Lovers Are Very Special People

Proper 23

October 8, 2006


Lovers Are Very Special People

by John Christianson


Mark 10:17-31

17As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” 20He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

23Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

28Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 29Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, 30who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”


Today is my last sermon as Interim Pastor at Saron. The chair of the Mission Ministry Team called me, reminded me of the time of year, and asked if I would make my last sermon a “Stewardship Sermon.” So I’m preaching on “Lovers.” That’s basically the same thing, isn’t it? Stewardship? Lovers?


Barbra Streisand won the Oscar as best actress for her lead role in the movie “Funny Girl.” Then her recording of a song from that movie was a mega-hit.

People! People who need people . . .” Do you remember the second verse of the song.

Lovers are very special people. They’re the luckiest people in the world.”


Most people would agree that it’s special to love, so that makes lovers very special people. But whether or not they’re the luckiest people – well, that depends on your point of view.


Two of my wife’s brothers were talking. Each made a profound statement. Mac said, “I think it’s love that causes most of the pain. If we didn’t love, we wouldn’t hurt so bad.” Tom said, “Yes, but would you want to live in a world like that?”


Lovers are very special people. They sacrifice. They put others ahead of themselves, they put everything on the line, and they change the world.


The rich man in our text loved himself. That’s important. He wanted to go to heaven. When Jesus mentioned the commandments the fellow said “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” And then it says, Jesus, looking at him, loved him. Jesus was a lover, and lovers are very special people. They sacrifice. They put others ahead of themselves, they put everything on the line, and they change the world. That’s what Jesus did. Jesus recognized the man was a lover too, but it didn’t count, because he just loved money. When it came to a choice between his money or following Jesus, he chose his money.


Peter was maybe a little self-serving, but he was right when he said to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Of the eleven faithful disciples all but one died martyrs’ deaths. The disciples were lovers, and lovers are very special people. They sacrifice. They put others ahead of themselves, they put everything on the line, and they change the world.


Let me tell you about Martin. Way back in the fourth century, Martin was a teenaged pagan soldier in the Roman army. Stationed in Gaul his heart went out to a poor under-clothed beggar shivering by the side of the road. Martin had nothing to give, so he took off his great woolen cloak, cut it in two with his sword and dropped half of it down to the beggar. “Here,” he said. “You need this more than you need money. I can get by with half.” That night, Martin had a dream. He saw Jesus, surrounded by angels and wearing his half cloak. He heard him explain to the angels, “Martin gave it to me.”


With that, Martin went out and received Baptism, resigned his army commission, renounced his inheritance, and became a priest. Eventually, he became a bishop, but lived in a hermit’s hut instead of a bishop’s mansion. When he died, he was declared to be a saint

Incidentally, many years later when Hans and Margarethe Luther had a baby, they brought him for baptism. It was the feast day of Martin of Tours, so he was named Martin. Martin Luther.


Martin of Tours was a lover. He loved people, especially the poor, and he loved Jesus. Lovers are very special people. They sacrifice. They put others ahead of themselves, they put everything on the line, and they change the world.


But we’re not Romans, Frenchmen, or Germans. We’re Americans. Do you remember how our country started? How those patriots from thirteen different colonies gathered in Philadelphia – John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and the rest of them. They vented their frustrations and finally decided to defy the greatest military power in the world. The result was the Declaration of Independence. We all know the words in the second paragraph.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Do you remember the words at the end, just before their signatures?

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Our lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor!” They knew exactly what was at stake, what they were risking. Some would have said what they were sacrificing. But they loved freedom. They were real lovers. Lovers are very special people. They sacrifice. They put others ahead of themselves, they put everything on the line, and they change the world.


William Lazareth is an American Lutheran Churchman – pastor, professor, and Metropolitan New York bishop. Back in the mid-1940’s after World War II, he was a student volunteer worker among all the war refugees in Europe. His best friend was a son of the Dean of the historic cathedral in Trondheim, Norway, built on the grave of St. Olaf. The two were given a furlough and Bill’s friend took him to Norway, to Trondheim. They stood together in the square in front of the Cathedral and the friend said, “Well, this is where it all began.” “Where what began?” Bill asked. His friend answered, “The Norwegian Resistance.” And then he told the story. He said,

In April 1940, Quisling and the Nazis took over Norway. Some six months later a directive was sent out to all the churches demanding that on the morning of Reformation Sunday, the last Sunday of October, the pastor of every congregation of the Church of Norway was required to read a statement declaring the church’s allegiance to the nazi government. But the Norwegian bishop issued a declaration that all Reformation Sunday services would be held in the afternoon.


This defiance appealed to the Norwegians, so that afternoon there was a larger than usual crowd thronging the square. They started singing the processional hymn and moved toward the Cathedral.

A mighty fortress is our God

A trusty shield and weapon . . .


They had just started up the cathedral steps when a nazi shoulder with an automatic rifle shouted, “Halt.” He grabbed a young mother carrying an infant pulled her up next to him, and shouted, “Take one more step; sing one more note and she dies.”


He went on.

There was dead quiet. Everybody looked at my father, and he looked at his feet. Then one lone voice began singing.

Did we in our own strength confide

Our striving would be loosing . . .

And we marched into the cathedral.


Lazareth was amazed. “Wasn’t he afraid?” “Who?” Bill answered, “The one who started the singing again. Wasn’t he afraid they’d kill the mother?”


His friend answered, “She was the one who started the singing!”


Oh, she was a lover! She loved her Lord and she loved her country. Lovers are very special people. They sacrifice. They put others ahead of themselves, they put everything on the line, and they change the world.


What chance do you have to change the world? Probably not much! But you have a mighty big chance to change Big Lake. You can make the ministry of your church stronger. Four years running now Saron has approached year’s end anxious about how to meet its financial obligations. It happened again this year. Here’s a plan to see to it that we do exactly the same thing again next year, for the fifth year. Just fill out your estimated giving card and bring it to church on Consecration Sunday with the same figure as last year. And expect the same results.


But Jesus has another plan. He challenges you like he challenged the rich young man. Be a lover! Love Jesus! Love your congregation! Love your church! Love your community! Lovers are very special people. They sacrifice. They put others ahead of themselves, they put everything on the line, and they change the world. So be a lover! Amen.



(Comments to John at john.christianson@comcast.net .)

Saron Lutheran Church

Big Lake, MN