HARLEY OR LAWNMOWER
A sermon by the Rev. Dr. James G. Kirk
Harundale Presbyterian Church
Text: “Go, sell what you own…then come, follow me.” (Mark
First
Second
Whenever the New Testament professor came to this particular passage in Mark he would always tell the story of his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. It was hard for us to imagine, since he always appeared very straight in class. His lectures were very interesting, since he was a good scholar, but he certainly didn’t fit the Harley stereotype back in the sixties. He told us how he’d always dreamed of owning a Harley, but could never afford it. So, he promised himself that when he published his first book he would use the royalties to buy his Harley.
Well, two years before he’d published his first book and it had become the textbook for our New Testament studies. He’d bought his Harley and hence the story. He would take it out on the back roads behind the seminary and see what it would do. Again, it was difficult for us to envision, but he told us how he donned his leathers and his black Harley cap and off he’d go. We never knew how fast he got it to go, but just the juxtaposition of this very straight, learned professor on his Harley kept our attention for the lesson he was trying to tell us.
He would continue that if Jesus had come up to him at some point and told him how he had to donate his Harley to an orphanage and then come follow him, he would’ve had a hard time doing it. After all, he’d waited so long to acquire his dream and hadn’t had it long enough to tire of it, so why did Jesus have to bother him at this point?
This is
exactly why it was so hard for the rich man to do what Jesus asked him to do. The professor went on to link Jesus’ question
of the rich man with God’s request of Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham did what God asked him to do. Like the professor he had waited so long to
have a son. Somewhere into his seventies
he’d probably given up any hope that such would possible. Yet, God had promised to make him the father
of the nations, and God would never go back on God’s promise. Then when Sarah became pregnant it was their
happiest hour. Now the time had come to
sacrifice their only son. Still, God had
promised that Abraham and Sarah would be the parents of the nations. Abraham didn’t argue with God, like the rich
man did. He didn’t try to bargain with
God like we probably would. On the
appointed day he gave Sarah a kiss goodbye, took Isaac with him and set out for
The rich man couldn’t do what Abraham did. He couldn’t resist the lure of his possessions. So, instead of doing what Jesus asked him he went away perplexed. On the other hand, because of his faith Abraham did become the father of many nations and God gave him his son Isaac as well.
It was at that point that the professor brought up his lawnmower. He had to admit that it would have been easier if Jesus had asked him for his lawnmower instead of his Harley. Any one of us would be glad to donate our lawnmower to some charity. After all, a lawnmower is something we use for awhile and then put it back in the shed. It doesn’t go as fast as a Harley. It doesn’t have any kind of appeal. Even a riding mower can’t stand a chance with a Harley. Plus the fact that soon we’ll put the mower away for the winter and no one will really miss it. It’s not like we’d go out to the garage on the weekend and shine it or wax it like we would if we had a Harley.
True enough, Jesus should have asked him for a lawnmower instead of his Harley. But isn’t that just the point! Jesus doesn’t ask us for our lawnmower. Jesus doesn’t want something we bring out of the shed once a week and then put it away again. For sure, Jesus doesn’t want something from us that we’re soon going to put in the shed for the winter and not even think about until next spring. Jesus wants our undivided attention and that’s why he asks for the Harley instead of the lawnmower.
Not too many of us have a Harley sitting in the garage. But there’s probably something in our lives just as valuable. They may not be possessions like the rich man, but what if God asked us to forsake a son or a daughter to follow the Christ. We’d no doubt have some choice comments to make. The point is what does it take to follow the Christ? What commitment are we willing to make, a Harley type of commitment or a lawnmower type of commitment? Or, ask the question in another way, do you want a faith that you can take on the back roads of life, open it up and see what it will do, or do you want a faith that going to get the job done and you can put it away when you don’t need it?
One of our clients in the free lunch program is a young woman whose mother died recently. During her mother’s illness, the young lady had to stop working and care for her. There wasn’t enough money to pay the monthly bills and the mortgage and the utility bills kept getting higher and higher. Her mother died, which in itself has caused her stress. Now there’s the threat of foreclosure on her house, which means that she’ll lose it. Plus the fact that her stepbrother and his friend live in the house and all they do is drink, which means they aren’t part of her solution; they’re part of her problem. She hasn’t asked us to help her with the foreclosure. She can’t think about that. All she wants is some help with prescriptions she needs so she can get her health together and some help with washing her clothes, so she will look presentable for any job interviews that come her way. The biggest challenge she faces is keeping any kind of dignity in the midst of asking people to help her.
For sure, she doesn’t have the luxury of a Harley. She can’t even afford the lawnmower. Her faith at the moment is a matter of survival. She’s turned to the church, because the lunch program assures her that at least twice a week she’ll have a hot meal. She’s turned to the church, because everyone she talks to takes her situation seriously. She’s turned to the church, because she can tell her story and no one laughs at her or derides her. She’s turned to the church, because at this moment it’s a life line that in some small way is helping her get her life into some semblance of order. She’s still got a long way to go, but if you were to ask her she would say that we’re giving her a Harley instead of lawnmower.
You know that whenever Jesus talks about faith he’s going to mean business. He’s going to expect that nothing will get in the way of our responding, because if it does then our response is not really faith. Kierkegaard wrote that “he who loves God without faith reflects upon himself; he who loves God in faith reflects upon God.” (Fear and Trembling, page 37) The rich man couldn’t get beyond reflecting upon himself. Abraham, on the other hand, couldn’t think of anything but God. The result was the rich man went away perplexed and Abraham became the father of nations.
We don’t want to go through life reflecting upon ourselves. What Jesus wants us to do is reflect upon God. That takes faith. It also means going beyond the lawnmower approach that we only take our faith out of the shed during the spring and summer and then store it the rest of the year. When Jesus asks us to donate our Harley to charity do it. Then be prepared to see what God will do with our lives. There will be wonderful surprises!
Thanks be to God,
Amen