32 Musical Selection

"Jesus - With Me, It's All Or Nothing!"

Climb Every Mountain! Jesus has given us a very high mountain
to climb - asking us in today's Scripture, Luke 14:25-33, to leave
everything to follow him - loving him more than you love your " father,
mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters - even more than your
own life." "If you come to me, but will not leave your family you
cannot be my follower" or to say it another way, WITH ME IT'S
ALL OR NOTHING!
I thought a little about that when finishing seminary. It wasn't like
I was going back home to Ohio - my first call was in Wisconsin, the
second in San Juan, Puerto Rico and the third in Miami Beach Florida!
My calling would keep me long distances from father, mother, brothers
sisters, nieces, nephews - all. But it was the only way I could do what I
was called to do.
Jesus did not mean that we must all leave our families. He simply
meant that we must give first priority to our spiritual task - to being a
person of Spirit. You are here on this planet to grow your Spirit and to be
a force for the development of the Spirit of Christ in the world. There will
be times when you will be tested as to the kind of person you really are.
In the way of illustration: Consider the man who was guiding two
clients to the top of Mt. Everest. When they were within 1000 feet of the
summit, they came across a climber who the day before had been left for
dead there in the death zone - but who somehow had survived the night
and, though delusional with the cold and altitude, greeted them. He needed
help - persons to take him back down to where he could me "medivacked"
out. The guide felt that was what, as human beings they were called to do.
His clients, each of whom had paid $25,000 dollars for the climb, agreed
to give up their dream of the mountaintop for this necessary humanitarian
mission.
It seems to me, in making that decision - they had reached the
mountaintop - that is, THE mountaintop, of God-like, Christ-like action.
The guide was not "a religious man" by his own understanding of that, not
affiliated with any church or synagogue - but connected to the Divine
thread that links humanity with Divinity - connected in his heart to the
Heart of the Universe.
The rescue was successful. The wife and sons of the rescued
man who had been notified of his death, but then, one of his sons, following
the event on the internet saw the latest report that his father had been
found alive and rescued. Their joy was beyond measure. Their rescued
loved one told them that he would be missing parts of some fingers and
toes. They asserted that they would love him just as much without them.
An interesting sidelight to the event was that in addition to the
three that rescued him, two others came by at the same time, and
overhearing them speaking English, indicated they did not speak English,
did not understand what was being said and kept on trekking toward the
summit. Later it was learned that they did speak English - they just didn't
speak "human being" - they didn't speak "Divinity"
The question Jesus has for you today is simple - to you speak
"Divinity" with your life. Ironically, speaking "Divinity" with you life could
me that you answer the call, not to leave your mother or father, but to care
for them, cantankerous and difficult as they may be, or hopefully upbeat
and easy.
Whatever happens in your life where a need that you can meet
presents itself, gives you the opportunity to climb the mountain - or as it
was in the climbers case - to descend the mountain! Where you express
your Divinity is entirely dependent on where you humanity finds you - and
gives you the opportunity to know who you are - if you are the Christ's or
not.
Years ago, when one of our parishioners went blind, she added
me to her bank accounts so that I could pay her bills and take care of any
needs that might arise. When she died, the way the accounts were set up,
I had every legal right to take what was in those accounts - thousands and
thousands of dollars - but that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted those
dollars to go the church and they did. I had no temptation to take them -
I knew who I was and that I was in Christ and Christ was in me. There
was no question.
Jesus wants you to lead a "No question" life. Though it's a simple
ethic, it is well worth the following - to guide your life by the life of Christ.
To follow His way of thinking and doing without question.
How well do we do that? We'd have to ask someone other than
ourselves. As a "Christian nation", we might ask someone from Islam for
example. The fact is that the Muslims who despise us, dislike us no...