"People Get Ready - Jesus is Coming!"

A sermon preached on The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, August 12, 2007 at Edgemont Chrsitian Church (Disciples of Christ) , by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. The sermon is based on Luke 12:32-40.

Some of you may remember Curtis Mayfield who was the lead singer for The Impressions. At the height of the Civil Rights struggle he wrote his most memorable lyrics. Listen to the Chorus:

"People get ready
There's a train, a comin'
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket,
You just thank the Lord."

Such lyrics offered a message of hope in a very difficult time. Through his lyrics, Mayfield was calling people to a higher purpose. The chaos of the 60's had left our nation in much confusion, from the Six-Day War to Vietnam, from the assassination of John F. Kennedy to Martin Luther King, Jr. There were many reasons to be afraid during those ten years. But Mayfield, like many others, understood that something great was on the horizon. He could hear it like the distant hummin’ of a diesel engine. You don't need no baggage; all you need is faith; don't need no ticket; you just get on board. "People get ready there’s a train a commin.’" And, you know, that was the message that Jesus gave to his disciples in our Gospel Lesson this morning. Get ready! Do not be afraid; sell your possessions - you don’t need no baggage, just get on board! You are to be dressed for service and ready to open the door when the master returns.
Can you say that you’re honestly ready! I was visiting with an elderly friend this past week. And as I walked inside her home I got the impression that she was getting ready to go somewhere - that she was waiting for someone to pick her up. She was all dressed up, her purse laying beside the door, and she was sitting by the window. I asked her if she was waiting on someone, to which she replied; "No." I said; "Well, you look like you’re ready to go!" And she said; "I’m always ready, because you never know when someone will stop by."
One of my favorite stories is told of a pastor was out doing some visitations one Saturday and happened to stop by a house of one of his parishioners who was obviously home. But after knocking several times, nobody came to the door. Finally, in disgust, the pastor took out his business card and wrote on the back; "Read Revelation 3:20!!!" and stuck it in the door. Revelation 3:20 reads; "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with me." The next day the card was placed in the collection plate. Below the pastor’s message was the notation: "Read Genesis 3:10." Immediately the pastor headed to his study and open his Bible to Genesis 3:10 and to his surprise read; "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself." Now, if I happen to knock on your door one day and you are naked, please don’t answer the door! I promise, I won’t get mad.
"People get ready there’s a train a cummin’" We don’t have any trouble with that command, because we can always get ready! Sure, some of us get ready faster than others, but we can get ready. But Jesus reminds us in our Gospel Lesson this morning of the importance of being ready! Always ready - always prepared, spiritually!
But we have a little trouble accepting Curtis’ words; "You don’t need no baggage you just get on board" and especially Jesus’ words; "sell your possessions." You know, I couldn’t possibly imagine taking a trip without my baggage! In fact, when I go on a trip I like to pack just about everything imaginable!
It really is amazing how much stuff we acquire over the course of our lives. In fact, comedian George Carlin once wrote:

"All your house is - is a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around all the time. A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it, and when you leave your house, you've got to lock it up. You wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. That's what your house is - a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff. And sometimes you've got to move and get a bigger house. Why? Because you have no more room for your stuff!"

How true that is! Now friends, Jesus is not saying that we shouldn’t have stuff, or that we should sell all of our possessions and live in poverty. No, Jesus was talking about prioritizing our lives. He was talking about putting the kingdom first - "seek ye first the kingdom of God..." Someone once wrote: "To be rich toward self without the greater priority of richness toward God is to truly be poor!"
Jesus reminds us that our real riches are in heaven. A minister once said; "I’ve never seen, in all of my years of officiating a funeral, a u-haul following a hearse to the cemetery."
Jesus oftentimes reminded his disciples of the importance of making careful use of their time and talents, resources and gifts. He reminded them of the importance of being good stewards and certainly that is what Jesus is teaching us here.
I am sure there are some who might have trouble accepting these words from our Lord, especially when they consider that Jesus wore what could be considered in his time a Brookes Brothers suit. Now, while Jesus only had one garment, it was a seamless one at that - the finest and most expensive made then. Also, Jesus didn’t stop Mary or agree with those disciples who were complaining when she poured that costly perfume on his feet - an perfume, we are told was worth three hundred days’ wages for a laborer. You remember Jesus’ words to them; "The poor you will always have with you, but me you do not always have" (Matthew 26:11). You see, as we are reminded throughout the gospels there are times for extravagant gestures, as well as a time for practical considerations. There’s a time to paint the walls, fix the roof, feed the poor; but there’s also a time to celebrate. The message here is to go through life as a steward of all that God chooses to give us.
Henri De Lubac wrote; "Eternal life is not a life solely for the future, but it is life for here and now! By love we start eternity right here and now [and God’s kingdom becomes known, for this is the prelude to that which is to come]." Jesus reminds us that it is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. And friends, we have been given the kingdom so that we can share that kingdom with others.
Bruce Larson tells of when he met with a group of men and one commented, "I hope I don’t die suddenly. I want to have some time to get my affairs in order." To which a second man promptly spoke up and said; "Well, why don’t you do it anyway? If it’s worth doing, do it now."
It is in the presence of death that we realize how precious and sacred life is. It is in the presence of death that we realize that life is a gift. Each day is a gift from God and we are to use that gift wisely and effectively. C. William Nichols reminds us that "we are not to neglect to do those things that are right and good for us to do today, for time is speeding by. Is there a grudge that stands between you and a former friend, a wall of unforgiveness that has costs you a once-cherished friendship? Dissolve that grudge in loving forgiveness today. Is there some lonely shut-in, whose days are empty, and who prays that someone will come to visit them? Make that visit today. Is there a debt of gratitude that you cannot pay, but which you have not even clearly acknowledged? Write that letter of gratitude today. Is there someone who is discouraged, who needs a word of encouragement and affirmation? Say that word today. Is there someone you know who is seeking a faith to cling to, but who has not heard the good news of Christ, or seen it in action in someone’s life? Be that channel of communication today." What great advice!
The beloved hymn written by a 20th-century American preacher, Harry Emerson Fosdick offers these words:

"God of grace and God of glory, on thy people pour thy power.
Shame our wanton, selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, lest we miss thy kingdom's goal."

Jesus reminds us that our hearts will be where our treasure is. Those who are greedy and anxious about stuff make the decision to invest their hearts on earth. Those who are free and who rest and trust in God’s abundant provision, invest their hearts in heaven.
George Carlin was right. Perhaps, if we had less stuff, we could spend more of our time just walking around, which is a different way of saying that we would be freer to follow Christ and serve others.

"People get ready
There's a train, a comin'
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket,
You just thank the Lord."