On my first day at the Navy Chaplains School, I was told an
interesting joke: What’s the difference between the Navy and the
Boy Scouts? The Boy Scouts have adult supervision.
Note: David Rodriguez is senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Hollister. He is also a chaplain in the U.S. Navy Reserve and currently serving in Kuwait. He preached the following sermon to military personnel in Kuwait.
On my first day at the Navy Chaplains School, I was told an interesting joke: What’s the difference between the Navy and the Boy Scouts? The Boy Scouts have adult supervision.
Last week as I was working in my office space in Tent 4, a couple of incidents took place that illustrate the reality of this joke. There are a lot of cubicles and desks in Tent 4 that are being used by other sailors. It was a rather slow, quiet and boring afternoon until some of the Sailors figured out that if they put a plastic bubble wand with soap on it up against the air conditioner, they could fill the tent with bubbles. As the bubbles flew through the air, they sang the song “Tiny Bubbles” at the top of their lungs until there were bubbles everywhere.
It is because of extracurricular activities such as these that the military focuses a lot of attention on what it means to be a leader. We’re taught how to use programs such as, “Total Quality Leadership” and “Situational Leadership.” And as I’ve been traveling to various Army camps in Kuwait I can’t help but notice the signs that say: “Act like a leader;” “Look like a leader;” “Be a leader;” and “We need leadership not likership.”
And yet our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ rarely mentions leadership. Instead, Jesus spends a lot of time teaching about followership.
In 14 Luke: 26-27 we read: Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
The Greek word for disciple that’s used in the original Greek translation of this passage is mathetes. In addition to disciple, mathetes also means learner or student. This is why Jesus’ disciples called Him rabbi which in Hebrew means teacher.
Being a student of Jesus doesn’t just mean learning about Jesus. We’re not disciples of Jesus if we get an “A” in Jesus 101 or if we score a 90 percent on the Jesus Exam. Being a student of Jesus means far more than knowing about Jesus. It means knowing Jesus personally. It means having a relationship with Jesus. It means following Jesus personally through life. Even if this means choosing to follow Jesus rather than following one’s own parents or spouse or children. It means following Jesus even if it involves carrying a cross of self sacrifice.
To illustrate His point, Jesus gives two analogies. The first is the analogy of a builder. In 14 Luke: 28-30 we read: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'”
Here Jesus is making the point that if we follow Him, we need to commit to going all the way with Him. It costs a lot to follow Jesus. The Lord asks us to put Him first before everything in our lives.
If we say, “Yes, Lord I’ll follow you until it becomes inconvenient; or until it becomes uncomfortable; or until it becomes unacceptable to my loved ones” then what’s the point? We will end up looking as foolish as a builder who could not finish a building project because he did not calculate the affordability of the project before he started.
The second analogy is in 14 Luke: 31-33, when Jesus says: “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
In the analogy of the builder, all of the options lay with the builder. He could decide when to build, how to build, where to build, and so on. In the analogy of the king, the potential of war is forced upon him. Only a foolish king would choose to take on a superior force. So, the wise king will seek peace with the stronger foe.
In the same way, we have a more powerful One to deal with in our lives: God. And God forces the choice upon us: life or death.
As members of the military, we need to understand leadership. But as disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we need to practice followership. It’s not easy to carry a cross. But as our Lord showed us, Good Friday leads to Easter Sunday.
We too, will one day lay down our crosses and be resurrected. We too, will enjoy the eternal life in heaven that came through the Cross of our Lord.
The First Presbyterian Church is located at 2066 Cienega Road, Hollister. For information, call (831) 637-4350.
