January 22, 2012: Five More Minutes

Third Sunday after Epiphany: January 22, 2012
Mark 1:14-20
“Five More Minutes”
Preacher: Pastor Carrie B. Smith

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

Five. More. Minutes.

These are perhaps 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 husband that now might be the time to wake up and go to College Algebra. “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 my younger son was sitting on the floor of the living room, jacket on, backpack already strapped to his back, trying to finish a particularly good book (The Hunger Games, I think). When I told him it was time to hurry on to the bus stop, he looked up at me with teary eyes and pleaded, “Five more minutes! Please?”

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

Five more minutes—it’s a seemingly simple request, but it’s also 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 now.

And this is how we know they weren’t Lutherans.

Lutherans would have held some meetings first. Lutherans would have tabled the discussion for awhile and formed a task force. If a decision couldn’t be reached, they would have split into a few synods, each claiming to be more faithful than the other. If those first disciples had been Lutherans, I’ll bet they would have found a way to bring their boats with them—or at least their favorite seats in the boat!

Meanwhile, Jesus remains on the shore, calling out with his simple invitation: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Softly and tenderly, Jesus is still calling us to new life, new opportunities, and new ways of being in the world—and we put it off until later, determined to attend to our own agenda first. Rather than responding immediately like those first eager disciples, our answer is often something like “Five more minutes, Lord.”

“Just five more minutes! We’re happy here in our boats, with our nets, catching fish. It’s comfortable here! After all, this is the way we’ve always done it. Fishing for people sounds interesting—but not today.Following you sounds like a good opportunity—for someone else. But I tell you what: give us your cell number, Jesus, and we’ll call you later.”

To be fair, we have lots of practice at putting things off for later, because time is always an issue. With iPhones and iPads,professional organizing services and automatic bill payments, we should have more time than ever. But when are you going to actually 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 spouse on a date? When are you going back to school for that degree? When are you finally going to say you’re sorry?

“Five more minutes. Just five more minutes is all I need.”

To which Martin Luther once replied, “How soon NOT NOW becomes NEVER.”

And his namesake, Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday we celebrated this week, famously wrote, “The time is always ripe to do what is right.”

Dr. King wrote these words in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, and you might be surprised to learn they weren’t directed at the racists and bigots who were opposing the fight for civil rights. Instead, these strong words were intended for well-meaning Christians (some of them
pastors) who thought King was moving too fast. He 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.”

When we respond to the call of Jesus with “Five more minutes, Lord”; when we stay on the boat;
when we put off for later what God wants done now—then we contribute to the appalling silence of the good people. We remain fence-sitters and pew-warmers rather than co-workers with God.

And so today, when we hear this familiar Gospel lesson about Jesus calling the first disciples, it both inspires and convicts us. When we hear about those fishermen who immediately got off the boat, it’s easy to recognize the ways in which we, time after time, have missed the boat because we stayed on the boat!

And perhaps I could end the sermon here, while we pass around sign-up sheets for the various ministry and service opportunities at Bethany Lutheran Church. We could be overrun right now—immediately!—with volunteers for PADs and Sunday School and the Green Team! Let’s get out of the boat and fish for people! 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 at a certain moment in time:
his friend and mentor, John the Baptist, had just been arrested. This was a difficult time to be a prophet, and laying low might have been the wiser choice for Jesus. But Jesus instead went to Galilee, boldly proclaiming the Good News and calling out to anyone who would listen (even fishermen on their boats).

And the Good News of God that Jesus was proclaiming, the message that he would not let be
censored or suppressed, went something like this:
“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 for the Messiah! No more living in darkness! No more struggling to
gain God’s approval! No more reaching toward the unattainable goal of perfection! 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 saw fit to end our waiting and make us adopted children of God. This happened at just the right time—and this is the Good News! 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 sure everyone will agree with us—but NOW.

When we get out of the boat, Bethany Lutheran, when we leave our nets behind, we are free to join Jesus in proclaiming to the world: “Time’s up!”

For racism and bigotry, wherever we find it: Time’s up!
For poverty in our backyard and around the world: Time’s up!
For hatred of those who are different: 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. Jesus calls us
to follow him, and the time is now. Amen.