These illustrations are based on Luke 14:1, 7-14
___________________________________
Sermon Opener - How To Stay Humble In a Haughty World - Luke 14:1, 7-14
Coach Shug Jordan at Auburn University asked his former Linebacker Mike Kollin, who was then playing for the Miami Dolphins, if he would help his alma mater do some recruiting.
Mike said, "Sure, coach. What kind of player are you looking for?" The coach said, "Well Mike, you know there's that fellow, you knock him down, he just stays down?" Mike said, "We don't want him, do we, coach?"
"No, that's right. Then there's that fellow, you knock him down and he gets up, you knock him down again and he stays down." Mike said, "We don't want him either do we coach?"
Coach said, "No, but Mike, there's a fellow, you knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up."
Mike said, "That's the guy we want isn't it, coach?" The coach answered, "No, Mike, we don't want him either. I want you to find the guy who's knocking everybody down. That's the guy we want."
That's the guy we want to be seen with! That we want to invite to our dinners and social gatherings because deeply it is the kind of people we want to be. We don't want to be seen with the guys who are always being knocked down--the poor, crippled, the lame, the blind. But these are the very people, as we shall soon see, that we are encouraged to associate with.
Look with me as we examine Jesus' story about a party. As the guests arrive they are quickly grabbing the front row seats--the places of honor. Assuming they are the most important guest, they will soon be embarrassed, Jesus says, by someone more distinguished. They will be asked to get up and move to the end of the table. They will be dishonored before all.
How do we avoid humiliation? How do you stay humble in a haughty world? There are two things that we must do...
_________________________________
A Poor Banquet - Luke 14:1, 7-14
At first glance the advice Jesus gave on taking a spot at a banquet seemed to just be common sense. Society was very regimented and social standing was incredibly important. One who was more “important” than another person would receive a better seat at a banquet. Class A celebrities got to sit closer to the host than class B celebrities. Even if the celebrity status was based on the number of sheep in their flock.
So when Jesus told folks they should take a seat of inferior status so they would not get bumped down and embarrassed, it sounded like just smart, social maneuvering. No one wants to end up red-faced because they are being demoted publicly. And who wouldn’t want to be singled out by the host and brought up to a higher seat? That Jesus is a pretty shrewd operator, it would seem.
The truth is Jesus is more shrewd than we may give him credit for in this teaching. In a society where people are looking to place themselves above others, Jesus is getting them to think about who they are below instead of who they are above. Now, instead of saying, “I am better than this person so I can sit farther up front than they are sitting,” they begin to say, “I might not be as cool as this person, I better sit behind them.” What a difference in attitude Jesus is calling us to take.
And if the host is busy and most of us are not as important as we think we are, it is possible that even if we sit farther back than we need to sit, the host might not notice or have the time to move us. Or we may not be important enough for him to bother with us! So all we can conclude is that perhaps we were right in placing ourselves where we did. We really are not more important than that person. Whatever the case, it teaches us to approach the situation with a whole new attitude….
___________________
The True Marks of Success
A hundred years ago, Ralph Waldo Emerson noted three qualities he deemed marks of true "success": the ability to discern and appreciate beauty, the ability to see the best in others, and a commitment to leaving the world a better place. Notice that Emerson does not say that success comes in having the best seat at the table, acquiring more material possessions, or in belonging to the best clubs. Emerson contends that success comes with appreciating God's world, developing loving relationships with God's people, and with working to improve God's world. Jesus would agree heartily.
In fact, our scripture lesson for today ends with a wonderful suggestion of how to work to make the world a better place. Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind to dinner. They are all members of your family. Just think how much richer your table talk will be if you don't just associate with your business associates and closest relatives. Remember around the table such wonderful things happen. Invite everyone to the table. They are all members of the extended family.
R. Robert Cueni, Sermons on the Gospel Readings, Series I, Cycle C, CSS Publishing Company
____________________________
They Could Not See Him
The Pharisees and other leaders closely watched Jesus but they could not see his meaning. They could not see the issues as Jesus saw them, so they set themselves against him rather than making an alliance with him. They were so hung up on rules, laws and ceremonies, that they missed the heart of faith: God’s forgiving love that frees one to live as son or daughter of God.
It’s similar to the musical genius of Johann Sebastian Bach. We know him to be among the musical masters of all time. But it was not so for his contemporaries. The parishioners at St. Thomas Church often complained about the strange and innovative music that Bach wrote for the choir and organ each Sunday. They didn’t know what a gifted musician was in their midst. After his death, the music of Bach was seldom performed until Felix Mendelssohn began a revival of appreciation that has lasted into our own time. So the people of Bach’s time watched him, but they didn’t see him.
I would insist that we have a good understanding of Jesus and what he was about but I don't think we have great insight. Christians today must be careful in their confidence. We can know that we are saved but we never know if our behavior is completely acceptable. We watch Jesus, but we do not see him. We are acquainted with him, but his rich meaning is not yet part of our lives. Occasionally we confess this when we sing in worship:
Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
We watch and pray that we might see.
Wallace H. Kirby, If Only..., CSS Publishing Company. Adapted.
