“Saints, Us Chickens and the Golden Rule”, A Sermon preached by the Rev. Canon Dr. C. Denise Yarbrough on Sunday, October 31, 2010 at Church of the Ascension, Rochester, New York
Do unto others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)
If ever there was a time in our nation’s history for everyone to heed the words of the Golden Rule, it is in this pre election climate, as we head into the final two days before mid-term elections, with campaign ads full of half truths, sound bites that attack others and obfuscate issues and a general tone of adversarial fisticuffs. Jesus’ words to his disciples today, both in the famous beatitudes and in his difficult sayings about loving enemies, blessing those who curse you, doing good to those who hurt you and turning the other cheek are particularly challenging words to hear in the midst of our contentious national elections. By mid-week, we will all be challenged to accept whatever the election brings to pass and move on, working with those with whom we disagree whether our candidates won or lost. Once all the election bravado is over, the challenge is to move forward in a way that is helpful and productive for everyone, putting aside differences and leaving the campaign attack strategies behind us. The words of Jesus in today’s gospel sound impossible of fulfillment when you listen to campaign ads and speeches. Only a saint, one might think, could possibly do as he instructs.
Fortuitously we celebrate the Feast of All Saints today. This is the feast day in the Christian calendar when we remember and give thanks for people who have gone before us in history, both famous and infamous, folks known to us personally and those who have achieved “greatness” and “fame” in the larger world. All Saints is the one feast day in the liturgical year when we celebrate human beings in all their glory and grime. St. Francis, Mother Teresa, and Ghandi are numbered among the saints of God as well as our grandparents, brothers, sisters, children and friends. History is full of stories of people, famous and not-so-famous, remembered or forgotten, loved or ignored in life. All Saints Day gives us an opportunity to plug into that continuous stream of eternity that is life in God, to connect ourselves with those human beings who have gone before us whom we have loved and known and who now rest in God.
We will remember all kinds of saints today. Members of this faith community who have died in the past year. Our own loved ones who have died but who live on in our memories and in the way their lives impacted and shaped our own. All of them saints of God who lived different lives in different times, doing different things, but all part of the glory of God and God’s plan for creation.
On All Saints Day we honor history. The history that we have lived in our families, with our friends, through our ancestors, grandparents, parents, our children. The history of our nation and of our faith tradition. The stuff of sainthood is the stuff of human life and we pause today to honor that life with all its accomplishments and failures. History isn’t just boring facts in some dusty book. History is the story of all who have gone before us, who have shaped us and our world into what we know today. All Saints is our liturgical way of being sure we preserve a historical memory, so that we can learn from the past, its wisdom and its folly as we walk into our uncertain and sometimes frightening future. We honor history on this feast day because our God is a God who works through history and whose fingerprints we see in the events and people who shape our lives.
As Election Day approaches, we will live through a week in which we will participate in a process of history making, as we go to the polls and exercise our freedom by voting for our congressional and state representatives and other public officials. We will come out of the elections hoping those we have chosen will deal responsibly with significant public issues, like our ailing economy, the high rate of unemployment, immigration issues, national security and war and peace. History is an ever flowing stream and the people who vote and the people elected will be called to walk together into that unknown future to create a world and a legacy for the next generation that will speak well of our own. On All Saints Day we renew our baptismal covenant, reminding ourselves of the promises we made as Christians to make a difference in our world while we live on this earth, to work for justice and peace, to respect the dignity of every human being.
Our All Saints celebration reminds us that time marches on, that things change and the world moves on, that people make a difference while they are on this earth and then pass into God’s eternity leaving behind a legacy for those who follow. Those who weep now, will someday laugh again. Those who are poor now, will know wealth someday. Those who enjoy riches now, will at some time find that wealth useless to them. There is an ever flowing cycle of life and death, success and failure all of which is infused with the presence of God.
Annie Dillard, author of many works of fiction writes:
There were no formerly heroic times, and there was no formerly pure generation. There is no one here but us chickens, and so it has always been: a people busy and powerful, knowledgeable, ambivalent, important, fearful, and self-aware; a people who scheme, promote, deceive, and conquer; who pray for their loved ones, and long to flee misery and skip death. It is a weakening and discoloring idea, that rustic people knew God personally once upon a time- or even knew selflessness or courage or literature- but that it is too late for us. In fact, the absolute is available to everyone in every age. There never was a more holy age than ours, and never a less.
