In
the fall of 1914 British explorer Ernest Shackleton set sail with a crew of
twenty-seven on a quest to traverse Antarctica by way of the South Pole. By January
ice had encased his ship, the Endurance, and eventually crushed it. Shakleton
took in the situation and said calmly to his men, "Ship gone; stores gone;
now we will go home."
He
allowed each man two pounds of personal possessions. To set an example, he
flung his gold watch and a hand-full of gold coins into the snow, followed by
the heavy commemorative Bible Queen Alexandra had given him. Interestingly
enough, he allowed the one musician on board to keep his banjo, calling music
"a vital mental tonic."
The
ship cracked to splinters in the freeze, then sank in the thaw. Shackleton
returned to civilization and did not lose a single man.
"If anyone comes to Me,
and does not hate his own father
and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his
own life, he cannot be My disciple."
Ernest
Shackleton did not hate his watch or his Bible or his money - he just loved
life more. Jesus doesn't urge us to actively hate our families and physical
lives - he just challenges us to love real life more.
Our
Lord explains his saying with a couple of cryptic and coded cultural
references. "Which one of you wants to build a tower?" Everyone
standing there would immediately think of Herod's temple in Jerusalem, the
biggest building project of the day and one dear to the hearts of devout Jews.
"What king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle" - and
the whole audience invisions a Jewish insurgence against the occupying Romans. "Well,"
Jesus hints, "that's a ship caught in the ice and it's going down. Toss
your timetables and your money and your beloved interpretations of the Torah
onto the pile and follow me."
The
Endurance couldn't endure. Neither, Jesus warns, can the various ships in which
we seek to sail to safety - the religious institutions we erect and the
military machines we assemble, the relationships we trust and even the lives we
hold so precious. Our great Commander stands and stares at us as we hear the
very timbers of our world shiver and crack, and the gush of inrushing
destruction gurgle in through the gaps. And he says to us, "Ship gone;
stores gone; but that's all right, because now we can go home."
So
follow Jesus, who has never lost a soul. But bring your banjo along; we'll all
need some music to keep us going.
Hatefully,
Doug
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