Years ago, when I was working on a
master’s degree in counseling, one of the classes I took required some
genealogical work. The assignment was to
dig into the family history to learn about behavioral patterns that were
perpetuated through the generations.
Outside of the tall tales and myths I heard from my parents from time to
time, I really knew very little about the genealogy of my family. Luckily, there was a great-uncle—one I didn’t
even know I had—down in Florida who had done a lot of the hard work of
discovering the history and roots of the Keener family. Let me assure you, it was some interesting
reading and a whole lot of revelation.
You might remember that song from the
old television show, Hee Haw, in
which a bunch of forlorn hillbillies are lying around on the porch and singing
a lamenting song: “Gloom, despair,
excessive misery . . . if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at
all.” I think that is the Keener theme
song . . . especially after reading the genealogical history my great-uncle
sent me. We Keeners never seemed to be
on the right side of anything throughout history.
For example, let’s take the American
Revolution. My relatives came over from
Germany well before the war ever broke out.
When the war broke out they signed up to fight for the freedom of the
colonies . . . they chose to be on the side of the revolutionaries. In their very first battle, like a lot of the
battles, they lost . . . they got captured.
Being of German descent they were conscripted into the Hessians and
ended up fighting for the British.
British were not too invested in the
so-called uprising taking place in the colonies . . . well, at least not enough
to go over there and fight their own battles.
Instead they hired an army from Germany—the Hessians. The Hessians were soldiers for hire . . .
mercenaries. Approximately 30 thousand
Hessians fought in the American Revolutionary War—about a fourth of the British
forces in the battle. Because of their
German ancestry, and not wanting to die, my relatives apparently did not argue
about being conscripted into the Hessian forces. Of course, we all know the British—even with
their army for hire—lost the war. We
Keeners came on the short side of the stick on that one.
This morning I pose a question: Are you a mercenary or a patriot?
A mercenary is a gun for hire . . . a
person whose loyalty is with whoever happens to be paying him or her . . . they
are not fighting for the cause, but for the money. A patriot, on the other hand, is one who is
fighting for a cause . . . most often for his or her country which he or she
loves and strongly supports. A mercenary
fights for reward . . . for money; the patriot for love. In lieu of our scripture reading this morning
. . . I pose the question . . . when it comes to your faith . . . are you are
mercenary or a patriot?
I guess the only way that any of us
can answer that question is by considering what it is that we expect out of
faith . . . what we think we should get out of being faithful . . . what it
means to be faithful . . . what it means to be a follower of Jesus. What does it mean to be “faithful”?
Now for some being “faithful” is like
a paid insurance policy that assures us our rightful place in heaven . . . an
insurance policy that protects us from the things we shouldn’t do because of
our sinful nature . . . allows us to go forth and be fully human and full of
free will. It allows us to live life as
we have always lived it and not have to worry about the consequences because
Jesus paid off the policy for us. Being
of such “faith” I would think that our faith is driven by the reward . . .
driven by what we receive in the end.
The loyalty is not in the one that is being followed, but in the payment
that is received. Such faith is what I
would consider to be a mercenary faith.
In our scripture reading this morning
we hear Jesus talk about being the Good Shepherd . . . a shepherd that is
willing to lay down his or her life for the sake of the sheep . . . a willingness
to die in order to save the sheep. This
is not a mercenary, but a patriot. Jesus
says that the mercenary, the hired hand “. . . abandons the sheep and runs away . .
. the man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the
sheep.” The mercenary only cares
about what he or she is paid . . . his or her loyalty is for him or herself and
what they can make. The “Good
Shepherd”—the patriot—is there because of love . . . love for the sheep.
This reading comes well before the
events that happened in Jerusalem. It is
a prophetic statement from Jesus about what is about to come . . . the events
that led to his arrest, trial, beating, and eventual death . . . the fact that
he was willing to lay down his life for all . . . to lay down his life for the
cause. He is a patriot. During the Easter season this reading serves
as a reminder of what the followers of Jesus are called to be . . . a reminder
of who they are to follow . . . they are to be “good shepherds” . . . called to
be patriots.
Last Sunday I told you that the call
of Easter is to embrace life . . . now, I want to tell you that it is also to
embrace Jesus . . . not for the promise of eternal life . . . not for a
fail-safe insurance policy; but for the sake of living life to its
fullest. Easter is a call to listen to
the voice of the “Good Shepherd” . . . to trust the “Good Shepherd” . . . and,
to follow him where he leads. He leads
us towards life . . . he leads us towards the Kingdom of God . . . he leads us
to peace. It is not the life of a
mercenary that he calls us to, but to the life of a patriot. He calls us to life . . . he calls us to
love.
As a mercenary it is easy to argue
that one is living the life of faith. As
mercenary one has confessed loyalty for the one who has bought him or her . . .
if faith is declaring allegiance to a savior who was willing to go to the cross
for one’s sins, well so be it. If that
is all it takes . . . consider it done.
Remember the loyalty of the mercenary is not in the cause . . . not
based on the love . . . but, on where the money is coming from. If faith is a cheap insurance policy
promising heaven and nothing else . . . then the mercenary lives a life of
faith.
Yet, that is not what Jesus laid down
his life for . . . not for cheap grace.
No, he laid down his life to show us the way . . . the way to life . . .
the way to love. He showed us what it
meant to be the “good Shepherd” . . . to be the patriot . . . to die for a
cause. What was the “cause”? The “cause” was for life . . . for the
Kingdom of God . . . for love. The
“cause” was for peace. Peace that comes
from being in an intimate and fulfilling relationship with God that lives up to
what God has creates us to be . . . peace that comes from loving others as we
love God and ourselves. The “cause” is
life . . . the “cause” is love. A love
that one is willing to sacrifice all for . . . even one’s life.
The challenge of Easter is to embrace
life—life through Jesus. Through Jesus
this life was revealed . . . not as the world knows it, but as it really
is. Jesus calls us to be patriots. What are you?
Are you a mercenary . . . or are you a patriot? I imagine that it depends on who you are
listening to . . . Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and
my sheep know me . . . they too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one
flock and one shepherd.”
Mercenary or patriot? It is always our choice. Let us not do as my relatives did . . . may
we all choose wisely. Amen.
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