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In the early 1970s, the popular author Michael Crichton had what he thought was a great
idea for a TV program.

Timing - Deuteronomy 6: 4-9; John 4: 1-15 - February 27, 2011- Cicero United Methodist
Church - Everett J. Bassett

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            In the early 1970s, the popular author Michael Crichton had what he thought was a great
idea for a TV program. It would be about the medical team in the emergency wing of a
hospital; it would be about them and their patients, and would have several stories going on at
the same time - fast-paced. But producers thought that TV audiences would get impatient with
multiple story lines, needed time to identify with the characters in a drama, and preferred to
see a single story developed slowly over the hour. So the idea was shot down. Twenty years
later, Crichton dusted off the idea, this time found some backing, and in 1994 launched a pilot
for ER, which became the number one TV program in the country.

            In 1834, an inventor named Charles Babbage designed what he called the analytical engine - a complicated device that could receive, sort, and store information. People thought it was the craziest idea they had ever heard; he could find no interested investors. That's because it was years before people would be ready for analytical engines - or, as we call them - computers.

            Fifty years before Christ, Heron of Greece suggested that great devices could be powered by steam. This could replace the labor of many people. The civic leaders rejected the idea,
because they argued that it could result in unemployment and idleness, which could lead to
unrest. So it wasn't for almost 750 years that the first steam-powered inventions took hold.
And, as it turns out, those first detractors were probably right about the possibility of
unemployment and unrest, which were by-products of the resulting Industrial Revolution.

            The principle in common in those three stories is timing. In each case there was a great,
revolutionary idea. None of them was welcomed when it first appeared. It was the right idea
at the wrong time. And that happens a lot; timing is one of life's most important factors. It
makes the difference between a life-changing opportunity, and something that just goes Thud.

            It can make the difference in our individual lives. When I was a teenager, some people
started talking with me about being a pastor. They were convinced that that was my calling in
life. I politely nodded my head, and then secretly rolled my eyes, because I knew that that was
absolutely never going to happen. It was the craziest idea in the universe. It probably still is.
But ten years later, it came back to me. And this time I had witnessed the birth of my daughter,
and I was a different person. Same idea, different time. Probably all of us have a story like that
- an idea or opportunity or lesson that we didn't appreciate at one moment in life, only to
welcome it with open arms at another. Timing is a key element in our life-journeys.

            Parents understand something about timing. I remember back when I was raising teenagers, and every so often thought that I had a piece of advice or guidance that might be valuable to them. But I discovered early on that most of the time, I might as well throw a carrot in front of a cat. They might bat it around a little bit, but they sure as heck weren't going to eat it. But ten years later, I was surprised to hear a few of those words again, this time coming out of them. Suddenly, it was the right time.

            Jesus told a story about a farmer sowing seeds, and how the different kinds of soil received it - the rocky soil, the weedy soil, the packed-down soil, and the rich, good soil. And we tend to think about that in terms of four different kinds of people. But the fact is, we may be the four different kinds of soil at different moments in our lives. Things happen - good and bad - that
change us. And suddenly the faith that someone tried to share with us earlier makes sense. Or
the call that God put before us now can take hold. We reached the teachable moment.

            I look at baptism that way - or the confirmation of baptism that several of our young people are preparing for right now. It may not have an immediate impact; many of us were babies and weren't even aware our baptism was going on. But there may come a time later on when the fact that we were embraced by God in baptism is the most important idea in our lives. The life of faith is often a matter of timing - of the soil being right at a moment of opportunity.

            I suspect that was true for the woman who showed up at the village well one day in our
scripture lesson. Jesus turns her life around. We find out that it is a troubled life; she has not
been successful in relationships - Jesus knew that because he knew she had had five husbands,
and now another man who was not her husband. And she tried to hide that from him. She was
probably an outcast in the community - Jesus could guess that because she came to the well,
the main gathering place of the village, at the hottest time of day - presumably to avoid the
crowds .. She would not be respected in the community. And, we might assume, people have
been trying to get through to her before this. Is this the life you really want to live? There is
something more than this. And those attempts, we might imagine, had fallen on rocky soil.

            But now is different. We don't know why, but this is her teachable moment -- the moment
she is finally open to the possibility of the living water of Jesus Christ that satisfies the thirst of
the spirit forever. Praise God those teachable moments come to us.

