There's A Pill In The Grapejuice

But my friends, there is a tomorrow and there is a judgment day coming. And I want you to know that the smiles of a hundred congregations, and the compliments of a thousand parishioners, will not amount to a hill of beans if the prophet does not hear from his Master these words: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

The prophet must remain courageous and with the help of God this prophet will do so until the day God calls him home. I cannot not live as courageously as Jesus (of course), but he is my role model and I intend to follow his example as best I can.

Now having said that, let me be quick to add....while Jesus, was courageous, he was not reckless. It is true that on this occasion Jesus does stands firm, and Jesus does boldly insult the powers that be; calling Herod “An Old Fox”. Nevertheless, there were many other occasions when Jesus did the opposite; slipping away silently, without speaking a word.

Does that mean that Jesus has a character flaw; bold sometimes cowardly other times? Absolutely not! What this means is that Jesus (in addition to being a courageous man) is also a wise man. He is always courageous, advancing on his enemy every minute of the day, but he is constantly picking and choosing his battles as he goes.

I think there is more in this verse 32 than meets the eyes. I believe there is an actual play on words here. Even as Jesus calls Herod a fox in a pejorative sense of the word, he is playing the role of the fox to the hilt in the most positive sense of that word. Jesus is ironically making plans to be a bigger fox than Herod. Jesus says, “I am working today, I am working tomorrow, and then on the third day, I will reach my goal.”

And you know what? On the third day, Jesus did reach his goal. By rising again from the dead on the third day, he outfoxed the fox. Jesus clearly lost the last battle of his campaign, but that was all a part of his strategy. By losing that last battle, Jesus won the war. No military commander in all of history has used that strategy. It is out of this world...lose the battle but win the war? It was unheard of. But Jesus did it. And I think there is a message for you and me who live in a world where winning, always winning, seems to be the name of the game.

This week Martha Steward was convicted of 4 felonies. And for what reason? Apparently out of a driving desire to always be winning. In her case it was winning big; financially. Winning one billion dollars in the business world was not enough. Winning a reputation that made her a household name was not enough. She simply could not stand to lose, and so for less than 50,000 dollars, she falls into the same trap that thousands of others have fallen into before her.

When will these people learn the lesson Jesus teaches with his life? Sometimes winning is not the best strategy. To the contrary, when the matter is about the outcome of the overall campaign, sometimes the best strategy is losing a battle to two.

I think I more fully understand what my theology professor, John Leith, meant when he said to me once during my seminary experience, “Out there in the parish ministry, be careful how you choose your battles”. I didn’t know at the time just how completely wise his words actually are. After nearly 20 years, I think I am beginning to get it. I have been reading a lot of Civil War history and as I read the accounts of the battles, this same theme arises. It is the wise general who choses when and where he is going to engage the enemy. He will not fight the enemy on the enemy’s terms but will fight when he is good and ready.