The Rev. Neale L. Miller

Sermon for November 9, 2009

Texts: Joshua 24:1-3a,14-25/Matthew 25:1-13

Title: “Not About Us”

              Now that the rhetoric machine has been shut down, at least until the next election cycle, it’s time for those newly elected, or newly re-elected, to convert the political promise into legislative deed. Inasmuch as our country is in the grips of a recession, with its byproducts, rising unemployment, home foreclosures, and eroding consumer confidence, those elected to conduct the nation’s business face an unenviable and weighty task. They need our prayers.

               The bill for the promises made during the election season is likely to come due sooner than later. Keep in mind that such was not a concern for the religious folk with whom Jesus repeatedly locked horns. You see, the Pharisees owed their position, not to an electorate that could vote them out, but to a long and well-established religious tradition in which they enjoyed an honored place.

              The Pharisee was a Jewish layman who distinguished himself by his piety and devoted adherence to the tenets of his faith and the religious law.  As to the law, if the Pharisee were a member of our federal judiciary today he would in all likelihood be counted among the strict constructionalists on the bench, insisting that every effort be made to rigorously uphold each principle our forefathers enumerated in our Constitution.     

              The Pharisee had his own Constitution, his own sacred document, a document hallowed by generations that preceded him. That document, mind you, started out quite small, the content easily recorded on a single tablet of clay.  That original document was cherished as a gift from God almighty himself. 

              The Ten Commandments, as the document came to be popularly known, helped shape the identity of the Jews in a very profound way, its very first line announcing, “You shall have no other God before me.” As we know, the God of the Jews is everywhere depicted throughout scripture as being a jealous God, making no concessions to those who might wish to divide their allegiance among other deities, and, as we also know, the Jew was greatly tempted to do just that.       

               Realizing that his people could very easily be overcome by temptation and be led astray, as scripture so tirelessly documents, God sent his prophets to remind his people that he would not tolerate their disobedience. “Jealous, tell them I am jealous.”  The people, of course, turned a deaf ear to God’s prophets.  “Jealous, tell them I am jealous.”  And the people turned a deaf ear. Well, not all the people.

            Some people listened.  They took God and his Ten Commandments very seriously, in fact, over time they added other laws, laws that addressed issues arising outside of the commandments per se, laws addressing issues such as personal cleanliness, sexuality, property, inheritance, obligations to servants and slaves.  Over several generations a very large body of law was generated.

               Even as the religious law gained a prominent standing in the life of the Jewish faith community, the Pharisees arose as a powerful community within the larger community. To their credit they recognized the importance of  the law and tradition in maintaining community spirit and discipline.  It must be acknowledged that the Pharisees made great contributions to their faith community. So how do we account for their largely negative portrayal in scripture?

                Scholars who have traced the rise of the Pharisees in the history of the Jews acknowledge that the Pharisees and Jesus had their differences, though many scholars agree that condemnations of the sort we see in this morning’s lesson, may not have come from Jesus but from the author of the gospel itself. Bottom line, the Pharisees, and their fellow travelers, the scribes, may have not fit so neatly into the mold that scripture so often creates for them.  That said, scholars do agree that many of the confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees did occur in some form or fashion.  Jesus was, from the Pharisees point of view, an outsider, non-conformist who failed to sufficiently respect the law and traditions.

                  Jesus was deemed a threat, if for no other reason than that he was attracting crowds, a source of jealousy for those who saw their own influence threatened. Moreover he did things that offended the Jewish law, things like healing on the Sabbath, disobeying dietary rules, associating with sinners, and preaching and teaching doctrine that, from the Pharisees’ point of view, was inflammatory.

                 Wait. We shouldn’t be too quick to condemn the Pharisees for reacting adversely to Jesus, for there were forces at work in the culture that made it difficult for the Jew to retain his religious identity.  The largely pagan culture over which their overlords, the Romans, ruled was unsympathetic to the Jew and his traditions, if not outright hostile. For their part the Romans were ever on the lookout to quash any uprising in the populace that might threaten their interests.  The Jew was tolerated so long as he did not cause trouble. Might, Jesus, a Jew, cause trouble, all Jews would pay the price, and that was something the Pharisees were not about to risk.

