Dead Duck

Once there was a boy who had a pet duck. Well, I don't know if the duck knew that it was a pet. Let's just say there was this duck who frequented the farm where the boy lived. Why the duck kept coming back nobody knows. But the boy loved that duck. He would chase the duck around the barnyard, through the stables, and even across the front stoop of the house, much to the chagrin of the boy's parents. Such good times, and the duck didn't seem to mind playing with the young lad. In fact, the duck seemed to display a sense of loyalty to the boy, as evidenced by the duck's daily visits to the farm.

One day the duck didn't show up. The boy was disappointed but not disturbed by this development. Maybe the duck found a girlfriend or was just busy. Who knows? "Maybe he'll show up tomorrow," thought the boy. But the duck didn't show up. In fact, it appeared that the duck wasn't going to come back at all. After a week of waiting for the duck to come swooping in, the boy began to suspect that something happened to the duck. So the boy set out for the woods behind the barn to search for the duck. It didn't take long for the boy to find the duck lying dead on the ground, the victim of a hunter's bullet.

The boy picked up the dead duck and carried it back to the farm. He set it down in the barnyard and started to run in circles around it hoping the duck would awaken and join in the fun. But it didn't move. Then the boy picked up the duck by its wings and pretended that it was flying around. It remained lifeless. The boy then launched the duck into the air as to set it free to spread its wings and fly on its own. It crashed to the ground with a thud. "Perhaps it's just tired," reasoned the boy. "I'll take it into the barn and let it get some sleep."

The next morning the boy went out to the barn to find the duck as it was the day before. Lifeless. "C'mon Mr. Duck!" the boy shouted. "We've got some catching up to do!" The boy tried the same things he tried the day before with the same result. The duck was not going to join in on all of the fun. It remained quiet and still on the ground. The boy tried desperately to get the duck to do something. Anything. But there was nothing. And for each failure the boy tried even harder to make that duck respond to him as he continued to play with it.

All of this time the boy's father was watching his son try to play with this lifeless duck. Finally the father had seen enough and was not going to let his son continue with the charade. "Son!" exclaimed the father. "Stop playing with that duck!" The boy snapped back, "But dad, we have so much fun together!" "I know son. But the duck is dead and it's best to stop playing with it," explained the father. "Let's go bury your duck in the woods and give him a fitting goodbye."

Days passed and the boy missed the duck. He would stare out of his bedroom window thinking about all of the fun he used to have playing with the duck. But those days were gone now. The duck was dead and buried. End of story.

How often to we treat our sin like that duck? We chase it, play with it, carouse with it, give it attention-- we like it. It makes us feel alive and comfortable. It's like an itch that needs to be scratched. But it's still sin-- greed, lust, vengeance, vindictiveness, jealousy, violence, hatred.

Those sins were nailed with Christ on the cross. There they were put to death and buried. Our sins, like the duck, are dead. By virtue of Baptism into Christ we are declared "dead to sin", meaning that we have been separated from our sin and its accompanying bondage and guilt. At the same time we are declared to be "alive with Christ", meaning that we are free from having to revisit that which has been put off and dead.

I'm confused as to why so many of us try to conquer our sin. Beware of churches who give you tips on how to get rid of sin in your life, or how to overcome an addiction, or give you ten steps to root out jealousy, or five ways to beat stress at Christmastime, or anything else to keep you centered on yourself or with great potential of failure. What they're telling you to do is something akin to playing with the dead duck. Hopeless! And how often do these churches have you wallowing in your failure to root out jealousy, or beat stress, or conquer sin, by taking you right back to their lists and tips? They're just trips to play with the dead duck. And it's so much fun that they keep you coming back for more.

Our heavenly Father approaches us in grace and gently bids us, "Stop playing with that duck, trying to bring it back to life. It's dead. Leave it! Follow my risen Son, your Christ, into life and freedom. Your sin is paid for in full. You are granted forgiveness, life, and salvation."

So, instead of following yet another "to do" list, come to the banquet of grace and joy as Christ beckons and bids us to eat his body and drink his blood-- the place where the dead duck never comes to mind and our sin is remembered no more.