There is no less holiness at this time-as you are reading this- than there was the day the Red Sea parted, or that day in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as Ezekiel was a captive by the river Chebar, when the heavens opened and he saw visions of God. There is no whit less enlightenment under the tree by your street than there was under the Buddha’s bo tree. There is no whit less might in heaven or on earth than there was the day Jesus said, “Maid arise” to the centurion’s daughter, or the day Peter walked on water, or the night Mohammed flew to heaven on a horse. In any instant the sacred may wipe you with its finger. In any instant the bush may flare, your feet may rise, or you may see a bunch of souls in a tree. In any instant you may avail yourself of the power to love your enemies; to accept failure, slander, or the grief of loss; or to endure torture. (For the Time Being, Alfred A. Knopf, 1999)
Ambrose Bierce once quipped that a saint is “a dead sinner, revised and edited.” A somewhat cynical definition but one that aptly describes the process of saint-making. We are all of us saints of God, as the children’s hymn goes, but the process of becoming a saint, a process that begins at baptism, is one that includes a lot of “revising and editing” by God as we travel our life’s journey. Learning to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to turn the other cheek, to offer our shirt when someone steals our jacket is pretty hard stuff. Sometimes we are better at it than others. Trying to make peace in a world rife with war, trying to achieve reconciliation with people with whom we have violent disagreements is the work of sainthood and it is very hard and exhausting work.
All of the saints we remember today had their moments of glory as well as their times of despair and defeat. Human life and human history are fraught with the struggles of ordinary people to do extraordinary things hopefully in concert with the will of God. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Simple wisdom, common to all religious traditions known to man, and probably the first big step towards reconciliation and healing in a divided and polarized world.
We are all saints-in-the-making, in our ordinariness and plain humanity, as much as in our occasional acts of altruism or heroism or simple kindness and mercy. We will renew our baptismal covenant in a moment, reminding ourselves that the covenant we made with God guides all our actions, behaviors and attitudes as we walk through this world in our time and place in history. We are called to do justice, to treat all human beings with dignity and respect, to work for peace, to pray and break bread together, to love as God loves us. As we renew the covenant we continuously repeat the phrase, “I will, with God’s help.” Only with God’s help can we do the work of sainthood. It doesn’t come naturally. When we gather at the Eucharistic feast in a few short moments, let us do so conscious of the presence of all those saints, named and unnamed whom we remember today – that whole company of heaven who sing with us the ancient song of praise- “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Glory be to you, O Lord most High.”
Amen.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
All Saints Day
Dear Friends, October 25, 2010
Yesterday was the third week of our Stewardship Appeal 2011. If you are a member, please prayerfully lift up your heart and make your offering to God and to the work of this Parish. God asks us to grow in his love and service and support. If we are part of God's household, we do this by venturing to a new place of commitment. Please read the available materials - and lift your voice of thanks to God! A bright future awaits us when we reach up and out!
Rev. Denise's sermon can be found by clicking on the link to our blogspot: http://ascensionroch.blogspot.com/ Please do visit this new weekly feature to reflect on her words. But it is so much more fulfilling to hear it in person!
Because -
For those who want to serve God, every Sunday is Homecoming Sunday. Please make it a point this fall to be in church regularly; or if you are weighing whether to make God's community important in your life, try coming for several Sundays in a row...
This past Saturday, Oct 23, we gave thanks for the life and earthly ministry of Fred Pomeroy. A large gathering at his Memorial Service lifted up hearts and voices. This coming Sunday, we will celebrate All Saints' Day. If you wish to have loved one[s] remembered by name, please call 458-5423 or email the office ascension@rochester.rr.com by Wednesday Noon. You may drop off a picture of loved one[s] to be remembered until Thursday Noon; the pictures will be placed in the church for the Sunday Services. Pick them up after the service.
Please keep in your prayers all those in need of healing, and those who serve in our military forces. Kindly also pray for the Search Committee and their work in this time of search. To assist in your spiritual life, Forward Day by Day booklets are $.85 each in the back of the Church [Tower Room].
Tomorrow is Frank Stolte's Birthday - to wish him a Happy Birthday, call him at 585-5849!
If we want to grow, we must love God, love our friends and then speak openly to them. A congregation grows starting with each faithful person. God will help us share the Bread of Life.....We never know how ready a friend may be to hear a word of encouragement in faith. We never know when God will bring someone to speak to us, and enrich our own life.
We seek a new and strong clergy leader, and our strength in numbers at worship speaks volumes of our true intentions. Please see yourself in community with others and prepared to greet and share. All are needed, all are important!
Next year will be the 125th Anniversary of the founding and of the ministry of Ascension. In preparation, let us draw closer to God's Spirit in the Season of Pentecost - to remind us of the power and blessing of the Holy Spirit to counsel, energize and sustain us all.. We honor our long history, but it is our future that must command our attention and energy.
The Ascension Piecemakers Quilt Group is offering a gorgeous queen-size quilt. Why? To prepare our beautiful church for the future, the Wardens and Vestry have plans to point the masonry of the Bell Tower. To help get this under way, the Quilters invite you to buy coupons. The quilt would be a handsome addition to any decor! Coupons are $2 or 3 for $5. All proceeds will go to the Bell Tower Restoration Project. You can see the quilt and get more details each Sunday at Coffee Hour.
