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The Price of Admission

December 31, 2001

TEXT: MATTHEW 5:1-12

I remember like it was yesterday when I finally made it to the big time - when I became a part of the "IN" crowd. It was the 7th grade. I went to school with a group of guys that lived for sports, and it didn't matter what sport - just so it was sports. All that mattered was that you played, and if you didn't, you were definitely NOT "IN." Every recess, after school, and even on Saturdays, the "IN" group showed up at the grass field for the big game.

The good part was that I loved sports - and especially I loved to play football. I idolized the high school football players. I would go and watch them practice after school. I begged my parents to let me stay up late on Monday Nights so I could watch Roger Staubach and Fran Tarkenton in action. I dreamed about becoming a football star.

The bad part was that I was no good. In fact, I was terrible. I was so skinny in the 7th grade that every time I'd wear a red tie people thought I was a thermometer. Not only that I had dark brown glasses that most people thought I had made in shop class. It was not a good beginning at being a part of the "IN" crowd.

I wasn't all that strong, or fast, and I was definitely not very big. My only redeeming quality was that I was faithful to show up for the game and was determined to get in to the "IN" crowd. And to the "IN" crowd's credit, they did let me play - but only one position. They would tell me: "You stand there and block."

That's all I ever got to do was block! And everybody who was anybody knew that "blockers" were not really part of the 7th grade "IN" crowd. For one thing "blockers" were always the last ones picked. And if that wasn't enough to bury a guy's self-esteem, you could just tell in the huddle that "blockers" were not a valued commodity.

The quarterback (it was always Lenny) would give his instructions to everyone, and they sounded so cool. "O.K. Todd, you run about a 10 yard out pattern. And Bucky, you cut across the middle. And Mike, you run toward the swingset and I'll try and hit you with the bomb." It was all SO exciting! And then he would say: "Oh, and Busic . . . you block!" . . . BLOCK?? I was obviously not part of the "IN" group.

But I wanted to be so badly. I wanted just one time to look those guys in the eyes, to diagram the play, to bark out the signals, and throw the winning touchdown pass. But I knew there would be a price to be paid - a price of admission into the "IN" crowd.

Well, I quickly figured out that the price of admission for being in the "IN" crowd of football, was that I had to do something better than anyone else. Blocking didn't count -- that was for leftovers and everybody knew it. And so I decided I was going to learn to pass.

Lenny could run like the wind and had so many moves that sometimes he even faked himself out. But his passing needed a lot of improvement, and so I thought, maybe if I could learn to pass it would pay for the price of admission.

I began practicing throwing the football. I threw everywhere and all the time - after school and the weekends. I threw my Nerf up against the garage. I threw my artificial leather, "Joe Namath football", between trees. I threw until it got dark, and then I threw some more. I passed and passed and passed and passed. I played out every possible game scenario in my mind.

Finally, the big opportunity came. It was the Super Bowl of Super Bowls (which of course we played every week). I don't remember much about the game, except that at one point I remember that Lenny had to go home. We didn't have a lot of other guys playing, and so somebody said: "O.K. Who can play quarterback?"

Nobody spoke up. With a lump in my throat I said: "I'll give it a try." A couple of the guys rolled their eyes, because I was a "blocker" and everybody knows "blockers" can't do anything. There was a dead silence. Finally, somebody said: "O.K., Busic will be QB . . . for ONE play."

I was so nervous I could hardly keep my knees straight. But I just kept thinking about the hours I'd practiced at home. I diagrammed the play, barked out the numbers, and yelled: "HUT!" The ball came shooting out from underneath the center and suddenly it was in my hands.

Bucky broke into the clear and I threw with all my might. The pass wasn't exactly a thing of beauty - it wobbled a little bit and it was probably a little high - but it was straight, and Bucky caught it for a ten yard gain.

The guys congratulated me and high-fives were being handed out like balloons at a car dealership. Somebody said: "Nice pass, David." (They called me by my first name) And suddenly, in that moment, I knew I was "IN."

I had discovered the price of admission, and I'd paid it. It felt good to have worked so hard and then to have delivered the goods. That's kind of the way we live our lives. It feels good to work hard and earn our own way. "Nothing's free anymore!" we say.

When a telemarketer calls on the telephone and offers me a free trip to Hawaii, I listen politely for about 3 seconds before I ask: "What's the catch?"

"The catch?"

"Yea, how much does it cost?"

"Why, there's no catch. My company just wants to send you and your wife on an all-expense paid trip to Maui."

"No thanks. I'm not interested."

I hang up the phone. My daughter asks: "Who was that?" "Oh, just somebody wanting to give me a free trip to Hawaii." And she gives me one of those astounded "when are you going to catch on" looks, and says: "Dad! You turned down a free trip to Hawaii??"

