I found my identification in my teen years in a the girls´ program of the American Baptist Churches - World Wide Guild with a motto “I´d love to!’ That pattern of response has motivated my life. So I´m not the best one to speak on the “Tyranny of the Urgent’ but a friend gave me an article and said, “This would make a good sermon.’

By Thursday, I had discovered the subject was relevant to this week.

On Monday I had an appointment with the vascular surgeon and received good news. Barbara and I shopped a bit in Port Huron and lunched in Lexington.

By Tuesday, the pressure began - the bulletin deadline needed to be met. There´s no magic formula for that but the topic of the message must be decided and worship resources selected.

Before nine on Wednesday, a call came from a dear friend (a former Harbor Beach resident) whom I expected

this week. Between our schedules, we knew the only hope to see each other meant lunch that day and Lexington became the best choice. Needless to say both the lunch and the visit proved delightful.

I arrived home to a slew of calls recorded on our caller ID - so patiently I attempted to reach everyone.

1st call - is some one going to Bad Axe this week?

2nd call - how do you want your name listed in the program for the Christian Women United?

3rd call - Methodist parsonage - still haven´t reached that pastor

4th call - a request to pray at the the Hospital Auxiliary meeting at our church - after all I am the pastor of the church the caller maintained.

Warren Ramsey´s call came next - was I available for

a funeral service for one of the Baptist faithful - Friday or Saturday?

Friday´s schedule included appointments from 11 a.m. until probably after three as I had a small part in the Christian Women´ United meeting in Ruth.

The last call, from the daughter of the deceased, came requesting an appointment early Thursday morning.

So at that point, my list included not only that appointment but a funeral on Saturday and a conference with a couple to be married New Year´s Eve and I still had a Bible study and a message to prepare.

It didn´t help much that on Saturday morning I landed in the emergency room at the hospital because the heel of one foot pained so greatly I could hardly walk on it.

One day I discovered at supper that I had not taken my medications.

Now I´ve been doing weeks like that or even worse since 1947. I know a bit about the urgent - now I know exactly what to call it “Tyranny!’

I´m sure your life is just as hectic.

Not much has changed through the centuries - the Psalmist complains “We live for 70 years or so (with luck we make it to eighty)., And what do we have to show for it? Trouble. Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard.’

What was missing from my calendar was time to prepare for a Bible study, Sunday´s message, the funeral service and my own delving into God´s word and prayer, plus some reading - the really important aspects of a Christian´s life. The danger is our lives is that we let the urgent crowd out the important. Important tasks rarely must be done today or even this week. Time spent in prayer for the needy of the world - time for Bible study. I know from experience - I lead

a Bible study on Thursday afternoon - it´s amazing how many urgent matters keep individuals from that appointment.

LEARNING FROM JESUS

I suspect we could ask ourselves “What would Jesus do under those circumstances?’

The Gospels give us the picture of a Jesus hard at work. Mark writes, “That evening, at sundown, they brought to Him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And

the whole city was gathered about the door. And He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.

On another occasion the demand of the ill and maimed caused Him to miss supper and to work so late that His disciples thought He was beside Himself.

One day after a strenuous teaching session, Jesus and His disciples went out in a boat. Even a storm didn´t awaken Him. What a picture of exhaustion.

Yet His life was never feverish, but showed a wonderful balance, a sense of timing. A. E. Whitman, in <italic>the Discipline and Culture of the Spiritual Life, </italic>“Here in this Man

is adequate purpose ... inward rest, that gives an air of leisure to His crowded life: above all there is in this Man a secret and

a power of dealing with the waste-products of life, the waste

of pain, disappointment, enmity, death -- turn to divine uses the abuses of man, transforming arid place of pain to fruitfulness, triumph at last in death, and making a short life

of thirty years or so, abruptly cut off, to be “finished life. We cannot admire the poise and beauty of this human life, and then ignore the things that made it.’

Charles E. Hummel, the author of "The Tyranny of the Urgent" believes that the secret of Jesus´ life was his dependance on prayer. The scriptures say,’In the morning, a great while before day, He rose and went out to a lonely place, and there is prayed.’ No doubt he waited prayerfully for His Father´s instruction and for the strength to follow them.

His prayerful waiting freed Him from the tyranny of the

urgent.

Today´s New Testament Scripture is a classic

example of that concept. If we had word that our best friend was dying and we had the opportunity to go - we would be on our way immediately. The scripture records that after Jesus received the message, he stayed two days longer in

the place where He was. Martha, Lazarus´ sister was upset. She said to Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ Mary, the other sister echoed the same words, “Lord, if you had been ehre, my brother would not have died.’

However, the important thing from God´s point of

view was to raise Lazarus from the dead. So Lazarus was allowed to die. Because of his death and raising by Jesus at least two important issues emerged - one the sign of Jesus magnificent claim, “I am the resurrection and life; he who believes in Me though he die, yet shall he live.’ The other - was the determination of the religious leaders to find a reason to put Jesus to death. Later in the same chapter of John, we read these words.

“Therefore any of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus

had done. A meeting of the Sanhedrin was called and the question raised, “What are we accomplishing? Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. Then the high priest spoke up, “You know nothing at all. You do not

realize that it is better for you that one died for the people

than that the whole nation perish.’

SO WHAT ABOUT US

I can hear some of you saying, “But that was Jesus.’ Of course, he prayed and got his instructions from God.

Fortunately, for you and me, we have God´s word to instruct us also. John makes it very clear = “If you continue in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you know the truth, and truth will make you free.... Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin ... If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’

But the root of all sin is self-sufficiency --independence from God. When we fail to wait prayerfully for God´s guidance and strength we are saying, with our actions if not

our lips, that we do not need Him. And we all know that actions speak louder than words.

Do you doubt for a moment that prayerful waiting on God is indispensable to effective service? Maybe, I should say when has God laid upon your heart and mind. a task he has called you to do.

Forget for a moment the testimony of Christian Faith by President Bush, Harriet Miers, Judge Alito and the controversy over the separation of the church and state. The most effective testimony I heard on the news this week was that of Ann Rice. For 30 years an avowed atheist as well as famed author of vampires and witches, She has had a conversion experience and returned to her Catholic faith.

This new faith affects her writing - no more vampires

and witches, she´s writing a life of Christ at the age of 7 and hopes to be able to complete the entire life of Christ before she dies. That´s quite a task to which to be called.

CONCLUSION

Do you feel a victim to the "Tyranny of the Urgent".

Just maybe if we did that, we would find time in our lives to read our Bibles, under gird Tom Braak in prayer, pray some individuals into our congregation, find time to “keep in touch with those we love,´’and discover God´s direction for

our lives and most particularly have peace and joy in our lives.

What greater joy could we have than being sure that we

have finished the work God gave us to do?

The Psalmist puts it in these words. “Oh, teach us to live well Teach us to live wisely and well! Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we´ll skip and dance all the day long. And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh yes, Affirm the work that we do! AMEN

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