PLEASE CALL IN YOUR RESERVATIONS ASAP! The Annual Roast Beef Dinner is Sat., November 6th. Adults $9.00; Kids 6-12 $5.00; under 6 FREE. call 458-5423 Mon-Th 9-2, or you may sign up in church. Thanks to our teams of Chefs and Planners, we have more memorable dinners and other parties upcoming.
Sat. March 5th, 2011 SPAGHETTI
Sat. April 30th, 2011 CHICKEN & BISCUIT
Fri. June 3rd, 2011 LOBSTER
PLEASE MAKE NOTE!!! Gourmets everywhere are dreaming of these dinners!!
As we think of our own dinners, let us remember to help the MEEK food cupboard, by shopping ahead for our friends in need at Christmas - -frozen turkeys, stuffing mixes, cranberry sauce, one-pound hams....More details to follow. Can you volunteer to help? Call Jan Wills - 621-3900.
The Ascension Women's Group will meet in the Library Thursday, November 4 at Noon; please bring a sandwich, beverages and dessert provided. The annual Christmas Luncheon will be December 9 at Rick's Prime Rib House. Details available from Jan Wills - 621-3900.
YOU CAN HELP RESETTLE A REFUGEE FAMILY.
Please call Debbie Lanceri of Catholic Family Center 546-7220 ext 4621 for details. This is an exciting new interfaith opportunity.
Here is how to recycle all those spare calendars that come in the mail! - calendars are needed, and also Christmas cards, for our friends at Aaron Manor. Give them to Ellie Swarts or leave in Office. Thanks!
Coffee Hour is a wonderful opportunity to greet friends, old and new, and catch up on news. There are opportunities to host Coffee Hour in the weeks ahead. Won't you help this ministry? If not sure how to host the Coffee Hour, you may call Nancy Lennox at 663-5805 or Stu or Gene Denison at 663-0988. To sign up - see list in the back of the church or call 458-5423.
Please visit or call a friend who is not able to get out or whom you've been meaning to contact. There are many who would love a call and an invitation to church or an inquiry as to when you might pay a visit. With good weather, we can invite friends to accompany us to church - and take them out for brunch afterward!
The COFFEE CONNECTION at Ascension has changed - for your supply, please now visit the store at 681 Gregory Street [between Hickory and Gregory Sts]. Still the same wonderful blends, at great prices.
Altar flowers are an outstanding ministry of beauty and love. Will you take up this ministry to the glory of God and to our spirits? To donate altar flowers, please contact Laurie Phillips, 865-2802 or email LBP@rochester.rr.com There are openings on several Sundays upcoming.
If we wish to grow as Christians and share our love of God, we need to know the stories of the Bible. Thursday Bible Study is in the Library at 9 AM. Please 'Come and See'. In this season, the lessons confirm what we are to do as disciples. There is food for thought and often refreshments to share. The study is of the Gospel Lesson for next Sunday, found below. No Bible Thumping, just good conversation!!
The Rochester Interfaith Jail Ministry asks your ongoing help - by donating through United Way or directly by check to R I J M, 2 Riverside St., Rochester, NY 14613. This will bring books of healing and group sessions to those needing to start lives anew. Remember the Good Samaritan... Please answer this call. To volunteer, call 254-6790. The invitation to help is ongoing, so you are not late to the party! Someone recently made and ongoing United Way designation for R I J M. Many Thanks!
When we see new people on Sunday or at an event, let's introduce ourselves and make them welcome. An invitation to chat at Coffee Hour is a great ice-breaker. So is sitting with a new person and even inviting them to brunch after church. This is a part of God's work for each and every one of us.
Do you have a pocket card to hand to a friend who asks about Ascension? Cards are on the table in the back of the church. Please take a few, and be ready to share. We have pocket crosses in the table drawer to hand to those who answer the call to "Come and See"..
If you have a new or better email address for yourself, or know someone who might like to receive this weekly e-letter, please email me that information.
Blessings,
Dyson
D. Dyson Gay
585-317-4039
P.S. Next Sunday, we will sing For All The Saints - here is a video of that All Saints' Day hymn:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=izXnc-Rspgc&feature=related
P.P.S. Please see below for this week's recipe - Healthy Pumpkin Soup. Don't forget to share with a friend, too!
If you have a recipe you would like to share, please send it in!
*******************************
The Gospel for next Sunday is:
Luke 6:20-31
6:20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
6:21 "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
6:23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
6:25 "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
6:26 "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
6:27 "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
6:29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Yesterday was the third week of our Stewardship Appeal 2011. If you are a member, please prayerfully lift up your heart and make your offering to God and to the work of this Parish. God asks us to grow in his love and service and support. If we are part of God's household, we do this by venturing to a new place of commitment. Please read the available materials - and lift your voice of thanks to God! A bright future awaits us when we reach up and out!
