WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS March 12, 2006 Vespers Communion Service Patrick Daymond Pastoral Resident, Fourth Presbyterian Church Psalm 22:23–31 Mark 8:27–33 APeople have many peculiar proclivities. And one of the most interesting of my many observations is that so much of the guidance we derive for daily living is shrouded in conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom describes the traditional ideas or generally accepted beliefs on which most people act. Many of the expressions you already know, have heard, or presently live by: 1. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. 2. Better late than never. 3. It’s not over until its over. 4. See no evil, hear no evil. 5. Can’t live with them and can’t live without them. And the list goes on and on. When I was growing up, my mom was fond of recounting her own conventional wisdom saying. It was one that she wanted us to know at all times. So she posted it on the refrigerator for me and my siblings to read everyday. There on the fridge were two rules to keep peace in the home. Rule #1 was that mom was always right. And Rule #2 was that if mom was wrong, than see Rule #1. Needless to say, we experienced a peace that surpassed all understanding. Though many of these wisdom sayings convey helpful advice, there is a danger in approaching such beliefs uncritically. When we accept these beliefs wholeheartedly, they can impede us from living in the faith that expects the unexpected. Conventional wisdom prepares for and anticipates the worst that could happen, but faith factors in the unexpected and surprising moves of God, even in the midst of trouble. Conventional wisdom depends on familiarity and predictability, but faith knows that the figures are not always precise. Conventional wisdom can’t explain how, despite your pain, your past, and your problems, God can still give you a joy that puts a smile on your face. Conventional wisdom can’t explain how even when the dark clouds are thick and overcast, somehow a silver lining can break through and shed light on your predicament. Conventional wisdom can’t explain why the worst thing that could happen could turn out to be the best thing to come to pass. There are some things that cannot be explained by our predictions or our prognosis. Some things can only be explained by the surprising and astonishing moves of God. I’m reminded of an experiment I once read about where a group of elderly women took it upon themselves to help care for babies born to drug-addicted mothers. The love and affection given by these elderly women to these tiny infants who faced an uncertain future somehow gave these babies a reason to fight for their lives. As a result, these babies who were nursed back to health through the care of loving arms, defied and transcended the quality of life that the doctors originally presumed for them. Not even conventional wisdom can explain that. As believers, ours is not a theology of limitation but expectation through faith. Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians (3:20) that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us. So what this means for the life of the believer is that true wisdom is not limited by the empirical circumstances of our finite world. True wisdom begins with faith in an unrestrained and unrestricted God who knows no boundaries. True wisdom does not rely on the conventional; true wisdom starts with the covenant—that in this life, no matter what circumstance we face, we belong to God and God is working it all out for our good. And in our text, I believe that Christ shows us just why conventional wisdom is not always wise. In this passage, we find Jesus and the disciples walking on the way to the villages of Caesarea. This text marks that classic passage where Jesus’ ministry takes a decisive turn toward the cross. And the discussion on the way is critical because it is the first time that someone, namely Peter, correctly connects Jesus’ boundary-breaking activities to his identity. Peter declares what Mark told us at the outset, that the Messiah has come in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. But though Peter’s words brought forth a classic confession, his subsequent actions exposed his clouded confusion. After putting this question of preparation before them, Jesus goes on to break the news of what must inevitably come. He declares that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, be rejected, killed, and resurrected. But as Jesus was speaking, Peter, the one whom Jesus called the rock, did a strange thing. He took Jesus to the side and began to rebuke him. It was as if to say, “No, Jesus, I think you’ve got it wrong. I don’t think you know who you are. You are the Messiah, the anointed one, the great deliverer. If you die, then how can we be saved?” And this action exposed the sad truth that though Peter understood Christ as the Messiah, he was not fully aware of what the title implied. Christ as true Messiah initiated his preaching ministry to cross boundaries that would transform traditions and institutions, and inevitably forces would soon act against him in order to preserve stability and control. The cross was a politically charged response by a leadership bent on halting Jesus’ boundary-breaking activities. And if this interventionist proclaimer were to remain faithful to this call, then the cross was a fate that he could not avoid. Peter, and I would imagine the other disciples, believed that Jesus would be an earthly king with political clout. They thought of the Messiah as one who would come in strength and great valor. In this way, Peter’s understanding was no different than what everybody else was saying. After all, the “people” to whom Jesus refers in verse 27 already knew that Jesus was something special. They put him in the company of Elijah and of Moses and gave him standing with the great prophets. And perhaps it was that special something that caused Peter to leave the fishing docks and follow this man in whom he had placed all his earthly hopes and dreams. When Christ showed up on that day, perhaps it was a sign to Peter that opportunity was knocking. After all, the fishing business probably wasn’t all that lucrative. We also know from the first chapter of this Gospel that Peter had a family to take care of and support. And conventional wisdom, those wisdom sayings that we hear all of the time, would suggest that when opportunity knocks, one should not hesitate to open the door. In a world of self-interest and focus on individual security and success, many of us have become conditioned to move according to the opportunities before us. Benjamin Franklin once said, “To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.” Francis Bacon, in his Essays, said that a “wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” This is what conventional wisdom would surmise is the best way to live one’s life. It suggests to us that in every opportunity there is something worthwhile to go after. But I want to suggest to you that opportunity is not always synonymous with good. Opportunity is such a recognizable buzzword within our culture and society, that its merits come