Peter was a successful fisherman, as were several other disciples of Jesus. Matthew, even though he was probably dishonest in his tax collecting, was successful and wealthy. Lydia was a highly successful businesswoman, providing luxury fabric to royalty and the rich and famous. Cornelius was a high-ranking military officer in the Roman Empire. Paul had an “Ivy League” education and was likely to become one of Judaism’s most influential leaders. What do all of these people have in common? Each in their own way responded to the invitation of Jesus to do life and faith radically different than the norm, which required them to lay it all on the line for something greater than they could experience apart from Jesus.
How much would you pay for an old, run-down house in Ohio? How much would you pay for it if you knew that all the contents were included in the sales price? How much would you pay for it if you knew that the attic contained a box of mint-condition baseball cards worth somewhere around $3M? Karl Kissner didn’t have to make that decision, because the house was left to him by his late grandfather, who got the set 100 years ago, and, not knowing what to do with them, placed them in a cardboard box and stored them in the attic beneath a dollhouse.
The reality is, if you knew the value of the contents of that house, you would potentially sacrifice everything in order to get that deed. Jesus told a few parables (Matthew 13:44-46) along this line – one about a guy knowing what was hidden in a field who leveraged all he had to buy the field so that he could get the treasure it held. Another was about a man who discovered a great pearl and sold all he had to get it. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is such a find – that when people realize what it is, it causes some to sacrifice everything they have – risking it all – in order to embrace it. Some, but not all. I wonder why? More on that later…
The Kingdom of God promises – and delivers – something that everyone inherently wants. Jesus called it an abundant, rich and satisfying life (John 10:10). A life experience that is what we all naturally dream of: healthy relationships, meaningful use of our gifts and talents, fun, sometimes exhilarating. And if we really push it, we’ll say that we not only want it for ourselves, but for everyone, everywhere. That’s what the Kingdom of God promises and delivers. In contrast, Jesus states his beliefs pretty plainly – the way of our world may promise the same, but it does not deliver on that promise. Much worse than simply falling short, Jesus states that the way of the world leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). Seems like a pretty obvious, easy choice. So I ask the question again: why is it that Jesus himself says that only a few find it? why not everybody?
In his book, Why Religion is Natural and Science is Not, Robert McCauley notes that human beings are hard-wired to be religious. Religious practices predate language systems. Religious practices are prehistoric, dating back 27,000 years. We have an innate belief in a Higher Power, to borrow from Alcoholics Anonymous. And, interestingly, we also have an inherent need to be at peace with that Higher Power. This means human beings will naturally resonate with rituals that both acknowledge a Higher Power and serve to reconcile themselves with that Higher Power. We believe in God, and we want God to be on our side (or at least off our back).
If we are hard wired to believe in God and be at peace with God, why, again, does Jesus insist that only a few find themselves on the path that leads to life in the Kingdom of God?
I think we get a hint about the answer when we compare what human beings seem to naturally crave with what Jesus actually calls for. Human beings want to feel at peace with God (thus the existence of rituals to provide such a feeling). Jesus calls for more than a ritual to experience the Kingdom of God. In his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus calls for living differently – a mode of being and doing that is often in sharp contrast with cultural norms:
Don’t judge others. Be proactively kind and loving. Think deeply about your anger instead of simply reacting. Consider what God’s blessing looks like – don’t assume it’s tied to health and wealth. Don’t be legalistic. Mind your thought-life, which is the root of behavior. Turn the other cheek. Love your enemies. Give generously to the needy without fanfare. Pray for God’s will above your own. Fast quietly. Don’t be consumed with money concerns. BE aware of which Master you are serving. Don’t hoard. Don’t obsess over things.
This is just one sermon’s worth of ideas to incorporate which are in stark contrast to culturally held views even today. Why do only a few people get it? Because it’s not easy! It is much, much easier to just state belief in God, do what you think you need to do to keep God off your back (and in your pocket), and go on living life like the majority of the people in the world. Why do Peter, Matthew, Lydia, Cornelius, and Paul stand our as heroes in the faith? Because they were among the relatively few who actually walked the narrow path Jesus walked. Sure, Jesus invited all who are weary and burdened to come to him and he would give them rest, because his yoke was easy and burden light, but that may only be true for people who actually come to him and stay with him. The majority find the way of Jesus difficult because they are trying, simultaneously, to live as the world instructs – a well-traveled highway littered with destruction. It may promise, but it does not deliver.
