there's something to be said for hanging in there

past the point of hanging 'round too long

The holy Gospel according to St. Mark the 6th chapter!

Well, this week wasn’t the best week to be an Iowan. Was it?

…I thought about asking who participated in the caucus, and then I thought, “I can’t do that.”  But then I thought it’s be funny to ask who participated in the caucus, and then while hands were raised, I’d yell, “now everyone else, get ‘em!”

But, in a country increasingly defined by whether you’re blue or red, our insistence that in Jesus Christ even that division has been overcome, is one of our most potent witnesses.

…Back to the caucus, though. Because there’s a very apt sermon-illustration in there. 

By now it’s been determined that the cause of the fiasco was a coding error. 

But, judging by how agitated everyone got, over what turned out to be nothing more than a technical issue, it would seem as though this whole ordeal tipped into some inexcusable territory.

In fact, is me even talking about this debacle raising your blood pressure a little bit?

…Well, in the short gap of time between finding out something was wrong and taking the time to figure out what it was, there was no shortage of speculation. Was there?

And the one piece of speculation that wasn’t speculation, but actually accusation; was unpreparedness. 

If those who had been in charge had tested the system better, they clucked. If those who reported the results had been trained more, they wagged their fingers. If, if, if! 

If something, anything had been done differently, the voices cried, then all this could have been avoided.

…And, we all believed these voices, too.

As it turns out, other than predicting a malfunction no one anticipated, there was nothing that could have been done. 

This fracas was going to happen, regardless of all our attempts to prevent it.

Which is the really unsettling thing about this snafu. Isn’t it?

Deep down, we all believe that if we can just prepare enough, then there will never come a moment when we’re not ready. Don’t we?

But moments like this, take a pin and prick a hole into our little illusion.

…Which is really what all the hand-wringing was about. Wouldn’t you say?

We need to be prepared. 

And if, God forbid, someone or something should fail to be, then they will suffer not only the consequences, but also the outpouring of all our anxiety, too.

…And it’s right into all this anxiety, that Jesus comes wielding, not a pin, but a sword! The sword of his word; “Take nothing for your journey,” he orders! 

No food, No luggage, No money. NOTHING!

Jesus’ marching orders burst the bubble of our illusions of perfect preparation!

Jesus tells us to go out into the world un-prepared!

And, not only that! Jesus also commands disciples to make our problem, everyone else’s problem, too! 

Jesus instructions us to find shelter, provisions and anything else your might need, from others!

Others who may, or may not be ready for you!

Jesus sends disciples out unprepared! AND he tells them to rely on people who have no reason to be expecting them!

Jesus’ instructions are tantamount to tearing up instructions! His strategy is to undo all strategies! Jesus intends to send you out un-prepared!

Which is not a prospect any of us look forward to. Is it?

…But, it’s also a very obviously, real prospect! Isn’t it?

If this caucus mess has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t be prepared for everything! And, refusing to believe you’ll ever be unprepared, is the surest way to make sure you will be!

Being unprepared to be unprepared is the biggest oversight any of us can make!

We should be ready to not be ready, Jesus says!

Which is very practical. Isn’t it?

Which makes it quintessential Christian spirituality! Perfectly UN-spiritual! Utterly realistic! Decidedly this-worldly!

That’s what the incarnation is about! God entering fully, all the way, into this word in Jesus Christ!

The thing about our dreams of always being ready is, they’re just that! Dreams! And dreams aren’t real! 

And God, in Jesus, is for real people! Real people living real lives! Real people living real lives, who really need to be saved!

…So is that you this morning? Have your dreams been shattered? Does the mess have you feeling utterly unprepared for life?

Well, that just means your life is perfectly prepared for God!

In this life you will all be unready a time or two. Won’t we?

But now, in Jesus, that just means our lives are be perfectly ready for God’s plans!

In fact, it’s not even some distance future. Is it? We all have places in our live that are not prepared, right now. Don’t we? 

But now, in Jesus, that just means we’re God’s cup of tea!

Today, in a room full of people, trying to make it in a world obsessed with being prepared, Jesus throws out the rulebook! Don’t be prepared, he says! Don’t even try to be, he adds! 

And these words are more than just words of practical wisdom. They are words of freedom, and even joy, too.

…On Tuesday a few of us went to see the movie Jojo Rabbit. It’s a comedy about the tragedy of anti-semitism in Nazi Germany. I won’t say much, especially since if enough of you express interest, we’ll go again today. 

The movie takes place in Germany, during World War Two. Early on you get hints resisters are actively at work against the Nazi’s. At first, though, you can’t tell who the resisters are. But, there are clues…

The people who have fully bought into the Nazi ideology are anxious. They’re always busy! Obsessed with getting things done. Being prepared.

But, in a brilliant piece of filmmaking, the resisters are always enjoying life! Not taking themselves too seriously!

Which is a wonderful paradox, because if the Nazi’s had reason to be busy, the resisters had more! And, as we know, the resisters work was more important, too! 

Yet, they’re the ones having fun!

Which is as apt of an illustration of Jesus’ instructions as you’ll find!

We are sent out for hard and important word. And the way Jesus gets us ready, is by sending us out unprepared! 

Jesus sends you as a witness to the kingdom of God! 

To make you ready, he tells you to stop trying to be! 

Stop letting life pass you by trying to get ready! Instead, just get out there! Go! Throw yourself into the life that is happening right now, right under your nose! As close as your heartbeat, and just as immediate too!

By commanding you to go out unprepared; Jesus is taking your plans for life out of your hands. 

And here’s the good part; Jesus is taking your plans out of your hands to give you something better! Your life! Jesus’ plan is to give you your life back to you! Only now, not as something you must manage, but as a gift!

This is how we live as witnesses to the grace of God! To be a people no longer anxious! A people who receive each and every day, every moment, every breath and heartbeat; not as something to prepare for, but as a gift from God!

Does this news shock you? GOOD! The less prepared you are for it, the better! The more ready you are!

Today Jesus sends you out with the emphatically correct observation, that you can never be fully ready! And the best thing to do, is stop trying to be!

In fact, he suggests something even more provocative; that once you quit, you will find your life where it’s been going all along, out of your hands! Out of your hands, and into the very capable pierced hands of your savior!

The question today isn’t, what do you have to do to get your life in order; but what are you going to do now that you don’t have to! What are you going to do with your hands now that everything else is taken care of? What are you going to do with your life now that you don’t have to manage it anymore?

Something free, I pray. Joyful, even.

Like, maybe, singing?

Let’s do that. After all, the birds sing because they’re free. And the old hymn goes, “I sing because I’m happy.”