__________________
You Are Still a Rat
The comedienne Lily Tomlin once said, "The trouble with the rat-race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." In verse 11, Jesus put it his way, "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted." At his table the first are last, and the last first.
Mickey Anders, Manners
___________________________________
Lowly Sinners, Everyone
I like the story historians tell about the funeral of Charlemagne. Charlemagne was the greatest Christian ruler of the early Middle Ages. After his death a mighty funeral procession left his castle for the cathedral at Aix. When the royal casket arrived, with a lot of pomp and circumstance, it was met by the local bishop, who barred the cathedral door.
"Who comes?" the Bishop asked, as was the custom.
"Charlemagne, Lord and King of the Holy Roman Empire," proclaimed the Emperor's proud herald.
"Him I know not," the Bishop replied. "Who comes?"
The herald, a bit shaken, replied, "Charles the Great, a good and honest man of the earth."
"Him I know not," the Bishop said again. "Who comes?"
The herald, now completely crushed, responded, "Charles, a lowly sinner, who begs the gift of Christ."
To which the Bishop, Christ's representative, responded, "Enter! Receive Christ's gift of life!"
The point, of course, is that in God's eyes, we're all equally needy. Charlemagne, Mother Teresa, you and me. None of us will ever be "good enough" to force entrance into the presence of God.
Alex Gondola, Jr., Come As You Are, CSS Publishing Company
__________________
Success that Counts
Mother Teresa was once asked, "How do you measure the success of your work?" She thought about the question and gave her interviewer a puzzled look, and said, "I don't remember that the Lord ever spoke of success. He spoke only of faithfulness in love. This is the only success that really counts."
Brett Blair,www.Sermons.com
__________________
A Surprise Party
It's like the story of a small lad whose mother, unknown to him, planned a surprise birthday party. After he got home, he went upstairs to his room. Then all his classmates and teachers gathered in the living room. When his mother went to his room to get him, he was gone. He had climbed down a tree outside his window and was hiding in a nearby park. The rest of the children went on to enjoy a good time, but Johnny never turned up. When he came in for supper his mother asked where he had been; he had missed a wonderful time, planned just for him. He tearfully confessed he had heard her call but hid until suppertime because he thought she had a chore for him to do!
How sad - for him and for us if we make the same mistake. There is a party being prepared. The guest list is all inclusive. No matter how many parties we have missed in this world, we don’t have to miss out on this party. The One who throws this party is all loving, all gracious, all generous. We are invited even though there is nothing in this world we can do to repay our host. All that is asked is that we accept the invitation.
Eric S. Ritz, The Ritz Collection,www.Sermons.com
____________________________
The Church Is Like a Hospital
There was a minister who had a favorite slogan that he often repeated in his sermons. He said, "The church is not like a country club; it's more like a hospital." That's what Jesus was saying here when he gave us the direction, "... do not invite your friends ... or your rich neighbors ... invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind...." You and I are not in the church to impress one another or to win power struggles; we are here to minister to one another in our weaknesses. We are here to be hospitable.
Richard W. Patt, All Stirred Up, CSS Publishing
_______________________
The Pastor's Parking Space
Maybe you've heard the humorous story about the pastor who was having difficulty with his assigned parking space on the church parking lot. People parked in his spot whenever they pleased, even though there was a sign that clearly said, "This space reserved." He thought the sign needed to be clearer, so he had a different sign made, which read, "Reserved for Pastor Only." Still people ignored it and parked in his space whenever they felt like it. "Maybe the sign should be more forceful," he thought. So he devised a more intimidating one, which announced, "Thou shalt not park here." That sign didn't make any difference either. Finally, he hit upon the words that worked; in fact, nobody ever took his parking place again. The sign read, "The one who parks here preaches the sermon on Sunday morning!"
I tell you this story because most of you would probably hedge at the prospect of such a ministry: preaching the sermon on a Sunday morning. You would probably feel uncomfortable about doing that because of a lack of experience and training. But what, then, is your ministry? The Gospel reading here, as well as the other two readings selected for this Sunday, set before us a vision of a common ministry that all of us can be a part of. I would call it something like "a ministry of hospitality."
Richard W. Patt, All Stirred Up, CSS Publishing
_________________________________________
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS NOT IN OUR EMAIL
_________________________________________
Character Approved: Stand Up or Stand Out? - Luke 14:1, 7-14
August is county fair time. Hooray!
Who doesn’t like a county fair?
Yes, we are sophisticated, urbane, high-tech people. But there is something about a good old-fashioned county fair that is like catnip. County fairs still draw us to our local fairgrounds like cotton candy draws us to paper cones.
Who can resist taking just one ride on the Ferris wheel? Who can resist eating deep-fried something (this summer’s new something -- hamburger with a deep fried doughnut for its bun!). Who can resist walking through smelly barns full of prize winning farm animals? Who can resist drooling over champion pies?
County fair prize winners among the livestock are decided along the lines of type and breed. There is the best Hereford, and there is also the best Charolais — even though they are both cows. But there is no competition for “Best Animal” or “Best of Show” that pits different species against each other.
