Motivation: Jesus’ Sense of Urgency: Luke 9:57-62

Tue, 4 May 2010 08:39:11 -0500

“No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

In his book, The Noon Day Devil, C.S. Lewis writes about three devils arguing heatedly about how best to win souls for Beelzebub. One devil says, “Tell them there is no God.” The next devil says, “Tell them there is no Heaven.” But the third devil, who is older and wiser says, “Better yet, tell them there is no hurry. There'll be plenty of time later to do the work of the Lord.”

In Luke 9:57-62, Christ encounters the same procrastination when He invites a disciple to follow Him.

”Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” the man replies. Biblical scholars believe this response was a figure of speech, a way of saying, “Some other time.”

Christ answers him in kind by saying, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead,” a day that will never come. Today, we would simply say, “One of these days is none of these days.”

This passage reminds us to get our priorities straight. In addressing the disciple, Christ makes clear we only have so much time in which to respond to His call and do our appointed life's work. We can’t afford to procrastinate.

Life insurance agents always remind us about how swift and fleeting time is and recently I received in the mail a chart that brought this point home to me. The instructions tell you to pull on a tab until you see your age, weight, sex and other factors. Then, you turn it over and find out how long you'll live. It certainly drives home the point that Christ is making about the need to act now, while there is still time.

Hopefully, we'll all live to be 100, but in any event, we can be certain, if we don't make a special effort to do God's work, Satan will convince us, “There is no hurry.”

It's been said the only requirement for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. The truth is that good people aren't sitting idly by watching evil triumph. The truth, committed Christians are over-committed. Our lives are taken up by the pressure to earn a living, pay our taxes and meet our debts so that, in the end, there is very little left for the Lord. That decisive moment, that pivotal turning point in our lives, can pass unheeded.

In answering the call to discipleship, each of us must make a total commitment. The Latin root for decision is two words, “de cidere,” which means to cut in half. In other words, every decision involves some sacrifice, some letting go. Each of us must decide what sacrifice we're prepared to make for the Lord, what gift of our time, talent and treasure we are prepared to offer.

Week in and week out, we are called upon to make decisions like those people in today's Gospel. The way in which we respond will determine whether we reach the “life expectancy” God had in mind when He created us and imprinted our names on His life chart.

Motivation: Going Ahead of Jesus: Luke 10: 1-9

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:17:12 -0500

“...He said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few.”

Normally, we speak about following in the footsteps of Jesus. But, there are times when we must go before Him. Like the 70 disciples, who went before the Lord, we must be motivated to go out ahead of Jesus in order to prepare His way.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus told His disciples they were being sent out "like lambs among wolves," carrying "no money bag, no sack, no sandals," relying solely on the hospitality of strangers.

In order to achieve their goal, the disciples had to willingly let go of everything else. They stepped out in faith, despite being told that they could expect rejection. They went to every village and town to spread the good news. They went two-by-two to bolster one another's faith. They went as the living embodiment of Jesus' message.

We don't know the identities of most of the 70, but Jesus knew and He said their "names are written in heaven."

Jesus follows in our footsteps, too. Many of the people we encounter along life's path may never get to meet Him, if they are not motivated by our example to learn more about our faith. Our lifestyle, values and beliefs must be in accord with Jesus' message.

When we bring Jesus with us wherever we go, we are fulfilling our mission in life.

Self Motivation

Motivation: Jesus’ Sense of Urgency: Luke 9:57-62

Motivation: Going Ahead of Jesus: Luke 10: 1-9