irate that people were driving by in the night, selecting items for their own use. One man chased some people away from his trash pile. I can’t imagine how someone would get upset over that since all your trash is headed for the landfill. Perhaps they see it as stealing. Or, since it is still piled in front of their house they aren’t quite ready to let go of it. Actually it’s kind of amusing. Although they call the program "bulk pick-up" it is really a time for the "have nots" to help themselves to the stuff from the "haves."

It’s not every week you get to have your bulk trash picked up and carried away but many people are reluctant to participate. Perhaps they can’t let go of all that stuff in the basement. Or, perhaps they can’t stand the sight of someone else driving away with grandma’s old washing machine. Letting go of our stuff can be very painful.

When Jesus was speaking during Passover, he made some very profound statements that had to do with letting go. First he said, "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." For me this implies tht Jesus expects us to be people who are called to be in the business of letting go. He makes other references to this too, i.e., "The first shall be last," and "He who loses his life will save it."

Just as Jesus is glorified by giving his life for us, our souls are glorified when we give of ourselves for others. Life becomes far more purposeful when we are in the business of letting go. While we normally consider "losing’ or "loss" to be a bad thing, Jesus sees it as a good thing.

Max Cleland was a typical Southern boy. He starred in sports, was voted his high school’s most outstanding senior, and volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam. One month before heading for home, Lt. Cleland saw a grenade on the ground that somebody had apparently dropped. As he reached to pick it up, the grenade suddenly exploded in his face. Dazed and bleeding, he saw that his right hand and right leg ere missing, his left leg badly mangled. He tried to cry out, but shrapnel had ripped his throat.

He was rushed to a medical hospital and nobody expected him to survive. But as he slowly recovered from a triple amputation, recalling the Apostle Paul’s words, that "hope does not disappoint" strengthened him. Upon returning to civilian life, Cleland learned to drive a special car, and entered politics to try to mobilize support for veteran’s cases. At the age of thirty-four, he was named the youngest ever head of the Veteran’s Administration. Later he became Georgia’s secretary of state and later served as a US Senator. (from God’s Little Lessons on Life for Dad, Honor Books, Tulsa, OK)

Cleland had lost several limbs but that didn’t prevent his from making a positive contribution to society. All too often we see loss as losing instead as the potential of doing good for others.

Before the bulk pick-up I searched the garage and attic for things to throw away but I came up empty. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough or perhaps I wasn’t willing to let go of some of my treasures. Let’s be honest, we all hold on to things because of their sentimental value or we save them because they just might come in handy some day.

When we fail to let go of our stuff we are probably holding back. Not only do we hold on to our stuff but we hold on to other things too, like love, forgiveness, acceptance, compassion, or generosity. When we are focused on our losses, we tend to be more protective, living in a "survivor" mode. When we are willing to let go, we are practicing self-denial and others will benefit.

Jesus told his followers that "his hour had come." He was troubled about that but remained committed. "Shall I say to the father, save me? No," he said. Losing his life for the sake of others was his mission.

I believe, however that Jesus is not asking to do what he did. On the other hand, he is teaching us that "losing" ourselves for the sake of others is what it means to be faithful. The problem is, we are holding back and sometimes we don’t even make it to the curb, let alone get it out of the basement.

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." The other day my wife planted some flower seeds for her garden. Every morning I walk by those seeds, which in order to bloom, will have to die. We see dying as a negative thing. We don’t like to lose, we aren’t in the habit of giving things up. We live in a society where it is all about "me." But, Jesus sees dying as a positive thing, necessary for fruit to be born.

To follow Jesus is to "serve." That too is a difficult concept for us to accept since we would rather "be served, than serve." Serving requires us to live and act in ways that are normally foreign to us.

When I was in college I worked for the college Service Department. One of my duties was to drive a pick-up truck behind the dormitories and pick up trash. It was embarrassing for me to be seen by my college friends. Most all the students at my college were middle-class and to have my friends see me making the weekly trash run was a bit degrading.

Not all my duties were that bad however. Often times I made trips to Columbus to pick up supplies for the college. Besides there is more to the story. It was the policy of the college that underclass students could not have cars on campus. Since I worked for the Service Department I had a whole fleet of vehicles to drive.

It’s difficult to understand the concept that losing is winning. Not only did Jesus model a "losing" lifestyle for us, he gave the supreme gift, himself. Perhaps the next time you experience a loss you will look for opportunities rather than lament over a part of you that has died.

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