Dog shows are different. Okay, strictly-speaking a dog show is about one species. But human beings have spent so many centuries messing around with the canine gene pool that the difference between some breeds is astronomical. How do you compare a Chihuahua with a Newfoundland. Or a Pekinese with a Pit Bull? Yet in dog shows, after a champion has been crowned in each breed, the next competition is to find the best dog in each “Group” — herding, working, sporting, toy, and the group that we’d all like to be in, the “non working.” After a winner has been picked from each of these groups, they compete in the coveted “Best of Show.”
It is in the “Best of Show” show-down that the judges really seem to be judging apples against oranges. And yet they are not. In each stage of a dog-show competition, each pooch a judge examines is held up to the standards established for its own breed. So even though in the “Best of Show” assembly a Scottie might be competing against a Samoyed, the Scottie is being judged only according to Scottish Terrier standards. The “Best in Show” winner is the dog that best embodies the ideal of its own breed, the dog that is truest to type, the dog that best embodies the essence of itself.
This is so different from the winner of a horse race, or a dog race. The standards of “best” are completely different. The best horse in a horse race is easy to tell: it’s the first horse across the finish line. The best greyhound in a greyhound race is easy to tell: it’s the first dog to cross the finish line. It’s not so easy to figure out what dog will be the “Best in Show.”
Unfortunately most of our culture is based on the horse race model of “best” and not the “best of show” model of “best.” The “best” has become the richest, the most exclusive, the biggest, the fastest, the most famous (for whatever reason). The “success” of bad-behaving reality-stars proves one thing: In a celebrity culture, it doesn’t matter what you stand for as long as you stand out.
Being “the best” in the first century meant playing a skillful game of patronage and power. Virtually every relationship was played out with the same self-promoting intentionality and intensity as a twenty-first century political fund-raising dinner. Everyone who buys a place at a $500/plate fund-raiser for a political candidate knows they were not invited to attend because of their table manners or table skills. The candidate knows that those who buy a ticket eventually expect to get more for their money than rubber chicken.
Likewise the banquet Jesus attends in today’s gospel text is far more than an ordinary Sabbath supper…
______________________
"The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve."
Albert Schweitzer
____________________________
Good Table Manners
As we come to the Lord's Table, we're all sinners in need of salvation, beggars needing bread. We are "the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind." Yet God graciously includes us as guests at his Table. Good communion table manners include coming to the table without thinking too much of ourselves.
Good communion table manners include coming without looking down on any other guest, for all of us are God's equally beloved guests. King George IV desired Communion and sent a servant to bring the Bishop of Winchester. When the servant arrived with the Bishop, the King was angry. He felt his servant had taken too long. The King upbraided the man and fired him on the spot.
Having done that, he turned to the Bishop for Communion. But the Bishop refused to proceed. He saw that the King was still angry. Realizing the Bishop was right, the King called for his servant, apologized, and restored the man's job. Only then could Communion proceed. Part of good table manners is extending graciousness to the other guests. As we have been forgiven and welcomed by God, let us forgive and welcome each other.
Alex Gondola, Jr., Come As You Are, CSS Publishing Company
__________________
Mind Your Manners
I heard it when I was growing up. Didn't you? I was getting ready to go to a birthday party, to a cousin's house, or to a Sunday School event. The last thing I heard at the door as I was leaving was this: Mind your manners!
I knew what it meant. It meant that I should behave myself at the party in ways I was taught at home. It meant that I should act in ways that would not embarrass myself, hurt other people, or bring disgrace on our family. Manners were important because values were important. The way we behaved toward other people showed our values. If we valued family, friends, and our relationship to others, we would act in ways that were respectful, courteous, mannerly.
In the Gospel lesson for today, Jesus was the dinner guest in the house of a religious leader. The host and the guests were watching what went on. Jesus observed the manners that were being practiced there at the meal and he saw the values that were being played out. Jesus interrupted the party to do some teaching about values and manners. He taught about values that belonged to the kingdom of God and said to all in the house: Mind your manners!
Roger Van Harn, Mind Your Manners
__________________________
We Are All Watchers
We are all watchers but few of us are seers. Many watched the birds fly, but it was the Wright brothers who saw that their wings were curved on the upper surface, thus enabling us to fly, too. Many had seen the lowly peanut plant, but Dr. George Washington Carver saw in it a host of products and derivatives that have blessed our lives. Many biologists had watched mold form in the culture dish, but Alexander Fleming saw penicillin and an advance in human health resulted.
Wallace H. Kirby, If Only..., CSS Publishing Company,
__________________
Soup Like Bread and Wine
I love Fred Craddock stories and I haven't told you one in a long time. So here goes.
A few years back, Fred was invited to lead some kind of preaching mission in Winnipeg (Friday night ... Saturday morning ... Saturday evening ... twice on Sunday ... you know the drill). When he finished Friday night, he noticed that it was spitting snow. His host told him not to worry, given that it was only mid-October. "Good," said Fred, "because all I brought from Atlanta was this little, thin jacket."
Fred went to bed. But when he got up the next morning, he couldn't open the door for all the white stuff that was piled against it. Snow driving. Wind howling. Temperature falling. Phone ringing. It was the host calling Fred's motel room.
