Mark 2:1-12
“A Sense of
Urgency”
My mother is, well, you’d have to call her a very sensible woman. You know, common sense sort of stuff—follow
the rules, don’t make a big deal out of things, don’t take unnecessary
risks. So I can remember only two times
when my mom drove significantly over the speed limit. She’s just not that kind of person, and she
didn’t expect you to be that kind of person either. “But mom,” you might try to explain things to
her later, “I HAD to drive fast. I was
running late.”
“Yes,” she’d reply, “but if you’d left on time you wouldn’t
have been running late, now would you?”
It’s hard to argue with that.
So I can remember only two times when my mom drove
significantly over the speed limit. Once
the speedometer really was broken, and she didn’t know how fast she was riving
. . . until the officer told her. But
that one doesn’t really count.
The other time was in 1982 when my grandpa had an artery
burst open. Remember out on the prairie
the nearest hospital is 30-35 miles away.
So rather than wait for the ambulance to come all that way, she drove
him to the hospital herself. And she did
whatever it took to get Grandpa to the hospital in time. She drove as fast as that car would go—80,
90, who knows how many miles an hour. “I’ve
just got to get him to the doctor,: was all she could think.
In other words, given the right circumstances, even my mom
would do something uncharacteristic.
Given the right sense of urgency, my mom did whatever it took to get
somebody someplace in time. And it was
that sense of urgency that made the difference.
Fostering a sense of urgency is one of the key tasks of
being a leader, whether in a business, or a school, or in the church. If everything is just kind of okay—not too
bad, not too good, then people will just keep on plodding along, driving the
speed limit, not taking many risks. But
if someone can create a sense of urgency, then people might push down on the
accelerator a little harder, step out of their box a little. Heck, they might even be willing to try some
new things!
There are at least two ways to go about fostering a sense of
urgency. One way is to try to scare
people with the bad news. You know how
it goes: “Look, if we don’t get more
money in here soon, we’ll have to close the doors. Our attendance has declined for three years
in a row—why don’t you come to church more often and drag your friends with
you?
Sometimes bad news can get people to do something, at least
for a little while. But the motivating
factor here is fear and anxiety, not faith.
And it tends to make people feel scolded, not inspired. And before I move on, yes, I know that I
sometimes seek to create a sense of urgency in this way—by sharing my fears and
anxieties. How else do you think I’m so
sure it doesn’t work?
The other way to foster a sense of urgency is by casting a
vision, helping people see what more God could do if we’re just willing to let
God do it. Just look at all the
ministries that get funded when we pay our apportionments—hungry people fed,
disaster damage repaired, the gospel shared in new countries, college and
seminary students receive scholarships. Just
think what
Do you feel the difference?
The paralyzed man in the gospel today had some friends with
a positive sense of urgency. They knew
their friend was in need. They knew that
Jesus was going around meeting needs.
And so they carried their friend to the house where Jesus was. I mean, that in itself shows a certain sense
of urgency.
When they got there, though, the place was packed, with a
line out the door and around the corner.
They could have given up, of course.
They could have said, “Well, we tried.
Oh well.” But instead they
climbed up on the roof, cut a hole right above where Jesus was standing, and
lowered their friend down inside. So
great was their sense of urgency that they didn’t just try one thing to get
their friend to Jesus, they didn’t wait around to get their friend to Jesus,
they did whatever it took to get their friend to Jesus. Now that’s what a sense of urgency! You know, if I’m ever paralyzed, if I’m ever
lonely or guilty or troubled, if I’m ever depressed or suicidal, I want some
friends like them.
Of course we know the man is healed, takes up his stretcher
and walks around. But I want you to
notice a couple of things about the way
he was healed.
First, did you notice whose faith it is that leads to this
man’s healing? Mark does not say that
when Jesus saw the faith of the paralyzed man, he made him well. What he says is: “When Jesus saw their faith (that is, the faith of his friends), he said to him,
‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” The
paralyzed man may or may not have had faith in Jesus—we don’t know. But his friends have faith in Jesus, and
their faith changes his life forever.
Had you ever thought of that—that your faith could lead to
someone else’s healing or forgiveness or salvation? It’s your faith in Jesus that creates the
sense of urgency: you know in your heart
how good it is to be with Jesus, and therefore you want others to know that
goodness in their hearts, too.
The other thing I want you to notice about this story is
that, though his friends knew this man was in need, they didn’t know the half
of it. They brought him to Jesus for a
physical healing, which he received. Jesus,
however, was far more focused on his spiritual healing, his forgiveness. So you might invite someone to Jesus because
you think they’d make a great voice in the choir, but Jesus may know they’re
deeply lonely and need spiritual friends.
You might invite someone to Jesus because you know they’re lonely, but
Jesus may know they’re born to lead mission trips. We can’t begin to know the half of what’s
going on for other people and what Jesus wants to do for them. Which makes it all the more urgent to invite
them, to do whatever it takes to get them to Jesus.
Up to this point I’ve made it sound like getting someone to
Jesus is the same as getting them to church, more specifically to this church. Now, I’m aware that those aren’t exactly the
same thing. No longer is Jesus up the
street at someone’s house the way he is in the gospel story. And getting somebody to church, even the very
best of churches, is not equivalent to getting them to Jesus in the flesh. Let’s not fool ourselves--we ain’t Jesus.
In fact, sometimes the church is its own worst enemy. Will Willimon has dared to put it this
way. He writes, “As a pastor, as someone
who has given most of his life to caring for and worrying about the church, I
hate to say this, but it’s true in my experience: the primary reason that
people give me for not following Jesus, is us, the church.”[1] No wonder people turn away from Jesus if Jesus’
people bicker and quarrel, if we frown at fussy children, if we fail to worship
eagerly and expectantly.
Willimon also points out that sometimes, as in the gospel
story, people can’t get to Jesus because of the crowd. Inside the house were all the, well,
insiders—people who knew Jesus, who knew the scriptures, good, religious
folk. Nothing wrong with that, except that
outside the house there is a paralyzed man and his friends, trying to get some
attention. Who will help him get in? What comfort, what familiarity, what
privilege are we willing to give up so that someone else can get to Jesus? How great is our sense of urgency?
So here’s what I’d like to do. I know we’ve got another Invitation Campaign
coming during Lent. So I know we’ll be
going door to door in the neighborhood and mailing Easter invitations and
inviting friends. 2006 is, after all,
the Year of Invitation at
But in addition to all that, I’d like to start a “Roof
Cutters Club.” No, no, I’m not
encouraging you to damage the roof of our building. Jeff would resign as chair of Trustees! The Roof Cutters Club is for those who have a
friend or relative or classmate or coworker who has some need. Maybe they’re going through a divorce, or
have lost a loved one, or are lonely, or have leadership potential and need
somewhere to use it, or are asking deep, searching questions. Whatever it is, the Roof Cutters Club is for
those who know someone with a need, and feel a sense of urgency to invite them,
who will do whatever it takes to get them to Jesus. If I am ever in any kind of need, I want
friends like that. I want some friends
who are members of the Roof Cutters Club.
Oh, one more thing.
Sometimes people will greet me after worship on their way to get a
cookie and they’ll say, “Good sermon, Pastor.”
Not often, but sometimes.
The story is told of the church member who came to the
pastor at the door after the service and said just that: “Pastor, that was a great sermon.”
And the preacher replied, “That remains to be seen.”
It depends on how great is your sense of urgency.