No One Said It Was Easy
Proverbs 1:20-33; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38
Rev. Kenneth M. Locke, Interim Pastor
Orchard Park Presbyterian Church; Carmel, IN
September 15, 2024; Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
When I was a young Second Lieutenant in the Army, the first unit I was assigned to trained new soldiers. They had uniforms, haircuts, and boots. That was it. In two months, we taught them the basics of soldiering: marching, firing a weapon, reading a map, first aid, all that.
It was very demanding. A lot of yelling, late nights, physical exhaustion, you name it. Very strenuous.
Naturally, there were always some who didn’t make it. They couldn’t finish the course. Some had physical challenges, others had psychological issues. But there were always a few who just gave up. They quit. When they were asked why they were quitting, a surprising number would say, “I didn’t know it would be hard!” Wait. You didn’t know it would be hard? How could you not know Army Basic Training would be hard? Didn’t you ever watch a John Wayne movie? Did someone tell you it would be easy?
But for those who stuck it out, those who put their heads down and muscled through, it was worth it. It was worth it. You could see it in the way they walked, their bearing, the smiles on their faces. For those who chose to, it was well worth it.
That came back to me a few years later when I started graduate school. How hard can it be? I was studying English. I had been an English Major in college. I’ve got this. Easy as pie.
O my stars, was I wrong. That first semester I felt like someone had picked me up and slammed me against the wall. I was in shock the whole time. It didn’t take long to realize just how little I knew and how unprepared I was. Wow.
Fortunately, I got through it. Didn’t flunk out, finished my degree, moved on. It was worth it. Well worth it.
And then, I got married. Again, how hard can it be? We love each other. Our parents had good marriages, so we had good examples to follow. This is going to be easy!
Again, O my stars, was I ever wrong. Elizabeth and I loved each other very much but marriage was hard.
Eventually, we went to marriage counseling. Several times. Elizabeth knows I’m talking about this. Most marriages, at one time or another, could use some professional help. When the time came, I’m proud to say we cared enough about our relationship we went and got help. Best thing we ever did. Well worth it.
One counselor we saw had a small bathroom attached to her office. Over the toilet, where you had to see it, was a small piece of calligraphy in a frame. It said, ‘Fair Skies and Smooth Seas do NOT produce Competent Sailors.’ It was a good lesson. I’m glad we learned it. It’s well worth learning.
I am not unique. We all have something like this. A sports team, a relationship, school, job. We thought it would be easy but instead it picked us up and slammed us against the wall. We had to decide whether to become better sailors or abandon ship.
One of the reasons some people become disillusioned with Christianity is they think it will be easy. God loves us. What a friend we have in Jesus. The comforting presence of the Holy Spirit is as close as our breath. How hard can this be? It’s easy.
But Jesus says being his follower is not easy. Marvelous, yes. Wonderful, yes. Joyful and life-changing, absolutely. It brings us the Kingdom of Heaven in the next life, and empowers us to live in loving relationships now, today. But it’s not easy.
Jesus is clear. If we’re going to walk the way of the cross, we have to carry a cross. We have to live a Christian life, even when it’s hard.
Suppose we want to absolutely blister someone with our tongue. We want to verbally flay the skin off their back and roll them in salt. But that’s not what the Christian life looks like. We have to control our tongues. We have to speak the truth in love, the same love God has for us. And sometimes it’s not easy.
We have to be honest about who we are and whose we are. When our friends ask us why we never join them for Sunday brunch, do we mumble something? Or do we say, ‘that’s when I worship my God.’ When we’re invited to do something we know is wrong, do we say ‘That’s against my Christian beliefs.’ When our neighbor sees us at the grocery store and asks why our cart is overflowing with food, do we just smile? Or do we say, ‘My church is holding a food drive. This is my contribution. Would you like to help?’ Are we proud or ashamed of our relationship with Jesus?
Every life has its storms. Every Christian has a cross to bear. Jesus calls us to live his life, even when it’s really, really hard.
The good news of God is we’re not alone. We have Christian friends who support us. We have prayer and Bible study, either in small groups or on our own. We are strengthened through regular worship and communion. We are strengthened by God.
The Christian life is not always easy. There are always storms and crosses to bear. And we have to choose how to respond. We can put the cross down. We can abandon ship.
Or we can let those trials make us stronger. We can face them with grace and peace. And as we grow stronger in faith, we will find ourselves more and more living in the Kingdom of Heaven, living in loving relationships with God and others, now, here, today.
Jesus’ call to the crowd and our lesson from Proverbs say essentially the same thing. We all have to make a choice. Grow in faith or not. Carry our cross or not. Become a more competent sailor or not. However you want to put it.
No, it’s not easy. No one said it would be. But it is worth it. It is so, so worth it. Both in the future, and now. Because friends, this is how much God loves us.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
