The adage “don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today” is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, one of the greatest “Fathers of our Country.” Even so, the advice contained in this wise saying has probably been on the lips of the sages throughout the centuries. I believe the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel, “no one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God,” echo this same sentiment (see Luke 9:62).
From a Christian perspective, we are taught by these words that when our God calls us, we must respond immediately and with enthusiasm. And oh how difficult this is to do at times! We may be like those in the second part of today’s Gospel who claimed they wanted to follow Jesus, but then came up with this or that excuse to avoid the prompt demands discipleship placed upon them. In response, Jesus said those who “looked back” would never be able to keep their eyes focused ahead, and on the faith-based tasks set before them. Of course, the same may be true for us today.
With this in mind, and if you are anything like me, then you know all too well the temptation to procrastinate when faced with the things in life that must be done on a daily basis. You would probably agree with me and understand it’s nearly impossible to stay focused and on top of these things if we “put off until tomorrow what we need to do today.” Spiritual procrastination is even worse because it suppresses our abilities to let go of past sins, to forgive others, to respond faithfully to the Good News of Jesus Christ, and to put our faith into practice on a daily basis, especially in the way that we relate to other people. Quite to the contrary, Jesus demands that his followers never procrastinate with the obligations their faith places upon them.
In the first part of today’s Gospel, when the Apostles James and John suggested “calling fire from heaven” in order to punish the inhospitable Samaritans, Jesus “rebuked them” because they wanted to act with vengeance, and in a way based on former ways of doing things. Calling “fire from heaven” would literally have been a way of “looking to what was left behind.” Such thinking had been encouraged by teachings from the Old Testament, and in fact was not an uncommon “wisdom” promoted by many other faith systems of the day (for example, see Leviticus 24:19–21).
Even in modern times we can find too many examples of such ways of thinking promoted by both secular laws and religious systems of belief. Unfortunately, this is remarkably true even among some individuals, communities and churches who claim to follow Jesus. Although James and John apparently they hadn’t yet fully grasped the full meaning of the teachings of Jesus, today we have no excuses to hold on to former pre-Christian ways of thinking and acting.
Jesus spoke of love, forgiveness, and mercy. When our God calls us to the Christian way of life, and to every tenet of the New Covenant, we must answer immediately and completely! As followers of Jesus let us not procrastinate with the obligations of our faith, and may we never “put off until tomorrow what we can do today,” especially in the way we treat our fellow human beings (and that includes all of them!). May each one of us therefore be “fit for the kingdom of God.”
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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