I hate to tell you this, but we're going to have to cancel this morning's session. Can't tell about the evening. But things look pretty bad. Nobody saw this coming. City's not ready. Plows, not ready. Crews, not ready. Nothing's ready. Worse yet, nothing's open. In fact, I'm stuck in my driveway, meaning that I can't come down to fetch you. So I don't know what you are going to do about breakfast. But I do have an idea. If you can make it out of your room, walk down to the corner ... turn right ... go one block ... turn right again ... and you should be standing within shouting distance of the bus station. There's a little cafe in there. And if any place is gonna be open, it's gonna be open.
So Fred curses his luck, zips up his jacket, busts out his door, and goes in search of the little cafe. Two rights. Bus station. There it is. Wonder of wonders, it's open. But it's also crowded. It seems as if every stranded soul in the universe is crammed inside.
There is no place to sit. But some guy slides down the bench and makes room for Fred to squeeze in. Waiter comes over ... big burly guy ... non-shaven ... wearing half the kitchen on his apron. "Whatcha want?" he snarls. "Can I see a menu?" Fred asks. "Don't need no menu," the waiter answers. "Didn't get no deliveries this morning. All we got is soup." "Well then," says Fred, "soup it is. I like a little breakfast soup from time to time."
So the soup comes in a rather tallish mug. Looks awful. Shade of mousey gray.Fred half-wonders if that's what it could be ... cream of mouse. So he doesn't eat it. But he does use the mug as a stove ... cupping his fingers around it ... warming them on it.
Which is when the door opens once more. Wind howls. Cold surges. "Shut the blankety-blank door," someone shouts. Lady enters. Thin coat. No hat. Ice crystals in her hair and eyebrows. Maybe 40. Painfully skinny. Men slide over to make room for her at another table.
"Whatcha want?" shouts the guy with the greasy apron. "I'll just have a glass of water," she answers. "Look lady," he says. "We're crowded in here. We don't give no glasses of water. Either you order something or you leave."
Well, it quickly becomes apparent that she isn't able to buy something. So she rebuttons her coat and commences to leave. Whereupon a funny thing happens. One by one, everybody at her table gets up to leave, too. Followed by others ... at other tables. Even Fred (who still hasn't touched his soup) gets up to leave.
"All right ... all right," says the soup master. "She can stay." And he brings her a bowl of soup. With order restored, Fred turns to his table mate and says: "Who is she? She must be somebody important." To which the guy says: "Never saw her before in my life. But I kinda figure if she's not welcome, ain't nobody welcome."
Which pretty much settled the matter, to the point where all you could hear (for the next few minutes) were soup spoons clinking against the sides of the mugs. Even Fred broke down and ate his soup. Which wasn't half bad, really. Some might even call it tasty.
Later on, he still couldn't make out the taste ... but he felt as if he'd had it before. But what was it? He couldn't remember. For the life of him, he couldn't remember. Then it hit him. Strangest thing, really. That cream of mouse soup tasted, for all the world, like bread and wine. That was it ... for all the world like bread and wine.
William A. Ritter, quoting Fred Craddock, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com
________________________________________
To The Unknown God
Taylor Caldwell, in her book about Luke, Dear and Glorious Physician, tells how the gospel writer as a young boy sat near the window of his girlfriend, the daughter of a Roman tribune. Luke, in the story, a freed slave's son, really had no business in the courtyard of the tribune, no matter how he felt about his daughter.
As he stood there, leaning on a fountain in the courtyard, gazing toward the window of her room, he held in his hand a small, smooth stone. When the tribune noticed the boy he blurted out, "It is you, Lucanus!" The boy did not move. He did not move. He did not leap to his feet out of fear or respect. He simply sat there gazing, the stone in his hands. Finally he looked to the tribune and said, "I was praying for Rubria."
"You are praying for her? Well, she needs your prayers," said her father. "To what God did you pray?"
The boy replied softly, "To the unknown God."
When this fierce and ruddy Roman tribune surprised the small boy in his garden, the boy did not run away. Nor did he fold up like an armadillo and say nothing. He looked that giant of a man in the face and said clearly, "I am praying for your daughter." The young boy did not hold his peace.
John G. Lynn, Trouble Journey, CSS Publishing.
_______________________
Identifying With the Poor
9 Steps to Third World Living
First, take out the furniture: leave a few old blankets, a kitchen table, maybe a wooden chair. You've never had a bed, remember?
Second, throw out your clothes. Each person in the family may keep the oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. The head of the family has the only pair of shoes.
Third, all kitchen appliances have vanished. Keep a box of matches, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a handful of onions, a dish of dried beans. Rescue the moldy potatoes from the garbage can: those are tonight's meal.
Fourth, dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, take out the wiring and the lights and everything that runs by electricity.
Fifth, take away the house and move the family into the tool shed.
Sixth, no more postman, fireman, government services. The two-classroom school is three miles away, but only two of your seven children attend anyway, and they walk.
Seventh, throw out your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, insurance policies. You now have a cash hoard of $5.
Eighth, get out and start cultivating your three acres. Try hard to raise $300 in cash crops because your landlord wants one third and your moneylender 10 percent.
Ninth, find some way for your children to bring in a little extra money so you have something to eat most days. But it won't be enough to keep bodies healthy--so lop off 25 to 30 years of life.
