Dr. Dale Miller, October 29, 2006

Raising the Expectations

Fourth in a five-part series on taking our church to the next level

Mark 10:17-31

As you know I grew up learning to play the piano. For several years I took lessons from kindly old Mrs. Bridges. She enjoyed our lessons and would often overlook how well I was prepared for our time together. It was a sad day when she told me that I would have to find another teacher. She had taken me as far as she could go. It took my parents several weeks to find a new teacher. It was exciting to audition for Mr. Kantarze. He immediately told me all the things that I did wrong, what things we were going to have to work on, how hard I was going to have to work, and the sense of commitment that was necessary in learning to play the piano. I was overwhelmed but eager. That is, I was eager until that one week where I had not practiced at all in preparation for my lesson.

We always started our one-hour lesson with scales, arpeggios and chords. These are the foundations upon which any piano music is based and are necessary to master. I had not practiced them at all because I found them to be tedious and boring. Within five minutes of starting of my lesson, Mr. Kantarze calmly arose from his chair, walked over to the piano and closed the lid on his Steinway. He quietly said, "You may go home now. Don't waste my time. Don't come back until you are willing to work for it." I was devastated and numb. My little world of understanding how to approach learning the piano was shattered. What took me a while to get through my brain was that my expectations of achievement were being challenged. How was I going to have to change my life, my way of doing things in order to do what my teacher knew I should be doing?

There is a poignant story in the Gospel of Mark about a man who came to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus recited the commandments, and the man said, "I've done all that." Jesus looked at him and loved him, and said, "Okay, there's one more thing, in your case. Go and sell everything you have and donate the money to the poor, and come follow me." The Bible sums up the story succinctly: "When the man heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions." (Mark 10:17-22)

The rich young man is a serious seeker after eternal life. In the Gospels the phrase "eternal life" means life on a higher plain, life above the mundane, life to fullest. He shows great respect to Jesus. Without bravado he kneels before Jesus. Although he is a leader, he doesn't throw his weight around. He has wealth, but he got it ethically. He knows the commandments and has kept them from his youth. He is not a highbrow society man or a tyrannical leader. There is no reason to dislike him.

The young man is also incomplete and he seeks to satisfy the hunger he cannot name. He comes to Jesus to ask what he is lacking, what he must do to be whole. Mark records, "Jesus, looking at him, loved him." We expect that Jesus will give him what he wants. The young man has a set of expectations that Jesus is going to tell him that he is doing all the right things. Instead, Jesus says that the young man's expectations aren't the same as his.

The young man can't believe it. A potential disciple, a man whom Jesus loves, turns and slowly walks in the opposite direction. An earnest, humble, ethical seeker comes to Jesus and Jesus loves the man into leaving. The rich young ruler wanted to be a follower, a recruit, a new member of the small band, but the bar is set too high. He asks a simple question and gets an answer that threatens him to the core. He came looking for validation and Jesus asks for nothing less than conversion - a complete change of expectations and direction.

There is a story about a woman who went into a pet store to buy a parrot. She wanted a parrot that could talk. The owner of the store sold her a bird guaranteed to talk. She thanked him, took the bird home and placed him in a cage. Two days later, she returned to the store to say the parrot had not yet talked. "Did you put a mirror in the cage?" the pet store manager asked. "A mirror?" "Oh, yes," he replied. "Sometimes parrots like to preen themselves in front of a mirror, and that helps them begin to talk." So the woman bought a mirror, took it home, and placed it in the cage.

The next day she returned to the store. No luck. No response. The parrot still had not even tried to talk. "Try a ladder," the manager said. "Sometimes parrots like to climb ladders, and that stimulates them to talk." So the woman bought a ladder and tried that, but still to no avail. Not a peep.

