At the first of the year Wesley Autrey, a 50-year-old construction worker was standing with his two daughters, ages 6 and 4, getting ready to board the subway in New York City. He noticed that a young man was having some kind of health concern and unfortunately the man fainted and fell off the platform in between the tracks only seconds before the subway train was to pass over these tracks. Without hesitation Wesley Autrey jumped between the tracks himself, holding down the man’s body and head so that, hopefully, the train would pass over both of them.
As we all know now, the train barely missed both of them. Later, Autrey was asked by reporters and TV hosts, “why did he risk his own life to do something so heroic," and his response was so humble… “I guess it was just instinct,” he said, “I wasn’t trying to be a hero.” It is important to realize that of the many other persons on the subway platform that day, and not having children with them, but it was only Wesley Autrey who followed through on his instincts.
Rarely in life do we have such a dramatic opportunity to save a person’s life, yet in every person’s life there are those moments of decision making that can positively or negatively affect the lives of others. Those decisions are usually rooted in some sacrifice, some demand that comes to us by either invitation or some inward, soul-searching calling.
If on one hand, we try to avoid these decisions, we offer answers such as “we feel insecure, or unworthy, or maybe we realize that the sacrifice will create a great deal of inconvenience. We do everything we can to “pass the buck,” all the while trying to give answers that will convince others, maybe even God, that someone has the wrong person. But down in our hearts we know the difference between an answer and an excuse. And it is the excuse that can negatively impact the lives of others.
Jeremiah begins his book recalling, not an answer, but an excuse as to why he could not honor God’s call upon his life to be a prophet to the people of Judah. His excuse was this: “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy."
“I am only a teenager. I am only a woman. I am only an old person. I am only a high school graduate. I am only a new member.” All of these statements, and many more, are common excuses that we offer when called upon to serve others in a particular way especially if the invitation is demanding. However, certain demands may be as simple as standing up for a cause that will positively affect the lives of others yet we may use similar excuses to avoid even this demand.
Thankfully, there are those noted people of history that positively affected our world because they did not try to offer excuses but paid a significant sacrifice for their decision: people like Martin Luther, John Wesley, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and our libraries are filled with the names of others.
But what about those whose names will never be found in the history books? Those people like you and me who get up every day, who go to work to earn a living for their families and themselves, who are involved in the routine of being fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, students and laborers, who have made one very important decision that is one of the most important decisions that can be made - to belong to a family of faith…Why is this so important? Because they and we know that this basic decision will inform us about other decisions that will positively affect the lives of others.
Making a decision to belong to a community of faith is just the beginning. For within the family of faith one becomes a member of the Kingdom of God whereby a person votes every day whether the Kingdom is going to spread or if it going to diminish. How does one cast that vote - by responding to a demand, to a decision whether one is willing to make a sacrifice for a cause greater than him or her. Or not!
Many times our excuses really are born out of a feeling of inadequacy rather than believing that we can make a difference in this world…that we can make a difference in the Kingdom of God. Do not feel dismayed; the Bible is fully of stories who have done just that.
• Moses tells God, I can’t stand up to Pharaoh. I am only a shepherd with a speech problem. (Ex. 3:12, 4:1)
• Gideon, “I am least in my family, who am I to deliver Israel from Midian (Judges 6:15)
• Saul tells David that he could not withstand Goliath, for you are a mere boy. (I Sam. 17:33)
• Isaiah, “Who am I to speak to my people, for I am a man of unclean lips.” (Isaiah 6:5)
• The disciples protested to Jesus in his request to feed the five thousand with these words: “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” (Matt. 14:17)
Yet the good news is that in all of these stories, as each one went past their excuses to envelop faith they accomplished far more than they ever imagined. The same is true for you and me!
When we join the church, we make a claim that we belong to the family of God that is greater than just the local church. In fact, when a person joins a United Methodist Church the very first time on Profession of Faith, he or she will take five vows that acknowledge the Kingdom of God, and only one vow that speaks about the local church. And yet it all works together…by supporting the local church with our prayers, our presence, gifts and our services, we are openly declaring that we have made a positive decision to affect the Kingdom of God. It is the blending of faith and works that makes these vows become real. As James said, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17)
One of the joys about being a grandfather is that I am renewing a good theological education. How is that possible - through reading my granddaughter children’s storybooks. One that goes back to my childhood and is still loved today is “The Little Engine.” The little blue engine thought of himself of being almost useless until he was called on to pull all the dolls and toys over the mountain so that the boys and girls on the other side of the mountain could enjoy them. The story of the little blue engine personifies faith and works with these words…”I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”
God can and will use us to make a difference in life if we will not cling to our excuses of inadequacy but place our faith in God to stretch our selves in ways that will strengthen the Kingdom of God.
An organist was practicing for worship services one day in Fryeburg, Germany when he noticed an older gentleman sitting in the pew listening to him play. Presently, the man walked closer to the organ and spoke, “May I play the instrument.” The organist dismissed the man’s request by ignoring him as he began to play another piece. When it was concluded, again the stranger asked the organist if he could play the organ. The organist unwillingly gave way.
The stranger sat on the bench as he shifted his position; he adjusted a few of the stops, and began to play the same piece of music that the organist had just played. Immediately there burst forth such grandeur of music that the grand organ not ever yielded to the hands of the present organist. The music filled the empty church so that the pillars seemed to shout with praise. When he concluded he thanked the organist and began to leave. The organist studied the placement of the stops, thought through the movement of the stranger’s feet and hands, and looked up at the stranger just before he reached the back door. “Who are you?” he asked. “My name is Mendelssohn,” the man replied. The organist would later convey these words, “To think that I almost kept my instrument from being used by the master.”
You and I can do greater things than we ever thought if only we seek to avoid our excuses and blend faith with works. Amen!
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