Adbusters (Winter, 1998) (Poverty, Third World)
__________________
What Do You Think?
A seminary professor once said the worst students were those who never asked any questions. He never knew where they stood on anything. After a while he began to realize they were afraid of what they thought and what they felt. They did not want their thoughts or feelings out in the marketplace with other people so they held their peace. Their fear eventually turned into hostility and hatred for their professor, especially when he asked them this question: "I know what other people think about this, but what do you think?"
John G. Lynn, Trouble Journey, CSS Publishing
_____________________
Servant Morality vs Master Morality
Freidrich Nietzsche drew the distinction between a servant morality and a master morality with disturbing clarity. A servant morality adopts values and follows a morality which is imposed upon us by others. It negates the self. A master morality, on the other hand, sees the self as the creator of both values and morality. It, therefore, affirms the self. Nietzsche saw religion as the great espouser of servant morality because it portrayed values and morals as absolutes given by God. He contended that to be fully human is to realize that morality is something we create. Values are not hung "out there" like stars in the sky. We are the ones who do the valuing. The clues to ethical behavior come from within ourselves and are not prescribed for us by some external authority. Values are neither objective nor carved in stone despite the claims of the church. Instead, they come from an internal gyroscope that guides the course of our lives.
W. Robert McClelland, Fire in the Hole, CSS Publishing Co.
___________________________
All of God's Chillun Got Shoes
During the dark days of slavery in this country, Blacks worked in the cotton fields stripped of their dignity, naked to the waist, and barefoot in the dirt. But the human spirit refuses to be broken. From deep within the Black psyche rose that rebellion spawned by Christian faith and expressed in the music of the soul; the Negro spirituals. In them the note of human dignity is never far from the praise of God.
I got shoes, you got shoes, All of God's chillun got shoes. When I get to heav'n, gonna put on my shoes. I'm gonna walk all over God's heav'n.
What does it mean to sit in the seats of honor at the kingdom table? It means dropping a barefooted slave mentality! It means putting on our heavenly shoes, and walking all over God's heaven and God's good earth, as well. To be an honored guest at the feast of the Lord is to value oneself ultimately.
W. Robert McClelland, Fire in the Hole, CSS Publishing Co.
_______________________
The Sin of Silence
I wonder if there is a greater condemnation in the Bible. When asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” these men kept silent.
To stand silent when the power to heal is within reach; that is sin. They knew Jesus could heal, that wasn’t the question. The question was whether he would heal on the Sabbath! They stay silent when all they had to do was say, “Please, heal the poor man!”
In like manner, our communities have the ability to empty our jails of crime, our shelters of the abused, our rest homes of the lonely and our streets of hopelessness. Our world could beat hunger, fight AIDS, educate its masses and so much more; but we lack the commitment. Perhaps, we should say; we lack the committed! Too many are silent, too many are critics. We need to pray for laborers in the harvest. We need to pick up a scythe.
Lord, do not let silence be my sin. Let me be a voice for the silent and an advocate of the disenfranchised.
Jerry Goebel, The Resurrection of the Righteous
_______________________________________
Charging at the Starting Line
Where I grew up, unlimited hydroplane racing was a very popular sport. The Gold Cup races often took place on Lake Washington. How well I can remember boats like Slo Mo IV and Slo Mo V. The boats could cross the starting line at the sound of the starting gun. They were allowed to have a “flying start,” which meant that they would all mill about the lake, a good distance away, and then begin to charge the starting line at about 160 miles per hour. The first boat across the starting line (sometimes their timing was off and they crossed too soon and were disqualified) had the distinct advantage. For one thing, it could leave the rest of the boats not only in its wake, but also under its rooster tail of water, which made visibility difficult, and sometimes drowned out engines.
I like to think of the meal scene where Jesus was present as something like the jockeying for position that took place in the Gold Cup races. Can you imagine the humorous antics which Jesus must have observed as all the guests tried their own techniques at getting to sit in the best seats? It was nearly time to eat. The guests would soon be seated. Everyone began milling about, just happening to be standing beside a chair of honor. How subtle it was all supposed to be. Jesus saw it all, and spoke to it.
Bob Deffinbaugh, Table Talk
____________________________________
When Bullies Take Hold
Sometime ago, I received an article by William Easum entitled, "On Not Being Nice for the Sake of the Gospel." He begins by writing:
Throughout my consulting ministry, I have seen a disturbing pattern: Most established churches are held hostage by bullies. Some individual or small group of individuals usually opposes the church's making any radical change, even if it means the change would give the church a chance to thrive again.
Later on he makes this statement with boldface:
I'm convinced that one of the main sins of the Church is that we have taught ourselves to be nice instead of Christian. In spite of aspiring to be Jesus' disciples, we teach that the essence of Christianity is to be nice.
Near the end he states:
One of the basic lessons I'm learning as a consultant: Before renewal begins in a church or denomination, normally someone has to leave or be denied. Almost every time a dying church attempts to thrive once again, someone tries to bully the leaders out of the attempt. And almost every time a turn-around takes place, such persons are lost along the way because they are no longer allowed to get their way. When they can't get their way, they leave. Not even Jesus got through the journey with all of the Disciples. Why should we expect to?
