Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when was the last time you heard the phrase, “Going all out for something”? Last week our mayor and council members went all out to welcome the Governor into Kingman. People will go all out to celebrate a wedding. And, we can go all out to celebrate our new life in Christ.
Well, this message is not so much about going all out, as it is about going all in. I hope you won’t mind if I borrow this phrase from the game of poker. How come poker has become so popular these days? It seems every sports channel follows the World Poker Tour or something similar. You don’t have to raise your hand if you watch that. These professional poker players are becoming household names, almost like golfers. I guess that’s because poker is not just a game of chance but also involves the art of reading your opponents, and betting the right amount at the right time.
Now, what does it mean when a player says, “I’m all in”? It means that he is committing all his chips to that hand. He may be bluffing, or he may really have something. It is up to the other players to figure out whether to fold or accept the challenge. Sometimes during the breaks the pros explain their strategy and teach others the skills of the game, but not too much. After all, that’s how they make their living.
If you like to listen to experts and people with interesting life stories, you can find plenty of talk shows on other channels too. There are hosts who interview famous people and people with infamous dilemmas. There are good talk shows and some not so good. There is a talk show where people yell and scream and exchange punches. You don’t have to watch that.
There are talk shows that can help you make money – or lose it in a hurry. I used to watch the Wall Street Week. It never ceased to amaze me. One week all the experts on the show gave you the impression the stock market had nowhere to go but up. Two days later the market took a plunge. On the next show, the same people who had been so bullish the previous week, were making comments like “We have been advising our clients that the market was due for a correction.” Huh? Where did that come from? “The market was due for a correction” – that’s a sophisticated way of saying “You just lost your shirt, boy!”
It is obvious that while there are people whose words are wise, reliable, and worth listening to, there are others who have a lot to say but their words don’t amount to a hill of beans. In order to determine which is which, we need wisdom, understanding, and discernment. The same is true for the spiritual side of life. There too are many words coming at us from all directions and we must discern whose words to follow. There is one voice that stands out above any other. It is the voice of the Good Shepherd, Jesus, who said, My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; and no one can snatch them out of my hand.
Jesus is the One who has the words of eternal life, and His words are true. He went all in for us and He wasn’t bluffing! Jesus has proven the worth of His words by the testimony of His deeds. He walked the talk. He said He would suffer for our sins and He did. He said He would be killed and in three days rise again from the dead, and He did. So when He said that whoever believes in Him will not be condemned but have eternal life, you can take that to the bank!
A few decades ago, before I returned to faith in Jesus, I was wandering in the vastness of spirituality and religious philosophies. Pantheism and Zen Buddhism were in the forefront of my interest. I sort of got into it through the study of Japanese gardens. There is more to it than moss, rocks, and a lantern. I learned about order and balance, meditation, and rising above the troubles of this life through discipline and creativity. I also had some artist friends who were into Zen, and I thought it sounded wonderful.
I remember one artist who lived on the windward side of Oahu sharing about an experience he had while observing birds that were flying higher and higher in a spiral ascent using the air currents. Then, at a precise moment when the conditions were just right, they stopped, just hanging in the air, balancing themselves in the wind, defying the laws of gravity. To him, this was the very moment when the birds entered into one-ness with God. And for the observer, this was a moment of enlightenment. And he had other wonderful-sounding stories to offer.
Shortly after that visit I had a heart attack and in the Intensive Care Unit when I didn’t know whether I would live or die, things took on a different perspective. For one thing, I can sincerely confess to you that a flock of birds hanging in the air was the last thing on my mind. I needed something a lot more substantial than that, and fast! I needed to reconnect with the One who has the words of eternal life. I needed to reconnect with Jesus. And by the grace of God I did.
I know there are others here today who have also been in situations between life and death, and for whom nothing else would do except the words of eternal life, the words of Jesus.
For several weeks now we have been learning from the 6th chapter of John which portrays Jesus explaining to the people in Galilee that he was the living bread that came down from heaven – the Bread of life. As long as the people compared the manna their ancestors ate in the wilderness with the miraculous feeding of the five thousand, Jesus remained popular with them.
