Have you ever been minding your own business only to be interrupted by Jesus? It happens to me all the time, maybe because I’m in the Jesus business which is to say my own business is Jesus business, although sometimes I wish it weren’t. Some people say I’m in show business—and we all know that “there’s no business like show business”—and maybe that’s what Jesus is interrupting, as if the Church and its clergy and lay leaders and people in the pews get all wrapped up with the show of religion rather than the substance of religion. You will have to admit, however, that most Sundays but especially Christmas and Easter, we put on a really good “shew” (just like Ed Sullivan would proclaim). But at Christmas we certainly have to be reminded that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” and at Easter Jesus’ resurrection and the Easter Parade and Bunny ought not to be confused.
But the New Testament is full of examples of how inconvenient Jesus can be and how all of his Resurrection appearances come as a surprise to the disciples.
Take our two scriptures this morning. Paul is on his way to Damascus, certainly minding his own business, when Jesus appears to him and he is, literally, knocked off his high horse. Peter is also minding his own business which was fishing, when Jesus appears unexpectedly by the Sea of Galilee and starts to give the disciples advice about how best to conduct their business. John says, “This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.” Take that sentence out and there’s no reason to pinpoint this as a Resurrection story, just an annoying interruption of the disciples’ days work.
Perhaps one truth we might take from all of this is that Jesus is rarely convenient for any of us and yet without him my life is immeasurably impoverished. How convenient, for example, was it for any of us to come to church this morning? In today’s society we have lots of options—attractive options—including staying in bed and reading the New York Times (not that any of you ever exercise that option). On those rare occasions when I don’t “have” to be in church, drinking coffee and reading the paper feels like it could get to be a habit.
The story is told of a mother who told her son he had to get out of bed and go to church. Her son said, “I don’t want to. Nobody at church likes me and it’s boring.” His mother said to him, “You have to. You’re the rector.” Well, my mother’s been deceased for quite a while and boring or not, at least while growing up, we went to church on Sunday morning.
But there’s something deeper about all this than an attendance record which has to do with making space in our lives for Jesus. Perhaps it might even be said that Jesus demands not only space but a profound loyalty. But Jesus being Jesus, it’s never coercive. It’s never a threat. Rather, it’s an invitation to do nothing less than to give up your life for his sake.
Maybe that’s where I could get a little edgy and uncomfortable. This invitation of Jesus isn’t just about the periphery of my life, it’s not just about some time I might have left over, but rather prime time. Sunday morning is, in fact, prime time. There was a time in history when Sunday was a work day and being a Christian meant you had to find time in your work day to be with Jesus in the company of the other disciples. Culturally I think we’re creeping back into a seven-day work week with the notion of a Sabbath that’s very fluid if at all existent. But Sunday aside, Christ’s invitation to live in relationship with him and being guided by his Spirit is a matter of the heart and the mind without which, and I repeat, we would be immeasurably impoverished.
For those of you in our Eighth Grade Confirmation class, I wonder how convenient Jesus has been for you in this year’s classes. Let me take a guess: not real convenient. Let me also take another guess: your parents think Confirmation is a great idea! But you may still have to be convinced. In fact I’ve even heard that a few of your parents have said if you just do this one thing you’ll never have to go to church again. Now there’s a logical proposition! And so let me suggest that you don’t pay any attention to your parents, but instead focus on what kind of friend Jesus can be for you. I have a particular bias, but this is something you can discover for yourself.
Whatever else we might say about Jesus, he has revealed as no one else how much God loves you. Plus the fact he’s a lot more of a rebel than your parents or your church school teachers or your clergy give him credit for. There’s a bumper sticker that was popular in the ‘60’s that could have described Jesus except in his relationship to God that went, “Defy Authority.” Barbara Brown Taylor describes Jesus this way:
Jesus is terrible at meeting people’s expectations of him. He engages the sorts of people he should ignore and ignores the sorts of people he should engage. He accepts the wrong dinner invitations. He is rude to respected religious leaders. He scolds his own disciples, while he praises the faith of a Roman soldier. All in all, this is not a man you want teaching the First Grade Sunday school class, although he is crazy about children. He is impossible to manage. He will not stay in role. Every time his handlers think they have him handled, he vanishes from their midst.
You might even say, “He’s cool.” Well, that kind of dates me…But let me offer some advice to the Confirmation class and their teachers—in fact to all our Church School teachers, God bless them—and to all parents and grandparents as well as to all clergy and, in fact, any of us: If Jesus shows up and knocks on your door, let him in.
