Jesus was no Boy Scout. There’s an attention grabber and a call for debate. I know that there was no such thing as the Scouts 2000 years ago, but I’m thinking about the adherence to the Scout motto “Be Prepared”, at least as we would normally consider preparation to be. “Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.” “Disciples hit the road, no preparation required.” I’ve packed for camping trips. Actually, as I write this we are preparing for a road trip vacation. As we pack: Are we planning on bringing stuff back with us? Will there be room? Do we need the roof rack? The rain bag? Will we need some dressy clothes? Do we have enough of our medications? Will we be able to do laundry? Enough clothes? Reservations? It’d been a lot of preparation and planning. If it were backwoods hiking, more of a scouting thing: extra pair of wool socks, food or knowledge of how to safely acquire it, shelter, ability to start a fire, first aid, the list goes on. This is where our mind immediately goes when we think about preparation. It goes over to churches: Do we have wind insurance, flood insurance, D&O, liability, a disaster plan, an endowment etc. etc. Preparation. Be Prepared! It’s a great motto. Baden Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts, made it the motto, and it is no coincidence that the motto words are Baden Powell’s initials, BP. So if anyone were to be the top expert in interpreting the meaning of the motto, it’s going to be him. He spoke of being prepared to do your duty. He wrote, “A Scout’s Duty is to be Useful and to Help Others. And he is to do his duty before anything else, even though he gives up his own pleasure, or comfort, or safety to do it. When in difficulty to know which of two things to do, he must ask himself, “Which is my duty?” that is, “Which is best for other people?”—and do that one. He must Be Prepared at any time to save life, or to help injured persons. And he must do a good turn to somebody every day. Oooooo. Oops, not so fast on that not a Boy Scout opening. When I initially read through the Gospel for today, planning for eventualities was weighing heavily on my mind and Jesus’ words grabbed me immediately and I thought of that motto, so I looked it up. As it turns out, once again, following last week’s Gospel, it has to do with focus and priority. For Baden Powell the preparation was one of preparing oneself for reaching outside of one’s self to others. So at its essence, the focus is not on the stuff, it’s on relationships and others. It sounds like BP and Jesus are on the same page here. But, I’m left wondering, “why not the stuff?” and “Why does this part matter to Jesus?” There’s a moment in the movie Shrek where donkey and Shrek at the very beginnings of a relationship and they stop. Donkey: [looks at a hovel] Whoa, look at that. Who’d wanna live in a place like that? Shrek: ‘That’ would be my home. Ever heard the saying, “don’t complain about a farmer with your mouth full?” Or have you ever observed someone new or a visitor to your town, home or culture turn their nose up at, look down on or bad-mouth foods, traditions, words, accents, homes, occupations, wealth or music to name a few. It’s usually not received very well and tends to open a credibility or respect gap. “So, you’ve come to teach me about peace, love and how close the kingdom of God is while you remain distant from me, condescend to me, patronize me and rebuff my hospitality and how I show it? You have no idea about who I am, what I have been through, what I hold dear and why, what I can afford, what brings me comfort and you presume to teach me about this Jesus guy and how he will bring me peace? Well, bless your heart. Let me help you pack. I’m sure you have other people you need to see. Bye, Hon.” Be Prepared. Leave your barriers behind and go and be a part of where you are. Eat and drink what is set before you so to speak. Don’t create barriers. Think of those whom you are with and their best interests and seek to actually bring peace and healing and be one with them through respect for who they are as children of God and being open to giving and receiving and living in thankfulness. For this next part, I am not taking a stab or pot shot at contemporary culture or a songwriter or a type of music or to just be snarky. The song “One of Us” by Joan Osborne asks the question, “What if God was one of us?” Eric Bazilian wrote the song and stated that he didn’t write the song as “a religious thing” given the fact that he isn’t religious. But, the thing is, many, many people perceive it as so. Check the youtube comments for the video with 25 million views and be aware that the song has almost 99 million plays on spotify alone. The song is really pretty and has an enormous reach, and it poses great questions, however, the sad thing is that the answers are missing. Many ascribe a Christian meaning and don’t realize that the answers are the whole point of the New Testament. Here are the words. “If God had a name what would it be? And would you call it to his face? If you were faced with Him in all His glory. What would you ask if you had just one question? What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us Just a stranger on the bus Tryin’ to make his way home? If God had a face what would it look like? And would you want to see. If seeing meant that you would have to believe In things like heaven and in Jesus and the Saints And all the prophets?” So my intention is not one of rebuke but one of seizing an opportunity, an opportunity to share the Gospel. The Good News is that God became one of us in Jesus Christ, or Emmanuel, which means “God with us”, living with us and among us as one of us. Jesus experienced all of what it is to be human and eating and drinking what was set before him and doing those things Baden Powell envisioned. Slob like us and stranger on a bus we find out as Jesus points out, “ ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” In the comments for the video, many were inspired by the questions. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. As Christians we find ourselves misfocused and worried about who’s in the town, or what they are eating, or the best house to stay at. God in Christ came without a purse, bag or sandals. By our standards failing in preparations to acquire palatial reservations and accommodations for birth, growing up in the derided town of Nazareth, hanging out with the wrong people, cast out, ridiculed, abused and killed with no place to lay his head. One of us. Accepting and loving us and not standing away but fully embracing us as we are. Emmanuel. God with us. That is how Jesus brings peace. In Phippians it tells us, Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. We are cared about and loved that much. So the challenge is to take up our cross and follow, to be propelled by the Spirit through our thankfulness to prepare our hearts for service, to leave behind barriers and connect with one another, to eat and drink what is set before us, and to share the peace of Christ with all humankind. Amen
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