LIVING IN THE PRESENT TENSE

March 19, 2006

In Mark 1 we have the account of Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee and saying “Follow me” to Peter, Andrew, James and John and they left their nets and followed him.

Then in our scripture lesson today he names the 12 apostles.

And these,  and a few others were the ones that followed Jesus most closely.

And just after this scriptural account in Mark 3, his followers began to see him do all kinds of  miraculous things.

·     The were with him in a boat when a huge storm arose and when he spoke the storm seemed to stop.  Do you remember what he said?

·     The watched him calm a man who seemed psychotic who lived in and among the tombs.

·     They watched him feed a huge mass of people with five loaves and two fishes.

And they were priviledged to hear him teach constantly.

·     They heard what he said about the loving care of God the Father. (sermon on mount)

·     They heard what he taught about how far love and forgiveness should go.

Then they entered into Jerusalem with him on what we now call Palm Sunday……and they sat with him at what we now call The Last Supper

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I imagine that when Jesus was ultimately arrested and executed, the apostles and disciples must have thought…..

·     If only we had paid more attention

·     If only we had  listened more carefully.

·     If only we had let him know how much we cared for him, how much we loved him

·     If only we had realized how little time we were going to have with him..

Is it too much of a stretch to say, that the disciples didn’t grasp the enormous opportunity they had when it was right in their laps?

But let’s not be too hard on the disciples.

Don’t we tend to be exactly the same way?

We’re a people who are saturated with blessings and so many good things, but so often it’s only in retrospect that we realize this.

So often we enjoy “the memory” of things and realize how sweet they were, after the fact.

Or we’re preoccupied with the future.

·     that time when we’ll be older

·     that time when we’ll finally be out of school

·     that time when we’ll find just the right person

·     that time when we’ll get that job which is just right, that pays us what we’re worth

·     that time when our children are settled.

·     that time when we’ll have a better place to live

·     that time when we’re finally retired

·     that time when our health is better

THEN we’ll enjoy life.

THEN we’ll be content!

THEN we’ll live in the present tense and we’ll have peace!

It’s a common human trait to be so consumed by the past or to be so preoccupied about the future that we miss living today.

It’s really pretty simple what I’m trying to say this morning.

The good old days are TODAY.

The “happy days” are TODAY.

Life happens TODAY.

We’re saturated with blessings and opportunities TODAY!

The best people we’ll probably ever have around us, are around us TODAY.

We’ve got to make it, and find meaning, and find joy in the midst

of our circumstances TODAY.

ROD McKUEN – “FINDING MY FATHER

       “Most of my life I have been just pretending. . .marking time. . .

        filling up the days and nights until something happened. . .

        anything.  Those days. . .those years. . .I was always turning

        corners. . .expecting. . .I was always rushing heading down

        a block, sure that at the end something waited.  I traveled thru’

        time with a feeling that the good times are yet to come.  Not

        once did I think that I was having good time then.  But I was.”

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THOMAS CARLYLE

“Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance. .but to do what lies clearly at hand.

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HORACE, THE ROMAN POET

       “Happy the man and happy he alone

         He who can call today his own.

         He who secure within can say. . .

         Tomorrow do thy worst. . . for I have lived today.”

It seems that the disciples missed the boat when Jesus was with them...but they pulled out of it!

They became a new people!

They began to focus on the present!

They began to live a day at a time!

They began to have a joy in the midst of their very tough daily circumstances!

They didn’t just endure and they didn’t just survive. . .

They lived.... confidently and courageously.

With God’s help may we do the same

And the people said…..AMEN.