July 5, 2005

Lord, Could I Have a Later Starting Time?

1 Kings 19:15-21
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Luke 9:51-62

I am probably one of the world's worst - or maybe I should say best - procrastinators. What's the procrastinators' motto? Something like "Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow!" That's me, on a number of things - when it comes to chores around our house in Harwich like mowing the lawn, or taking the trash to the dump, etc., or cleaning up my messy desks - yes the one in the parsonage is just as messy as the one in my office here, or writing sermons or newsletter articles, and lots of other things. We procrastinators - and I'll bet there are some others in here besides me - we are also masters at making excuses - after all, we have to rationalize why we're putting off doing what we should be doing. Many of us are like the neighbor of the farmer. The farmer asks him if he can borrow a rope, and the neighbor says, "Sorry, but I'm using the rope to tie up my milk." "Rope can't tie up milk," retorts the farmer. "I know," says the neighbor, "but when a person doesn't want to do something, one excuse is as good as another." (i) One reason, one excuse is as good as another if you want to put off doing something you know you should be doing.

Ever since the would-be disciples in our Gospel lesson today offered their excuses to Jesus, we Christians also have been offering our reasons (excuses) for not being obedient to the call of Christ. How often have you or I said or thought something like this? "Nothing means more to me than following Jesus, but first I've got to ..." and then we start down the list of things that have a priority in our lives - sailing, golfing, biking, bridge, our family, our job, school activities, and so on. Nothing is more important than following Jesus, but first ... (ii)

There's a pastor I read about who, hearing a wide range of excuses from his folks as to why they can't attend worship on a regular basis, came up with the idea of "No Excuse Sunday," kind of tongue in cheek. It features: cots for those who like to sleep in on Sundays; fans for those who find it too warm (that can't be an excuse here); sand for those who'd rather be at the beach; grass for those who'd rather be on the golf course; TV sets for those who'd rather watch Robert Schuller; and poinsettias and lilies for those accustomed to coming to church only on Christmas and Easter. (iii)

When Jesus calls us to follow him into a life of discipleship, few of us give him an outright "no." Rather, we bob and weave, we hem and haw, and come up with all sorts of excuses. Lord, could I have a later starting time? There are a few things I want to do in life before I settle down to following you more earnestly. Right now, Lord? You know I want to travel - see the world. You know I've got some other priorities - the spouse, the kids, the club, my job. Hey, you know, these are the prime years of my life. Just give me a little more time and then I'll be able to slow down a bit and give you the time that I know you deserve. And I'll be able to substantially increase my pledge to the church. Then I'll get into real discipleship. I promise! (iv)

The first disciples faced the same tensions we do. Take Matthew, for example. We can picture him sitting in his tax office when Jesus comes in and says to him, "Follow me." What if Matthew had responded this way: "Wait a minute, Rabbi. I have to settle and balance my accounts first. The Romans will have my neck if I leave here without closing the books. Besides, I've got three weeks vacation starting on the 25th." But we know that this is not how it happened; Matthew immediately arose and followed Jesus. The three would-be disciples in our lesson today don't quite grab onto the same vision as Matthew. The first one is perhaps too willing, and Jesus perceives that he is unaware of the costs of discipleship. The followers of the Son of Man also have nowhere to lay their heads. There is a cost of discipleship. In our Hebrew Bible lesson, Elisha has to pay a price to heed the call to the prophetic task, and he responds to his mentor, Elijah, by sacrificing his oxen over a fire made from their yokes - a dramatic symbol of breaking with his past. Elsewhere in the Bible, Abraham takes a risk and agrees to a potential tremendous cost in being willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Esther risks her life for her people. Daniel is cast into the lions' den. Stephen, Peter, and Paul, and many thousands after them, all die martyr's deaths. There is a cost of discipleship, and we dare not take it lightly. (v)

The second would-be disciple seems willing, but he first needs to take care of a pressing family matter. Jesus' response is, "Let the dead bury their own dead," a comment that seems unusually harsh and unsympathetic. Our human sensibilities tell us he might at least allow the man this basic act of kindness and respect for his dead father. But there's a lesson here that we are missing. The lesson again is that the life of discipleship is not easy, and no excuses, procrastination, or whatever - even what seems legitimate - should get in the way.

The third would-be disciple also seems willing. All he wants to do is say goodbye to the folks back home. But again Jesus is saying to him and to us, "Nothing less than your undivided attention and loyalty will do. No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." This is sort of reversing the imagery of the Elisha story where the prophet is allowed a slight delay. But the followers of Jesus must keep their hand on the plow and their eyes straight ahead. There's a Black spiritual that goes: "If you want to get to heaven, let me tell you how. Just keep your hand on the gospel plow. Keep your hand on the plow. Hold on, hold on."