Of course, we should not set out to intimidate the bully or to kick people out of the church. But a strong response means that we care enough about the future of our church not to allow anyone to stifle its ability to liberate people from bondage or victimization. It also means that we care enough about the bully that we will not allow him or her to intimidate the church, because we know the spiritual vitality of both the bully and the church is at stake.
I quote from him because I often think that "being humble" is similar to his description of "being nice." Humility becomes being passive. Letting others walk all over us. Jesus shows by his life that being humble didn't mean being passive, but, when necessary, it meant taking out the whip and driving the self-centered bullies out of the temple.
Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes
______________________________________
God's Banquet Feast
Martin Copenhaver, Pastor of the Wellesley Congregational Church, offers a vision of what God's Banquet Feast might be like:
When God is throwing a party, you never know who will be there or whom you will sit next to. The financier will be seated next to the panhandler he always passed on his way to work. The store owner will be next to the person he just fired, and the doctor will be put next to the woman who just sued him for malpractice. Rush Limbaugh may be beside Dick Gephardt. A prostitute will sit next to the Pope.
All the "right" people will be there -- that is everyone who responds to God's invitation ... and seated next to the host (Jesus) in the places of honor are not the dignitaries, the celebrities, the distinguished people of position and prominence, but rather the poor, the hurting, the outcast -- people who have distinguished themselves only by their need." (Library of Distinctive Sermons, vol. 2, Multnomah Press, p. 48)
I might add to Copenhaver's vision that at that Banquet Feast, everyone will get along famously. And that at that Banquet Feast, you and I may well find ourselves seated next to, and engaging in conversation with, people we presently can't stand (or who can't stand us). But the old anger, hurt, and grudges will be gone, and reconciliation will come. At God's Table, the barriers that keep people apart -- rich/poor, upperclass/lowerclass, black/white, Republican/Democrat, gay/straight, friend/foe, the dividing walls of hostility will come smashing down. The crash will be greater than the fall of the Berlin Wall. God's Banquet Feast will be the most remarkable party ever thrown!
Alex Gondola, Jr., Come As You Are, CSS Publishing Company. Adapted by Brett Blair.
___________________
The Gold Pin
A man had a gold-plated safety pin which he carried in his pocket. Frequently he would be seen fingering it. Someone asked him one day what the significance of the pin was. He told, in answer, how he had run away from a fine home, mixed with the wrong crowd, gone from one trouble to another, finally ending in poverty and degradation. He had sold his overcoat to get money for liquor, and on a cold winter night he had his sweater pinned together with that safety pin. He walked into a mission to keep warm, and there the Lord Jesus Christ found him. After he came to know the Lord he started a new life. It brought him many successes and material possessions. He had that pin gold plated to remind him of what he once had been before he knew the Lord. The feel of that pin forever robbed him of any thoughts of pride or conceit over what he had accomplished. His own strength had left him desolate and dissolute. He knew what the redemptive grace of Jesus had done.
Carveth Mitchell, The Sign in the Subway, CSS Publishing Company.
________________________
Good Manners
Ethel Barrymore, the great stage and screen actress, was a stickler for good manners. She once invited a younger actress to a dinner party at her home. But the young lady never appeared. She didn't even bother to offer an excuse or make an apology. She just didn't show up. Several days later Ethel Barrymore and the young lady met by chance at a museum. Embarrassed, the younger actress began, "Miss Barrymore, I believe I was invited to your house last Thursday evening for dinner." To which Ethel Barrymore responded coolly, "Yes, I believe I did invite you. Were you there?" (The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, Clifton Fadiman, editor, Little, Brown and Company, p. 40).
Alex Gondola, Jr., Come As You Are, CSS Publishing Company
_____________________________
A Careful Separation
Many years ago, a little girl named Sarah lived in a home for unwed mothers. She was not one of the clients; her mother was the cook there. Sarah had grown up in the home, and was the special pet of all the girls who came there. One day, a new girl, young and pregnant had come to the home. As she sat on the bench, waiting for her intake interview with the director, she wept. Sarah, now about twelve or thirteen years old, had seen many girls come and go by then, and she knew most all of them had the same look of despair when they arrived. Sarah took pity on the girl, who was not far from her own age. She began talking, and as she did, the girl stopped crying. Then Sarah began to offer some advice on how to answer the standard questions, particularly the one about the father of the baby, “When she asks you who the father is, don’t lie, she hates it when you lie, and, what ever you do, don’t say he’s dead, everyone says he’s dead.” The girl looked at
Sarah, and much to her surprise, asked her, “So what did you say when she asked you?”
