|
“Living in the Spirit: Be
Dressed for Action” |
|
One October weekend, when I was still a young teenager, my Boy Scout troop participated in a camporee up in the Rocky Mountains. By the time we arrived on Friday night, troops coming from all over central Colorado had already set up their camps. Car headlights gave us enough light to pitch our tents in the early evening darkness. Using flashlights, we hunted for firewood in the meadow, but most of it had been already gathered by earlier arrivals. Ranging far from the camp, we finally dragged back enough dead wood to cook dinner, and Saturday’s breakfast. Dog tired, we ate our dinners, cleaned up, and crawled into our tents to sleep. About two o’clock in the morning, I was awakened by a pitiful voice. “Michael. - - - Michael. - - - I’m cold! - - - I can’t sleep.” It was Doyle, my tenderfoot brother. This was his first camp out. “Go back to bed,” I grumpily told him. “I can’t,” he whined. “I’m – too – cold.” “Well, did you get out of the clothes you wore today like I told you?” “No,” he said. “That’ll make me too cold!” “If you won’t do what I tell you, then you’ll just have to be cold. Go back into your tent before you wake everybody up!” I then rolled over and went back to sleep. The next morning, I awoke to quite a commotion. I got dressed and came out of my tent. By the campfire stood my brother and his tenderfoot tent mate. They were facing our angry troop, still wearing yesterday’s clothes, now covered in dirt, particles of rotted wood, and black smears of soot. They were disheveled and reeking of campfire smoke. The commotion was caused by the fact that they had stayed up all night (– remember? – too cold to sleep?) and they had kept the evening campfire burning all night for warmth. They had burned up all the firewood our troop had worked hard to gather the night before. There was not one happy camper among us! The two of them were lucky to just get off with K. P. duty for the entire weekend. At first glance, it might appear that Doyle and Jim’s actions illustrate Jesus’ parable about staying alert, being dressed for action, and keeping the campfire – I mean – “lamps” lit. Sorry – Not really. If anything, they illustrate what the story is not about. This parable in Luke is about “being prepared.” Yeah – the Boy Scout motto. Being prepared really means wearing the appropriate clothes for the situation. The prepared one dresses wisely for action. My brother should have taken my advice, removed his sweaty clothes, put on clean, dry ones, been warm, and gotten a restful night’s sleep. Being prepared really means having enough fuel for a fire to cook breakfast. Doyle and Jim should not have burned up all of the wood for their own comfort’s sake. They should have kept warm in their sleeping bags instead of acting on their own needs and using the troop’s breakfast firewood. Being prepared really means getting a good night’s sleep so that one is refreshed for whatever adventures the day – or the night – will hold. Instead, having stayed up all night, the two tenderfeet were tired, weak, and cranky all day. This is not what Jesus had in mind when he told the church to be watchful. The message of Luke’s gospel was written down and read by the Church sometime between 55 and 65 years after the death of Jesus – and most of the disciples were old men, or had already died. Followers of Jesus were asking themselves questions like: “Why had the end of the world not come?” – and – “When is God’s kingdom coming?” Some were beginning to think that it never would – sort of like being cold and alone on a dark October night in the mountains. Some in the early church were uncomfortable. Life was difficult. They were waiting for the promised rosy light of a new age that comes like an early mountain dawn. But there were no indications of its coming – only the darkness of a life without the reassuring human presence of Jesus and many of the first disciples. How long could early Christians wait in the dangerous times that seemed like dark shadows cast by the embers of a dying fire? What are our shadows? What are our doubts in the cold and darkness of our difficult times? Is it, perhaps, a war in Iraq that has lasted longer than WWII – or maybe a fear of job loss – or poor health? Is it worry over a major stock market slide – or not getting your children into college – or paying the bills? Do you fear that God’s absence will be exposed by scientific discovery – or that our global society will entangle itself into a permanent state of “war against terror?” Is there a knot in your stomach because you are not sure that God wants you – or that Jesus will save you? What are your dark shadows? Do you fear for the illness or a death of a loved one? Do you feel overwhelmed by debts – or the pollution of the earth – or that the high from a drug makes you feel better than anything you’ve ever experienced? Do you have a hidden fear that people will find out how weak – or indecisive – or insecure you are? These are among the many worries that haunt the shadows of the night of our world and time. Luke’s gospel brings some good news to you today. His message, through Jesus’ words, is that God’s Kingdom does exist. It is God’s intention to give it to us. It will be ours – because God wants it to be! Christians can seek the kingdom that God promises and live with the hope of finding it because IT IS GOD’S FIRM INTENTION TO GIVE US THE KINGDOM! The good news is – and always has been – a solemn, unbreakable promise of God’s favor toward us! How about that? While we use all of that effort trying burn our lives bright enough to keep the fears and worries of life at bay – we are still going to be stuck in the morning dawn with the same problems – the same hungers – the same needs – the same fears! Secular solutions DON’T WORK! Within the darkness of life, we still shiver. We still fear. Before we know it, all the firewood is all gone! If God has a prominent place in our lives, we face darkness, uncertainty, danger, and obstacles differently. Living in God’s Spirit means that we act in faith that God’s kingdom will happen. Living in God’s Spirit means that we dress ourselves for action, prudently preparing ourselves for the work that is going to happen to us and through us. Living in God’s Spirit means that we gather up our resources, and we put them to use for the greatest good. Jesus told a parable about a household in which the master was not at home. His words were a warning to expect his return. And when the master comes, it will be a time like no household has ever experienced. He will not roust the servants with demands to serve him. This master will gird himself with an apron to SERVE THE SERVANTS! The master will be looking for those who are alert – for those who have dressed for action, and have trimmed their lamps to conserve fuel for this time when they need it. For the Kingdom of God is like a Master who is coming to serve YOU! The world is a harsh and difficult place for a community of loving people. It is a place of pain and fear that would erode the faith by which we live. By living in God’s Spirit – so freely and powerfully given to us at our baptism, we have an edge. We know how to dress. We know how to act. We know what to believe. We do not know when the Master is coming, but it is worthwhile for him. Blessed are those whom the Master finds alert and dressed for action! Do you have ears? Then hear the words! Do you have faith? Then let it grow! Do you have hands and feet? Then go get ready! Let us pray: O Master of All Life, into your household we have come. We await your return in the dawn of a new kingdom. Teach us preparedness. Strengthen our resolve with your Spirit. We alertly now wait on your command. In the name of your Son, Jesus, we pray it. Amen. |