The story is told of a retired gentleman hired as a Walmart greeter. He went the extra mile to meet and get to know customers and was very popular. His manager was extremely pleased, except for the gentleman's tardiness. Finally he called in him, complimented his work but said, "Martin, I understand that you were in the military. I must ask, what did they say if you reported in minutes late? "Usually," the employee replied, "they said, Good morning, Admiral. Can I get your coffee?"
In today's reading [Mt. 11:16 et seq.], Jesus is drawing fire from the Establishment. When John the Baptiser ministers under the Nazirite Vow, avoiding alcoholic beverages and fasting a lot, the powers that be called him a nut. When Jesus comes, drinking alcohol and partying with outcasts and sinners, he is accused of being a drunkard with bad associates. He can't catch a break!
His comeback, though, is perfect. Look at the results, he says, the same thing he told the Baptiser when he inquired about the nature of Jesus' ministry: Look around, lives are being changed! And they were the lives, not of the rich and famous, but of ordinary people like you and me. Jesus tells religious establishment types that hookers and tax agents are coming into God's Kingdom first!
An overview of the bible will confirm that God specializes in nobodies. Think of Moses and of David, ordinary people who are reborn to extraordinary work.
Jesus gives us a kind of formula of what they looks like. Come to me, he says, which means you must give up control, stop being the centre of your universe, and have me as your Saviour, not as your mascot. Take my yoke, commit to do Christ's work, build a new world in which God's will is done on earth as in heaven. I am reminded of a speaker who said when we Americans stand before the Throne of Judgement, we will not be asked, "How low were your taxes?" but "What did you do for the least?" Who's yoke are you bearing?
Learn, don't go around accepting what you have been told, investigate, be open, especially to new truths and insights from God. You will find spiritual rest, leave behind our culture's passion for self- absorption, where nothing is ever good enough. Lose your anxiety and live in trust of a God who accepts you just as he made you.
To follow Jesus' Agenda means leaving a legacy, as an individual, a church community, and in our society. Alfred Nobel was mistakenly reported as dead by a Paris newspaper when Alfred's brother passed on. The paper called Alfred, who had invented dynamite to enhance infrastructure work for a better world, a "merchant of death," because his invention had revolutionized warfare and made the killing of people possible on a scale never known before. Alfred was so taken aback, sorrowful for the misuse of his invention, that he created the Nobel Prize which has done so much good for many different disciplines, contributing to a better world. He wanted a better legacy.
What legacy will you leave behind, if any?
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