Summary: Like Boy Scouts at a high adventure camp, we are challenged to choose our treasure, dress for action and be ready for anything.
The sun had just risen when the hikers began their trek up Baldy Mountain. They were a crew of eight Boy Scouts and two adults, determined to summit the highest peak in the Philmont Scout Ranch. From the 12,000-foot mountain, hikers could enjoy spectacular views of the mountains, forests and lakes of northern New Mexico.
But the summit was still a dream when the group started out, hiking through a dense pine forest in the early morning light. Reaching a gorgeous, gurgling mountain stream, they took a right turn and headed down a wide and comfortable trail for about a mile. It turned out to be the wrong trail.
Realizing their mistake, they turned around and hiked back. This detour added an extra two miles to the trip, however, and you might think that they would be discouraged by it. But the extra distance had a surprising benefit. One Scout who had been struggling at the start of the hike gained confidence through the detour, and once back on track, he felt strong enough to hike to the summit.
The group achieved their goal because they followed the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared. For the past 115 years, that motto has been used to teach scouts the importance of being ready for anything. It is also a good motto for us as Christians.
Participants in a Philmont trek are thrilled to be backpacking through the rugged New Mexico wilderness, some of the most beautiful terrain in the United States. A week in nature is a treasure, and they really put their hearts into it. Scouts spend months planning and saving and training for the experience, and they make real sacrifices in order to be able to participate. What they end up with is a true mountaintop experience.
Jesus also challenges his followers to choose their treasure. In Luke, he points them not toward a backpacking experience, but toward the kingdom of God. "Sell your possessions and give alms," he says to them, sounding like a Scoutmaster encouraging his scouts to lighten their backpacks. "Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out," says Jesus, "an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." He encourages his followers to use the best possible equipment -- purses "that do not wear out" -- and he challenges them to fill them with "an unfailing treasure in heaven." Jesus knows that when we choose our treasure, our hearts will naturally follow.
For Boy Scouts, the treasure is time at a high adventure camp, hiking in the wilderness and experiencing the glory of God in creation. For teachers in Sunday school, the treasure is sharing the story of Jesus with the youngest people in the church. For foster parents, the treasure is providing a safe and stable home for a child in need. For participants in Habitat for Humanity, the treasure is the construction of a home for a low-income neighbor. For advisors in a youth group, the treasure is helping a teenager to navigate a challenging decade of life. In all these cases, people begin by choosing their treasure. Then, their hearts automatically follow, and their commitment deepens.
Once you have chosen your treasure, you need to be prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit," urges Jesus. Such advice is given at the Philmont Scout Ranch, where hikers have to choose the right clothes, pack appropriate food, and make sure they have plenty of batteries for their flashlights. But the words of Jesus are equally important for Christians who are practicing their faith in the civilized world, in their homes and schools and workplaces.
Jesus challenges us to "be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet." He wants us to be awake and watchful, so that we "may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks." Jesus offers his commendation to the servants whom the master finds alert when he comes, and he makes a surprising prediction: "truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them."
That's a shocker, isn't it? The master is not usually expected to serve a meal to his servants, but in this case he does. The Greek word for master is kyrios, which is often attached to Jesus and translated into the English word "lord." Jesus the Lord is challenging us to be dressed for action and to have our lamps lit, so that when Jesus returns, he will be able to serve us. This is a perfect illustration of what Jesus says just a few verses earlier, "it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
As we wait for Jesus to come, we can honor him by practicing Christian hospitality. "When we offer hospitality to strangers," writes Christine Pohl, an expert on the topic, "we welcome them into a place to which we are connected -- a space that has meaning and value to us .... In hospitality, the stranger is welcomed into a safe, personal and comfortable place, a place of respect and acceptance and friendship."1 Each of us can do this, if we dress for action as servants of Christ. We can offer our neighbors a place of connection, a space that has meaning and value, a place of respect and acceptance and friendship. That's Christian hospitality, which we can show one another, following the example of our Lord Jesus.
Finally, Jesus stresses the importance of servants practicing vigilance while waiting for his return. He tells the story of a thief who broke into a house, making the point that the crime would never have happened "if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming." Although it might seem odd for Jesus to compare himself to a thief, he concludes by saying, "You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
Boy Scouts make a habit of being prepared for anything. We should do the same. This means preparing for Jesus by giving with generosity, serving with enthusiasm, praying with passion, forgiving without hesitation and welcoming one another just as Christ has welcomed us. We do not know the hour in which Jesus will bring the whole of human history to its conclusion, but we are challenged to live in such a way that we are ready for it. The truth is, we do not know what is coming down the path.
Such uncertainty was faced by the Boy Scouts at Philmont. After the crew reached the peak of Baldy Mountain, they headed down the other side. The trail was easy to follow above the treeline, but once they entered the woods their path was lost. Through this dense forest was a mixture of lush vegetation and decaying logs and plants. The forest floor was thick and spongy, full of rich soil and natural mulch. It became clear that the life of that forest was rooted in death -- in a fertile mixture of growth and decay.
The very same is true for us. We do not achieve the abundant life that Christ desires for us by playing it safe. No, we have to venture out and take some chances, if we are going to experience growth in Christian faith and understanding. As Jesus says to his followers in Luke, "those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it."2
That's the message of the forest floor. Life comes from death -- from allowing our comfort and control to die just a little bit, as we choose the treasure of the kingdom of God. Life comes from death -- from the forgiveness we receive through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Life comes from death -- after three days in the tomb, Jesus was raised to new life. Life comes from death -- from putting the needs of others ahead of our own as we practice Christian hospitality. Life comes from death -- as we set aside our personal calendars and work to be ready for the arrival of Jesus.
The Philmont crew eventually made it out of the forest, not by following a well-trodden path but by being prepared. They had chosen their treasure, they had dressed for action, and they were ready for anything. They hiked through the deep vegetation until they came to a clearing, and then they rediscovered their path.
Each of us is challenged to take similar chances as we follow Jesus along the path of each day. We'll have our setbacks and disappointments, and we'll likely lose our way at certain points in the journey. But we do not have to be afraid, "for it is [our] Father's good pleasure to give [us] the kingdom." We simply have to be prepared.