Sarah froze; she was horrified that the girl had mistaken her for one of them. She loved and cared for those girls, but in her mind there had always been a careful separation between them and her. She could love and support them, but she could not be one of them. That, I guess is the difference between God’s hospitality and ours. God chose to be us. “Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” (Phil. 2:5b-7)
Julie Riley, untitled sermon
______________________
They Watched Him
These "watching" people hoped that they could discredit Jesus so that his influence would falter. They watched, hoping that he might say the wrong word like politicians, whose careless words are used against them. They watched, perhaps thinking they could catch him in a compromising situation. Their behavior was like General Motors hiring private investigators to search through the private life of Ralph Nader. Or perhaps they wanted to find some glaring insincerity so that people might begin to wonder if he really believed and followed his own message. A noted TV religious personality is reported to have purchased a $449,000 home in addition to a new Mercedes-Benz and a Rolls-Royce. When asked about this discrepancy of message and life-style, he said that he and his wife "just had to have a little place of our own." Jesus’ watchers wanted to uncover something like that; with it they could deflate the disturbing attractions of this prophet from Nazareth.
Wallace H. Kirby, If Only..., CSS Publishing Company
__________________
The Tradition of the Put Down
Someone gave me a book once entitled, The Second Book of Insults. Evidently the first book was so successful the publisher thought it deserved a sequel. I will confess that I enjoyed reading the book. It is in the grand tradition of a certain kind of comedy called the "put-down." We love to see the pretentious slip on a banana peel. It is that kind of humor.
There is a similar tradition in sports. We love to see the underdog beat the top dog. Which is why we look forward to the Padres meeting the Yankees in the World Series.
There is even a tradition of put-down in the Bible, probably because the Bible was written by Jews, who spent most of their history being shoved around by great empires. There are songs in the Bible, like the Magnificat, which Mary sings at the time of the annunciation to her by the angel, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. He has knocked the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree." That's a put-down.
The English are the masters of the put-down. Many of the entries into that anthology of insults came from England. Like the story of George Bernard Shaw, who was invited to a woman's house for tea. She was one of those people who liked to "collect" celebrities so that she, herself, might be considered a celebrity. She sent Shaw her card, which read, "Lady So-and-So will be at home Thursday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m." Shaw wrote a note on the card and sent it back, and said, "Mr. George Bernard Shaw likewise."
Winston Churchill was equally adept at the put-down. There is a famous exchange between Winston Churchill and Lady Astor. Lady Astor did not like Winston Churchill, so one day she said to him, "If I were your wife, I'd put poison in your tea." Churchill said, "If I were your husband, I'd drink it."
They are masters of the put-down, George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill. So when you have an anecdote in which they battle each other, it is a collector's item. Here it is. Bernard Shaw sent two tickets to his latest play opening in London to Churchill with this note, "Here are two tickets for the opening night of my new play, one for you and one for a friend, if you have one." Churchill sent them back with this note, "I cannot attend opening night. Send me two tickets for the next night, if there is one."
I suppose wherever you go, wherever there are hierarchical institutions, or any institutions for that matter, you will have concern about status, some people in upper echelons of power and others below them. The people below are probably telling these put-downs, stories about the people they hope to replace someday. Every group arranges itself according to status. People ask, "Where do I fit in in this group?" Or, "Can I make a contribution?" "Will it not be received?" "Can I be myself, or will I be put down?"
Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
____________________________
He Who Exalts Himself Will Be Humbled
Robert Coles, the psychiatrist, writes a lot of books, teaches at Harvard. He wrote a book about Dorothy Day. In the book there is this anecdote. Dorothy Day, as you know, is that famous Catholic social worker, the founder of the Catholic Worker. When Coles was a medical student at Harvard, he volunteered to work at the Catholic Worker. He was a Harvard graduate. He was in medical school. He was going to be a psychiatrist. In this society, that is about as high a status as you can get. He knew that. He was really proud of it. He was also proud that as this person with all these credentials, he was volunteering to help the poor. It was the kind of thing people would sit up and take notice of.
He arrived at the premises of the Catholic Worker. He asked to see Dorothy Day. He went right to the top. The person said that she was in the kitchen. He went into the kitchen, saw her sitting at a table, talking to someone. He had enough medical training to recognize that the man that she was talking to was addicted to some dangerous substance. He was disheveled. He was obviously a homeless street person. She was sitting at table with him, listening intently to what he had to say. Now I want you to have in mind Jesus' parable of the banquet and the seats at the table, and where you are supposed to be at that banquet.
She is at table with this street person, giving him her full attention. So she didn't notice Coles come in the room. He stood beside the door, waited for her to finish. When she finished the conversation she stood up. That is when she noticed Coles. She asked, "Do you want to speak to one of us?"
He was astounded. Dorothy Day was famous. This man with her was a nobody. He's a derelict. "You wanted to speak to one of us?" Coles had never seen anything like this before. Humility that can identify with another person so completely as to remove all distinctions between them. It cut through all of the boundaries, all the categories that society sets up to separate us from one another. There were just two people, brother and sister, the sister concerned about the brother.
It changed his life. He said he learned more in one moment than he did in four years at Harvard. He saw in one moment what it means to humble yourself as our Lord did, "who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but humbled himself, and took on the form of a servant."
For he who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
________________________
Making God Proud
A school bus was making its final round of the day. A young boy jumped off just as a man jogged by.
"Hey, mister," the boy shouted, "can I jog with you?" The jogger wasn't in a hurry so he nodded and the boy joined in jogging. Within five minutes the boy gave the jogger pretty much his whole life story. His name was Matthew, he was ten years old, precocious and full of life.
