Theologian, biblical scholar, Lutheran pastor, medical doctor, African missionary, concert organist, musicologist, author, humanitarian, philosopher.
Winner of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of “Reverence for Life”
September 4th is the church holiday to commemorate Albert Schweitzer. If you’re my age or younger it’s quite likely you don’t know what he’s famous for. If you’re older you are more likely to recognize him. The question is for what? He is perhaps most famous for winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his philosophy of “Reverence for Life”.
As the name suggests, it reveres life in all forms: other humans, animals, insects, even plants. That does not mean that you refrain from swatting a mosquito. But it does mean that you honor the mosquito’s life, its place in creation, and its desire to be alive. Schweitzer argued that we are brothers and sisters to all living things, and owe to all of them the same care and respect that we wish for ourselves.
But it’s also quite likely you’d recognize his name because he was also a medical doctor who in 1913 founded a hospital in Lamberene, Gabon. Schweitzer is significantly responsible for bringing basic healthcare and vaccinations to Africa. Though it is a fictitious story, in the book The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, she notes that Schweitzer’s healthcare and vaccination efforts so dropped infant and youth mortality rates in nations across Africa that the countries began suffering from overpopulation, which was, inadvertently, causing wars! From time to time Schweitzer is referenced by the doctors in the TV sitcom MASH.
Or, if you are a musician, you may have heard of Albert Schweitzer because he was a world-famous concert organist. In order to support his missionary and medical work in Africa Schweitzer did not travel through Europe begging for money. Instead he traveled through Europe giving organ recitals. He raised money for his mission work through ticket sales.
Or, if you are a pastor or theologian you may recognize Schweitzer because he was an influential biblical scholar and Lutheran pastor. He was controversial. His published books questioned many beliefs about Jesus that are conveniently held by Christians. He didn’t agree with the typical tidy depiction of Jesus many Christians love to accept. He wrote,
"Jesus comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake-side, He came to those men who knew him not. He speaks to us the same word: 'Follow thou me' and sets us to the task which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is." (The Quest for the Historical Jesus, MacMillan, Pg. 403)
Schweitzer studied many of the world’s religions. His Reverence for Life philosophy, while certainly in line with Christian understandings, draws significantly on Hinduism.
There is a great deal more to Schweitzer, but our sermon today is not about him. These are just some highlights to give you a flavor of who he was. I want us to have a sense of him because I think he makes a great foil for two of the characters Jesus creates in the parables we read today.
First, we have the unjust judge in the Parable of the Unjust Judge and Widow. Jesus creates the character of this judge who has no regard for God or for humans. As we read in our first reading, judges were to hear the small and the great alike. They are not to be partial. And they should ultimately know that the judgment is God’s. So, this judge is missing all the key qualities necessary for his role!
While Jesus uses this character to illustrate that even a corrupt judge will give in to the persistence of the powerless widow - and thus we are to be persistent in prayer – Jesus is also using the theme of power and corruption, which he so often uses in his teachings. People who have power and a position tend to use them for their own ends.
From what I’ve told you about Schweitzer, I think you’d agree that he was an enormously talented person. He had international prominence. But he did not use his talents or position for his own personal gain. He was the opposite of this unjust judge. Schweitzer used his talents for the betterment of all. He not only worked in his African hospital, he also worked to help European nations end colonial rule in a way that gave the people the best chance for healthy and stable independence.
There is a story about Schweitzer that I picked up from a book by King Duncan. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but supposedly he was visiting a certain city, and dignitaries were awaiting him at the train station. Schweitzer was 6’ 4” so he was hard to miss. But he was not to be found among the first-class passengers. So they waited while the second-class passengers disembarked. Still no Schweitzer. Finally, they saw him coming out of the third-class area, carrying his own suitcase. “Why on earth do you travel third class?” they asked him. “Because there is no fourth-class!” he replied.
What is more widely attested is that when he was on the lecture tour in 1953 after winning the Nobel Peace Prize he arrived by train in Chicago. Reporters and officials gathered on the platform to greet him as he got off the train. Cameras flashed. City officials approached him with hands outstretched. Various people began telling him how honored they were to meet him.
Schweitzer politely thanked them and then, looking over their heads, asked if he could be excused for a moment. He quickly walked through the crowd until he reached the side of an elderly black woman who was struggling with two large suitcases. He picked up the bags and escorted the woman to a bus. After helping her aboard, he wished her a safe journey. As he returned to the greeting party he apologized, “Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
If there is truth to that story I’m sure Schweitzer’s humility was part of his strategy for the reverence of life. But still, he did not seek to be anything other than common.
In any event, let’s use that as a segue to the second parable – the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Consider the Pharisee’s prayer. How much more arrogance can a person have than to pray: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week I give a tenth of all my income”?
His prayer is all about him. At best we could say he’s thanking God for making him superior to others! But ultimately he considers himself to be substantially superior. He has contempt for the tax collector. Albert Schweitzer was one of the most widely talented human beings to ever live. But would he pray such a prayer? Would he even think, “God, thank you for making me so talented that I can help these poor ignorant Africans”? No, of course not! A person is a person. Period. Life is life. You see someone who needs a suitcase carried, and you can do it, so you do it. And that’s not patting yourself on the back for doing a good deed of humility. It is simply seeing the value of the other.
The Pharisee had enough religion to be virtuous but not enough to be humble. His religion drove him away from people, rather than towards them. The Pharisee distances himself from the tax collector and in so doing he distances himself from God.
The tax collector, probably considering himself weak in faith, ironically does have enough religion to be humble. He seeks love, grace, and acceptance; knowing deep inside himself there’s nothing in him that is superior to others.
Like every era, our society celebrates those who have extraordinary talent – movie stars, musicians, athletes, savvy business leaders, and politicians. I guess its unavoidable. This is Labor Day weekend – a time to raise up those who often get overlooked. For indeed, it is the laborer who makes things happen. It is the laborer whose work makes society what it is. Laborers are often those who get C’s and D’s in school. They’re the ones who didn’t get the trophies or the scholarships or the awards. They don’t get recognition dinners or public accolades. Yet they are the people everyone counts on. God sees and knows this value and the essential role they play.
Have a bit of Albert Schweitzer’s attitude with you as you celebrate Labor Day tomorrow. If you have or had a job in the labor force I say thank you. And if you did not, then take time to appreciate what countless unnamed laborers do for you. For me, it’s being aware of highway workers. I remember paving Route 15 near Duncannon, Pennsylvania. The concrete paving crew comprised over twenty individuals. They were a rough bunch. Almost all of them had felony records. But they all worked and worked hard. They took pride in their work. I haven’t driven on the section I was a part of paving for several years, but even when the pavement was nearly 20 years old, it was still smooth as glass. Every day thousands of people benefit from the enduring value of their labor. It is good that their work be recognized. It is the laborer who makes life possible for all those who consider themselves to be superior.
Jesus valued all people, whether the world called them talented or not.
Schweitzer’s Reverence for Life was something that seemed to flow from deep within him. He truly valued all living things. He saw himself as part of God’s great work and rejoiced in it. And he wanted all others to be able to do the same. Though none of us will probably ever accomplish anything along the lines of him, we are no less before God. And that is how Jesus would want us to see ourselves.
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