            And what we find is that when they do - when we have realized and embraced the grace
that God wants to give us - the goal becomes to arrange our lives so that we are ready for
grace not just now and then, but any time. That's why we talk about discipleship in our church,
and spiritual disciplines like prayer, Bible study, stewardship, regular worship. These are the
things we do so that the timing for faith will always be right. We're always ready to serve the
Lord. That's why the writer of our Old Testament text from Deuteronomy tells his readers:
once you have identified the gracious activity of God's salvation in your life, teach these words
to your children, and talk of them when you are sitting in your house, and "when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."  Bind them as a sign on your hand, he
says, and put them as frontlets before your eyes, and on your doorposts ... in other words, put
them everywhere. Keep the expectation and anticipation of grace current and fresh, so that
you are always ready - the timing is always right. It's why Jesus, when he talked about the
future, ended by saying, "Watch. Be alert." God's salvation can come to you at any moment.

            In the last few weeks, Jack and I have been talking about sharing our faith, and timing is a crucial element in that discussion. Quite simply, there are times to do it, when the soil is ready,
and there are other times when it's not. But how do you know? You see someone hurting or
struggling, or you just despair about someone's soul, and you want to offer them help through
faith - but when is the right time? We could absorb everything the scriptures say about sharing
our faith, and still end up doing more harm than good, if we're not sensitive about timing.

            I've found some rules of thumb about that for me, that have helped me to discern God's
timing, and I'd like to quickly share them. First of all, the easiest way to know that it is the right
time to share your faith is simply to ask the person. That seems obvious, but we overlook the
obvious sometimes. When two people are sharing faith together, it can't be about one person
sneaking up on another, or manipulating it into the conversation. It needs to be an open and
honest moment. You're sharing from the heart. So a direct and honest question is a great way
to start: "You know, I hate to see you going through such a rough time. And when I've been
down and out, faith has helped me so much. And if this is something you want to hear about,
I'd love to share how God helped me through it. And if now is not a good time, just know that if
there ever is a time, I'm available. I think God wants to help you." It doesn't hurt to ask.

            A second rule of thumb for knowing when to share your faith is after you have truly heard the other person, and understand who they are. The Samaritan woman ran from her
encounter with Jesus into the city saying, "Come see the man who told me everything I ever

did." She had been heard. She had been understood. And that was transforming for her.

Some of you have been on a Walk to Emmaeus spiritual retreat weekend. There is a great
session on faith-sharing as part of that weekend. And they have a three-part formula: it's
"Make a friend; be a friend, and bring a friend to Christ." I think that's right on, because it
implies taking time to build relationships before you verbalize your faith. Evangelism is about
relationships. In the context of a mutual respect and caring, moments of sharing faith just
occur naturally. And a lot of faith-sharing falters because the faith-sharer simply doesn't
understand the other person - has not taken that time to build a mutual bond.

            That leads to a third rule of thumb about timing in faith-sharing - maybe the most important one of all. And that is, you share Christ when your attitude is right. When your motive is true. Any other time is the wrong time. One of the things we can be sure of is that any time we are prone to share our faith, we need to begin with prayer. That's what this cross in front of our

church represents - our prayerful intent to share Christ with the people on those prayer-
papers. But what we might not appreciate enough is the reason for that prayer. We might
tend to believe that the main purpose of that prayer is to prepare the other person to be ready
to receive the message we hope to bring. That their heart will be right to receive the Good
News. But that's not the most important thing at all. The most important reason to pray is to
make sure that our hearts will be right to share the message. Simply put, the only proper
motive for sharing the Good News of Christ is love. And the only proper attitude is respect.
And unfortunately, love and respect have not always been present when people have tried to
evangelize. Here are some important questions I've had to ask myself:

            Is there an unintended air of superiority in my attitude, like "I have something you better
listen to?" Am I acting as if I have all the answers? Is the sharing mutual, based on shared
respect? Am I open to what God wants me to learn from the other person, because surely they
have wisdom and experience to share with me as well? Do I feel somehow less a sinner in need
of grace than the other person? Have I respected them enough to truly listen to them and
understand them? Am I angry with them? Judgmental of them? Am I being manipulative? Is
sharing faith with them a way of getting them to behave how I need them to? And if any of
those attitude questions ring true at all, then the timing for faith-sharing is not right. We need
to be back in prayer, asking God to bring humility and respect to our hearts. And we'll be in
good company. Jonah was called to witness to Nineveh, but he couldn't do it until he got past
his own prejudice. Peter became a powerful evangelist for Christ, but only after he worked
through some violent and impetuous impulses. We have to pray for humble and open spirits.

            The good news is, it's God's work, not ours. God is passionately wanting to bring peace and healing to our lives, and to this world.  That's why Jesus came; that's why he died; that's why he rose. And people are hurting, and longing for that hope. And we need to share it with each
other in word and deed, and help each other along the way to realize the power of God's grace.
God is working the soil; if we are sensitive to His timing, beautiful things can blossom in our
world.