And I say: "Look Honey, there's something you need to know. When somebody offers you something free of charge, without any expectations, ESPECIALLY something like a trip to Hawaii, there ARE expectations. Nothing's free anymore. There's a price to be paid for everything."

Then my wife and I go clothes shopping and she says: "Oh look, isn't that cute. Do you like this?" (I always check the price tag before I respond.) "Oh, I don't know, sweetheart. You're more of a winter and this is DEFINITELY a spring. But that red, polka dot and striped blouse on the ½ OFF rack doesn't look so bad."

You see, we want to pay our own way, and we know what we CAN and what we CAN'T pay to get there. And we want to belong, but we know that no matter how bad we want to be "IN," there's a price to be paid to get in.

The first thing we want to know about anything is: How much does it cost? What's the price of admission?

It doesn't matter if it's at work, or in the community, or even in the church, we understand that there are "membership requirements," to be met, because acceptance into a group carries with it a price. In order to be considered a member of the "IN" group there's always a price of admission, and depending on how badly we want to be part of that group, we'll do almost anything to discover that price and if we have the means to do it . . . we'll pay it every time!

Do you remember the story of the rich young ruler? He was a guy who had the three P's of success - prosperity, pedigree, and power. He had it all! He was the consummate yuppie. One day he came to Jesus and said: "What good thing must I do to get eternal life? What must I do to enter your Kingdom?"

Immediately you can hear the problem. "What must I do? What are the requirements, Jesus? Where's the break even point? Let's not beat around the bush - let's cut right to the chase - let's get to the bottom line. How much will it cost me to become a part of your kingdom? What is the price of admission?"

Jesus doesn't even hesitate: "If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."

Now the normal person would have said: "KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS? You've got to be kidding! I've tried, but quite honestly I'm not sure I can." But instead, this well-groomed, confident, khaki-pants-clad young man, pulls a gold cross pen from his oxford shirt and says: "Which ones exactly?"

"Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself."

"All righty, let's see. Murder? Of course not. Adultery? Well, nothing any normal red-blooded guy wouldn't do. Stealing? Not anything that'll hurt anybody. False testimony? Hmmmm. At least it's not one of the big three. I call my parents on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think I've got them covered. I've paid the price of admission."

The guy just doesn't get it. A question that was supposed to leave him feeling completely inadequate, so Jesus could make his point and tell him the true way to enter the kingdom, he makes sound like he's applying for membership at a country club. He makes it sound like a moral checklist that guarantees his membership into the kingdom. He's paid the price. He's done an admirable job trying to "get in."

Very often we approach "membership" into the kingdom of God in exactly the same way. We hear Jesus announcing a kingdom characterized by love and acceptance and forgiveness - a kingdom of justice and grace and hope of a secure future - a kingdom that announces the promise of eternal life and abundant joy.

And we say to ourselves: "That sounds pretty good. I'd like to be a part of that kind of kingdom. But how much? What's it going to take to belong? What will be required of me? What is the price of admission?"

Well, let's look and see. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, that we're not to murder, not to commit adultery, not to break our oaths, not to retaliate, and to love our enemies.

And when we do those things - when we become competent in those minimum requirements - we think we're IN! We're disciples! We get into the kingdom. We think when we've done all those things we've paid the price of admission, and God HAS to let us into his heaven.

So we start practicing every day after school and on Saturdays. We work HARD at being good disciples. We aim for a standard, pull our socks up high, tighten our belt, and we PRACTICE.

We work hard! The sweat comes rolling down our faces . . . but we're not committing adultery. The veins are popping out in our necks . . . but we're not committing murder. Our temples are pounding and our teeth are gritted . . . but we're loving our enemies.

We're in! We've measured up. Oh, we're not Mother Teresa or anything, but we're a lot better than most of the people out there. Sound familiar?

We tend to believe that there is something we HAVE, something we can DO, something we can BRING that will gain us entrance, because there has to be a price of admission. That's just how things work in the world.

So we take a good long look at Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount, we get our entrance requirements all figured out, and we start cramming for the final exam on how to get in.

I'll be honest with you, more times than not, this section of Jesus' teaching has been approached in just that way. Even a lot of the commentaries on the Sermon on the Mount, tend to see Matthew 5-7 as an instruction manual for disciples - a list of what to do and of how to behave ethically and morally, in order to be part of the kingdom of heaven.

But my friends, I don't about you, but I can only take so much sweating, and vein-popping, and teeth-clenching, and belt-tightening before I just get worn out. Because when I really begin to look at the standard to which Jesus is calling his disciples to live their lives . . . the standard to which Jesus is calling ME to live MY life . . . I feel totally inadequate and insufficient.