Rev. Denise's sermon can be found by clicking on the link to our blogspot: http://ascensionroch.blogspot.com/ Please do visit this new weekly feature to reflect on her words. But it is so much more fulfilling to hear it in person!
Because -
For those who want to serve God, every Sunday is Homecoming Sunday. Please make it a point this fall to be in church regularly; or if you are weighing whether to make God's community important in your life, try coming for several Sundays in a row...
This past Saturday, Oct 23, we gave thanks for the life and earthly ministry of Fred Pomeroy. A large gathering at his Memorial Service lifted up hearts and voices. This coming Sunday, we will celebrate All Saints' Day. If you wish to have loved one[s] remembered by name, please call 458-5423 or email the office ascension@rochester.rr.com by Wednesday Noon. You may drop off a picture of loved one[s] to be remembered until Thursday Noon; the pictures will be placed in the church for the Sunday Services. Pick them up after the service.
Please keep in your prayers all those in need of healing, and those who serve in our military forces. Kindly also pray for the Search Committee and their work in this time of search. To assist in your spiritual life, Forward Day by Day booklets are $.85 each in the back of the Church [Tower Room].
Tomorrow is Frank Stolte's Birthday - to wish him a Happy Birthday, call him at 585-5849!
If we want to grow, we must love God, love our friends and then speak openly to them. A congregation grows starting with each faithful person. God will help us share the Bread of Life.....We never know how ready a friend may be to hear a word of encouragement in faith. We never know when God will bring someone to speak to us, and enrich our own life.
We seek a new and strong clergy leader, and our strength in numbers at worship speaks volumes of our true intentions. Please see yourself in community with others and prepared to greet and share. All are needed, all are important!
Next year will be the 125th Anniversary of the founding and of the ministry of Ascension. In preparation, let us draw closer to God's Spirit in the Season of Pentecost - to remind us of the power and blessing of the Holy Spirit to counsel, energize and sustain us all.. We honor our long history, but it is our future that must command our attention and energy.
The Ascension Piecemakers Quilt Group is offering a gorgeous queen-size quilt. Why? To prepare our beautiful church for the future, the Wardens and Vestry have plans to point the masonry of the Bell Tower. To help get this under way, the Quilters invite you to buy coupons. The quilt would be a handsome addition to any decor! Coupons are $2 or 3 for $5. All proceeds will go to the Bell Tower Restoration Project. You can see the quilt and get more details each Sunday at Coffee Hour.
PLEASE CALL IN YOUR RESERVATIONS ASAP! The Annual Roast Beef Dinner is Sat., November 6th. Adults $9.00; Kids 6-12 $5.00; under 6 FREE. call 458-5423 Mon-Th 9-2, or you may sign up in church. Thanks to our teams of Chefs and Planners, we have more memorable dinners and other parties upcoming.
Sat. March 5th, 2011 SPAGHETTI
Sat. April 30th, 2011 CHICKEN & BISCUIT
Fri. June 3rd, 2011 LOBSTER
PLEASE MAKE NOTE!!! Gourmets everywhere are dreaming of these dinners!!
As we think of our own dinners, let us remember to help the MEEK food cupboard, by shopping ahead for our friends in need at Christmas - -frozen turkeys, stuffing mixes, cranberry sauce, one-pound hams....More details to follow. Can you volunteer to help? Call Jan Wills - 621-3900.
The Ascension Women's Group will meet in the Library Thursday, November 4 at Noon; please bring a sandwich, beverages and dessert provided. The annual Christmas Luncheon will be December 9 at Rick's Prime Rib House. Details available from Jan Wills - 621-3900.
YOU CAN HELP RESETTLE A REFUGEE FAMILY.
Please call Debbie Lanceri of Catholic Family Center 546-7220 ext 4621 for details. This is an exciting new interfaith opportunity.
Here is how to recycle all those spare calendars that come in the mail! - calendars are needed, and also Christmas cards, for our friends at Aaron Manor. Give them to Ellie Swarts or leave in Office. Thanks!
Coffee Hour is a wonderful opportunity to greet friends, old and new, and catch up on news. There are opportunities to host Coffee Hour in the weeks ahead. Won't you help this ministry? If not sure how to host the Coffee Hour, you may call Nancy Lennox at 663-5805 or Stu or Gene Denison at 663-0988. To sign up - see list in the back of the church or call 458-5423.
Please visit or call a friend who is not able to get out or whom you've been meaning to contact. There are many who would love a call and an invitation to church or an inquiry as to when you might pay a visit. With good weather, we can invite friends to accompany us to church - and take them out for brunch afterward!
