Doctor's orders

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap.  For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.”

                                                                                    -- Luke 21:34-35

            Officer Sven turned on his lights and the car he was following, doing 75 in a 55 zone, pulled to the side of the road.  He walked over and peered into the driver side window, and lo and behold – it was Ole and Lena!  “Ole, y’know how fast you was goin’ back derr?,” he asked.  Ole said, “I was only goin’ 55, officer…”

            Just den Lena piped up, “Oh, Ole, you know you was doin’ well over 80 miles an hour.”  Ole gives ’er a mean lookin’ scowl.

            Officer Sven says, “An’ I’m givin’ ya a ticket fer dat broken tail light ya got.”  Ole replied, “Geez, officer, I didn’t know about no broken tail light.”

            Lena says, “Come on, Ole, I been tellin’ ya about dat light fer da last two weeks.”  Ole looks over at Lena again and gives ‘er da nasty stare again.

            Officer Sven looks down at Ole, shakin’ his head.  “I’m also givin’ ya a citation fer not wearin’ your seatbelt,” he says.  Ole protests, “But I jus’ took it off as you was walkin’ up to da car here.”

            Lena shakes her head, “Now, Ole.  You know you never wear dat seatbelt.  I been tellin’ ya how dangerous dat is.”  Ole turns to Lena and yells, “Woman, can’t ya ever keep shut dat big hole in your face, derr?”

            “Lena, does he always talk to ya like dat?” asked the policeman.

            “No, officer,” says Lena.  “Only venn he’s drunk.”

            Doctor Luke has some very clear points to make by the way he tells the story of Jesus.  This year we’ve been reading out of Luke’s Gospel on Sundays, tracing the way Jesus travels from his unique and amazing birth, through his years of ministry, his death on the cross and finally his new and risen life.  The story will continue in Luke’s sequel to the gospel, the Book of Acts, where it is the disciples who carry on the ministry in the power of the Spirit, acting as Christ’s body resurrected into the world.

            But Luke was a physician before he became a writer of a best-selling gospel.  His was always a ministry of healing.  He never quite put away the black bag and stethoscope.  As he tells the Jesus story, he highlights the way the words and wonders of Christ make people whole, restore them to health, and affect their lives in wholistic ways.  Luke shows us Jesus concerned with the body, mind, and soul of each person he encounters.

            Jesus tells his followers (including us) to be watchful.  Doctors typically have us watch all kinds of things – our weight, what we eat, how much we exercise we get.  Someone recently showed me their fitbit watch, which keeps track of just how much and how well they sleep.  These days we can watch our social media feeds, watch the weather forecast, watch the news, watch our front porches with the new doorbell cameras.  These days, life can be so full and overwhelming that we’re not always sure what we should be watching.

            Luke remembers that Jesus cautioned us to beware of “dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of this life.”  We “get” drunkenness and worry, but what does he mean by dissipation?  The dictionary tells us that dissipation can mean, “wasteful squandering, frittering away, draining and depletion by wild or extravagant spending.”  Being overwhelmed by worry or immersion in worldly concerns can leave us inebriated and groggy.  Staring at screens all day, hours of close reading or desk work, fretting and fuming about things you can’t change… these kinds of things can leave us feeling spiritually disconnected, unbalanced and detached from God.    Like poor Ole, we can feel like we’re missing all kinds of things, like we’re just falling apart and ready to blame whoever is pointing that out. 

            Jesus himself modeled a persistent life of prayer.  He followed a regular discipline where, withdrawn from the public eye, he would re-center and re-connect with his heavenly Father every day.  Martin Luther was once asked if he had time for prayer now that his schedule was so incredibly busy.  He said, “In fact, I have so much to do, I need to spend even more time in prayer.”  Far from being a waste of time or effort, or something that gets in the way, he realized that prayer can restore power and direction to your day. 

            Find a place and a time to be alone with God today.  Close the door and let the accumulation of life’s worries wait outside.  Luke recalls how Jesus told about one sheep that was worth searching out while the other 99 waited; or one coin that filled the woman with joy when she found it, despite the other 9 she had in her purse; or the son who returned from his messy and messed up life into the arms of his waiting father.  Your heart, your soul, your faith is worth the time you set aside for it.  Your God is eager to lift you up in his loving arms, to hold you to his bosom, to replenish you with grace and peace.  For the sake of your own spiritual, emotional, and mental health, make room for him every day -- Doctor’s orders.

Peace,

Pastor Scott