Dressed For Action
Sermon by Stephen Ricketts
Providence-Fort Washington United Methodist Church
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – August 11, 2013
One of my weekly tasks is finding cover-art for the bulletin. I try to find something each week that illustrates one of the scripture readings and also something that is engaging and interesting. I try to be as eclectic as possible and I often search for something that is outside the ordinary classical paintings. My usual procedure is to go to Google Images and type in a few keywords from one of the lessons and see what pops up. The easiest weeks are when the lesson has a well defined theme; themes like the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, or the Parable of the Sower work particularly well. However, some weeks are harder and I struggle to find something that really speaks to me. This week I settled for a picture of Isaiah because I could not find anything that really pertained to the gospel lesson. That does not mean that my time searching was wasted time; I did find some amusing images when I put in search terms like “Jesus’ return” or “second coming.” One of my favorites was a tee-shirt that says “Jesus is coming. Look busy.”
While I could not bring myself to use that on the bulletin cover, it did get me to thinking. Then, as I scrolled down, I ran into a quote attributed to Henry David Thoreau that says, “It is not enough to look busy, so are the ants. The question is: What are you busy about?” I later found out that that is a paraphrase of what Thoreau actually said, but it got me to thinking. Our Gospel message is clear: “Christ will come again.” Jesus himself calls us to be busy; so what should we be busy about?
In the second part of today’s reading from Luke, Jesus tells us to “be dressed ready for service” or as the New Revised Standard Version puts it, “be dressed for action.” Clearly Jesus intends for his followers to be “busy” as they await his second coming. Jesus intends for us to be ready to welcome him when he returns. Jesus expects that we will use the time that has been given to us in a profitable way. But, Jesus does not give us a “check-list” of things to do; rather he calls us to “be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Now, I do not feel qualified to list everything we should be doing as we anticipate Jesus’ return. But, I think there are some things we should avoid, and there are clearly some things we should be doing as we watch and wait for our Master’s return. One thing I feel we need to avoid is building barriers between ourselves and others by judging other people. When we judge another person we create a wall that separates us from them; a wall that diminishes them in our eyes; a wall that sees them as less deserving of God’s love and grace. Recently, Pope Francis spoke about homosexuals and he said, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Now, I am sure Pope Francis does not condone or encourage the homosexual lifestyle, but he also knows that we cannot marginalize people because of their sexual orientation. He knows that we were not placed here on earth to judge some as fit for the kingdom and judge others as deserving of eternal death. I know that I am not qualified to make such judgments; I am not able to read the secrets of another person’s heart. So, I believe that Jesus does not call us to be busy judging others as we wait for his return.
Another thing we need to avoid as we keep ourselves busy waiting for Jesus’ return is accumulating too much stuff. In the first part of today’s gospel reading Jesus calls us to “sell our possessions and give to the poor.” The truth is the more stuff we have, the bigger barns we need to store it. And we all know that bigger barns require a bigger security system to keep someone from taking our stuff. Soon, our love for our stuff grows to the point that it consumes our lives. Eventually our hearts cease seeking after God but we continue to accumulate more and more stuff. I sometimes wonder what questions Jesus will ask us when he returns. Somehow I cannot envision Jesus wanting to see our latest iPhone or wanting to know how much money is in our bank accounts. Jesus does want us to be busy; but, he does not call us to keep on accumulating more and more stuff as we wait for his return.
Clearly, Jesus does not call us to spend our time building walls to separate us from our neighbors. Nor does Jesus call us to spend our time gathering more stuff and cramming it into our already overstuffed barns. So, how should we be spending our time as we watch for our Master’s return? Well, I believe we must keep our eyes focused on the Lord; we must spend all of our time worshiping and praising God. When the Lord lead the people out of Egypt the first stop on their journey was Mount Sinai where they camped and where God himself delivered the Ten Commandments to all the people. And, the first commandment was “I am the Lord your God … you shall have no other gods before me.” When Jesus was asked to name the greatest commandment he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Above all else, we must spend our time worshiping and praising God. Praises to God must be the first words on our lips in the morning and the last words on our lips at night. Worship cannot be confined to Sunday mornings; it must occupy every moment of our lives. Worship and prayer are not just something we do before meals or when we are in distress; prayer needs to be part of every breath; or, as Saint Paul puts it we must “pray without ceasing.” I believe “it will be good for those servants whose master finds them” worshiping God when he returns.
I also believe that Jesus calls us to spend our time “mak(ing) disciples of all nations.” There are obviously many ways to do this; preaching and teaching are important ways to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. But, I believe one of the best ways to make disciples is to be a visible disciple for all the world to see. When Sandy and I were in Hopi earlier last month we talked about what was our mission or purpose while there. Many of the Hopi we encountered are followers of traditional Hopi ways; they are not Christians. Some would call them heathens – heathens who need to be converted. Now, I would agree that we need to tell people about Jesus, but it has to be done in a way that draws people to Christ – not in a way that drives them away. Many Hopi resist Christianity because they have been wounded by Christians who sought to force Christianity on them. I believe that part of our mission was to show the Hopi that Christians are kind, loving and respectful people who want to connect with them as people. I believe we need to live a Christ-filled life that overflows with love and joy. I believe we have to show that following Jesus will not force people to abandon their traditions but free them to live grace filled lives. We must teach; we must preach; but above all we must live as disciples of Jesus as we make disciples for Christ. Last week we spent time with our neighbors at National Night Out. Our purpose was to simply get to know people; I hope they saw Christ as we enjoyed the food and listened to the great music. I believe “it will be good for those servants whose master finds them” living as disciples when he returns.
Jesus calls us to spend our time worshiping God; Jesus calls us to spend our time making disciples; and Jesus calls us to “love one another.” As Jesus gathered with his disciples on the night before he was crucified, he took a basin and towel and knelt before them and washed their feet. Then, he told them to “wash one another’s feet.” For the past several years we have washed each other’s feet as part of our Maundy Thursday service. I have discovered that is one of the most powerful and loving things we do as a community. Just as sharing the Bread and Cup at Communion draws us to Jesus; I believe we are drawn together in love when we “wash each other’s feet.” Now, foot washing takes a variety of forms, and in all of them we focus on just one person and connect with that person in a very personal and very intimate way. Foot washing can take the form of actual foot washing – kneeling down comforting a person by washing their hot and tired feet. But, we also wash someone’s feet when we sit with them while they undergo a medical procedure; we wash someone’s feet when we comfort them after a loved one has died; we wash someone’s feet when we hold their hand as they pass from this life to eternal life with Christ; we wash someone’s feet when we listen to their story of loss and suffering. Next Sunday we are going to D.C. to the House of Peace; why not come along and wash a few feet. I have discovered that it is these moments when we “wash each other’s feet” that draw us together in love and form us into the Body of Christ. I believe “it will be good for those servants whose master finds them” “washing each other’s feet” when he returns.
So, “be dressed for action; … be like those who are waiting for their master to return … so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.” The Son of Man is coming at an “hour when you do not expect him” – be engaged in our Master’s work. It is not enough to look busy by “playing at religion” or “accumulating meaningless stuff.” As we await Christ’s return we must be truly engaged in building the Kingdom of God here on earth. We need to spend our time loving and worshiping God. This means regular worship and this means maintaining an attitude of worship every moment of every day. We need to spend our time making disciples for Jesus Christ. This means being so transparent in our lives that Christ shines through. This means living our lives so that others hear Christ in our words and see Christ in our actions. We need to spend our time “washing one another’s feet.” We need to love and care for each other at the deepest and most intimate level.
Jesus is coming; get busy.
Amen.
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