Have you all seen the latest Geico commercial? The one where the CEO of the company is chatting with the gecko mascot about how when people hear the name of the company, they associate it with the term “trust” and then he gets out from behind his desk and decides to try one of those “trust falls” where he expected the little gecko to catch him safely. The obvious joke is that a tiny lizard is incapable of catching a human being, no matter how much trust there is in their relationship.
I really like this commercial, mainly because in my own life, I have a difficult time trusting others in activities like these. During my many years at Camp Hope, I participated in many of these trust falls… and being a heavier guy, when I knew this was going to take place, I always did my best to pair up with someone I knew who could catch me. The only way I could place my trust in being caught was if I first placed my trust in the fact that the catcher had the right amount of strength. I always picked the right partner to catch me, and thus never ended up falling on my backside.
When I went to college, I ended up joining a fraternity, and part of being in my particular fraternity meant quite a lot of time being blindfolded as we awaited our fraternity rituals. I could never tell if the fraternity just had cheap blindfolds of if I had a really big nose, but there was always a slight gap between the blindfold and my face, allowing me to see a small amount of the ground in front of me. I remember just before the ritual which made us pledges in the fraternity, as I was being led in a blindfold, the brother stopped us and whispered into my ear: “Do you trust the brotherhood?” Of course I answered yes. Now, perhaps it was because I could see, even if it was the smallest of slivers, but I’m not sure what I would have said if I had been in complete darkness.
I share these things with you because I think it makes sense to look at the second half of today’s lesson before we look at the first. Here we have Jesus talking about being the light and that the apostles would have the light with them for only a little while longer. This isn’t exactly a statement which the apostles want to hear. If you believe the Messiah is with you, the last thing you expect him to say is that he’s leaving. Then Jesus speaks these words which we find in verse 35 and 36… “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness over takes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become children of light.” (NIV)
“Put your trust in the light while you have it.” Now that’s a statement which makes a lot of sense to me, given my own experiences, and I hope it does for you as well. We all know that it is easier to trust when we can see what’s going on and this reminder that Jesus gives comes directly after Jesus talks about the death of a seed. Now, obviously we understand the concept that a seed must “die” and be buried in order to grow and produce fruit. This is the essence of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. The light of the world is now telling his apostles that he is going to die in order to be glorified…and that those who will follow him will do likewise so that they too may glorify Jesus.
When Philip and Andrew go to speak with Jesus on behalf of their Greek friends, I’m not so sure they were expecting the reply they got. One scholar[1] calls this passage the point of no return for the apostles, and I’m just guessing here, but I think when the apostles heard what Jesus said, their throat tightened a bit and there was a knot in their stomach. They wanted to follow Jesus, but for the first time, they now realized their lives were on the line… they had crossed the point of no return.
This whole concept of crossing the point of no return is one which defines all of our lives and we have all had these moments. Maybe it was a moment of putting a large amount of your financial savings into a somewhat risky investment. Maybe it was taking a new job. Maybe it was when you said your wedding vows… It’s similar to riding a roller coaster… Initially you strap yourself in and then the coaster begins to move up the big hill… as you slowly make your way to the top, there are these stairs along the side which might give you some thought that if you did something crazy enough, you could get the roller coaster to stop and then walk down those stairs to the safety of the ground below. The point of no return comes when you are no longer being pulled up to the top, but the first cart has made it over the top of the hill and you are no longer in control of your own destiny.
This roller coaster which Jesus and the apostles were riding has just come to the pinnacle of the tallest drop. Even Jesus points out that he is a bit nervous and yet is doing this completely for the glory of God. God even recognizes this fact and tells them that God has glorified it and will do so again.
The season of Lent is full of drama… we are descending in Holy Week, a time of defeat, destruction, and betrayal. It is by no means for the faint of heart. Just as roller coasters come with a warning for those with heart conditions, Lent should have a similar warning for the followers of Jesus. That warning reads: “Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their lives in this world will keep it for eternity.”
This is a scary warning and I must admit that, continuing with the roller coaster metaphor, I have not yet gotten on the ride. Yet, I feel as if I am standing in the line, watching others get ahead of me. I smile politely as I let others get in front of me. I’m not fully ready to give up my own life to God’s glory and I think God knows that about me right now. God knows where we each are standing in line. I think God knows that some of us might never take the ride and that’s ok. I think God is excited because God knows that soon some of us are going to strap ourselves in for the ride of our lifetime. It all gets back to the issue of trust, which is ultimately a means for reconciliation. We get on that roller coaster because we long to take the same path which Jesus took. We long to see him after our ride is completed. We long to see our loved ones who have already completed their trip. In the end, we long to go home to a God who is so glad that we took a risk and rode the scariest ride at the amusement park.
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