How do we hold on to the "gospel plow" and not look back? One way is to make a break with our past as Elisha does and as Jesus requires, to make a break with those things that prevent us from whole-heartedly following our Lord. This means putting behind us vices like those listed by Paul in his letter to the Galatians, what he calls the works of the flesh, things like envy, jealousy, and anger, as well as more sordid things like fornication, licentiousness, and carousing. We've got to put all this behind us, not always easy. Even the great church theologian, St. Augustine, at one point in his younger years prayed, "Lord, grant me chastity, but not yet."

Another way we hold on to the gospel plow is by putting in secondary positions such highly positive virtues as love of country or even love of family. This is very hard for most of us to do, and seems contrary to what society expects of us. We're reminded of the ringing words of John F. Kennedy, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Perhaps some of you know the Yale motto: "God, country, and Yale." Some zealous Yalies add, "though not necessarily in that order." The point is that Jesus demands of us total allegiance, and if that allegiance conflicts with other priorities, and it sometimes does, then they must become secondary. For some of us, the gospel plow will force us beyond the fear and anger that sometimes has restricted our growth. For others, the gospel plow will force us to reevaluate our lives and our ambitions. We can be sure that just as Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem, so will following him force us to set our faces in new directions and with new priorities. (vi)

For sure I don't want to scare anyone away from Christianity or from becoming a disciple of Jesus, and maybe I've painted too bleak a picture of discipleship. When Jesus called his disciples, it did not necessarily mean that they had to completely renounce all the things they'd done before either for business or pleasure. Peter and Andrew, for example, occasionally went back to their nets and fishing; Paul kept up his tent-making; and most of the disciples as far as we know continued their trades after deciding to follow Jesus. Likewise, Jesus' call to us does not necessarily mean we have to forsake and abandon all we enjoy. Postpone? Possibly. Subordinate to a position of lesser importance? Perhaps. Reevaluate in terms of the needs of the kingdom? Probably. De-emphasize as a result of reordering our priorities? Almost certainly! (vii)

But in all of this there is an abundance of good news. It is not by our power or even by our initiative that we answer Jesus' call to discipleship. The Christian life is a journey, a walk down a path where one is led and empowered by the Spirit of God. We don't have to depend on our own resources, our own strength, to respond to this call. When we let the Holy Spirit demonstrate to us how the lordship of Christ, how a closer relationship with Jesus, can transform us, then we begin to realize that our Lord does not want to shrink our lives, but enlarge them, not to dull our hearts with duty, but to delight us with God's graciousness. (viii)

Asking, "Lord, could I have a later starting time?" may be a comfortable thing to do, relegating discipleship responsibilities into a convenient cubbyhole in the future, like next month's doctor's appointment. But to put them off, to procrastinate, is to deprive ourselves of the very best that life has to offer. Every minute, hour, and day lived half-heartedly is a minute, hour, and day deprived of the fulfilled life God offers us. Eternal life is a quality of life now, not just a pot of gold at the rainbow at the end of our lives. Many folks hope for life everlasting and miss it, because they've failed to live an eternal kind of life, what Jesus called fullness of life, right now. All that's required is an openness to God's Spirit now and a willingness to let the Lord lead us into the future.

The older I get the more I realize that the future bursts into the present at an astonishing speed, and we'd better not be squandering our time or attention on those things that will hold us back, or we'll miss something really great. This is why Paul's list of "fruit of the Spirit" that our children learned about this past year in Sunday School is so important to always strive for: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Also, those with a hand on the plow and an eye to the future will know how to respond to the cries of the hungry, to the isolation of the prisoner, to the plight of the homeless, and to the pain of the oppressed. Our response will not be one of complacency or indifference, but one reflecting the confidence and belief that God is doing a new thing through us - God is still speaking - that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, "and that fields sown with love and justice will be reaped with peace and freedom." (ix) So, keep your hand on the plow. Hold on. Hold on. Amen.

The Pilgrim Church of Duxbury
Rev. Kenneth C. Landall

i Emphasis, 6/86, p. 37.
ii Emphasis, 6/83, p. 26.
iii Emphasis, 6/86, op. cit., p. 37.
iv James Schroeder, Clergy Journal, 5-6/85, p. 56.
v Emphasis, op. cit., p. 34.
vi E. Edward Deyton, Word & Witness, 6/29/86.
vii Schroeder, op. cit.
viii Ibid.
ix Deyton, op. cit.