Life By Excuse
Sermon
Changing A Paradigm -- Or Two
Gospel Sermons For Sundays After Pentecost (First Third) Cycle C
We all know what it means to live life by excuse. What teacher hasn't heard somewhere in his or her career: "The dog ate my paper"? What wife hasn't heard the myriad of excuses we husbands can concoct as to why the honey-do list hasn't even been started? What husband hasn't heard the words: "But it was on sale"? And what parent hasn't known the frustration of hearing from that teen: "I'll do it later; I promise"?
Excuses -- we know them; we use them. They are explanations, often rationalizations, for our behavior or lack thereof. Even in the business world where people are actually paid to do tasks, excuses are a dime a dozen. Business consultant James M. Bleech surveyed over 100 executives to find out what excuses they hear the most from their employees. Heading the list was, predictably: "It's not my fault." A close second was: "It was someone else's fault."1
Pastor Dale Barrick got so sick and tired of all the excuses he heard about why people don't come to church regularly that he instituted a "No-Excuse Sunday."2 Would you like to hear what was included in such a Sunday? How about: cots for those who like to sleep in; blankets for those who found the sanctuary too cold; fans for those who found the sanctuary too warm; sand for those who preferred the beach; television sets for persons who prefer services on the screen; and poinsettias and lilies for those accustomed to entering the church only on Christmas and Easter.
But the ultimate life by excuse has to be the guy who sued God. Did you read about this court case recently? Unable to take responsibility for his life and actions a 63-year-old Pennsylvania man named God as a defendant in a lawsuit that blamed God for failing to bring him justice in a thirty-year battle against his former employer, USX Corporation, which fired him in 1968. The man also alleged that God did not answer his requests to return him to his youth and grant him the guitar-playing skills of famous guitarists. The case was eventually thrown out of the U.S. District Court in Syracuse, New York.3
Life by excuse. We've heard it; we've seen it; we know it.
Jesus was no stranger to excuses, as witnessed by the Gospel just read. But before we examine those excuses and Jesus' searing words in response to them, let's consider the context and background of our text.
Luke chapter 9, verse 51, begins the second major section of Luke's Gospel account, beginning with the words: "He set his face to go to Jerusalem." This major section covers almost ten chapters in Luke and concludes with the entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Luke 9 marks the beginning of this "travel narrative," as it has come to be called, and captures the story of Jesus as he travels deliberately toward Jerusalem and the fate that awaits him there. And all along this travel narrative, we have scenes like this one today where Jesus talks about the meaning of discipleship for those who would follow him to that cross on a hill.
And did you notice the very first thing that happened to Jesus as he made this conscious decision? A Samaritan village rejects him. Remember as he began his public ministry the same thing happened, only that time it was in his hometown of Nazareth. Now he finds a similar rejection as he begins his walk to a cross. As commentator Robert Farrar Capon has written about this incident: "Jesus, having already been rejected by the Jewish authorities because he associated with outcasts (and in particular, with Samaritans), is now rejected by the very outcasts for whom he jeopardized his respectability in the first place."4 How sadly ironic.
Then we come to this encounter with three would-be disciples, and we hear excuse after excuse after excuse. As we hear Jesus' response to each, it becomes really obvious to me that he never attended the School of Modern Church Growth that preaches "make everyone comfortable." We are told these days by modern gurus of church growth: sing upbeat hymns that everyone can follow and that make you happy and joyous, never mind it's Lent; don't start the worship with confession, we wouldn't want anyone squirming in their pews, would we; and make everyone feel good. That's how you build a church. And here is Jesus facing three potential recruits, and what does he do? Instead of accepting their resumes, he challenges their discipleship.
Look at the first wannabe disciple. "I will follow you wherever you go," he offers to Jesus. To which Jesus replies: "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." In other words: "Have you counted the cost, good fellow? If you follow me, the Kingdom of God is now your home. And the journey is more important than the destination. What we do as we walk along beside one another will be more important than the destination. For all your enthusiasm, have you counted the cost?"
