Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Companions as we
are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this
marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us, “I heard your call in the nick
of time; the day you needed me, I was there to help.” Well, now is the right
time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s
work by showing up late… (2 Corinthians 6: 1 -3, The Message Bible)
I grew up with a mother who
insisted that if we were not at least a half hour in advance of arriving before
the start time, we were therefore late. It didn’t matter what it was - church, a
doctor’s appointment, a movie, theatre, dinner invitation - it was mandatory to
be there early, presumingly to get a good seat, beat the crowds, beat the traffic,
whatever. It was a mortal sin to be late.
Unfortunately, this script has been imbedded in my own life. Much to Susan’s
chagrin, I too insist that we are always very early to wherever we are going.
There have been times when I have been preaching in a church some distance away
and I have arrived even before any of
the church members have shown up to open up the building. Although I can remember
once when I was a divinity college student, it worked in my favour as I had a
flat tire on the way to the church which was about 45 minutes away. I had
enough time to change the tire and get there on time. See, my mother was right!
There was an article last week
in the Globe and Mail which challenged people who always “get all in a knot
when someone is a few minutes late. Get over yourself.” (Jane Maddougal) She is quite scornful about those who get
upset over a few minutes of lateness. “The idea that a frictional time
difference shows disrespect for your precious time speaks of narcissism and megalomania.
I mean come on!” She advocates for patience, good will and respect for the
time of others, not just your own. here can be many legitimate reasons for tardiness. She makes a
point that being in time is not a contest and we need to relax. “Lateness can happen to anyone and it doesn’t
mean you are a delinquent.” It’s a good thing my mother isn’t around to
read this!
But wait a minute! (Pun intended.)
If you are late, at least, one is presumably arriving at their destination –
eventually. But when lateness becomes procrastination
and more delays and putting it off and postponement after postponement, never
getting it done or never arriving at the destination at all then there are
serious consequences. Putting off a doctor’s appointment may miss as a serious
health problem. Skipping a dinner date with a friend may miss helping them in a
time of crisis. It becomes too late. Our
tardiness has missed an opportunity to make a difference either for ourselves or
for someone else.
Jesus told several parables
about the importance of being ready and prepared for the critical moments of
our faith and practice. Instantly comes to mind is the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids,
five of whom had sufficient oil for their lamps to wait through the night for
the groom (who, by the way, is not criticized for his lateness). But the other five
were caught without enough oil and were shut out of the wedding feast all together.
The message of this parable and the others like it is this: “You also must
be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
(Matthew 24: 44)
In other words, when it comes to matters of the Kingdom of God, we are
called to make the most of every opportunity and step up when called and don’t make
excuses or be tardy in our Christian witness and service. Putting off until
tomorrow what needs to be done today is not an effective strategy for our Christian
witness and service. Just as our salvation calls for an imminent and immediate response,
so our salvation puts us at the front of the line in working for Jesus Christ. “Well,
now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t
frustrate God’s work by showing up late…” Get it done while the doing is timely, helpful,
meaningful, critical and useful. “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a
special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be
ready for the Master to use you for every good work.” (2 Timothy 2:21)
My mother would have approved of this unpaid, previous message.
Dale
