"Time's Up!" Sermon for 21 January 2018

Third Sunday after Epiphany: 21 January 2018

Mark1:14-20

“Time’s Up”

Rev. Carrie Ballenger Smith

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Five. More. Minutes.

I think these are possibly the three most frustrating words in the English language.

When I was first married, these were the words that greeted me many mornings, when I would casually mention to my new spouse that now might be the time to wake up and go to his College Algebra class. “Five more minutes,” he would groan, to which I would frequently respond, in five of his favorite words: “I. Am. Not. Your. Mother.”

But then, one day, I was someone’s mother! And soon I heard those three words almost nightly when it was time for bed. “Five more minutes! I’m almost done with this level! I just need to save my game! Just five more minutes, PLEASE?!”

There was one—and only one—time when I truly enjoyed hearing those three little words. It was a school day morning, and one of the kids was sitting on the floor of the living room, jacket on, backpack already strapped to his back, trying to finish the last pages of a particularly good book (The Hunger Games, I think). When I said it was time to hurry to the bus stop, he looked up at me with teary eyes and pleaded, “Five more minutes! Please?”

And how could I refuse? Five pages and five minutes later, I happily drove him to school.

“Five more minutes”—just three small words that add up to a very convenient (and much-loved) avoidance technique.

All of which makes me consider the immediate response of the fishermen in today’s Gospel reading from St. Mark, the first chapter. Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee, calling out to Simon and Andrew, James and John, and the scriptures tell us they “immediately” left their nets and boats and followed him. Not in five minutes, but at once.

And this is how we know they weren’t church people.

Church people would have held some meetings first. Church people would have tabled the discussion for a while and formed a task force.  If those first disciples had been church members, I’ll imagine they would have found a way to bring their nets or even their boats with them—or at least their favorite seats in the boat!

Today, Jesus is still calling new disciples with this simple invitation: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Softly and tenderly—and sometimes boldly and with a good kick in the pants—Jesus is still calling people to new life, new opportunities, and new ways of being in the world. But rather than responding immediately like those first eager disciples, our answer is more often something like “Five more minutes, Lord.”

“We only need five more minutes! There’s so much to do first. And besides, this is the life we’re used to. This is the way we’ve always done it!

Fishing for people sounds interesting—but not today.

Following you sounds like a good opportunity—maybe my cousin would be interested.

I tell you what: give me your number, Jesus, and I’ll call you later.”

Now to be fair, we have lots of practice at putting things off for later, because time is always an issue these days. We have smartphones and smart homes and smart cars and even smart refrigerators, which all means we should have more time than ever. But when are you going to read that story to your kids? When will you have dinner with those friends you haven’t seen in ages? When are you taking that vacation, or taking your partner on a date? When are you going back to school for that degree? When are you finally going to say you’re sorry—or I love you?

“I just need five more minutes!”

Of which our brother Martin Luther once wrote, “How soon NOT NOW becomes NEVER.”

And it was his namesake, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday was celebrated this past week, who famously wrote, “The time is always ripe to do what is right.”

Dr. King wrote those words in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, during the time when he was arrested for his non-violent protests against racism and racial segregation in Alabama. You might be surprised to learn these words weren’t directed at the open racists and bigots who were opposing the fight for civil rights. Instead, these strong words were intended for the well-meaning Christians (many of them pastors) who thought King was simply moving too fast. As Dr. King wrote:

“I received a letter this morning from a white brother in Texas which said: "All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but is it possible that you are in too great of a religious hurry? It has taken Christianity almost 2,000 years to accomplish what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to earth."

Dr. King’s letter continues:

“I am coming to feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

The time is always ripe to do right.

How powerful these words still are today, 55 years later!

And how pertinent these words are in this very different context, many thousands of miles away from Alabama:

“The time is always ripe to do right.”

“Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”

As we worship this morning in a divided city, in the midst of a military occupation, this familiar Gospel lesson about Jesus calling the first disciples should both inspire and convict us. When we hear about fishermen who immediately got off the boat, it’s not hard to recognize the ways in which we ourselves, time after time, have “missed the boat” because we stayed on the boat!

When I respond to the call of Jesus with “Five more minutes, Lord”;

When I avoid talking about justice in Israel and Palestine, or about white supremacy, or about the crushing weight of the patriarchy, for fear of offending others;

When I put off for later what God wants done now—

Then the truth is I contribute to the appalling silence of the good people.

I remain a fence-sitter and a pew-warmer, rather than accepting the invitation to be a co-worker in God’s kingdom.

And…perhaps I could end the sermon here, while we pass around sign-up sheets for the various ministry and service opportunities here at Redeemer of Jerusalem! I could probably fill in every slot for musicians and readers and communion servers from now until June. I could populate the church council with new people and arrange a sizable donation to the Peace Center for the Blind today. No more five minutes!

Yalla, let’s go, church! Amen?

But wait: there’s more!

To be sure, this Gospel lesson is focused chiefly on how—and when—we respond to the call of Jesus. It’s a story about time, and how we use it.

But this story also teaches us about how God uses time.

Scripture tells us that Jesus came walking along the Sea of Galilee, and issued his invitation to discipleship, at a certain moment in time:

At that time, Jesus’ friend and mentor, John the Baptist, had just been arrested.

At that time, it was difficult to be a prophet and keep your head.

At that time, laying low might have been the wiser choice for Jesus.

But Jesus instead went to Galilee, boldly proclaiming to anyone who would listen (even fishermen on their boats):

 “Listen! The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.”

Other Bible translations put it this way: “The time has come!” or sometimes “The right time has come.”

But my favorite, from the Message Version of the Gospels, goes like this:

“Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here!”

Time’s up! No more waiting! No more living lost in chaos! No more struggling to earn divine approval! No more searching for God’s presence! For, as it is written in Galatians chapter 4:

“When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.”

In the fullness of time—at just the right time—we received the gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer, our healer, and our brother. The God who loves us from the beginning to the end saw fit to make us adopted children in this way, at this time. This great act of love happened at just the right time—and is still happening!

This is the message Jesus calls us to join in sharing with the world.

Not in five minutes.

Not when we’re comfortable,

Or when we’re retired,

or when we’re sure no one will be offended—but NOW.

Now is the time to get out of the boat,

Now is the time to leave our nets, our learned habits, and our culturally-acceptable prejudices behind,

Now is the time to take the first steps toward a life and a world transformed by love,

Now is the time to follow Jesus in proclaiming: “Time’s up!”

For sexual assault and harassment, and for unchallenged patriarchy: Time’s up!

For racism and bigotry, wherever it is found: Time’s up!

For occupation and oppression, for terror and for tyrants: Time’s up!

For poverty in our backyard and around the world: Time’s up!

For apathy, greed, and indifference: Time’s up!

Time’s up, sisters and brothers, because the kingdom of God has come near.

The kingdom of justice, peace, reconciliation and wholeness is close enough to touch, embodied in Jesus of Nazareth himself.

 What amazing grace it is to hear from this Jesus those two simple words: “Follow me.”

"Follow me, walk with me, stand with me, resist with me, eat with me, show mercy with me, be whole with me, believe in me.”

Believe the Good News: The kingdom of love, justice, peace, and reconciliation has come near in Jesus of Nazareth! And we are freed, and we are empowered, to follow. Thanks be to God.