The second fellow receives even harsher treatment. If there ever was a good excuse to delay discipleship, this guy surely seems to have it. Burying the dead was a duty of great importance in Jewish tradition. The commandment to honor one's father and mother was included in fulfilling this final act of respect and devotion. In fact, in Judaism all other normal religious obligations could be set aside in order for a person to perform the pious duty of burying the dead.
But Jesus would have none of it. With one of his strongest calls to discipleship and harshest words in Scripture, we hear Jesus say: "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
There is no nice way to explain this. Jesus' call is one of absolutes. The preaching of the Kingdom of God takes precedence over any familial relationship we may know and any obligation we may feel responsible for. There is no easy way around this calling.
The third disciple wannabe experiences the same treatment in response to his excuse for delay: "Let me first say farewell to those at my home." To which Jesus says: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." "Leave the past behind," he is saying. "Following me means new life. You can't plow a field with your eyes looking behind you. Leave the old for the new."
Harsh words to hear, to be sure. But discipleship requires, according to Jesus, an uncompromising commitment. Jesus never said: "Follow me, but only when it's convenient." He didn't say: "Follow me, after you've taken care of your agenda." He didn't say: "Follow me, it will be a simple trip -- only a cross awaits." He did say: "Follow me."
Perhaps Dr. Terence Fretheim, Old Testament Professor at Luther Seminary, said it the most poetically and the best:
The walk behind the plow is arduous, the heat makes the sweat run down your face, and you keep running into boulders. The way is narrow, steep, filled with bandits and hangers-on; it moves through many a wilderness, with long distances between oases, and no autobahns; it moves through "fast food strips," with numerous temptations to detour. The food will be scarce, the water will barely slake your thirst, and on many a night you will have no place to lay your head. A stable will have to do ...
No detours or side roads, just straight ahead. No delays, excuses, indecisiveness, or looking back once begun. Even second thoughts are ruled out. Discipleship calls for a decisive break from the past. This is a call for faithfulness and responsibility within relationship. This is a call to stay the course, come what may. But in this walk we are not alone; Christ promises to be with us and lead us along the way.5
Note one other thing about this encounter today with the three would-be, wannabe, could-be disciples. We don't ever learn from Scripture what they did in response to Jesus' challenging words. Did the first one decide that the cost of not having a place to lay his head was worth the effort to follow? Did the second leave the dead to bury the dead? Did the third leave without proper "good-byes" to his family? We don't know. The words of Jesus, the advice he gave to those who would follow him to a cross, hang in the air as if for all time, reaching our ears today with the same searing challenge.
Do we want to follow Jesus? It is a journey. The early Christians were known and called "people of the way." It is still true. It is a way -- of living, of life, of commitment, of challenge, but also of grace, of hope, and of power. The call of Jesus is a call for loyalty above all else -- to follow not when it's convenient, not when all our tasks and lists are checked off, not when we feel like it. But to follow him into the world where we now become his hands and feet for compassion, his voice for justice and mercy, his arms for reconciliation, his heart for the hurting, the haunted, the hungry, the weak, the vulnerable.
Do you see? Jesus' call to each of us is to use the gifts he gives us in service in his name in and for the world his father created. To do that is to be faithful and to follow. To do otherwise is to be a wannabe who hasn't counted the cost of being a disciple.
What do we say to the call to follow this Jesus? What will we say the next time the call goes forth from Christ's Church that hands are needed for a task? What will we say when we read that Christ's body in its corporate form needs willing hearts and minds to serve? What will we say when asked to use the blessings Christ has given us and to return that blessing in service? What will we say? Will it be life by excuse, which is no life at all? Or will it be service born of gratitude for all God has given us?
This call of Jesus is still a challenge today. He needs willing disciples to carry on the mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God and of witnessing through their lives. And what will you say when you hear that call? Will it be life as excuse or life as service? It's your call! Amen.
____________
1. Craig Brian Larson, ed., Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, & Writers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1996) p. 64.
2. Robert Beringer, Batteries Not Included (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Co., Inc., 1988) p. 83.
3. Paul Bascom Guffin, "Bloopers That Gnash the Teeth," The Joyful Noiseletter, Vol. 14, No. 7 (Portage, Michigan: Fellowship of Merry Christians, 1999) p. 2.