What Jesus is calling us to in these chapters is more than a nonchalant: "I think I'll be a Christian now." He is calling us to a RADICAL change of lifestyle - a way of being in the world - a lifestyle that is completely opposite of the way that I naturally am.

In fact, the standard of his call seems to be so high and lofty and unattainable, that I'm not sure I can meet the price of admission. Have you seen the price of admission? Oh, I know you've read the headlines of "blessed are you," and "yours is the kingdom of heaven," and "you will see God," and all the rest. But have you read the fine print?

Jesus says things like: "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I say to you that anyone who is ANGRY with his brother is subject to judgment." Angry? Who is Jesus kidding?

"You have heard it said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I say to you that anyone who looks at another person in a lustful way, has already committed adultery with them in their heart."

"They used to say, 'Eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth.' But I'm telling you, the people who follow me will turn the other cheek. It's not about revenge anymore. We're going to love our enemies."

I hear those words, and I want to get "IN." I want to be a part of the Kingdom. But I recognize that no amount of practice after school, or even on Saturday, is going to qualify me to meet the price of admission. Do you know why? Because it's one thing to follow the letter of the law with my actions - it's another thing altogether to live it in my heart.

I'm not capable of doing that alone. I need outside help.

Entrance into the kingdom of God isn't about checking off a list of requirements and saying: "I'm in. I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I've done the right things. I'm in!" And that's hard to get a hold of.

You see, all our lives we've been rewarded according to our performance. We get the grades when we study. We get a raise when we work hard. We lose weight when we diet and exercise.

And that's why the rich young ruler thought heaven was just a payment away. Because it made sense! You work hard, you pay your dues, and your account is credited as paid in full. But Jesus says: "You've missed it! Because what you want costs far more than what you have to pay."

It's like breaking your piggy bank to buy a car. It's like graduating from kindergarten and thinking you're ready to be a brain surgeon. It's like writing a check with a zero balance. WHAT YOU WANT COSTS FAR MORE THAN YOU HAVE TO PAY!

So what are we to do? How are we to enter the kingdom of God and become the kind of followers that Jesus is calling us to be?

"Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Ah, now there's something we can sink our teeth into. Jesus says if we want in, we just have to be poor in spirit. Now how can we do that? We begin to process in our minds a whole list of things we can do to be poor in spirit. But it doesn't take us long to realize that poor in spirit is not something we can do. It is something that we are. Jesus isn't talking about an action. He's talking about an attitude. A posture. He's talking about turning in desperation to God, without pretense and willingly accepting his invitation to come into the Kingdom.

Then we hear Jesus say: "Blessed are those who mourn." If we want into the kingdom of God I have to find a way to mourn. So how can we mourn better? Mourning is about coming before God with a deep sense of my undoneness before him. A place we stand before God stripped of any recourse, totally dependent on him. And we realize that mourning is not something we have to give, but that which reveals our dependency on someone greater than ourselves.

And that is true for ALL of the Beatitudes. Membership into the kingdom of God is not based on anything WE have to bring! There's nothing WE can do! There's nothing WE have to give!

There's no amount of discipline, or right thinking, or moral posturing that will gain our entrance. It's based on thing and one thing only: the grace of Almighty God extended to us through his son Jesus Christ. IT IS CHRIST AND CHRIST ALONE!

And because that is true . . . the price of admission is empty hands and hungry hearts. Those who enter the Kingdom of God have come to the absolute end of themselves and stand before God empty-handed - with nothing to bring - and with hungry hearts - a passion to know him.

That is the foundational principle we cannot afford to forget as we approach Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus IS going to speak to us about our conduct, our purity, and our righteousness. But what we must not forget is that this Sermon is about the FRUIT of discipleship, and not the basis for ACHIEVING discipleship.

Jesus doesn't begin by telling us what we have to DO to be called his disciples. He begins by telling us what we ARE by his grace.

We are not who we are in Christ from the result of grit and discipline and work. We are who we are, first and fundamentally, because of the gift of God's grace. Do you know why? Because we don't need a system to come to God . . . we need a Savior.

The first step of the blessed life is a plea for help. The price of admission is an acknowledgement of our need and a declaration of our spiritual bankruptcy. It is admitting that our cupboards are bare, that our pockets are empty, and that our options have run out. We enter the kingdom when we stop demanding justice and start pleading for mercy. We become a disciple of Jesus Christ when you see the condition you are in and cry out to God for help.

Jesus said: "Blessed are those who realize their spiritual poverty, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who are sick and tired of their own righteousness. Blessed are those who position themselves as beggars before God. Blessed are those who mourn over that poverty, because they will be comforted."

What is the price of admission? Empty hands and hungry hearts. For when we come to the end of ourselves, we run right into grace.