“Never pay full price for late pizza.”
—Michelangelo
Before you challenge me on that quote, let me assure you it’s not the painter of Sistine Chapel fame. That little nugget of wisdom actually comes from…a turtle.
Among my favorite events of the 1980s was the arrival of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (“TMNT”) They were turtles in shells—mutated in such a way that they could talk and walk on two legs. The other two appendages had become arms with human-like hands.
These four “teenagers” were named for renaissance artists: Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, and Donatello. And they were ninjas, complete with a mutated-rat-Sensei who trained them to use their martial-arts skills for good. They lived in the New York City sewers, wore masks, fought crime, and celebrated victories with delivery pizza.
Ludicrous?
Maybe. And yet, against all reason, that comic book was popular from the get-go. People were drawn to these wise-cracking, adolescent, street-warrior amphibians. Also possibly against all reason, the TMNT are still around and still going strong. And they’ve come a long way. These days they buddy up with such stars as Batman to fight crime in NYC.
But, it’s not crime-fighting we’re going to zero in on: It’s that delivery pizza. My favorite TMNT quote comes from an early film in which the Turtles only pay the Domino Pizza delivery guy $10 for a $13 pizza. When he complains about being shorted, Michelangelo replies: “Wise man say: Forgiveness is divine...but never pay full price for late pizza.”
From the moment I heard those words, I knew I could put them to work. Never again, I vowed, would I reward someone for delinquency. At that point in my career, I had people who reported to me, people to whom I assigned work projects. I reasoned that if someone thought that work was important, they would make the effort, and the arrangements, to ensure on-time deliverables...maybe even early.
Oh, it’s not that I punished my staff if they were late. I just didn’t reward tardiness. And, at that time, in that setting, the philosophy worked pretty well. Those who needed that lesson learned it.
But—penalizing tardiness doesn’t always work.
And I, for one, am really glad it doesn’t. What if Jesus followed that approach in this week’s selection from Luke? I am happy to report that Jesus, when face to face with a real latecomer, soundly rejected that philosophy.
The latecomer was the thief on the cross next to Jesus. He asked to be remembered when Jesus came into His kingdom. He was, in effect, saying, “I’m very, very late to this, but I am hoping you will reward me, anyway.” And Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Can you imagine two people, soon to be dead, having such a conversation?
Ridiculous. Crazy. Completely irrational.
But it only gets wilder. Yes, he was very, very late, but Jesus didn’t penalize him for his tardiness. Jesus isn’t watching the clock. Instead, Jesus paid the full price for that thief. Same for us.
Ridiculous. Crazy. Completely irrational.
Like paying full price for late pizza.
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PHOTO: Steve Orr
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SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Find them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=290
Print them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_ReignofChrist.pdf
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Luke 1:68-79
Psalm 46
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 23:33-43
Reign of Christ - Proper 29 (34) (November 20, 2022)
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