THAT’S NO WAY TO END UP
Mark 11:1-10
Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1—15:47
Addressing a college audience, Gordon Liddy (a former FBI agent and White House staff) emphasized that only force, ruthless use of violence, and an iron will could earn the respect of friends and foes in this “real world”.
One of the faculty rose timidly and stammered: “But… in our country, most people… base their ethics on… the teachings of Jesus… and this-doesn’t-sound-like-the-teachings-of-Jesus.”
Liddy glared a moment, took in a breath, and bellowed: “Yeah! And look what happened to Jesus!” He flailed his arms outward as if on the cross and said: “They crucified him.”
The audience was stunned. Briefly. Then there was a thunderous applause! Liddy had stated what they believed. He said: “Failure, persecution and pain, instead of success, appreciation and a good retirement—that’s no way to end up” (cf. A.J. Conyers, The Eclipse of Heaven).
The crowds in Jerusalem two millennia ago applauded Jesus and greeted him with palm branches because they expected a conquering hero. However, since Jesus’ power was not the power the world understands, since the Messiah was not a military hero but a suffering servant, their cheers quickly turned to jeers.
Paul is clear in the Letter to the Philippians: though Jesus was the Son of God, he did not cling to his privileges but humbled himself and became obedient unto a shameful death on a cross. Abused and abandoned, he did not rebel, he did not use force but was the suffering servant. It was this crucified and broken Jesus who “truly… was the Son of God”, a fact the Roman centurion recognized and affirmed. Wasn’t the Roman a foe?!
Failure, persecution, and pain—that’s the way Jesus chose; that’s the force of God… which has won the respect, love, and faith of millions of people through the ages.
Which way will I choose: the way of Gordon Liddy—success, appreciation, and a good retirement, or the way of Jesus—the way of obedient suffering?
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