The COFFEE CONNECTION at Ascension has changed - for your supply, please now visit the store at 681 Gregory Street [between Hickory and Gregory Sts]. Still the same wonderful blends, at great prices.
Altar flowers are an outstanding ministry of beauty and love. Will you take up this ministry to the glory of God and to our spirits? To donate altar flowers, please contact Laurie Phillips, 865-2802 or email LBP@rochester.rr.com There are openings on several Sundays upcoming.
If we wish to grow as Christians and share our love of God, we need to know the stories of the Bible. Thursday Bible Study is in the Library at 9 AM. Please 'Come and See'. In this season, the lessons confirm what we are to do as disciples. There is food for thought and often refreshments to share. The study is of the Gospel Lesson for next Sunday, found below. No Bible Thumping, just good conversation!!
The Rochester Interfaith Jail Ministry asks your ongoing help - by donating through United Way or directly by check to R I J M, 2 Riverside St., Rochester, NY 14613. This will bring books of healing and group sessions to those needing to start lives anew. Remember the Good Samaritan... Please answer this call. To volunteer, call 254-6790. The invitation to help is ongoing, so you are not late to the party! Someone recently made and ongoing United Way designation for R I J M. Many Thanks!
When we see new people on Sunday or at an event, let's introduce ourselves and make them welcome. An invitation to chat at Coffee Hour is a great ice-breaker. So is sitting with a new person and even inviting them to brunch after church. This is a part of God's work for each and every one of us.
Do you have a pocket card to hand to a friend who asks about Ascension? Cards are on the table in the back of the church. Please take a few, and be ready to share. We have pocket crosses in the table drawer to hand to those who answer the call to "Come and See"..
If you have a new or better email address for yourself, or know someone who might like to receive this weekly e-letter, please email me that information.
Blessings,
Dyson
D. Dyson Gay
585-317-4039
P.S. Next Sunday, we will sing For All The Saints - here is a video of that All Saints' Day hymn:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=izXnc-Rspgc&feature=related
P.P.S. Please see below for this week's recipe - Healthy Pumpkin Soup. Don't forget to share with a friend, too!
If you have a recipe you would like to share, please send it in!
*******************************
The Gospel for next Sunday is:
Luke 6:20-31
6:20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
6:21 "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
6:23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
6:25 "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
6:26 "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
6:27 "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
6:29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
HEALTHY PUMPKIN SOUP
Ingredients:
Servings: 4
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 lbs pumpkin, chopped (but canned is fine)
- 1 carrot
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 cups chicken stock or 4 cups vegetable stock
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cup skim milk powder
Directions:
Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
- In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and gently cook onion without browning, for 3-4 minutes.
- Add pumpkin, carrot and rosemary and cook,stirring for 2-3 minutes.
- Add stock and bay leaves.
- Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
- Remove any rosemary stalks and bay leaves.
- Place a third of the soup in the blender with a third of the skim milk powder and puree.
- Pour into a large bowl.
- Repeat with the remaining soup and milk powder and pour all back into the saucepan, heat through and serve.
- For Vegetarian use vegetable stock.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sermon, Sunday, October 24, 2010
“Humility- The Path of Spiritual Freedom”, A Sermon preached by The Rev Canon Dr. C. Denise Yarbrough on Sunday, October 24, 2010 at Church of the Ascension, Rochester, New York
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt:… “all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”(Luke 18:9, 14)
Last January, I had occasion to teach a doctor of ministry course at the divinity school. In my class I had four pastors from the Black Church tradition. As we discussed some of the challenges of preaching in our contemporary context, these pastors referred frequently to the popularity in many Black churches of what is known as the “prosperity gospel.” This is an approach to Christian life that is popular not only in the Black Church tradition, but also in many of the white evangelical megachurches that are so popular today like the church founded by Joel Osteen, an internet phenomenon. Basically, the prosperity gospel preachers offer a message that says that those who are right with God are those who are successful in this life, who achieve riches and power in their society. They preach that God wants you to be rich and that wealth is a sign of God’s favor upon you. Joel Osteen’s church, Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas draws 47,000 people to worship services every weekend. Worship is held in an arena, which packs in 16,000 per service. Osteen’s message is a very positive, upbeat, “God loves you and God wants you to be successful in this world” theme and it sells like hotcakes. Osteen tells his followers that God does not want them to be mediocre or average, God wants everyone to be extraordinary and wildly successful and the only impediment to that kind of success is one’s own negative thinking.