4. Robert Farrar Capon, The Parables of Grace (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William E. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988) p. 53.
5. Terence E. Fretheim, Pentecost 1, Proclamation 6 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997) p. 48.
Excuses -- we know them; we use them. They are explanations, often rationalizations, for our behavior or lack thereof. Even in the business world where people are actually paid to do tasks, excuses are a dime a dozen. Business consultant James M. Bleech surveyed over 100 executives to find out what excuses they hear the most from their employees. Heading the list was, predictably: "It's not my fault." A close second was: "It was someone else's fault."1
Pastor Dale Barrick got so sick and tired of all the excuses he heard about why people don't come to church regularly that he instituted a "No-Excuse Sunday."2 Would you like to hear what was included in such a Sunday? How about: cots for those who like to sleep in; blankets for those who found the sanctuary too cold; fans for those who found the sanctuary too warm; sand for those who preferred the beach; television sets for persons who prefer services on the screen; and poinsettias and lilies for those accustomed to entering the church only on Christmas and Easter.
But the ultimate life by excuse has to be the guy who sued God. Did you read about this court case recently? Unable to take responsibility for his life and actions a 63-year-old Pennsylvania man named God as a defendant in a lawsuit that blamed God for failing to bring him justice in a thirty-year battle against his former employer, USX Corporation, which fired him in 1968. The man also alleged that God did not answer his requests to return him to his youth and grant him the guitar-playing skills of famous guitarists. The case was eventually thrown out of the U.S. District Court in Syracuse, New York.3
Life by excuse. We've heard it; we've seen it; we know it.
Jesus was no stranger to excuses, as witnessed by the Gospel just read. But before we examine those excuses and Jesus' searing words in response to them, let's consider the context and background of our text.
Luke chapter 9, verse 51, begins the second major section of Luke's Gospel account, beginning with the words: "He set his face to go to Jerusalem." This major section covers almost ten chapters in Luke and concludes with the entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Luke 9 marks the beginning of this "travel narrative," as it has come to be called, and captures the story of Jesus as he travels deliberately toward Jerusalem and the fate that awaits him there. And all along this travel narrative, we have scenes like this one today where Jesus talks about the meaning of discipleship for those who would follow him to that cross on a hill.
And did you notice the very first thing that happened to Jesus as he made this conscious decision? A Samaritan village rejects him. Remember as he began his public ministry the same thing happened, only that time it was in his hometown of Nazareth. Now he finds a similar rejection as he begins his walk to a cross. As commentator Robert Farrar Capon has written about this incident: "Jesus, having already been rejected by the Jewish authorities because he associated with outcasts (and in particular, with Samaritans), is now rejected by the very outcasts for whom he jeopardized his respectability in the first place."4 How sadly ironic.
Then we come to this encounter with three would-be disciples, and we hear excuse after excuse after excuse. As we hear Jesus' response to each, it becomes really obvious to me that he never attended the School of Modern Church Growth that preaches "make everyone comfortable." We are told these days by modern gurus of church growth: sing upbeat hymns that everyone can follow and that make you happy and joyous, never mind it's Lent; don't start the worship with confession, we wouldn't want anyone squirming in their pews, would we; and make everyone feel good. That's how you build a church. And here is Jesus facing three potential recruits, and what does he do? Instead of accepting their resumes, he challenges their discipleship.
Look at the first wannabe disciple. "I will follow you wherever you go," he offers to Jesus. To which Jesus replies: "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." In other words: "Have you counted the cost, good fellow? If you follow me, the Kingdom of God is now your home. And the journey is more important than the destination. What we do as we walk along beside one another will be more important than the destination. For all your enthusiasm, have you counted the cost?"
The second fellow receives even harsher treatment. If there ever was a good excuse to delay discipleship, this guy surely seems to have it. Burying the dead was a duty of great importance in Jewish tradition. The commandment to honor one's father and mother was included in fulfilling this final act of respect and devotion. In fact, in Judaism all other normal religious obligations could be set aside in order for a person to perform the pious duty of burying the dead.
