Changing the Rules

On the morning of August 15, 1969, Michael Lang knew he had a real problem on his hands. His concert, planned as a big weekend of music that would include the most popular acts of his generation had been completely overrun. The gates had come down. The New York State Thruway was closed, with cars backed up for 20 miles, some abandoned on the side of the road as their passengers decided to go the rest of the way on foot. 500,000 people had crowded onto Max Yasgur’s farm.

Mike flew over the scene in a helicopter. Looking down onto that sea of people, some still streaming toward the stage confirmed it all: he had a real problem on his hands. So what do you do when you plan a show for 100,000 people and five times that amount show up? What can you do when there isn’t enough food and water, bathrooms, and even, space? What can you do when everything you planned: every detail, provision, and contingency fails? What would you have done?

Here’s what Mike Lang did. He stepped up to the microphone that afternoon, looked out at that sea of people, and told them what was already apparent: “it’s a free concert from now on!”, and then he let the music play. He changed all of the rules: his own and the world’s and because of that, the concert became three days of peace, love, and music, called Woodstock.

Late one afternoon, our lesson for today tells us, King Herod knew he had a real problem on his hands. In the midst of all the excitement of a good party with special guests, he had gotten swept up and promised more than he realized. Maybe it was all the food and drink, or the festivities, but he made an oath to a woman that he would honor any request she had. Now, he was beginning to understand that the word “any” was pretty broad, and what she eventually asked for was tearing the King apart. Every guest was silent, and her words seemed to hang in the air around them: “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter”. That’s when Herod knew he had a real problem on his hands.

What can you do when you promise something you’re not sure you can, or want, to deliver? What can you do when all eyes are on you, waiting to see what you will do? What can you do when there don’t seem to be any easy options? What would you have done?
As horrifying as it is, we just read the story of what Herod did. Even though he respected John… even though he knew that John was a special person, a holy man…even though he liked talking to John and listening to what he said about God…in spite of all of those things, Herod called for it to be done, and that afternoon John was executed.

Herod was torn up over it. He was devastated by it. But, in the end, in order to save face in front of his guests, he did it. He just couldn’t change the rules. “An oath is an oath…” he thought, “…and I would look like a fool if I didn’t deliver on the oath I made.”

The best fortune I’ve ever gotten out of a fortune cookie said “If you want to be successful in life you have to go berserk every once in awhile.” I think that’s true. Call it “thinking outside of the box”, call it “improvising”, call it “changing the rules”, call it whatever you like, but some of the greatest moments in our lives, and in history come when people go a little berserk. Mike Lang did it when he let the gates come down and made Woodstock a free concert. Herod couldn’t do it, and John lost his life.

People of God are able to do it. The prophet Amos did it when he told people about the vision of the plumb line that God had dropped on him, and what it meant for their lives. John the Baptist did it when he left everything behind and headed into the wilderness, surviving on bugs and honey, all to tell people about the coming of God’s Son

Sometimes when you change the rules, you lose, and maybe that’s why we don’t do it as often as we could. Lang lost money when he made Woodstock a free concert. He and his associates say that it took 11 years before they ever broke even from Woodstock. He was willing to do it, and it went down in American History as one of the greatest concerts ever, and not a complete disaster
King Herod, had he changed the rules, and refused to carry through on his oath, would have lost face in front of all of his guests…he wasn’t willing to do it, and John the Baptist lost his life.

God changed the rules. When man-made gates prevented people from coming to him. When the open roads of faith became backed up, and when the number of people who couldn’t gain access to God became too big, God came to live among us. God changed the rules that said that a god had to be mysterious, far off, removed from our daily reality. God tore down the gates, made the pathways clear and open, and embraced all who came to know Him. Because of this, God lost a Son.

Jesus, throughout his life, changed the rules, and he did it all the time. He turned tables over and turned hearts toward God. He changed the rules about forgiveness and acceptance, and who could receive these things. He changed the rules about what a successful life looked like. In the end, all of it meant that Jesus lost a lot. In fact, he was willing to lose it all, to give up everything he had, to embrace the cross that would mean the end of his life.

Ironically, with God, even when you lose…you win. It’s just another way that God has changed all the rules for us. Saint Paul captures this in Philippians 3:7-8-“whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Paul found, after living life all on his own, that his life got better when God became a part of it. So he changed the rules, and let God in.

We might find the same kind of new life that Paul spoke about, and that Jesus made possible, if we were willing to forget about saving face and saving ourselves enough to change the rules and see what happens.

Maybe we change the rules and start answering the tough questions about life that we’ve avoided for too long. Maybe we change the rules and offer the real dilemmas, the real problems that tear us up to God. Maybe we change the rules and let down our guard and tear down the gates that prevent us from inviting all people to come and meet the God who changed the rules for us.

Maybe it means we go a little berserk every now and then, and are totally surprised by what happens, how God comes through for us, and where we go because of it.

After Woodstock was over, Max Yasgur, owner of the farm where the concert was held, said this about the people who gathered for the peace, love, and music: "if we join them, we can turn those adversities that are the problems of America today into a hope for a brighter and more peaceful future.”

Today, you and I don’t have a big problem on our hands, but instead a big opportunity in front of us. It’s an invitation to see the world as an unchanging, hopeless place…or to look at it through the eyes of God, as a place where rules can change and lives can be saved…as a place where people can go a little berserk and experience the presence of a God who is willing to lose everything to gain the love of people like you and I.

Can we change the rules? Can we go a little berserk when we need to? Can we be the people of God today?