Don Friesen
It was a relaxed atmosphere when the disciples accompanied Jesus on Palm Sunday. The mood was a festive one! I imagine the disciples had an enjoyable time as they walked beside Jesus, a path of colourful clothing strewn before them and palm branches waving all around them. Shouts of acclamation and praise filled the air! It was a welcome relief from recent events, like the annoying and increasing questions coming from the Pharisees. (Matthew 15:1-20; 16:1-12) On Palm Sunday, however, all was forgotten in the moment of joy and celebration! Following Jesus was easy on Sunday of Holy Week, but it became more difficult as the week wore on.
Tension was in the air as soon as Jesus entered the Temple. The disciples could see scowls on the faces of the chief priests and the scribes (Matthew 21:15) as people came to Jesus for healing. Then there was the confrontation with the chief priests and the elders (21:23) about Jesus' credentials and authority. Jesus wasn't intimidated by the questions; indeed, he told several stories (15:28-46; 26:1-14) that raised the emotional temperature, and there was already, early in the week, an attempt to arrest him (21:46). It was called off, however, because of the popular support for him.
There were several other arguments during the week (Matthew 22:15-46), followed by even more provocative speeches from Jesus (23:1-39) about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees! The joyful mood of Palm Sunday had changed dramatically, and it got worse, as a plot to kill Jesus gathered momentum. (26:3-5) By Thursday, when Jesus and his disciples sat down to eat the Passover meal, one of the disciples had already agreed to betray Jesus. (26:14-16) The mood at the table (26:17-25) was not a happy one, especially when Jesus questioned Peter about the depth of his loyalty, predicting it would soon crumble! (26:31-35) Then follows that moving passage in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46), in which Jesus prays intensely, while his disciples keep dropping off to sleep!
Sleep, Sloth, and Sluggishness of Spirit
I have been preaching a series of sermons on the Seven Deadly Sins, and while that is not the focus this evening, I thought the sin of sloth had some relevance to the events of this Holy Week. The drowsiness of the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane suggest it, but I think the events of this week have even more to do with sloth's corresponding virtue, for if Palm Sunday called forth praise and celebration, the latter half of the week tests the depth of the disciples' commitment. The journey through Holy Week calls for more and more of a courageous and daring spirit, in sharp contrast to sloth's spiritlessness.
Sloth is an Old English word, seldom used anymore. It suggests a sluggishness of spirit, a lack of real desire for anything, a lack of passion--ironic because the other Seven Deadly Sins suggest an over-abundance of passion. A better word might be the Latin word, "acedia," meaning "apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue". A slothful person does not make it a priority to do what should be done, or to change what should be changed. Sloth suggests a lack of depth, a lack of commitment.
Thomas Aquinas described sloth as a "sluggishness of the mind which neglects to begin good," to do good deeds. John Cassian (360-435), the 4th century monk who promoted discussion of the Seven Deadly Sins, appears not to have suffered from sloth himself--he founded several monasteries in southern France and Palestine--Cassian saw sloth as a low-grade disgust people feel in fulfilling obligations and duties. It's not only negligence, but a negligence coupled with a low-grade weariness of heart, a gradual wearing away of devotion.
Another commentator on the Seven Deadly Sins describes sloth as the sin that "believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die." (Henry Fairlie, The Seven Deadly Sins Today)
I mentioned on Sunday that the trumpets spoke for pride in a musical rendition of the Seven Deadly Sins. (The Seven Deadly Sins, Ballet for Wind Ensemble, 1984) Sloth is represented in the same musical piece by the lower brass, playing at a much slower tempo. It's the shortest movement of the ballet: twelve simple chords from muted trombones and tuba, accompanied by a gong which is submerged in a tub of water.
The Scriptures have very direct advice for those who are just downright lazy. Ecclesiastes states the obvious, telling us that "Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks." (Ecclesiastes 10:18) Proverbs ridicules the lazy, saying,"How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a vagabond...." (Proverbs 6:9-11, RSV) Proverbs has numerous nuggets of wisdom about laziness and sloth that those of us who grew up with a strong work ethic know only too well (10:4, 5; 12:24; 12:27; 13:4; 15:19; 18:9; 19:15; 20:4; 21:25, RSV), but three of the better ones are:
Jesus told a parable in which a "slothful servant" is chastised for his inactivity. (Matthew 25:14-30) And the Apostle Paul told believers in Rome, "Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord." (Romans 12:11, RSV) The writer of Hebrews is also encouraging, saying, "...we want each one of you to show ... diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (Hebrews 6:11-12) However, there are various other injunctions against those who are idle. (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12)
A Radical Choice and Commitment
The book of Revelation was written to Christians living in a time as tense as that experienced by the disciples in Jerusalem. And Revelation, chapter 3 warns them against the danger of becoming a slothful church! The writer laments the lukewarmness of a particular church, saying, "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot." (Revelation 3:15) Wishing the church was either one or the other, he adds, "...because you are lukewarm, ...neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (3:16) If that were our congregation, we may as well change our name to the "Malaise Mennonite Church," or the "Lethargic Mennonite Church," of the "Lackadaisical Mennonite Church".
In another historical context, many millennia later, Otto Dix created a painting entitled The Seven Deadly Sins. It was 1933, and his painting was intended as a political statement on the situation in Germany at the time, and was created immediately after the Nazis had Dix removed from his teaching position at the Dresden Art Academy. It was a courageous painting, for Dix painted the figure of Envy wearing a mask of Adolf Hitler. As a matter of precaution, Dix did not paint in the Hitler mustache until after the War! Dix portrayed sloth as a figure in a skeleton costume holding a scythe, and whose legs and arms form a rough swastika. Sloth is featured prominently because the artist blamed the German people's lack of alarm and concern as a primary reason for the Nazis' rise to power.
Love the Lord with All Your Heart
Similarly, the crisis in Jerusalem presented Jesus' disciples with a dramatic choice: loyalty to Jesus, with the possibility of suffering ...or... trying to avoid commitment by falling asleep, or by denial, or by cowardice. The journey through Holy Week calls for an increasingly courageous and daring spirit, the opposite of a slothful spirit, and more characteristic of sloth's corresponding virtue, which could be zeal, but I like the old word, "troth," as used in traditional wedding ceremonies. It means "a solemn pledge of fidelity". It's the depth of commitment expressed in the Jewish Shema, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." (Deuteronomy 6:5) Or, as Jesus expanded upon it, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind...." (Luke 10:27)
It's the same whole-hearted commitment the Apostle Paul expressed when he encouraged us not to grow "...weary in well-doing" (2 Thessalonians 3:13, RSV; Galatians 6:9; compare Hebrews 12:3; Revelation 2:3), but to "...press on..., forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ... press on toward the goal...of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14, RSV).
One of my favourite devotional prayers has the line, "Let me not be among Thy creatures as a sluggard and a drone," a striking phrase suggesting to me not just a negative sentiment, but a desire to be a contributing member of God's kingdom--a desire to let the energy and vigour which God has infused into every living being stir within us, and move us to explore the breadth and length and height and depth of God's love! (Ephesians 3:18)
Jesus' disciples don't look all that good as Holy Week wears on, but they rallied, and all but one took the path of costly commitment. They became the backbone of the New Testament church, and though their deaths are shrouded in mystery, it is thought that all of the remaining disciples died martyrs' deaths, except, perhaps, John. They loved Jesus with all their heart, and with all their soul and strength. May God give us grace to do the same.
Proverbs also has advice for the slothful, suggesting, "Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise." (6:6, RSV)
All quotations of Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version.