Luke 14:16–23 (NIV)
Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
“‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
CONSIDER THIS
This parable offers us a lesson in what happens when God’s people get bored. It happened to Israel, allured by the idols in their Old Testament story. It happened climatically when their Messiah had arrived, knocking at their door. It can happen to us.
For most people, myself included, the time between December 25 and the launch of the cultural New Year usually goes one of two ways. We begin to get frantic about transitioning to the next season, with all of its fresh demands on our calendars. Or we dial down the activity to a barely living lull, picking ourselves off the couch only to forage enough food to keep us alive for our next distraction.
This time between the years, when people traditionally ceased from formal work, is a great test for our souls. G. K. Chesterton, in his charming way of expressing paradoxes, referred to something he called the thrill of boredom. I think he was onto something. “There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.” It could also read: There are no uninteresting days, only uninterested people. Faced with real time or space, where do we run? Or to what? Or to whom? Boredom forces us to face our condition, ourselves. And many times we’d rather look the other way.
So, much like the invited guests to the banquet, we find good things with which to fill our time. But these are only diversions, and diversions can never satisfy—because the hole we feel is God-shaped, as so many of our predecessors have taught us. The beauty of the triune God of the Bible is that he is at once irreducibly simple yet infinitely deep. He is so unlike ancient paganism or our modern therapeutic religions, which lay claim to only a small corner of reality. A sacrifice here, a temple there, another shrine over here. A diversion here, an escape there, another time-filler here. No, Israel’s faith was revolutionary because God is revealed as singular, integrated, one. And so is the gift of life he offers. Jesus Christ is totalizing. And those who follow him can access the kind of deep wholeness that can only be experienced through a lifetime of awakening afresh to the love of Jesus—a “long obedience in the same direction” as Eugene Peterson put it.
We tend toward boredom. But the remedy is not serial activity, nor is it coma-like existence. The remedy is awakening to how the love of God sanctifies every day, every moment. It’s awakening to every thing and every moment holy.
For those among us who are married, we know that deep down there’s no end to the degree that a person can be discovered and enjoyed. It’s why God modeled marriage on our covenant with him. Jesus said, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32) Everyone wants to be free and most people want to know the truth. But we tend to skip over the part that indicates this requires a remaining.
Though Jesus went away temporarily, he did not shed his humanity. By his Spirit, Jesus remains with us, even as he invites us to remain with him. This turns Christmas, and the Incarnation, into an unfolding drama. It’s a drama whose ending we entrust into the hands of the Father, but to whose invitation we gladly answer, yes. But be careful, because it may just turn your life into an adventure, and you may discover along the way that you’ve forgotten what it means to be bored.
THE PRAYER
Most holy God, the work of Christmas begins now, even as you sit at the right hand of the Father. Lead us on, and we will follow after you—through suspense, in delight, through challenges, even in sorrow. Give us eyes to see every moment holy. Wrap us up into the unfolding drama that is seeing hearts, homes, churches, cities, and nations come to know you and enjoy your kingdom. Amen.
THE QUESTION
Have you ever known what is referred to as leisure? Why or why not? What fills most of your week between Christmas and New Year: laughter, sighs, groans, whistling, cheering, or silence? Or, something else? Have you accepted the adventure of remaining in Jesus this season?
For the Awakening,
Andrew Dragos
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One Response
If “Christ in you” is seasonal there’s a major leak somewhere in your heart.
If you don’t remain
Christ-centered
And surrendered
To His daily reign
Hope begins to drain
And life becomes a pain.
It’s essential to
Establish and maintain
Intimacy with Jesus.