The next day she returned again. The parrot was making no progress she reported. "Try a swing," said the man. "Parrots like to amuse themselves on a swing, and that will surely do the trick." Dutifully, the woman bought a swing and placed it in the cage with her bird. The next morning, she came back to the store. "My parrot died last night," she said sadly. "I'm truly sorry to hear that," said the manager. "Did the parrot say anything at all before he died?" "Yes he did," came the reply. "Just before he breathed his last breath, he said, "Don't they sell food down at that pet store?"

In that story it is easy to see how we buy mirrors by which to primp, ladders by which to climb higher, and swings by which we seek pleasure. But where is the food for our souls? Jesus sets the expectations for the people who are following him. We, unfortunately, keep trying to re-write those expectations to meet our own needs.

The rich young ruler is intent on fulfilling his destiny. His individual need is more important than the success of any larger entity or cause. In his book, The Good Society, Robert Bellah suggests that organizations are suffering today because we no longer value sacrifice and service above personal success and enjoyment. Thinking about the self and how to fulfill it, how to help it realize all its potential before decline and death, has become a mania in our time.

What did Jesus say to the man? "You're nearly there," he said. "You've really worked on your life. But you still lack one thing, the crowning achievement, the coup de gras. You're still tied to your possessions. Go and sell everything you own, and then come back and follow me."

Wow! What a body blow that must have been! Sell everything and follow Jesus. The young man wanted to believe in Jesus, but the response of Jesus let the man know that he also had to follow Jesus. The man was suppose to lay it on the line with his life. He needed to stop pussyfooting around with his self-improvement campaign and do something very dramatic, very revolutionary, with his life. Commit his life to Jesus. Follow the Master, like the disciples, those poor guys who had never done very much with their lives before they met Jesus.

Basically, Jesus is saying, "Stop worrying about all the rules and regulations. Stop fiddling with the minor adjustments to your character. Do something really basic with your life. Sell all the stuff that makes you feel important and successful and come follow me." In other words, we don't fulfill ourselves by achieving something we have never achieved before. We do it by taking a right turn with the self, by forgetting our self for a change and making a commitment to someone or something a lot bigger than we will ever be by our selves.

What Jesus is asking is hard. The scandal of our faith is that it costs. It is free but it also costs. We like the free part; we're not so crazy about the cost part. So we sometimes turn away sadly and go back to our toys and programs and self-improvement gimmicks. We find it harder to say, "Okay, Jesus, you're calling the shots. It's a big step but I can take it. Here are the keys to my life. I'm uncomfortable, I have to tell you, but I'm also excited. Thank you for giving me the possibility of new life."

This is our personal summons by Jesus, but we also have a corporate summons, a call by Christ to be his church. Let's retell the story. A wonderful, faithful congregation called Nardin Park United Methodist Church approached Jesus. This body of Christ related to him what they were doing to live out their faith. Their list of endeavors was quite impressive and very well done. Jesus looked at them and loved them and said, "That's excellent. There are a few more things to do, but let's start with this one. You are a part of that Body of Christ that I lovingly call the United Methodists. I rely on United Methodists to do mission throughout the world. Every church is connected to each other in order to accomplish the ministries and missions that I set before them. Your task is to be fully and totally committed to that connection by paying 100% of your First Mile Mission Giving known as apportionments." Now, are we going to turn around and walk the other way, or are we going to claim the future?

Yes, I'm taking liberties with the retelling of the story. Yes, I have more than a casual interest in our First Mile Mission Giving. For our guests this morning I ask for your understanding as we talk about this church. For decades Nardin Park faithfully committed themselves to 100% completion of their First Mile Mission Giving, often called apportionments. From the very beginning of the Methodist movement monies were collected from the worshiping societies to go toward helping the poor, the widows, the people in prison and much, much more. Our founder, John Wesley, even founded a credit union for the people.

First Mile Mission Giving is a part of our identity as United Methodists. We believe that collectively we can do more together than we can do individually. So we celebrate our connection by engaging in ministries with other United Methodist Churches all around the world. In the days of John Wesley where the collected monies were to be applied was decided by Mr. Wesley and his leaders. Today the representative delegates of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church decide where the First Mile Mission Giving monies are designated. You can imagine the chaos if every one of the nine million Methodists in the world today were to vote on how each and every possible ministry and mission dollar were spent.

