Finders Weepers. Losers Keepers.

Finish this saying: “Finders ___________. Losers ___________.” The blanks of course should read: “Finders keepers. Losers weepers.” This traditional saying means that if you find something like a $20 bill on the street, you get to keep it. And if you were the one to lose that $20, well, too bad for you. You can cry about it, but because of your carelessness, you don’t deserve to get back what you lost. This is often how our cutthroat world thinks. If you want to get ahead in life, the world says, you better pay attention, work hard, and take all you can get, wherever you can get it.

As usual, Jesus turns worldly wisdom on its head. He says: “Finders weepers. Losers keepers.” What exactly does that mean? Let’s find out as we listen to the words of Jesus. (Read the text.)

Our sermon text is a continuation of our Gospel lessons from the last couple of Sundays. We heard Jesus urge his disciples to pray for God to send willing preachers to announce the message of salvation. He then pointed to those very same disciples and said: “Now go! I am sending YOU to preach the good news of salvation. And with the power I give you, heal the sick. Raise the dead. Proclaim peace.”

How do you think your life would change if Jesus gave you the ability to heal the sick? Don’t you suppose you would become an instant celebrity as you give grandpas and grandmas the strength to walk again without a cane, as you fix a newborn’s heart and cure the mother of four from her cancer? If you could do such miracles, would you ever have to buy a meal in this town again? Wouldn’t the people you help be grateful to you?

Like preschoolers who can’t wait to try out new playground equipment, the disciples must have been eager to rush off and try out their newfound ability of being able to heal the sick and preach peace. But Jesus said to them: “Hang on a second, there’s more you need to know. Some people are going to reject you for preaching that forgiveness comes only through faith in me. They may even persecute you for teaching that there is a definite right and a definite wrong way to live. Even your own family might turn their back on you.” That’s what Jesus meant when he said: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother…a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’” (Matthew 10:34-36)

“I did not come to bring peace on earth,” Jesus said. But how does that square with how the prophet Isaiah called Jesus the Messiah the “Prince of peace” (Is. 9:6)? Or how the angels outside of Bethlehem at Jesus’ birth were moved to sing: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14)? And didn’t Jesus himself once say to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you…Do not let your hearts be troubled…” (Jn. 14:27)? What does Jesus now mean when he says: “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34)?

To be sure, Jesus does give us peace. He gives us peace from a guilty conscience by declaring our sins forgiven. Jesus gives us peace as we face death, for we know that thanks to his resurrection, death will not be the end of us either. But we will only enjoy this peace when we put our trust in Jesus and no one and nothing else. Those who think that they are decent people already and don’t need Jesus will not enjoy this peace. Neither will those who insist that following Mohamad’s and Buddha’s teachings are also acceptable ways to get into heaven. They aren’t, says Jesus.

Nor will we always enjoy peace now when we lovingly rebuke family members for not walking in the path of God’s Word. Grown children may tell us to mind our own business when we point out that their live-in arrangement is not God-pleasing. Extended family might accuse us of being narrowminded when we refuse to worship at their churches where false doctrine is taught. But Jesus wants us to understand that following him does not mean peace at all costs. It means following him at any cost—even at the cost of losing friendships. Today Jesus calls us to be faithful followers, not fence sitters. (Eric Roecker)

That was also the point of Jesus’ enigmatic saying: “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39) Finders weepers. Losers keepers. If I would rather keep good relations with the people around me than follow Jesus, I may find acceptance and a temporal peace. But I will lose eternal life, and in the end will be the one weeping. If instead I lose my reputation, my job, my family relationships all because I refuse to deny Jesus and his Word, I will nevertheless keep my life…for eternity. Finders weepers. Losers keepers.