As my students struggled with how to square their understanding of the gospel with this “prosperity gospel” fad, they noted what seems to me to be obvious to anyone who actually reads the gospel. Think of the readings we’ve heard for the past couple of months in which Jesus consistently warns his followers about the potential danger of money and of their need to detach from concern about money or desire for it if they want to be disciples. Remember the line, “Give away all your possessions and follow me?” Then today we have this parable about the tax collector and the Pharisee, focusing on the virtue of humility, which is also completely at odds with the prosperity gospel movement. How does the Christian virtue of humility fit into this gospel of self improvement? Indeed, can it fit? Osteen says that God wants everyone to be successful, to become the best that they can be. His theology and his entire ministry is all about the power of positive thinking and being and becoming a perfect human being. Shortcomings are seen as things to overcome on the road to perfection. While on the one hand there is something offensive to me about the message of the prosperity gospel preachers and their way of promoting it, on the other hand I have to hand it to them – they reach thousands of people every week in their congregations and millions more through television and the internet. Something that they are selling is meeting a need among middle class American seekers.
Osteen’s “excel and succeed” message is completely in keeping with our modern, competitive American culture, which is probably why it attracts so many people. Jesus says “those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” The humility that Jesus talks about in this parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector doesn’t fit easily into Osteen’s “become a better you” theology and on the whole it doesn’t particularly resonate with our contemporary tendency to believe that we deserve the good things that we have in life such as jobs, homes, education and the like. Nor does it fit well in the culture of uncivility that marks our contemporary discourse, as political rhetoric pits various constituencies against one another, polarizing groups of people on almost every political or social issue of importance. Humility, which according to Jesus is integral to discipleship, is a hard sell in our culture.
Humility is an ancient Christian virtue and one that is probably more misunderstood than any other. Joan Chittister, Roman Catholic Benedictine nun calls humility “the lost virtue.” I would argue that not only is it a lost virtue, it is a mostly misunderstood virtue as well, especially in our modern way of thinking about personal development and human psychology.
In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus tries to teach us something about the virtue of humility. The characters in the parable are portrayed as two polar opposites and the challenge lies in figuring out with which character we are expected to identify. Pharisees have come down to modern day Christians with a “bad rap.” And yet, in many ways the Pharisee in this story is more like us than the tax collector. He is a good, upstanding citizen. He is morally upright, he tries to do the right thing by his family and his society. He worships regularly in the temple, he prays often and sincerely to God, he tithes to his church, he does good deeds of charity. He’s the kind of person we want living in our neighborhood, coming to our church, teaching our children. If he walked in here some Sunday morning, we’d be eager to recruit him as a new member of the church and in a couple of weeks he’d be on the vestry.
The tax collector is another matter entirely. In first century Palestine, the tax collectors were Jews who had sold out on their own people by agreeing to collect taxes levied by the oppressive Roman government from their own people who did not in fact benefit from the tax monies collected by the Romans. These tax collectors were often extortionists and thieves, out to protect their own hides with respect to the Roman government and taking money from Roman authorities in exchange for their services of hounding their own people. They were truly outcasts, because their own people regarded them as traitors and the Romans regarded them with contempt. They were useful to the Roman authorities, but certainly not respected.
So Jesus tells this story about the two of them praying. The good guy and the bad guy are both in church, both praying. Who’s got it right? Who’s prayer is heard with approval by God? The way this story is set up we’ve got human beings who don’t get along, who have significant differences with one another and distinct attitudes and opinions about one another both placing themselves before God and Jesus renders an opinion about who is more “justified” than whom. In the context of our modern day struggles within the Anglican Communion and the conflicts that persist between and among different kinds of Christians, not to mention tensions between people of different religious traditions, this story has a strange resonance. What is true humility and what does it look like? Is it much in evidence among modern day Christians?
John Claypool, Episcopal author and preacher suggests that we need to look deeply at this story so as not to allow the tax collector’s humility to become the moral standard by which we live. He notes, “there is something quite upsetting, to be sure, about making an admission of mediocrity into a virtue, about saying, in effect, ‘I do not live by any high moral code, but neither does anyone else, so at least I’m not a hypocrite.’” (Claypool, p.129) He notes that the tax collector’s prayer could have been as far off the mark as the Pharisee’s if what he was really praying was something to the effect, “I thank thee God, that I am not as proud of myself as that Pharisee…Let your angels sing ‘Alleluia’ over a sinner who is at least as honest as I am, willing to admit he is a dirty dog, and not trying to hide behind some kind of pretension like the Pharisee.” (Claypool, p.129).
Here’s where it gets tricky. Jesus says that those who humble themselves will be exalted and those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Exactly what it is to be humble becomes the core question in this story. Is the tax collector humble because he admits to being a sinner? Is the Pharisee not humble because he admits to having virtues and to being proud of them? Canon Dr. Joseph Cassidy, of St. Chad’s College at Durham University in England gave a brilliant lecture some years ago entitled “Humility, Grace and Freedom.” In that talk he addressed the conflicts in the Anglican Communion and he outlined beautifully what a truly humble approach to these differences would look like. In brief he argues that humility is found where there is an openness to change, a willingness to be surprised by God’s Holy Spirit and a profound respect for those with whom one disagrees. That respect is grounded in the fundamental understanding that all of us fall short of the glory of God and none can claim more virtue than the other, particularly when controversies become heated as they have been for some years now.
