Let go and live. February 28, 2021. The Rev. Kathleen M. Sturges

 

Mark 8:31-38

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

Whenever I hear this verse first I shudder and then, believe it or not, I think of raccoons. One raccoon, in particular, from a book I read back in grade school called Where the Red Fern Grows. It’s a story about a young boy, Billy, whose life growing up in rural America during the Depression revolves around the hunting of raccoons. Initially through much grit and determination Billy saves up to buy two coonhound puppies which he intends to train into the best raccoon hunters trackers in the area. But in order to do this Billy needs a raccoon pellet to teach his dogs the scent. So he devises a trap. And the way that the trap worked has stayed with me lo these many years.

First, Billy goes out into the woods and finds a log with a hole in it. Then into the hole he drops a piece of shiny tin. Next Billy takes a bunch of nails and hammers them in around the opening of the hole slanted in opposite directions to one another. And that’s the whole trap.

In time, a raccoon comes along and sees the shiny tin at the bottom of the hole and wants to have it. So the raccoon reaches in and grabs hold. But now with a closed fist the animal is stuck. The nails make the hole too small for a fist to get back through. At any time, though, the raccoon has the power to get free if he was willing to let go of the shiny tin. But no he won’t do that. So the poor animal stays with his hand stuck in the log until Billy comes along and captures it. The raccoon loses his life because he refuses to let go. 

Isn’t this what Jesus is talking about when he says, For those who want to save their life will lose it? But of course, he’s not speaking of raccoons. He’s talking about us. It seems to be in our human nature to be tempted to hold onto the shiny things of this world for dear life. Now what looks shiny and attractive to one person may not look so to another. It is in the eye of the beholder. But the usual things that we often grasp for are things like success, control, wealth, security, to name a few. Whatever it is, though, we cling to it with the misguided notion that it will save us, that somehow it will bring us life. Yet the more we insist that this is what we need, that it’s what we have to have, the more trapped we become. We may think that by holding on we are gaining the whole world when in reality what we are doing is forfeiting life. The true and abundant life that God desires for each one of us. The true and abundant life that is found in following Jesus.

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Now on the surface this doesn’t necessarily sound like a path to life. That’s what causes me to shudder - even though I know I’m misguided in my thinking. Because the denying of self which Jesus speaks of here isn’t meant to be some sort of harsh, self-punishment. His intent here, and in all of the gospel, is to bring life. The self-denial that Jesus is talking about is a surrendering of our small, insecure selves. Which, in order to do so, involves letting go of all the false shiny things that we hold onto thinking that they serve us, but in reality, they do not. For when we are willing to deny ourselves, that is, to let go and surrender it is then that we actually become free. Our lives are saved in the sense that we are more fully able to embrace and experience that which truly shines - the light of the world - the love of God made manifest in Christ.

But this lesson about letting go and surrendering our lives in order to save them is not accomplished in one moment of hearing or one act of doing. It is a lifelong process. The disciples certainly model that reality as they continue to bumble their way down the path of following Christ. Their attempts at holding onto false shiny things will continually get them off track. As you may recall in the not too distant future they will argue about which one of them is the greatest - grabbing for the shiny thing of success. A couple of them will attempt to negotiate for the best seats in the house, that is those next to Jesus in the heavenly kingdom - again, grasping for shiny status. All will abandon Jesus when he needs them most - as they hold onto personal safety. And, of course, Peter will outright deny Jesus three times - clinging to security.

It’s not a smooth path. But it’s the one that most of us who seek to follow Jesus seem to take. No sooner do we let go of one shiny thing that we are tempted to grasp hold of another. Nonetheless, Jesus never gives up on the disciples nor on any of us. So today, with God’s help, let go and live.