The problem is relevant to our day and time. I am a citizen of the United States. Currently we are the world’s only true Super Power. As such, our theology may get skewed into thinking that God must be endorsing us. Since God is for America, then being a good American assures God’s blessing. We even print “In God We Trust” on our money and “Under God” is part of our Pledge of Allegiance – nice rituals to keep us thinking that we’re keeping peace with the Almighty. Furthermore, we live in the country where Christian Fundamentalism was born, which takes the scripture literally (albeit too often simplistically and thoughtlessly, in my opinion). This tradition is the foundation for what became Evangelicalism, which focuses heavily on accepting the work of Christ on the cross for personal redemption: being at peace with God so that you will one day go to heaven. You can live like a fool your whole life, but if you prayed the prayer very early or very late in life, you get the eternal mansion in Glory just the same. Hallelujah! Fits right in with our core, hard-wire inclinations, doesn’t it? And it’s easy.
In all fairness, Evangelicalism certainly promotes a life lived with Christ. But what tops the Christian radio charts and what fills mega churches is the simple message that God does exist, we are not right with God, but that God has provided the means to make peace with humanity: Christ and his passion. This is widely known and embraced. But the stuff Jesus called for is not lived out by the majority who make the confession. This assertion is affirmed by research that notes the lack of significant differentiation in moral and ethical behavior between those who profess Christianity and those who do not.
This is not a new phenomenon. John, in his letter to the churches called Revelation, said that God saw the lukewarm devotion (read: highway that leads to destruction instead of narrow path following Jesus) and wanted to spit them out of His mouth. The writer of Hebrews was disgusted by the lack of Christ-likeness development – walking the narrow path. The writer calls the people to account: your should be feeding yourselves by now, but you are still babies on milk after decades of knowing Jesus’ call for narrow-path, counter-cultural living (Hebrews 5:11-14). The Apostle Paul basically told the church in Corinth the same thing, saying they were breast-feeding babies when they should be meat-eating adults in the faith. Later he noted his own journey, saying that he left childish things behind as he became more and more mature in the faith (1 Corinthians 3:1-3; 13:11). James takes his audience to task, saying that those who hear what Jesus called for but don’t live it out are kidding themselves – it’s like they saw themselves in a mirror and immediately forgot who they were and what they looked like when they walk away (James 1:22-24).
And then there’s Jesus. In his Sermon on the Mount, he repeatedly emphasizes the importance of living differently as the new mode of being that steps us into the Kingdom of God. It’s not simply about a ritual or expression that makes peace with God. It’s about doing life rooted in being a child of God. The highway of destruction is a house of cards that is promoted by the culture in myriad ways with billions of dollars. But is crashes hard, like a house built on sand that gets slammed by a storm. The narrow path, however, is a house that has no appeal to the masses and may even appear to be worthless, yet within it is something worth sacrificing for. It is like a house built on a slab of Sierra granite – it will withstand whatever storms may come (Matthew 7:24-27).
It’s a doing out of being thing. A choice of one house of cards or another.
And be aware: your decision does not affect you alone. When we choose the easy route, the highway with lots of people on it – must be right, right? – we suffer the consequences of not living in the Kingdom of God now. We sacrifice our relationships, our passions, our health, and our fortunes, mostly unwittingly, and do not experience anything close to what the Kingdom offers. And because we do not choose Christ’s narrow path, which requires sacrifice, people who would benefit from our sacrifice do not. People in our sphere who don’t have a clue that there is a narrow path that works never find it, and suffer the consequences. Children who need to be raised in the Way don’t, and pay the price of ignorance with their lives. The community of Jesus called the Church limps along on a dime, struggling to inch forward because of lack of volunteers and financial support. Orphaned children half a world away don’t eat when we chose to gorge when sacrifice is required. This is not an attempt at a guilt trip. This is the reality. If it makes us feel guilty, maybe it’s because we are guilty. Guilty of choosing comfort over sacrifice, of getting on the highway with most everyone else when the narrow path is really where we need to walk. Guilty of giving Jesus the finger, essentially, when we receive his invitation and ignore it.
Peter, Lydia, Matthew, Cornelius, and Paul chose the narrow path. Every follower of Jesus and innumerable others since have benefitted because they did.
One house of cards or another. One is easy but fails and falls. One requiring sacrifice, is counter-cultural, difficult, yet stands strong. One gives lip service ritual. The other picks up a cross and follows.