Humility is a tough spiritual virtue to nourish in Christian life. It pushes us to the boundaries of our own personalities because it is lived out in the context of human relationships. You can’t be humble all by yourself. It is a virtue that can only be experienced in relationship and in community as we bump up against folks who annoy and confound us. Dr. Cassidy reminds us, “None of us is worthy. None of us is infallible. None of us can afford to assume moral superiority. And that’s especially difficult when everyone knows that he or she is right….I do wonder whether the Gospel…is constantly challenging all of us to be spiritually free enough to hear something unexpected from God, to be spiritually free enough to be open to a more profound, costly level of discipleship. …Spiritual freedom is… a measure of whether I would be willing to change my mind if God required it of me.”
“Humility is reality to the full,” says Joan Chittister. It is the result of what she terms “unwilled change” which is a hallmark of human life. Benedictine teaching about humility holds that it is a process of continuing conversion wherein a person comes to truly understand his or her place in the universe. It does not mean humiliation. It does not mean that a person thinks of herself as a miserable, wretched no-good loser. It also does not mean being satisfied with oneself just as one is with the result that no further growth or development is sought or desired. Somehow, the truly humble person is the one who is keenly aware, both of her giftedness and beauty in the eyes of God, and of the extent to which she falls short of the full stature of Christ. A truly humble person, therefore, is actually a combination of the Pharisee, minus the arrogance, and the tax collector, minus any overblown or hyperbolic wailing about his sinfulness. Humility may be an old fashioned religious virtue, but it is one sorely needed in our conflicted and violent contemporary world. Amen.
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt:… “all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”(Luke 18:9, 14)
Last January, I had occasion to teach a doctor of ministry course at the divinity school. In my class I had four pastors from the Black Church tradition. As we discussed some of the challenges of preaching in our contemporary context, these pastors referred frequently to the popularity in many Black churches of what is known as the “prosperity gospel.” This is an approach to Christian life that is popular not only in the Black Church tradition, but also in many of the white evangelical megachurches that are so popular today like the church founded by Joel Osteen, an internet phenomenon. Basically, the prosperity gospel preachers offer a message that says that those who are right with God are those who are successful in this life, who achieve riches and power in their society. They preach that God wants you to be rich and that wealth is a sign of God’s favor upon you. Joel Osteen’s church, Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas draws 47,000 people to worship services every weekend. Worship is held in an arena, which packs in 16,000 per service. Osteen’s message is a very positive, upbeat, “God loves you and God wants you to be successful in this world” theme and it sells like hotcakes. Osteen tells his followers that God does not want them to be mediocre or average, God wants everyone to be extraordinary and wildly successful and the only impediment to that kind of success is one’s own negative thinking.
As my students struggled with how to square their understanding of the gospel with this “prosperity gospel” fad, they noted what seems to me to be obvious to anyone who actually reads the gospel. Think of the readings we’ve heard for the past couple of months in which Jesus consistently warns his followers about the potential danger of money and of their need to detach from concern about money or desire for it if they want to be disciples. Remember the line, “Give away all your possessions and follow me?” Then today we have this parable about the tax collector and the Pharisee, focusing on the virtue of humility, which is also completely at odds with the prosperity gospel movement. How does the Christian virtue of humility fit into this gospel of self improvement? Indeed, can it fit? Osteen says that God wants everyone to be successful, to become the best that they can be. His theology and his entire ministry is all about the power of positive thinking and being and becoming a perfect human being. Shortcomings are seen as things to overcome on the road to perfection. While on the one hand there is something offensive to me about the message of the prosperity gospel preachers and their way of promoting it, on the other hand I have to hand it to them – they reach thousands of people every week in their congregations and millions more through television and the internet. Something that they are selling is meeting a need among middle class American seekers.
Osteen’s “excel and succeed” message is completely in keeping with our modern, competitive American culture, which is probably why it attracts so many people. Jesus says “those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” The humility that Jesus talks about in this parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector doesn’t fit easily into Osteen’s “become a better you” theology and on the whole it doesn’t particularly resonate with our contemporary tendency to believe that we deserve the good things that we have in life such as jobs, homes, education and the like. Nor does it fit well in the culture of uncivility that marks our contemporary discourse, as political rhetoric pits various constituencies against one another, polarizing groups of people on almost every political or social issue of importance. Humility, which according to Jesus is integral to discipleship, is a hard sell in our culture.
Humility is an ancient Christian virtue and one that is probably more misunderstood than any other. Joan Chittister, Roman Catholic Benedictine nun calls humility “the lost virtue.” I would argue that not only is it a lost virtue, it is a mostly misunderstood virtue as well, especially in our modern way of thinking about personal development and human psychology.
