As some of you know, I grew up just up the road from here, in Baton Rouge.  There were six of us kids in the house; and now, looking back on it in retrospect, I realize that what I thought of then as merely normal, was, in fact controlled chaos!  I had no idea back then of just how many plates my parents had to keep juggling in the air at any one time, nor did I realize back then exactly what talented jugglers they were.  I was blissfully ignorant of the details involved in raising a family of any size, much less a big, active family.

 During those growing up years, there was not an abundance of money.  Yet, somehow, Dad insisted, over Mom’s objections, that at least three or four times a year, we were going to The Piccadilly Cafeteria for lunch after church on Sunday.  Dad’s reasoning for these lunch excursions was not to give Mom a break – some of you Moms know that taking the kids out to eat is WAY more stressful, and expensive, than eating at home, right?  No, Dad’s purpose in this was to present a learning opportunity for the kids, a way to help us grow up.  We eventually came to understand some of the important things about being civilized in a place where other people are present and eating – being quiet, being calm, keeping our voices low, placing napkins in our laps, using forks and spoons to eat instead of fingers, not spilling drinks all over the table, etc.  [Another good lesson at The Piccadilly Cafeteria was cleaning up.  After you finished eating, you would take your tray, with all of the empty plates, glasses and utensils, and place it on a conveyor belt that moved it back to the back of the cafeteria.  We thought that was awesome - watching the trays slowly disappear!]

Of course, The Piccadilly Cafeteria was like other similar eating establishments.  You get in line where you must behave [back in those days, there was often a line all the way outside the door, meaning we had to be good for a long time!], and eventually, you reach the place where you grab a tray and silverware, and then begin to pick and choose various items for your lunch.  By then, of course, we would be ravenously hungry, and everything looked and smelled so delicious that it was difficult to make choices.  

Did Dad’s plan succeed?  It’s hard to say.  I am still likely to knock over a glass of tea when I’m not paying attention.  And I will sometimes still eat with my elbows on the table.  But maybe it was at least a good start into learning how to act like a grown up.  And, I’m sure you realize that a preacher can find lots of spiritual lessons from all of this; so, if for no other reason than that, I can say Dad’s plan was a great success!

 You’ve probably already heard people say that The Bible is NOT a [Piccadilly] cafeteria from which you get to pick and choose the things you like, and reject the things you don’t like.  That’s a good lesson.  And the fact that somebody else cleaned up all the things you messed up is another good lesson.  Oh, and how about being able to give the check for your meal to Daddy, knowing that, somehow, he’s going to pay for it all?  More good lessons from the Cafeteria!

But I’d like you to think about something a little bit different today.  As we would go down the Cafeteria line as kids, we loved the dessert section best of all.  So many good and sweet things to choose from – just exactly what you need to top off and finish off a wonderful meal.  It’s like you’ve already got a good thing going with your choices up to now - but, add a little something extra sweet at the end, and wow, life is so good! 

When it comes to spiritual things, there are people who have that same kind of thinking.  They think that life is pretty good right now, things are going well; but maybe if they could just add a little bit of “God”, a little bit of church, a little bit of that “spiritual stuff that people are talking about”, then they would be fully set.  Just don’t talk to them too much about commitment.  “Let’s not get all crazy about this stuff, okay?”

I’ve known people like that.  I see one more often than I care to think about – he’s actually hard to get away from.  Perhaps worse than that, there are times when I think The Church almost markets itself this way - “Come in here and get a little God to go.”

Listen to what the late Theologian and writer, Dallas Willard, had to say: “People think of Religion as a way to add a little ‘God’ to your life.  But Christ says throw your life away.  He can give you a new one.”

 That’s different, isn’t it?  The Way [which, BTW, is what the early church called itself] of Christ is not about adding a little “God” to everything else you’ve got going on.  The Way of Christ is all about laying down your life; it’s about surrender; it’s about loving others the way Jesus loves you – sacrificially and selflessly; it’s about commitment. 

Have I grown up enough, after all these years, to finally figure that out?  I think so.  I’ve got it in my head.  Now, Lord, put it in my heart. 

~Shepherd Ambrose Ramsey