Nothing to Lose

"Mother, you will never be one of those people who dies before she is dead." I was watching a rerun of Star Trek, The Next Generation, a few days ago when Counselor Troi said those words to her mother. Any of you who have seen Star Trek know that the elder Mrs. Troi, when she appears, has a flamboyant, larger-than-life personality that greatly tries her daughter’s patience. But in this scene Mrs. Troi’s feelings of vulnerability and anxiety about the future were very real, and her daughter’s comment was sincere and reassuring. "Mother, you will never be one of those people who dies before she is dead."

Most of us have probably known such people. Sometimes they are older folk who seem to feel that all of their life that mattered is behind them and to their eyes the life that lies ahead looks no different than death, so what difference does it make. But not all such people are elderly; there are others of all ages who, for whatever reason just exist from day to day. They do not cherish life, but live instead as though they were already dead. And then there are the young, teenagers, especially those brought up surrounded by violence and poverty, who live life so recklessly, so thoughtlessly, that they, too, live as though they were already dead. Whatever the age, whether through recklessness or passivity, such people live without hope. They live life as though they have nothing to gain from living it. Nothing to gain by living another day. There is no point in cherishing this day or hoping for tomorrow. Living offers nothing to gain.

It is a sad sort of existence. Surely it is one that each of us would hope to avoid. Surely we would all pray that, like Mrs. Troi, we might never be people who die before they are dead. And yet, spiritually, I think that is exactly how most of us exist. We are people, spiritually, who live as though we were already dead. Spiritually, we approach each new day with little hope of gain. Whether our spiritual lives are characterized by numb, routine lethargy or by secular reckless abandon, we show little care for the sacred gift of this day or the infinite possibilities of tomorrow. We treat our souls, when we think of them at all, with careless indifference. Spiritually, we are people who have died before we are dead.

By all accounts, the Samaritan woman in today’s gospel had every reason to be one of those women who dies before she is dead. She had had five husbands. This doesn’t necessarily mean she was a libertine. To say she had had five husbands means she had buried five husbands. And the man she lives with now? A woman could not live alone in that time and place. Perhaps it is an arrangement born out of pity; perhaps desperation. She came to the well at noon in the heat of the day. Scholars suggest she came then to avoid seeing others, to avoid the whispers and judgmental glances of the other women in the town. And yet despite all this, she does not live as though she were already dead, as though she had nothing to gain from life. In fact, she seems to be tumbling forward into life as though she had nothing to lose.

As though she had nothing to lose. She speaks openly, almost boldly with Jesus, a strange, Jewish man (despite the fact, as John tells us, that Jews had nothing in common with Samaritans). She is not bound or inhibited by social taboos or customs, but enters into conversation. As though she had nothing to lose. She explores and challenges Jesus’ presence and his words, seeking their meaning. She does not seem afraid that she might say the wrong thing or offend Jesus. She eagerly seeks understanding… as though she had nothing to lose. And when Jesus offers her a "spring of water gushing up to eternal life," she does not hesitate to ask for this new, living water. She could have said, "No thanks, I’m all set. I have the water right here that my ancestors have used for years." But she didn’t. She was eager to partake of the new water that Jesus offered. And then, when she came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, she ran back into the city to share her news, to call others to come. As though she had nothing to lose, she went back among the people who had shunned her and evangelized them. And many believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony!

This woman, who seemingly had nothing to lose, was much more spiritually alive than most of us. Maybe that’s a lesson for us. Remember, spiritual death comes from living with the sense that we have nothing to gain. There is no point in looking towards tomorrow, because it cannot possibly bring us anything of value. We think of "having nothing to lose" as negative, somehow desperate or irresponsible. But it isn’t. What if we were to approach our spiritual lives as though we had nothing to lose? Think about it. What do you have to lose?

It is tempting to say that it was easier for the Samaritan woman. She had no status or reputation in the community. Evidently she had little material or financial resources. The customs and religious traditions of her ancestors weren’t bringing her much comfort. Her life was pretty empty. She really didn’t have anything to lose. Are those the things we fear to lose? Reputation, comfort, the extra-curricular activities and material furnishings that fill our lives? So I ask again, spiritually, what do we have to lose? Those places in our lives which truly are of God, where we meet God face to face… we will never lose those.  We will never loose one jot or tiddle of a true relationship we have with the living God. But all the other stuff? It is nothing. We have nothing to lose.

One of the richest blessings that has grown within me over the years in my ministry is this sense that I have nothing to lose. Again, this is not a feeling of despair or hopelessness. Rather it is a feeling of great joy and hopefulness. In seeking to minister in Jesus’ name, I have nothing to lose. If my efforts are of God, God will prosper them, and souls will be saved, and I will grow in my understanding and relationship with God. Personal risks and fears are nothing—literally—compared with knowing the living God, with saving souls. I cannot claim that I never waver or doubt. I do. But I have known the exhilarating freedom of ministry undertaken without fear of loss.

Ministering with nothing to lose. For me, among other things, this means really pushing to promote Christian Education programs for all ages, even if that push creates a few rough edges. I have nothing to lose. It means taking steps that might seem personally risky to try to jolt the vestry into a deeper understanding of stewardship. It may seem risky, but really I have nothing to lose. It means looking forward to spending 48 hours straight with 60 teenagers in a couple of weeks looking for Christ. I have nothing to lose (except maybe some sleep). And we just might find Christ!

What would it mean for you? To live, spiritually, with nothing to lose. It might mean something as simple as introducing yourself to someone here today whose name you don’t know. (I have heard all of the waffling excuses. Those excuses are the voice of the spiritually shuttered, the spiritually dead, the voice of those who see no point.) A small example, but what, really, do you have to lose? Living spiritually with nothing to lose might mean praying together with your spouse or your children. It might mean sitting down to read the Bible while everyone else is watching Survivor. Or maybe the only time you have to read Scripture is at work on your lunch hour. Someone might see you. What do you have to lose? It might mean seeking God in personal prayer. Not just here on Sunday, but at home on Tuesday. What could you possibly have to lose? Living spiritually with nothing to lose might mean putting every single bill in your billfold in an offering envelope for God’s work in this parish or for world relief. What do you have to lose? After the Samaritan woman was found by Christ, she became an unashamed evangelist. Why not? We have nothing to lose.

So. Spiritually we can go through each day with our souls dead before we die. Indifferent to the presence of God. Expecting nothing really of the future. Or we can live spiritually without fear of loss. Eagerly confident that tomorrow we will meet Jesus at the well and he will offer us something new. Something beyond our wildest dreams, "a spring of water gushing up to eternal life."

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