A Sermon by Pastor Tom Lacey . . .

staying true to yourself

Mark 11:1-11, Preached at Congregational Church of Boca Raton, April 5, 2009

A defendant was on trial for murder. There was strong evidence indicating guilt, but there was no corpse. In the defense’s closing statement the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, resorted to a trick. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all," the lawyer said as he looked at his watch. "Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this case will walk into this courtroom." He looked toward the courtroom door. The jurors, somewhat stunned, all looked on eagerly. A minute passed. Nothing happened. Finally the lawyer said, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all looked on with anticipation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you return a verdict of not guilty." The jury, clearly confused, retired to deliberate. An hour later, the jury returned and pronounced a verdict of guilty. "But how?" inquired the lawyer. "You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door." "Oh, we looked,” the jury foreman replied, “But your client didn’t."

The Road from Jericho to Jerusalem is 14 miles, a half-day's journey, uphill all the way. Bethany, just on the other side of the Mount of Olives, is a natural place to stop and rest before the final ascent and the view of Jersualem. Jerusalem that day would have been a mad house: Dirty streets and dusty mules, dusty streets and dirty mules, camels baying off in the distance, pilgrims chanting their prayers, Roman chariots and Roman charioteers riding back and forth. The reputation of Jesus had already spread. The day before Jesus Christ had produced the mightiest miracle he had ever done. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. He had raised Lazarus from the dead yesterday, and then coming into town, Jesus healed two blind men, who were now able to see. People had heard about these miracles, and everyone wanted to see if he could pull off another trick like that. If the Houdini of the Holy Land could pull another trick out of his bag, they would believe. Then there was a second group of people that day. This second group didn’t want a religious carnival; they weren’t looking for one more magic trick. These people were much more serious. They were looking for a political revolution. They wanted a mass political rally, with all its intense fanaticism, and a leader to lead the charge against Rome. There was hope for a mass political revolution. There were those who said, “Jesus, give me a miracle and then I will believe.” And then there were those who said, “Restore us to power.” Both groups chanted, “Hosanna to the Son of David.  Hosanna to the Son of David. The king of Israel has come.”

Jesus was in a groove when he rode into Jerusalem. His popularity figures were soaring. But what did he end up doing? Did he stand up on the back seat of his chariot and waving to the crowd like some politician? Did he ride with arms upward and outward and his fingers spiking a “V” sign for victory? No. Here in this cacophony of craziness, Jesus didn’t say a word.  He rode in silence. Silence. Jesus rode on a jackass into town. Some wanted him to ride on a tall horse, dignified in the sunlight or on a chariot of war, glistening in its golden trim. But Jesus rode on an animal of peace, not of war. He didn’t say a word, not a word as he rode into that city, nor did he heal anyone, raise anyone, give sight to anyone. He stayed true to himself. Not easy to do. There are two times to measure a person’s character: When they are down and in trouble, and when they are up and flying high. Some people get sucked down too far; others fly too close to the sun.

An old fable that has been passed down for generations tells about an elderly man who was traveling with a boy and a donkey. As they walked through a village, the man was leading the donkey and the boy was walking behind. The townspeople said the old man was a fool for not riding, so to please them he climbed up on the animal's back. When they came to the next village, the people said the old man was cruel to let the child walk while he enjoyed the ride. So, to please them, he got off and set the boy on the animal's back and continued on his way. In the third village, people accused the child of being lazy for making the old man walk, and the suggestion was made that they both ride. So the man climbed on and they set off again. In the fourth village, the townspeople were indignant at the cruelty to the donkey because he was made to carry two people. The frustrated man was last seen carrying the donkey down the road.  We smile, but this story makes a good point: We can't please everybody, and if we try we end up carrying a heavy burden. Well-meaning people may offer us advice, and much of it is valuable. But when we try to do what others want us to do, we can easily become frustrated and confused. That's why we need to remember that the One we must please above all others is Christ. And we do that by obeying God's Word. Have you been carrying any donkeys lately? You don't have to if you're trying to please the only one who truly matters, the Lord.

So often, we like to side-step issues and try to remain neutral. But, there comes a time when we must make a decision about what we believe. A police officer said that he has always been troubled by parents who try to force their children to do something by threatening them with the police. This tends to make children afraid of the police even in a time of danger. However, the way to handle this type of situation was revealed when he was eating lunch in a cafe with another officer. A woman in a nearby booth was trying to get her son to eat his meal and said to her little boy in a loud voice, "Jimmy, if you don't eat those green beans, that policeman over there will come and take you to jail." The officer heard that and he promptly got up and walked over to the five-year-old boy who has being scolded. He reached out and tousled the boy's head and said, "Jimmy, I am six foot two and weigh 200 pounds. I can't stand green beans and I never eat them either."

Now granted that may not have been the completely right message—don’t eat your green beans if you don’t want to. But the officer was trying to say that it is important to don’t let others lasso you into making a decision that cuts against the grain of who you are, of what you are made of, of what you believe is right. Children don’t often have too tough of a time remembering this; it’s when we turn into teenagers and then adults that the doubts start creeping in. Stay true to yourself, even when someone else demands you to change. Grow up and grow right but don’t just change to please someone else. As Shakespeare put it, “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

Em Griffin, in his book The Mindchangers, describes an experiment done by Solomon Asch with groups of 12 people. They were brought into a room where four lines of unequal length were displayed. They had to decide which two were the same length and publicly vote for their choice. Person after person after person (11 in all) voted for the wrong line—because they had all been told to ahead of time. The one individual who was in the dark couldn't imagine how in the world all these seemingly normal people could all choose the wrong line. When it was his turn to vote, he had to decide, "Do I go with what I know my senses are telling me, or do I go along with the crowd?" 1/3 of those tested caved in to group pressure and changed their vote to agree with their peers. 

It’s clear Jesus didn’t go along with the crowd. He was responsible only to God and himself, sort of the same thing in his case. It’s the same case for you as well. Others have their own agendas for you, and if truth be told, we each have an agenda for someone else. Listen and learn, but keep your own heart and mind. Grow into a bigger and better person but make sure you know who you are and whose you are.

Michael J. Fox has Parkinson’s disease, badly. He is in constant motion. His hands, arms, feet, and legs shake, jerk, and roll a lot. Fox writes in his new memoir, Always Looking Up, “I never know what I am going to look like at any given time. But if I feel good, it doesn’t matter how I look.” It doesn’t matter what we look like, if when we look up, we know we have done our best and have tried to make a good difference.

I heard about a man who went to see a doctor about a headache. A stout, very businesslike nurse was behind the receptionist's desk. "I'd like to see the doctor," said the man. "I have a bad headache." The nurse said sharply, "Go in that room, close the door, and take off your clothes." "But ma'am..."  "Get in that room, close the door, and take off your clothes." Well, what could he do? He went into the room, closed the door, and took off his clothes. Suddenly he realized that another man was in the room with him. He also had his clothes off. He said to the other man, "I can't believe I'm standing here like this and all I've got is a headache." To which the other man complained, "You think you've got problems! I just came in to read the meter!"

Don’t go along with the crowd, no matter how loud they get; or the pushy person, no matter how demanding they sound. Pull a Jesus. Stay true to yourself, and God’s call. Get on your mission and stay on it. That’s the heart of a champion and a Christian.

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