Las Vegas Lazy -- FPC sermon excerpt
His name is Simon, and he is a thin, fit, 27-year-old man, in perfect health.
I’m not talking about Simon Peter.
No, I’m talking about Simon Lezama.
What is so surprising about Simon Lezama is that he is riding an electric “mobility scooter” all around Las Vegas. He is taking a vacation, and because of the miles of gambling and gluttony that stretch out before him, he has decided to fork over $40 a day to rent an electric wheelchair.
Now, Simon doesn’t have to take a step. He doesn’t even have to put down his drink.
“It was all the walking,” he explained to The Associated Press (May 2007). “Now I can drink and drive, be responsible and save my feet.”
Simon, Simon — you should hear the words of Jesus, “Stand up and walk” (Matthew 9:5).
Marcel Maritz runs the scooter rental company that caters to Las Vegas visitors, and he is seeing the number of able-bodied renters growing every year. “We’re seeing more and more young people just for the fact that the Strip has gotten so big, the hotels are so large,” he says. Most of his business still comes from the obese, elderly, or disabled, but the young and fit now make up about 5 percent of his clientele.
These young folks don’t want to walk to the casinos, hotels, shopping malls, spas, bars, and restaurants — not if they can ride.
You have to call them “Las Vegas Lazy.”
Simon Lezama provides an excellent contrast to Simon Peter in today’s passage from the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus is on the go as he begins his ministry, leaving Nazareth and making his home in Simon’s town of Capernaum, by the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:13). There Jesus hits the road — without a “mobility scooter” — and begins to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (v. 17). Everything Jesus says and does is energetic, even his announcement of the kingdom coming and breaking into the middle of human life. He insists that the kingdom of heaven is not a passive place, but is God’s active, powerful, table-turning, world-changing reign.
There’s nothing lazy about it.
As Jesus walks by the Sea of Galilee, he sees two brothers — Simon Peter and Andrew. They are working as fishermen, casting a net into the sea, and Jesus says to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people” (vv. 18-19). Notice that his initial invitation is not “listen to me,” “believe in me,” or “bow down to me” — it is “follow me.” Discipleship begins with walking … with faithful following.
Immediately they leave their nets and fall in behind him (v. 20).
Moving on down the road, Jesus sees two other brothers, James and John, who are in a boat with their father, mending their nets. He calls to them in the same way, and they leave both their boat and their father, and follow Jesus on foot (vv. 21-22).
The passage ends with Jesus striding all throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in synagogues, curing diseases, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of heaven (v. 23). Jesus is a walking spokesman for the one true God.
And how about his disciples? They have to walk as well, if they want to keep up with Jesus.
I’m not talking about Simon Peter.
No, I’m talking about Simon Lezama.
What is so surprising about Simon Lezama is that he is riding an electric “mobility scooter” all around Las Vegas. He is taking a vacation, and because of the miles of gambling and gluttony that stretch out before him, he has decided to fork over $40 a day to rent an electric wheelchair.
Now, Simon doesn’t have to take a step. He doesn’t even have to put down his drink.
“It was all the walking,” he explained to The Associated Press (May 2007). “Now I can drink and drive, be responsible and save my feet.”
Simon, Simon — you should hear the words of Jesus, “Stand up and walk” (Matthew 9:5).
Marcel Maritz runs the scooter rental company that caters to Las Vegas visitors, and he is seeing the number of able-bodied renters growing every year. “We’re seeing more and more young people just for the fact that the Strip has gotten so big, the hotels are so large,” he says. Most of his business still comes from the obese, elderly, or disabled, but the young and fit now make up about 5 percent of his clientele.
These young folks don’t want to walk to the casinos, hotels, shopping malls, spas, bars, and restaurants — not if they can ride.
You have to call them “Las Vegas Lazy.”
Simon Lezama provides an excellent contrast to Simon Peter in today’s passage from the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus is on the go as he begins his ministry, leaving Nazareth and making his home in Simon’s town of Capernaum, by the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:13). There Jesus hits the road — without a “mobility scooter” — and begins to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (v. 17). Everything Jesus says and does is energetic, even his announcement of the kingdom coming and breaking into the middle of human life. He insists that the kingdom of heaven is not a passive place, but is God’s active, powerful, table-turning, world-changing reign.
There’s nothing lazy about it.
As Jesus walks by the Sea of Galilee, he sees two brothers — Simon Peter and Andrew. They are working as fishermen, casting a net into the sea, and Jesus says to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people” (vv. 18-19). Notice that his initial invitation is not “listen to me,” “believe in me,” or “bow down to me” — it is “follow me.” Discipleship begins with walking … with faithful following.
Immediately they leave their nets and fall in behind him (v. 20).
Moving on down the road, Jesus sees two other brothers, James and John, who are in a boat with their father, mending their nets. He calls to them in the same way, and they leave both their boat and their father, and follow Jesus on foot (vv. 21-22).
The passage ends with Jesus striding all throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in synagogues, curing diseases, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of heaven (v. 23). Jesus is a walking spokesman for the one true God.
And how about his disciples? They have to walk as well, if they want to keep up with Jesus.
posted by Henry Brinton | 10:54 AM
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