Does Christ Set Deadlines?
To begin, this whole thought experiment comes with a huge caveat. Do not try any of the following arguments on employers, potential employers, professors, colleagues, supervisors, district administrators, or parents. Timeliness is considered a virtue in many cultures including with paperwork. Some might think that this has to do with punctuality in general, but showing up on time is an entirely different discussion. Today I want to speak specifically to the importance, or perhaps lack of importance, of turning in paperwork at a reasonable time or completing a task by a set deadline, not to whole mindset of if you’re early, you’re on time; if you’re on time, you’re late; and if you’re late, you’re fired.
Thus, we begin with the question of the three days. Many scholars have argued about what Christ meant when he said “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19 NRSVUE) Does that mean three calendar days? Is it a period of 72 hours from the time of destruction to the time of resurrection? That’s setting aside the whole question of was the temple Christ’s body? Or the physical temple? Many have argued that the three days was a Biblical number and not the actual timeline for anything happening. Some have posited that Christ belonged to a sect of Judaism called the Essenes mostly because they tended to celebrate the high holy days a day early as a protest to the religious authorities in Jerusalem. My conclusion? That like many things that run on modern church time, the three days was sort of a nebulous timeline and grace would have been given if it took longer.
As a further point to this, Christ never seemed to hurry anywhere. Others got mad at him for not following their plan and their timeline, especially those who had lost a loved one. Grief made them stop believing long enough for Christ to need to encourage their belief. “Do not be afraid; only believe.” (Mark 5:36 NRSVUE) One of the other reactions to Christ not functioning on human time was laughter. In this very same instance, the people laugh at him when he shows up and questions them. “The child is not dead but sleeping.” (Mark 5:39 NRSVUE) results in laughter- at Christ! And of course Christ heals her and of course she’s fine but he also did not drop everything to be there. Same with Lazarus. Jesus gets there when he gets there, but it’s long enough that both sisters, Mary and Martha, make the same statement to Christ “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32 NRSVUE) It is clear that Christ’s lack of timeliness has caused grief to others. Christ has the ability to undo the hurt, but for the rest of us who do not expect to be able to raise people from the dead, perhaps a little urgency does not hurt. It shows a caring and compassion for those around us and a love of neighbor that thinks beyond ourselves.
However, Christ himself serves as a counterpoint to my own conclusion that a little urgency isn’t a bad thing. Christ seems to follow that ubiquitous line from Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. Even when Christ makes the turn towards Jerusalem in the timeline of his ministry, there is no sense of urgency. He knows he is going there to die, so why should he be in a hurry to get there? I know I wouldn’t be in a rush to get to such an appointment. Christ is always where he is needed, but not always where he is wanted in Scripture. Think about the whole argument with his parents when he stayed behind in the temple as a teenager. He was needed there, but his parents wanted him elsewhere. He was needed in other synagogues to argue with the religious leaders, but those same religious leaders who needed to hear those harsh truths (hypocrites, den of vipers, all my favorite Biblical insults) and be reminded of who they served definitely did not want Christ there. Christ upset the status quo in more ways than one, including in being where and when people expected him to be.
These brief ponderings have a flip side, of course. In our modern world, you need to be on time for a commitment or an employer or it could cost you dearly. Why am I writing all this? Because I have a deadline looming. Ordination paperwork is due sooner rather than later. My desire to get it done is matched equally by my desire to do anything and everything but work on it. Because that always works, right? My current working schedule is flexible and encourages an unhurried life like Christ’s life. If someone needs me to sit and listen, I can do that because I don’t have a million deadlines looming. If I need to be in prayer over someone or visit them in the hospital, that doesn’t cut into my time of sabbath or rest usually. If people want to brainstorm or dream of the future, I am available. But I am so privileged to be in such a position. Other colleagues do not have the support from their congregations to live like Christ in this way. And I realize it’s radical of me to think that every person, clergy or lay, should have this same flexibility. It’s almost as radical a thought theologically as saying that working less is exactly what happens in the Kingdom of God because Adam’s punishment was to toil, so if we are headed back towards Eden, we should have to toil less. It’s a great idea, but not realistic or pragmatic at this time.
To sum it all up, I don’t think deadlines are evil, but I also do not think that Christ sets deadlines save one. We only have this one lifetime to decide to follow Christ and since most of us won’t be given a second chance at life like Lazarus. May Christ help you meet all the deadlines set by people.