Let's deal, however, with an issue that is closer to home. Twelve years ago we began losing our ability to maintain our 100% support of First Mile Mission Giving. I have heard the stories of what happened to contribute to our membership loss and our financial struggles. I hear them and I understand them. There comes a time, however, when we need to let go. As long as we hold on to what has embittered us we will never be able to become the healthy church that Jesus calls us to be.

Centuries ago two priests were returning to their monastery. They came upon a flooded river where the small bridge had been washed away. Several people were gathered on the bank trying to find the safest place to cross. The monks decided to carry the people across who could not make it by themselves. One of the persons was a known woman of dubious honor. In spite of her reputation one of the monks lifted her up, carried her across, and placed her safely on the opposite shore.

The two monks continued on their journey. Several days after their arrival at the monastery one of the priests approached the priest who had transported the woman through the water. He said to him, "I can't believe you carried her, that woman of all people. She was not worthy of your attention. I would have never carried her." The other priest responded, "I carried her across the river, but you carry her still."

If any of us are still mad at the Conference, it is time to shed ourselves of the burden of anger and resentment. We need to raise our expectations so that we can shed the past, celebrate the present and anticipate a glorious future. Quite frankly, I don't lose sleep over what happened twelve years ago. I do care what is happening now. It is time to be United Methodists once again. It is time to reclaim our identity and our connection. It is time to raise our expectations as disciples and as the Body of Christ known as Nardin Park.

This morning we are having a Mission Fair. There will be displays of all the opportunities we have to be in mission. Almost all of the displays have to deal with Second Mile Mission Giving and personal involvement. We do an incredible job with Second Mile Missions. Look at them all and see if there is something that God is calling you to do and to be.

There is also a First Mile Mission Giving challenge this morning. In your bulletins there is a yellow First Mile Mission Giving envelope. These envelopes will be available in the pews for the months of November and December. I challenge us to give monies over and beyond our regular offering contribution for our First Mile Mission Giving responsibility. I also challenge us to visit the Stewardship display and sign the First Mile Mission Giving poster. In doing so, we are saying that we want to be United Methodists, in full connection with other United Methodists, and that we will make First Mile Mission Giving a priority within our church.

Also available at that display are financial commitment cards and a sign-up sheet for offering envelopes. If you were unable to participate in our spring financial campaign, this is your opportunity to make a six-month commitment through April 2007 when we have our next annual campaign. If you do not currently use offering envelopes, but you would like to use them, whether you make a financial commitment or not, you may sign your name and we will see that you receive them.

That is our personal challenge for this morning, but there is also a corporate challenge for us as well. I challenge all groups within the church to consider tithing toward First Mile Mission Giving from any monies gained through fund-raising. If your group were to do a spaghetti dinner, then challenge yourselves to tithe 10% of your profits to First Mile Mission Giving. If we make money from renting out our facilities, then let us challenge ourselves to tithe 10% of the rental toward First Mile Mission Giving. This is not a mandated church policy or procedure. This is a faith challenge.

To test out the waters for this challenge I contacted Tina Jensen, our Rummage Sale Director. Two weeks ago the Rummage Sale made over $12,000. She polled her committee and they decided to tithe 10% of their net proceeds to First Mile Mission Giving. I have a check for $1,200 for First Mile Mission Giving.

• We are raising the expectations of our faith and our faith community.

• We are choosing to live in the present and not in the past.

• We are not turning away from being disciples of Jesus Christ.

• We are removing the obstacles that are in our way of serving God.

• We can live up to the expectations that Jesus has for our lives, for our church life.

• We can live up to the expectations when we learn how to live into the expectations of the Kingdom of God.

Living in God is risky, but as the sign says on our front lawn: "If we risk nothing, we risk everything." I can't imagine a better, more fulfilling life than following Jesus. I know you can't either. Amen.