celebrated without scrutiny. Opportunity is what we lift up most in our country. Everyday people are looking for that new opportunity of a lifetime. We are conditioned to see opportunities as a chance to find a better way of life, a chance to fulfill individual hopes and dreams, a chance to the climb the corporate ladder of success. Some theological circles have even bought into this ideology because this is what many people want to hear. Instead of a gospel that teaches “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2), Sunday morning for many is a self-help session on how to seize opportunities in order to “live your better life now.” But the question we fail to ask ourselves and the question I believe that Peter did not ponder is “Is it worth it?” No matter how you try it, a person cannot say yes to one opportunity without having to say no to any number of things. Is it worth it to work an extra twenty hours a week but sacrifice your sanity? Is it worth it to go after the well- paying job you don’t like and lose your joy? Is it worth it to endure physical and emotional abuse in a relationship just to avoid being alone? Is it worth it to follow the ways of the world while forsaking the will of God? These are hard questions to answer because they recognize the fact that you just can’t have it both ways. Sometimes saying yes to an opportunity can also mean saying no to God. Sometimes what God wants for us conflicts with what we want for ourselves. And it is at these times that the question remains, are you willing to trust God even when the road you are to travel is going opposite the road you want to take? The writer M. Scott Peck wrote in his book The Road Less Traveled that there are times in life when we have to give up parts of ourselves. Of his childhood he recounts this story, saying, I spent much of my ninth summer on a bicycle. About a mile from our house the road went down a steep hill and turned sharply at the bottom. Coasting down the hill one morning, I felt the increase in speed to be ecstatic. To give up this ecstasy by applying brakes seemed an absurd self-punishment. So I decided to simultaneously retain my speed while negotiating the corner. But my ecstasy ended seconds later when I was propelled a dozen feet off the road into the woods. I was badly scratched and bleeding, and the front wheel of my new bike was twisted beyond use from the impact. I had been unwilling to suffer the pain of giving up my ecstatic speed in the interest of maintaining balance around the corner. I learned, however, that the loss of balance is ultimately more painful than the giving up required to maintain it. It is a lesson I have continually had to relearn, as we all must, for as we negotiate the curves and corners of our lives, we must continually give up parts of ourselves. I believe that this is the lesson that Peter had to learn. Before answering Peter’s rebuke, Christ turned and looked at the disciples, probably because he knew they were just as confused as Peter. And as he turned back to Peter, he rebuked him saying, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Christ challenged Peter to give up his fixation on the opportunity for earthly greatness, to let go of the sensations of self-interest, to give up a part of himself in the interest of maintaining the course and doing the will of God. It is not by accident that Jesus refers to Peter as Satan. In the Gospel of Matthew, when Satan tempted Jesus, he took Jesus to the top of a mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, offering them to him in exchange for his worship. God has allowed Satan to have domain in this world. And Satan always tempts us by trying to get us to put the things of the world ahead of our devotion to God. And whenever we put the things of the world before Christ, then in our lives Christ does not reign. That’s why Jesus says to Peter, Get behind me and take Satan with you. Stop trying to lead me and let me lead you. How can you follow if you’re always trying to get ahead of me? You just confessed that I am the Messiah; then let me be just that. Let go of your grasp for the ways of the world and follow me. And know that what you receive in me will be much greater than what you give up in the world. That is what faith is all about; trusting God even when you can’t trace God. Conventional wisdom says that when opportunities come, we should go after them, but divine wisdom says trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. This season of Lent is a time when we acknowledge that we have done some things that have taken us off of the path. At times, we have gone after the things of the world and forsaken the things of God. We pursue quick thrills, finding little sustaining worth. But God is so good that God yet extends an opportunity for us to get on the right path and follow Christ anew. I’m reminded of a story I once heard of a man who bought a brand-new car. The car was beautiful; it had all the bells and whistles. And one of the things that came with the car was a GPS navigation system. Now basically, this is a computer that helps you get wherever it is that you need to go. You just punch in the address and the computer will tell you when to turn left, when to turn right, and what streets to take. Well, the man was so thrilled by this new toy that he thought he would test it out. So he put in an address, followed the computer’s directions, and sure enough, he got where he intended to go. But then he begin to wonder what would happen if he didn’t follow the directions given by the computer. So he punched in a new destination and began to drive, but ignored the computer’s directions. When he came to the end of the street, the computer said go left, but instead he went right. After that the computer said make a U-turn at the next light, but instead he took another right. Next the computer indicated that he should make a right at the next stop sign, but instead he went left. He continued to do this, and after a while he had gotten so far off the path that the computer ceased to work from the original coordinates. So instead of proceeding with the course, all of a sudden there flashed across the screen of the navigation system a new map, with new directions headed by the title “New Route.” The good news is that no matter how far off the path you get, no matter how many wrong turns you take, God still has the power to provide a new route to the place God intended for you to go. When God tells us to go to a particular place or to follow a particular path, there will always be the temptation to go the other way—to go east when you should go west, to go north when you should go south, to go left when you should go right. But no matter how lost you get, there is not a place that God can’t find you. And whenever we find ourselves misled and misdirected, God shows up and flashes before us a new route, a new direction, a new alternative, a new course, a new path all to get us back to where he wants us to go. Therefore, it’s not too late. There is still time to take up your cross and follow the one who walks with us every step of the way. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will direct your paths.