But Jesus would have none of it. With one of his strongest calls to discipleship and harshest words in Scripture, we hear Jesus say: "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
There is no nice way to explain this. Jesus' call is one of absolutes. The preaching of the Kingdom of God takes precedence over any familial relationship we may know and any obligation we may feel responsible for. There is no easy way around this calling.
The third disciple wannabe experiences the same treatment in response to his excuse for delay: "Let me first say farewell to those at my home." To which Jesus says: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." "Leave the past behind," he is saying. "Following me means new life. You can't plow a field with your eyes looking behind you. Leave the old for the new."
Harsh words to hear, to be sure. But discipleship requires, according to Jesus, an uncompromising commitment. Jesus never said: "Follow me, but only when it's convenient." He didn't say: "Follow me, after you've taken care of your agenda." He didn't say: "Follow me, it will be a simple trip -- only a cross awaits." He did say: "Follow me."
Perhaps Dr. Terence Fretheim, Old Testament Professor at Luther Seminary, said it the most poetically and the best:
The walk behind the plow is arduous, the heat makes the sweat run down your face, and you keep running into boulders. The way is narrow, steep, filled with bandits and hangers-on; it moves through many a wilderness, with long distances between oases, and no autobahns; it moves through "fast food strips," with numerous temptations to detour. The food will be scarce, the water will barely slake your thirst, and on many a night you will have no place to lay your head. A stable will have to do ...
No detours or side roads, just straight ahead. No delays, excuses, indecisiveness, or looking back once begun. Even second thoughts are ruled out. Discipleship calls for a decisive break from the past. This is a call for faithfulness and responsibility within relationship. This is a call to stay the course, come what may. But in this walk we are not alone; Christ promises to be with us and lead us along the way.5
Note one other thing about this encounter today with the three would-be, wannabe, could-be disciples. We don't ever learn from Scripture what they did in response to Jesus' challenging words. Did the first one decide that the cost of not having a place to lay his head was worth the effort to follow? Did the second leave the dead to bury the dead? Did the third leave without proper "good-byes" to his family? We don't know. The words of Jesus, the advice he gave to those who would follow him to a cross, hang in the air as if for all time, reaching our ears today with the same searing challenge.
Do we want to follow Jesus? It is a journey. The early Christians were known and called "people of the way." It is still true. It is a way -- of living, of life, of commitment, of challenge, but also of grace, of hope, and of power. The call of Jesus is a call for loyalty above all else -- to follow not when it's convenient, not when all our tasks and lists are checked off, not when we feel like it. But to follow him into the world where we now become his hands and feet for compassion, his voice for justice and mercy, his arms for reconciliation, his heart for the hurting, the haunted, the hungry, the weak, the vulnerable.
Do you see? Jesus' call to each of us is to use the gifts he gives us in service in his name in and for the world his father created. To do that is to be faithful and to follow. To do otherwise is to be a wannabe who hasn't counted the cost of being a disciple.
What do we say to the call to follow this Jesus? What will we say the next time the call goes forth from Christ's Church that hands are needed for a task? What will we say when we read that Christ's body in its corporate form needs willing hearts and minds to serve? What will we say when asked to use the blessings Christ has given us and to return that blessing in service? What will we say? Will it be life by excuse, which is no life at all? Or will it be service born of gratitude for all God has given us?
This call of Jesus is still a challenge today. He needs willing disciples to carry on the mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God and of witnessing through their lives. And what will you say when you hear that call? Will it be life as excuse or life as service? It's your call! Amen.
____________
1. Craig Brian Larson, ed., Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, & Writers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1996) p. 64.
2. Robert Beringer, Batteries Not Included (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Co., Inc., 1988) p. 83.
3. Paul Bascom Guffin, "Bloopers That Gnash the Teeth," The Joyful Noiseletter, Vol. 14, No. 7 (Portage, Michigan: Fellowship of Merry Christians, 1999) p. 2.
4. Robert Farrar Capon, The Parables of Grace (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William E. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988) p. 53.
5. Terence E. Fretheim, Pentecost 1, Proclamation 6 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997) p. 48.