But when He told them that if they didn’t eat His flesh and drink His blood, there was no life in them, they took offense. They did not understand. They couldn’t. They didn’t know anything about Holy Communion yet. To them, His words sounded like cannibalism.
They said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can listen to it?” And many turned away and no longer followed Him. When Jesus saw them leave, He asked His twelve disciples, Do you also want to leave? And Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the holy One of God.
Wow! What a confession of faith! You know that in some places in the Bible Peter does not receive great reviews. He is sometimes portrayed as impulsive, hot-tempered man. But he sure got this one right! You see, he didn’t understand about the Lord’s flesh and blood either, but he did not hold back his faith in Jesus. Peter went all in! Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
And listen to what he said later on when he addressed the Sanhedrin, the council of Jewish leaders: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people except the name of Jesus (Acts 4: 12).
Think about it – Peter could have claimed his identity as a Jew, one of God’s chosen people, a descendant of Abraham as a way of salvation. He could have pointed to animal sacrifices at the temple as a way to forgiveness. He could have hope that his good deeds outweighed the bad ones to be considered righteous, as many people still do today, but he didn’t. He went all in for Jesus. He didn’t hold anything back. To use poker language, Peter bet all his chips on Jesus. And you know what? So must we!
Now, when it comes to eternity, we don’t have much of a problem. We do not claim self-righteousness, we don’t belong to a cult, we don’t follow new age philosophies. When it comes to eternal life, we don’t have a problem betting all our chips on Jesus. We know and believe that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We know and believe that Jesus suffered and died for every one of our sins once and for all and we claim His promise that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have the gift of eternal life.
But when it comes to investing all our faith and life in Jesus, there may be times when we may hesitate and hold back. We too may be like those people scratching their head when Jesus told them about eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
Actually, we have an advantage over them on that subject. We understand He was pointing to the Last Supper and to what we now celebrate as Holy Communion. We have studied Genus Majestaticum in the seminary. Partaking of the Lord’s Body and Blood does not offend us.
But what about some of the Lord’s other teachings? Could we take offense and turn away? What about loving our enemies? Does that offend anyone? What about giving one of our two coats to someone who doesn’t have any? Could we take offense in that? What about “Go and sin no more”? It would be easier to sugar coat sin so that we could go on doing it, right? But that’s not what the Lord said. Does that offend us? And what about Love one another as I have loved you. Surely we could be offended by that. This commandment of Jesus calls us to love people we don’t want to love. Loving one another the way the Lord loved us means I am to take abuse from people and still pray that the Father will forgive them. I don’t like that one very much, do you? Loving one another as Christ loved us means I don’t get my way all the time. Oy vey! It means that we don’t look for reasons to criticize each other but build each other up. It means I have to put the needs of others at least at the level of my own. It means that I will support a building program even though they may not select my preferred color of carpeting. Loving one another the way the Lord loved us means that I have to change. But I don’t want to change. Change is uncomfortable and I would rather avoid it.
But you know something? We cannot avoid the words of Jesus. We cannot turn away from Him and go our own way. He has the words of eternal life. We have to go all in.
Because Jesus has the true words of eternal life, we will not turn away from Him, even though some of His teachings may challenge us, make us uncomfortable, and demand a change in us. Because you see, since Jesus gives us blessed eternity with him, He wants us to live a new life in Him, in this world also. The power of His love makes it possible. For Jesus is not only the Lord of the hereafter, He is also the Lord of the here and now. In today’s Gospel lesson He invites us to go all in for Him.
I look around and see people who enjoy a personal daily walk with Jesus in their lives. I see people who wake up with a prayer on their lips, who look for every opportunity to raise a voice of thanksgiving, and sing a song of praise to our loving heavenly Father, people who are eager to forgive others as the Father has forgiven them. I see people in whom the word of Christ dwells richly, who affirm and encourage each other. I see brothers and sisters in Christ in this church family who pray for each other and help one another. I see people who walk the path of hope, with peace in their hearts, people who radiate the love of Jesus to others around them. I see people who are all in for Jesus. Are you? Let’s do it! Amen?