                  The tension between Jesus and his Pharisee counterparts is given great play in scripture, that tension expressed in Jesus’ denunciation of the Pharisees in our lesson from Matthew’s Gospel. Again, the caution. What Matthew gives us may not be the most accurate accounting of how Jesus conducted himself in this particular face off with the Pharisees.  In the charges of hypocrisy leveled at the Pharisees we may well be hearing more of Matthew than of Jesus, but be that as it may, Matthew IS sounding a theme that we hear from the lips of Jesus elsewhere in many places. He is addressing the important issue of religious authenticity.  “They tie [Pharisees] up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.”

                    Rhetoric, they talk a good game but there is no substance beyond talk. Rhetoric unsupported by some effort to match actions with words will get a political candidate voted out of office, but the Pharisee enjoyed an exemption from such measures, sort of like congressman William Jefferson. No, the Pharisee, guardian of the tradition, enjoyed respect and privileged standing. When Jesus arrived on the scene and began to attract large crowds, however, the Pharisee began to see the authority he commanded, along with respect and privileged standing, erode.     

                 Authority of the type that Jesus commanded is difficult to define in that it is not conferred as a result of rank or status.  Jesus operated outside of the structures through which the Pharisee or other community leaders earned their standing.  A Galilean of humble birth, uncredentialed as far as the synagogue was concerned, uncredentialed for a status position in society, for that matter, Jesus was an anomaly. Yet people sought him out. 

                Authority, they said he had authority, no, not authority such as the scribes and Pharisees possessed, or our elected officials possess by virtue of their office.  It was authority of words that lodge in the heart, of a mere touch that heals, of a vision that inspires hope.  Authority, they said Jesus had authority, but it was not authority he took measures to obtain, authority by which he might shame his critics or win earn special treatment.  Jesus’ authority was conferred on him through his actions, not through the privilege of status or power grabs.

                It matters not whether the Pharisees were the hypocrites our lesson labels them to be, men who “love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,” who “do not practice what they teach.” Scripture tells us that the reputation of the Pharisees was largely built on their adherence to the tradition of the elders more so  than their commitment to the God to whom Jesus sought to reintroduce them.     

                   The Pharisees we meet in the Bible ultimately sacrificed much of the authority they possessed as spiritual leaders of the Jews because they preferred the perks and privileges that their status in the synagogue afforded them over the kind of genuine relationship with God that Jesus offered.

                  Perks and privileges, as our most recent crisis in the financial markets demonstrates, can fog judgment and prompt bad, even tragic, decisions. When I, disregarding the interests of others, make my position, my prosperity, my comfort, my reputation paramount, bad things very often happen. Absent a countervailing influence in life that prompts me to think beyond my personal interests, aspirations, and comfort, I am likely to do anything to preserve my self-interests.  Absent a countervailing influence in life that prompts me to think beyond my personal interests, aspirations, and comfort, life reverts to a contest for power and property.

                Let’s not blindly condemn the Pharisees for exposing behaviors commonly observed among us today. The Pharisees were religious insiders who knew the rules of the game and played by the rules of the game. They positioned themselves so that their good deeds could be seen by others. They attended to the religious rituals of their tradition with great care. Accustomed to being praised for their piety and the deference shown them by others, can you blame them for their swagger?

               The Pharisees, however, who once served the tradition were later served by the tradition.  Their ardor to serve God was compromised by their all too human ambition to establish themselves. Their focus strayed from God of the tradition to the religious tradition itself.

                Jesus arrived on the scene that people like the Pharisees, people like us, might be rightly focused. His message to the Pharisees?  In just one sentence that message was, “it is not about you.” Not about your status, your personal prerogatives, or your personal comfort. 

                  No, the Pharisees were pious.  They honored God with their preaching, teaching, and rituals.  They strove to obey the religious laws. They tithed. They cared for the poor, the widow, and the orphan. The Pharisees did a lot of things right and they accepted a lot of praise for doing things right, but when all was said and done they took too much comfort in being right, so much comfort that they ultimately forgot whom their righteous deeds were honoring.

                   “It is not about you,” Jesus declared to the Pharisees. To further press the point on another occasion he is heard quoting one of Israel’s great prophets, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.” It was just such behavior that Jesus confronted again and again from those who represented the religious establishment.

