August
28, 2016 Pentecost 15 Luke
14:1, 7-14
I could create a sermon from our gospel reading that take Jesus
words as simply good social wisdom – don’t put yourself too high lest you be
embarrassed by someone putting you lower.
I could go a bit deeper and create a sermon about
selflessness. Then I’d pick up on Jesus
teaching the Pharisee to not invite his friends, or those who could repay the
favor, to a dinner he throws. Instead he
should invite those who can’t repay.
That would be a fair interpretation of Jesus’ words. But we are clever people. We’d quickly find the loophole that we’ll
just strategize selflessness now so that we’ll be repaid in the
resurrection. Indeed many people have
taken that approach to Jesus’ teachings.
But I think we are wisest to go even deeper, because I think
Jesus is getting at something deep in the heart of all people. This is a part of us that we may not want to
admit exists, but it is very real. To
get at it let me read an excerpt from To
Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I
suspect many of you were forced to read this book when you were in school. You may have liked it, or maybe not. This is from the closing argument Atticus
gives to the jury in the trial:
“Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal…
There is a tendency in this year of grace, 1935, for certain people to use this
phrase out of context, to satisfy all conditions. The most ridiculous example I can think of is
that the people who run public education promote the stupid and idle along with
the industrious – because all men are created equal, educators will gravely
tell you, the children left behind will suffer terrible feelings of
inferiority. We know all men are not
created equal in the sense some people would have us believe – some people are
smarter than others, some people have more opportunity because they’re born
with it, some men make more money than others, some ladies bake better cakes
than others – some people are born gifted beyond the normal scope of most men.
“But there is one way in this country in which all men are
created equal – there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of
a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of Einstein, and the ignorant man the
equal of any college president. That
institution, gentlemen, is a court. It
can be the Supreme Court of the United States or the humblest J.P. court in the
land, or this honorable court which you serve.
Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this
country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are
created equal.”
I think Harper Lee is absolute write to create these words for
her character Atticus. It is as if we
live this great dualism. On one hand,
all are created equal. We expect that in
our courts and justice systems. And yet,
there is the reality that all are not created equal. Some people simply seem superior to
others. If you want something done you
have to go to the people who have the skills to do it. If I want to build a deck on the back of my
house am I going to go to the Ontario County Nursing Home and employ the
residents? Certainly not; it just won’t
happen. If I have a great business idea
and need financial backers to get it off the ground am I going to ask the people
of Hunts Trailer Park or am I going to go to the bank?
Every day we live the reality that not all are equal. If you want real things to happen in the real
world then you have to get the right people with the right skills. People with skills are more valuable than
those who aren’t. Like the Pharisee in
the gospel reading, we seek out and surround ourselves with the people who can
do things for us. Those who can’t we
send away, or at best we tolerate them.
God does not measure or grade people the way we do. Before God’s eyes we are created equal; just
the way we strive our justice system to operate. I don’t think our gospel reading is about
selflessness. It is about seeing as God
sees. The poor, the blind, the lame – in
other words, the worthless – do not in any way shape or form lack value.
So what do we do? First,
on this side of the resurrection we have to admit that we’ll never fully escape
this dualism. We will always have a
tendency to gradate people and choose some over others. That’s wrong, but it is part of our sinful
nature. We should recognize that we are
indeed broken and in need of God’s grace.
Perhaps that is also the key to moving beyond it. While we grade people as more or less
worthwhile, we are all equal in our need for grace. And in that we can rejoice. God is gracious and merciful, inviting us
when we feel strong and capable and worthwhile, and also inviting us when we
feel depressed weak and worthless.
At God’s banquet table, Holy Communion, you are always welcome,
as is everyone else. And that leads us
to be able to rejoice.
Think about it. Did Jesus
spend his time strategizing about who to eat a meal with? Did he create an itinerary based on owing
someone political favors or making the right connections? Did he put up with obnoxious and annoying
people because he knew he needed their backing?
Of course not! All of this stuff
is so important in our world, but it is all nonsense.
For Jesus the key thing was to celebrate and celebrate
people. It’s not a matter of
selflessness or sacrifice. It is about
having a whole different outlook on life and on people. When you have that outlook you are freed from
so much.
Do you remember when duct tape came in only one color? It was silver/gray. When I worked as an intern in the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation there was another guy near my cubicle
who was simply one of the happiest and carefree people I’ve ever met. His car was this gigantic old beast of a
machine that seemed to go on forever.
The suspension was completely shot and it swayed like a ship on the high
seas. The outside of the car was the
same silver/gray as duct tape. So the
fact that numerous rusted out spots and areas were covered in duct tape wasn’t immediately
obvious. However, the inside of the car
was bright red. Red upholstery, red dash
board, read ceiling, read door panels.
And where it was worn through – you guessed it, duct tape!
He didn’t care. When he’d
go on a date he picked her up in that car without a care in the world of what
she thought of it. It got from point A
to point B safely and dependably, and that’s all that mattered to him. He did his work well and on time always. He was friendly with everyone and fun to be
around. Other older employees said he’d
never have an ulcer because he simply didn’t worry about anything.
Perhaps he was a man of great faith. Perhaps he was not. I don’t know.
But his attitude was commendable.
He’d gladly have a meal with anyone and simply delight in them.
When Jesus says he is bringing in his kingdom and inviting us
and all others to be a part of it he is inviting us to have this different
outlook. See all in need of God’s grace,
yourself included, and then go from there rejoicing because everything
important and necessary has already been done for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment