I'm pretty sure where it went wrong was when they had the 11-year old drive the tractor. We were at the farm of some family friends, helping with spring planting. The idea was a simple one: use the tractor to pull a discing sledge through the field to make furrows. Once it was done, we could walk down each row, pressing one seed into the soil about every eight inches.
There are some things you need to know before I tell more of this tale. First, when I was eleven years old, it was common for children of all ages to work on family farms. Second, it was common for friends to drive out from town to help on farms. Third, it was common (and perfectly legal) for ten year old children to operate farm machinery, including tractors and pickup trucks.
So there we were, townies and farm folk, children and adults, all friends, working together to get a crop into the ground. Two of us kids were eleven that spring, the oldest of the bunch. My friend was the farm boy; I was the townie.
The first pass of the tractor and sledge made some progress, but the ground was still hard from winter. It was harrowed, but not furrowed. Another pass would be needed. We all took a break at that point, heading to the house for a drink and to the outhouse for the obvious. It was then, as we were about to resume, that the father asked his son to drive the tractor.
A big smile on his face, my friend climbed up onto the seat, placed one hand in the steering wheel and one on the large gearshift knob. Wrestling it into reverse, he backed that tractor away from the fence line and stopped, planning to turn and pull forward. That's the point when it got stuck in reverse. No matter what he did, he could not get the thing into any forward gear. To be fair, it was an old tractor. It might have happened to anyone. It was just my friend's bad luck it happened as he was about to plow his first set of furrows. His turn was over before he had even gone ten feet.
Farms run on hard work, good tools, and windows of opportunity. It wasn't like they could just quit for the day. Neither the good weather nor the presence of additional farm hands (amateur though we were) could be relied upon. A solution had to be found.
And that's when the farmer had his idea: he would drive the tractor backwards. The sledge would now be in front, so to speak, but the principle was the same: the discs would be pressed into the soil and the field would be tilled. All he had to do was look back over his shoulder as he drove the tractor backwards through the field.
To be fair, it worked pretty well for the first row.
But while backing through the second row, something caused the tractor to swerve. The sledge backed over part of the row he had just finished plowing. He managed to straighten out the tractor, but not before doing more damage to the already completed row.
After the same thing happened twice more, he gave up.
That was the end of plowing, at least for that day. A mechanic was called and we were told, ”You kids go play.” Which we did.
I recalled this incident when I read the words of Jesus in this week’s passage from Luke. His said a person was unfit for the Kingdom of God if they put their hand to the plow and then looked back. It sounded like Jesus was condemning any potential followers who wished to tell their families goodbye. But, did Jesus really say we can't follow him unless we disconnect from our families?
Scholars tell us the language used in that passage should convey the idea of continuously acting. In other words, what Jesus is warning against is someone continually focusing on their previous life while also trying to be His disciple. It just won't work. It would be like trying to plow a field while looking back. You might be able to keep your furrows straight for a short time, but, eventually, it would all end up crooked.
Like trying to plow with a tractor stuck in reverse.
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PHOTO: Beth Stewart
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 8 (13) (June 30, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=268
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21
Psalm 16
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Luke 9:51-62
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Join us Friday morning at Waco’s @Egg and I” restaurant for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We start at 8:00 and spend the next hour in fellowship, Bible discussion, and prayer. We eat and laugh, too.
Blessings,
Steve
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