                  “It is not about you.” That declaration transcends the particular circumstances pertaining in Jesus’ day. The church is guilty of making it about us.  We cleave to our traditions in worship and music.  We cleave to our petty prejudices, selectively editing out anything we might read in the Bible or hear from pulpit that might prove offensive. We crave the comforting assurance that even though the world might change the church won’t change.  This is my space, this is what I value.  Don’t change a thing.

               The Protestant church broke from the Catholic church, a church mired in traditions and protocols that primarily served the clergy and the well connected while paying lip service to God. We Protestants at the time declared that we were a church “reformed, always being reformed,” but time and time we have resisted change, even when it is apparent that change is the only thing that will save us.

              “It is not about us.”  But we make it about us.  In our insistence that the church be our servant, instead of us being servants of the church, we exalt ourselves, placing our tastes, preferences, and prejudices above other considerations, even what the Spirit may be trying to lead us elsewhere. 

              “It is not about us.”  But we have made it about us.  We bicker and fight at the drop of the hat over issue after issue that has little to do with the great ends the church was commissioned to serve. So little do our ways of conducting ourselves differ from the world around us, we simply do not make a case for why those outside the church would wish to enter the church. I can imagine that Jesus weeps over the opportunities we squander. 

              “It is not about us.”  But we have made it about us.  It is up to us, friends, to decide how long we will continue to make it about us, before the us disappears. Reforming energies have been released in the church as a whole, they are being released in this church.  I pray that those energies will capture your imaginations, and all who visit here, to that end that we may become the servant community we were called to be.

PRAYER

               “Where two or three are gathered,” O Christ, you pledge to be present, and so we gather in your presence this morning to focus our minds on divine things. May your Spirit guide all that we do here that what we do here may bring honor to your holy name.  Open those parts of us that are closed to your presence, that nothing within us may prevent your access. Where our minds are clouded in confusion, be present to disperse those clouds.  When in our guilt, O Christ, we seek to conceal ourselves from your sight, grant us the courage to confess and seek your forgiveness.

                The presidential election now behind us, we ask your blessing upon our president elect, Barak Obama.  Much work lies ahead as he and his staff plan to assume our nation’s highest office. Strengthen him for the rigors the work demands.  May he consult widely and plan wisely as he lays the foundation for the presidency.  May those he chooses to work with him be equal to the task, and may plans laid today bear abundant fruit tomorrow.

We give thanks for John McCain and the energies he committed in his quest for the presidency.  A patriot who has made great sacrifice on behalf of our nation, O God, a man who will exert great influence in shaping the legislation that will emerge from the next Congress, may his commitment to work with the president-elect inspire his colleagues in Congress to do the same.

                Lord, the country looks ahead to the future acknowledging the great challenges that lie ahead for us. Impatient for change, O God, let us not in our desire to see change occur, condemn those we have elected when change does not occur fast enough to suit us. From snap judgments and erroneous assumptions guard us that we may not be agents of discord. 

               Lord, we pray for the nations of the world, and for those nations where the economic downturn has been experienced with particular force. We pray for those who have no food, no shelter, no real prospects that might give them hope. Abide with those in our own country who have forced to choose between food on the table and life saving medication.  Abide with those who have lost their homes, their jobs, and in the process their self-worth. We pray for children, particularly those who are too young to comprehend the pressure their parents are facing. Brace those who have abandoned hope, and in their desperation have no where to turn.

               Lord, we pray that this economic crisis that grips the world soon end, praying for signs of hope to sustain those who have surrendered hope.  Grant wisdom to the economists who advise government leaders, and all those charged to implement government policy.

                O God, free our minds and animate our spirits that we may be the church in deed as well as in name. Forgive us for our pettiness, our disposition to satisfy our own needs before asking what we might do for others.  As a servant you came to earth, O Christ, rejecting opportunities that would have elevated you to king.  You call us to be servants, yet we often shun that vocation as being beneath us. Lord, in your mercy, forgive us our sins, forgive us for repeatedly turning back when you ask us to move forward.

              Living God, attend those with special needs this day.  We pray for Mary Ann, Rudy, Pam, Holly Wilson, Kay Perrin, Francis Pilet, Jean Marie’s family...