Abruptly, however, Matthew stopped. "Look at this," he ordered as he showed the jogger an 81/2 by 11 inch piece of paper that had been laminated. In big black letters across the top it said, "Fourth Grade Math Whiz." Underneath was Matthew's name, the school name, the date and the teacher's signature.
His pride was undaunted. "I'm a math whiz," he went on beaming, not waiting for the jogger to come to that conclusion by reading the card only inches from his face. "Last year my sister was the math whiz," he continued, "but this year, I'm the math whiz!"
"That's great," the man replied.
"Yep," said Matthew. "But you know what's really great? When I get home, my dad's gonna be real proud."
And isn't that what we all really want? We want to make our father proud, our mother proud. We want to earn the esteem of family members and business colleagues and friends at church. And that's fine. But more important than all of these, says Jesus, is to make God proud of us. We do that when we look around to those who are helpless, hurting, the destitute and do something for those who can do nothing for us in return. It's all right to want to be one of the beautiful people, says Jesus, as long as you understand who the beautiful people really are. They are not those who are always buying more trinkets than their neighbors. They are those who are using the blessings of life to bless others.
King Duncan, adapted from Terry Hershey, Go Away Come Closer, Collected Works,www.Sermons.com
________________
Humility
Organizers for the dinner party that opened the celebration of the 50th birthday of the United Nations faced an almost impossible task: preparing a meal for sixty-five heads of state and their entourages that was fitting for a dignitary, and non-offensive to all cultures represented. This meant no shellfish, no pork, no beef and no sauces that involved alcohol. It also meant no white flowers on the tables, because some Asian cultures associate white flowers with mourning. They could not afford for a dignitary to take religious or cultural offense at an ingredient in an hors d'oeuvre. They couldn't take the chance that one dignitary might be served his wild-rice-and-wheatberry pilaf before another and perceive it as an insult.
The caterer had to make sure there were as many as three waiters for each of the 61 tables, so that every head of state could be served at exactly the same time. So, what did the caterer end up serving? What do you serve when you don't want to offend anyone? Chicken. (Sorry--The author is unknown)
This banquet pales by comparison to the one Jesus proposes in Luke 14. The United Nations exist for the establishment of justice and peace in our world. It is--as law governing bodies ought to be--there to protect the weak and disenfranchised. One has to wonder just how far its leaders allow it to drift from time to time from its main objectives.
Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com
____________________
Peer Pressure
Chuck Swindoll tells about a study of teenagers and peer pressure. The design of the study was simple. They brought groups of ten adolescents into a room for a test. Each group was instructed to raise their hands when the teacher pointed to the longest line on three separate charts. What one person in the groups of ten did not know was that the other nine had been instructed ahead of time to vote not for the longest line, but for the second-longest line.
Do you get the picture? Regardless of the instructions they heard, once they were all together in the group, the nine were not to vote for the longest line, but rather vote for the next to the longest line. This left the tenth student being the only one who would be voting for the longest line. Guess what happened. Time after time, this tenth student would glance around, frown in confusion at the way the others were voting, and slip his hand up with the group. The instructions were repeated and the next card was raised. Each time, the self-conscious stooge would sit there saying a short line is longer than a long line, simply because he lacked the courage to challenge the group. This remarkable conformity occurred in about 75% of the cases, and was true of small children and high-school students as well.
It's hard to say no to the crowd. And becoming an adult doesn't make it much easier. You may know the story of the woman who was interviewed by reporters on her 102nd birthday. When asked what was the best thing about passing the century mark, she answered, "No peer pressure!"
King Duncan, ChristianGlobe Illustrations
____________________________
Life Turned Upside Down
Robert Oppenheimer was the one man responsible for the development for the atomic bomb the United States used against Japan at the close of World War II. He was born in 1904 in New York City, and showed an early interest in science. He entered Harvard at 18 and graduated 3 years later with honors. He continued his studies in theoretical physics at various universities in Europe prior to teaching at the California Institute of Technology. He was considered one of the top ten theoretical physicists in the world, and specialized in the study of sub-atomic particles and gamma rays. From 1943 he began directing 4500 men and women at Los Alamos, New Mexico, whose sole purpose was to build an atomic bomb. Two years and two billion dollars later, they had successfully detonated the first atomic bomb.
When he saw what he had made, Robert Oppenheimer underwent a radical revaluation of his values; a value inversion. Upon seeing the first fireball and mushroom cloud, he quoted from the Bhagavad-Gita, "I am become death." Two months later he resigned his position at Los Alamos and spent much of the remainder of his life trying to undo the damage, trying to get the genie of atomic weapons back in the bottle. There are certain individuals who, in a flash so to speak, like Oppenheimer, see that all they once valued is really of no lasting value at all. Their entire life has been turned on its head, everything is upside down. They see with painful clarity that the very things they prized most in life are in reality worthless baubles.
In 1966, about a year before he died, the brilliant physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer said, "I am a complete failure!" This man had been the director of the Los Alamos Project, a research team that produced the atomic bomb, and he had also served as the head of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Yet, in looking back, he saw his achievements as meaningless. When asked about them, he replied, "They leave on the tongue only the taste of ashes."
Sermons.com Staff, ChristianGlobe Illustrations