Reflections on "Grab Bag: YOLO" Matthew 24: 36-44; I Corinthians 9: 19-23

Our younger generation was noticeably absent from worship yesterday, so the sermon's attempt to connect with a phrase that is now bandied about among the younger generation did not reach most of the segment in this congregation.  I enjoyed reflecting on how God's Word might speak to the current context or worldview of the younger generation.

In the final stages of the sermon preparation, I read an article about how "millenials" are returning to some of the churches with "high" liturgies because the structured, historical liturgy transcends the fads of today.  In part, the author argued that better bands and better media use does not move the "millenials" to come to worship.  Somehow I think that argument  might connect with this sermon, but I haven't had time to pursue that line of thought.

“Grab Bag:  YOLO”  July 28, 2013; Grab bag series; FPC, Troy; Matthew 2436-44; I Corinthians 9: 19-23

Introduction: YOLO…

If you know what that means, you are either part of the younger generation, or you are really hip!

YOLO is an acronym I learned recently from my daughters that means "You Only Live Once."   

Apparently, among some sectors of our younger adults, it is a popular phrase to say to indicate that you ought to seize the moment.

This younger generation, of course, is not the first to express this sentiment.

When I was younger, the movie Dead Poets Society made popular the term “Carpe Diem” as it told the story of the English teacher at a boarding school who urged the young men to "seize the day."

Of course, that phrase itself came from the Roman poet Horace who wrote just before Jesus’ time.

This desire for life to have meaning is not new to us.  Most of us at times want to bring a sense of urgency; believe that life really matters.

Let’s reflect for a few moments this morning about YOLO.

Move 1: I actually saw a young man walking down the street last week with it inscribed on his hat. YOLO

For some reason, the sight of that hat made me wonder if Jesus ever wore hats, and if so, would Jesus ever consider wearing a hat with YOLO written on it.

OK, admittedly that’s a bit strange, but as I reflected on that, I decided that I could see Jesus wearing a YOLO hat. Especially when he was having the conversation with the people about the thief in the night that we read in Matthew.

            a. YOLO seems to express the sense of urgency Jesus calls us to have.

1.      He notes that if the homeowner knew the night the thief was going to rob the house, the homeowner would have been prepared.

2.      Live today as if there is no tomorrow.

3.      Do not wait until tomorrow.  YOLO.

b.       We also see that sense of urgency in how Jesus deals with people.

1.       When he calls the first disciples out of their boats, he does not say, “Meet me in Capernaum next week, or next month, or at some future date down the road.”

2. Instead, he demands, “leave your nets and follow me now.”  YOLO.

3.  Or remember the rich young ruler with the question, “What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?” 

4. Jesus responds:  “Sell everything and give to the poor and then follow me” (Matthew 19: 16-22).

5.  Jesus suggests no concern for what will come down the road; he tells him to sell now and follow. YOLO.

6.   If Jesus were to call the disciples today, he might begin with “YOLO, follow me!”

c. We hear Jesus’ urgency, we acknowledge its truth, but then we find ourselves looking for the safe route preparing for the future as if all that matters is how prepared are we for tomorrow.

1. Maybe that’s why YOLO sounds so captivating to the younger generation.

2.  It’s edgier; it’s in the moment.

3. No waiting for the future to find fulfillment; seize it now.

4. Freedom from the responsibility and obligations of the future.

5. I do not think Jesus would be adverse to a YOLO approach to life, at least not that call to urgency, that sense of freedom.  Those seem to complement his call to discipleship.

Move 2:  But we need to think for a moment about what it means to be free. 

a.  Paul understands freedom quite a bit differently than how some might interpret a YOLO approach to life.

1.   If the sense of urgency, the freedom from the constraints of worrying about the future means You Only Live Once, so you better get what you can now, then it does not fit with the life of discipleship that Paul describes to the Corinthians.

1.      Remember Paul is writing to these early Christians to help them understand what it means to believe in the resurrected Christ.

2.               They have probably started to figure out that Christ’s second coming is going to be a bit father down the road than they had imagined.

2.  So how do they live in ways that express the freedom they have in Christ?

1.  Paul does an interesting thing.  He affirms their new found freedom in Christ, but then shows how that freedom actually leads them to a new sense of responsibility.

2.  They are free to act without regard to any restrictions the world might place on them (YOLO at its best, perhaps?).

3. But, the new followers of Christ are connected to others; as followers of Christ called to serve in the world; they voluntarily submit themselves to restrictions in order to connect with others and keep them from falling away from Christ.

4. Parent – a young child, very directive; you can do this, you cannot do that.

5. Child gets older; more freedom; more choices; now, parents note the options;  You can do that, but is that what you want to do? You can do that, but does that choice reflect the kind of person you want to be?  The kind of person God calls you to be?

c. This sense of responsibility is not anti-YOLO, but it calls us to put how we live in the context of whose we are.

1. The question shifts from “What would you do if you knew today were your last day,” to “what would you do as a disciple of Christ if you knew today were your last day.”

2. I suspect the answer might change. 

3.  The sense of urgency is still there.

4.  But a redefining of freedom takes place – not because we have to, but because we want to.

Move 3: My final thought on YOLO is that Jesus outgrows his YOLO hat on the third day in the tomb when he is raised from the dead.

            a. I have been a camp this past week spending where the campers and camp staff are all younger than I am (quite a bit I might add) and probably recognize the term YOLO.

1.  One night as the camp staff and I were sitting around talking after the campers were in their cabents for the night, I asked them (most of them were college age) what they thought of YOLO.

2.  In the course of the conversation, of the staff members proclaimed, “It does not fit our theology.  Jesus lived twice and so will we!”

3. He, of course, is right.

b. Because we believe in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, because we believe that we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection, we do not have to settle for an understanding of life that suggests that we need to live as if there is no future.

            1.  I have pointed out how a YOLO approach to life might fit with Christ’s image of the homeowner who knows when the thief will come in the night.

            2.  But, there is a cynical connotation to YOLO as well.

            3. I suspect for some, they adopt a YOLO attitude because when they hear Christ say that when he comes again and one is left in the field, they can only see themselves as the one who is left behind.  For them, there is no future beyond what they achieve or enjoy today.

            4. Maybe we are like that some days as well.

5.  They (we) They need to know the hope that we have – a hope in the God of tomorrow; a hope in the God who can even resurrect the dead.

c.  In fact, believing in the God of the resurrection frees to live an even edgier YOLO life?

            1.  We do not have to be concerned about our future because God has acted.

2. WE are not bound to the limitations the world might want to place on us, because God has acted.

3.  Our life is full of meaning because God has claimed us as God’s very own people

            3. The constraints of the world are broken, freeing us to live fully in the present.

                        4.  That sense of urgency, that freedom that is sought after by those who want a YOLO lifestyle is there for those who trust in the God of the resurrection.

Conclusion:  YOLO! 

A term used by the younger generation that speaks to the urgency to which we are called to live our lives or a cynical approach to life that does not care about what God is doing in our lives?

You choose.

Amen.