SERMON IN A SENTENCE: To keep our New Year's Resolutions we must be willing to move out of our comfort zone.
SCRIPTURES: Luke 18:18-23 and Mark 10:17-30
Have you made your New Year's Resolutions yet? It's January 4 so some of us have not only made them but already broken them! If you are having problems keeping your New Year's Resoloutions, you should try the Pastor Steve approach. You see, rather then start my New Year's Resolutions on January 1, which is way to soon, I wait until the kids are back in school which seems more reasonable. But remember, I am talking about the high school kids who will be starting on Jan 5, not the college kids who won't start for another three weeks!
Seriously, I always love that sense of a fresh start that January offers. It is a time to learn from our past and set a new and improved course for a new year. But, as this morning's Scripture Lesson reminds us: In terms of a new beginning, sometimes it is easier said and planned then done! So, to help us in making or keeping our New Year's Resolutions, let us reflect on today's Scripture lesson which illustrates how a Defining Moment in our lives challenges us to look at our life's direction and make a choice that might take us out of our comfort zone but also into a far healthier physical or spiritual path.
Our Scripture lesson begins with the essential first step in moving into a healthier path which is an awareness of our need to make a change in some area of our life. Surely, this awareness was what inspired the Rich Young Ruler to seek out Jesus and ask him what he must do to have a better life. It is obvious that in some ways, the unnamed Ruler had a healthy life. He was, in a culture that was filled with poverty, the exception that proved the rule. How is not answered in the Scriptures, but some how he had accumulated a great deal of wealth. But despite that blessing, he still was searching for some greater sense of purpose and peace in his life and his search had taken him to meet Christ. Isn't that the same desire that has inspired us to be present here this morning as we celebrate our Lord's Supper on the first Sunday of this New Year. Yes, we are blessed in many ways and one of those most important ways is our shared belief that we need to continue to grow in our relationship with God if we are to truly have a sense of his peace in our lives. And so, we take that essential first step by making the commitment to be here this morning with a heart and mind that is open to his Spirit's guidance in our individual and collective lives.
However, taking this essential first step does not assure us that we will experience the growth in our relationship with the Lord that we seek! Look at what happens to the Rich Young Ruler. There he was on the threshold of experiencing the opportunity of a lifetime. Jesus invites him, as he had invited Peter, Levi and the other disciples to come and follow him as one of his original disciples but there is a catch to this offer. Before he can become one of the original disciples, he must demonstrate his true commitment to live as an instrument of God's grace in the lives of others. Peter had to give up his comfort zone of being a fisherman. Levi had to give up his comfort zone of being a successful business man and now the Rich Young Ruler is asked to give up his comfort zone of being a man of great wealth by sharing that wealth with the poor.
Now before moving on in this story with the description of how he responded to this challenge, let us consider the question in what areas is God calling us to leave our comfort zones in order to grow in our relationship with him, our loved ones and all who are effected by our faithful witness. For surely our growth, in terms of any New Year's Resolutions or other efforts to grow in God's grace is going to include the challenge of leaving our comfort zones also! Look at the heroes and heroines we meet in the Bible. Is there one of them who doesn't have to leave their comfort zone in order to grow in God's grace? As one person put it: "Success is a four-letter word that is spelled W-O-R-K!" Growth — whether it is experience in a Health Club, a relationship, a career, a term paper or our relationship with God — is dependent upon our commitment to leave our comfort zone and make the necessary change or effort that we know is required for this growth to occur!
Sadly, and I do mean sadly, the Rich Young Ruler turns down this opportunity of a lifetime! It's not that he didn't think Jesus was right in terms of telling him what was the path he should travel. He doesn't say: "What are you crazy, give up all that I have and follow you?" Rather, at the crossroads of his life, when Jesus offers him an opportunity to truly live a life that would be filled with the blessing of knowing God more fully and serving his loved ones and those in need, he considers the cost of his discipleship and decides to walk away from this opportunity back to his comfort zone that really wasn't that comfortable or else he wouldn't have come to Jesus in the first place. Friends, we are at that same crossroads ourselves. And the truth is we will come to this same intersection many times in our life and faith journey. The hope and the prayer that we share is that when we come to these crossroad moments, we will have the wisdom to do that which, in our heart of hearts we know to be the right thing to do and thus continue to grow in and through God's grace!
Today, we gather at our Lord's Table to celebrate and remember his promise to be with us in all things until the close of the age. Part of what we remember is his willingness to leave his comfort zone by bearing the physical and spiritual challenge of the cross. He did this not because he enjoyed suffering but because he loves us enough to offer himself so that our sins would be forgiven and our eternal relationship with his father might be restored forever. As we remember and celebrate that gift of love, let us be renewed in our commitment to respond to his love by growing in our love for him and for one another. And let us remember that part of that commitment is expressed in our willingness to leave our comfort zones so that we can grow in his grace and in our ability to live as an instrument of that grace in the lives of our loved ones and all who are affected by our individual and collective witness. For to renew that commitment today and beyond today is the way that we can truly make 2009 a year filled with blessing and growth!
Pastor Stephen Giordano — January 4, 2009