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My friend and I had a phone appointment scheduled: he was to call me at 9:00, but, running late, I texted him around 8:50 that I would call him by 9:05. When I finally called at 9:10, I said:

I can tell time; I just don’t pay any attention to it.

Since I am a retired Air Force officer, people expect that I’m on time and have always been on time. The opposite is the case, unfortunately. Someone wrote about me when I was a captain, “Bob was on time when he needed to be.” That’s reasonably accurate! A relaxed attitude toward time has not always served me well, and it’s a poor character trait in the U.S.

In other countries, I may have fared better. I’ll never forget during one of my trips to Haiti, a resident missionary and I were walking to a nearby village one Saturday afternoon when we encountered one of my seminary students coming out of the village as we approached. We all stopped and visited for a few minutes when he said, “Come up to the village with me; I will show you my house and introduce you to my mother.” The missionary said, “Weren’t you on your way to a meeting?” He replied, “Yes, but you’re here now!” Can you imagine an exchange like that here?

Jesus’ ministry was characterized by margin (he always had time for people) and lack of hurry. My friend and Navigator mentor Skip Gray says:

Jesus had a 3-mile-an-hour ministry. He didn’t go jogging through Judea, sprinting through Samaria, and galloping through Galilee. He walked wherever he went.

And I would add, he stopped. On his way to Jerusalem, facing passion week, he stopped twice: once for the blind beggar and once for Zacchaeus. Jesus seemed to have a relaxed attitude toward time!

The blind beggar shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity and show me mercy!” Those who were in the front of the crowd scolded him and warned him to be quiet. But the blind beggar screamed out even louder, “Jesus, Son of David, show me mercy!” Suddenly Jesus stopped. He told those nearby, “Bring the man over to me.” (Luke 18.38 – 40, Passion Translation, emphasis mine)

When Jesus got to that place, he looked up into the tree and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry on down, for I am appointed to stay at your house today!” (Luke 19.5, Passion Translation)