Letting Go To Fly

Mark 10: 17-31
Roger Lynn
January 31, 2016
(click here for the audio for this sermon)

The little boy ran across the field as fast as he could, clutching the kite tightly in his hand and holding it above his head. If you had been close enough to listen, you might have heard him chanting over and over again, “Fly! Fly! Fly!” But when he reached the other side of the field the results were the same as they had been the countless other times he had repeated this ritual that morning. The kite was not flying. It remained firmly stuck in his hand. 

Just as he was about to give up and head for home, he looked around the open space one last time and noticed that someone else had joined him in the field. Way over on the far side stood a man who was holding one end of a string which was attached at the other end to a beautiful kite, made all the more beautiful because it was soaring high overhead, framed by the wide blue sky. The boy watched in silent awe for a few moments and then began walking across the field, drawn by the wonder that the man had been able to accomplish something which had eluded the boy all morning. By the time he reached the spot where the man was standing he had worked up his nerve to ask the question which was haunting him. “What do I need to do to get my kite to fly like that?” The man smiled at the boy and then spoke in a soft and gentle voice. “I’ve been watching you for a while, and your problem is really very simple. To get your kite to fly, you have to let go of it. It won’t ever go anywhere as long as you hang on to it so tightly. Let go and it will soar.” The little boy thought about this for a moment and then began to frown. “But if I let go of it, I might lose it.” “You’re right,” said the man. “You might lose it. That’s the risk you have to take if you want your kite to soar. And always remember, soaring is what kites are made to do.”

And so it was with the man who came to see Jesus. He had spent his whole life searching for fulfillment. And he had done all of the right things – followed all the right rules – said all the right words –behaved in all the right ways. But when all was said and done, he was still unsatisfied. He knew there had to be more. His kite still wasn’t flying. And so when Jesus told him the one thing he still needed to do — sell everything and give it to the poor — he knew Jesus was right on target and he knew he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It is important to note that this is not finally about giving away all our money. It is about letting go of whatever it is that keeps us from flying. The man sincerely tried to live the right life, but he clung too tightly to let go and let it fly. It wasn’t that his money or his possessions were bad. Indeed, it is likely that he accomplished a great deal of good with his wealth. It was simply that hanging on to them was preventing him from experiencing the fullness of life which he sought. You see, life as God created it to be lived is about letting go instead of hanging on, about risking instead of playing it safe, about the freedom of reaching for the future, rather than the prison of clinging to the past.

The story is told of a tribe in Africa who have a unique way of hunting monkeys. They put out a jar with holes cut in the sides which are just big enough for a monkey’s hand to fit through. Inside the jar they place nuts which the monkeys like to eat. The monkeys then come along, reach into the jar and grab a nut. The problem comes when they try to pull their hand back out. With the nut clutched in their fist the hole is too small to allow their hand to be removed. But having grabbed hold of the prize, it doesn’t even occur to them to simply let go. They have trapped themselves with their desire to possess.

And thus does the question come to us – both individually and as a congregation. What keeps our kites from flying? Please note that this is only a limited analogy for Plymouth Congregational Church, because in a wide variety of ways our beautiful kite is already soaring. But in this moment when we find ourselves living into the next stage of our journey, seeking to understand who God might be calling us to become, it is worth asking the question, “What prevents our kite from soaring even higher than it already is?” And for each of us who participate in the life of this congregation it is worth asking the question about our own individual lives as well. What traps us inside the jar? What is it in our life that we can’t seem to let go of? For some the answer will be money. For some it will be possessions. For others it will be power and control over other people, or perhaps simply over themselves. For still others it might be family and friends. For some it will be safety and security. There are lots of different specific examples, and the core issue will be the same. You see, the things which hold us back from the fullness of life are not necessarily bad things. Indeed, quite often they have the potential to be very good things – except when we try to hang on to them and control them. They become barriers when our grasp of them instills a sense of fear. It is difficult for us to allow God to move in us and through us when we are devoting so much of our energy to staying in control of our own life. Such an approach to our living fosters a false sense of self-sufficiency which is not conducive to trusting God.

So, I invite you to look carefully at your life and see if you can discover those things which are holding you back from experiencing the full richness of God’s abundant life. Look carefully at how you are relating to this congregation and see if you can discover ways in which we might let go and trust God even more fully than we already do. Then ask God to help you let go so you can fly – so all of us together can fly. And always remember – our lives, like kites, are meant to soar! Where might God be inviting us to soar next?