In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus tries to teach us something about the virtue of humility. The characters in the parable are portrayed as two polar opposites and the challenge lies in figuring out with which character we are expected to identify. Pharisees have come down to modern day Christians with a “bad rap.” And yet, in many ways the Pharisee in this story is more like us than the tax collector. He is a good, upstanding citizen. He is morally upright, he tries to do the right thing by his family and his society. He worships regularly in the temple, he prays often and sincerely to God, he tithes to his church, he does good deeds of charity. He’s the kind of person we want living in our neighborhood, coming to our church, teaching our children. If he walked in here some Sunday morning, we’d be eager to recruit him as a new member of the church and in a couple of weeks he’d be on the vestry.
The tax collector is another matter entirely. In first century Palestine, the tax collectors were Jews who had sold out on their own people by agreeing to collect taxes levied by the oppressive Roman government from their own people who did not in fact benefit from the tax monies collected by the Romans. These tax collectors were often extortionists and thieves, out to protect their own hides with respect to the Roman government and taking money from Roman authorities in exchange for their services of hounding their own people. They were truly outcasts, because their own people regarded them as traitors and the Romans regarded them with contempt. They were useful to the Roman authorities, but certainly not respected.
So Jesus tells this story about the two of them praying. The good guy and the bad guy are both in church, both praying. Who’s got it right? Who’s prayer is heard with approval by God? The way this story is set up we’ve got human beings who don’t get along, who have significant differences with one another and distinct attitudes and opinions about one another both placing themselves before God and Jesus renders an opinion about who is more “justified” than whom. In the context of our modern day struggles within the Anglican Communion and the conflicts that persist between and among different kinds of Christians, not to mention tensions between people of different religious traditions, this story has a strange resonance. What is true humility and what does it look like? Is it much in evidence among modern day Christians?
John Claypool, Episcopal author and preacher suggests that we need to look deeply at this story so as not to allow the tax collector’s humility to become the moral standard by which we live. He notes, “there is something quite upsetting, to be sure, about making an admission of mediocrity into a virtue, about saying, in effect, ‘I do not live by any high moral code, but neither does anyone else, so at least I’m not a hypocrite.’” (Claypool, p.129) He notes that the tax collector’s prayer could have been as far off the mark as the Pharisee’s if what he was really praying was something to the effect, “I thank thee God, that I am not as proud of myself as that Pharisee…Let your angels sing ‘Alleluia’ over a sinner who is at least as honest as I am, willing to admit he is a dirty dog, and not trying to hide behind some kind of pretension like the Pharisee.” (Claypool, p.129).
Here’s where it gets tricky. Jesus says that those who humble themselves will be exalted and those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Exactly what it is to be humble becomes the core question in this story. Is the tax collector humble because he admits to being a sinner? Is the Pharisee not humble because he admits to having virtues and to being proud of them? Canon Dr. Joseph Cassidy, of St. Chad’s College at Durham University in England gave a brilliant lecture some years ago entitled “Humility, Grace and Freedom.” In that talk he addressed the conflicts in the Anglican Communion and he outlined beautifully what a truly humble approach to these differences would look like. In brief he argues that humility is found where there is an openness to change, a willingness to be surprised by God’s Holy Spirit and a profound respect for those with whom one disagrees. That respect is grounded in the fundamental understanding that all of us fall short of the glory of God and none can claim more virtue than the other, particularly when controversies become heated as they have been for some years now.
Humility is a tough spiritual virtue to nourish in Christian life. It pushes us to the boundaries of our own personalities because it is lived out in the context of human relationships. You can’t be humble all by yourself. It is a virtue that can only be experienced in relationship and in community as we bump up against folks who annoy and confound us. Dr. Cassidy reminds us, “None of us is worthy. None of us is infallible. None of us can afford to assume moral superiority. And that’s especially difficult when everyone knows that he or she is right….I do wonder whether the Gospel…is constantly challenging all of us to be spiritually free enough to hear something unexpected from God, to be spiritually free enough to be open to a more profound, costly level of discipleship. …Spiritual freedom is… a measure of whether I would be willing to change my mind if God required it of me.”
“Humility is reality to the full,” says Joan Chittister. It is the result of what she terms “unwilled change” which is a hallmark of human life. Benedictine teaching about humility holds that it is a process of continuing conversion wherein a person comes to truly understand his or her place in the universe. It does not mean humiliation. It does not mean that a person thinks of herself as a miserable, wretched no-good loser. It also does not mean being satisfied with oneself just as one is with the result that no further growth or development is sought or desired. Somehow, the truly humble person is the one who is keenly aware, both of her giftedness and beauty in the eyes of God, and of the extent to which she falls short of the full stature of Christ. A truly humble person, therefore, is actually a combination of the Pharisee, minus the arrogance, and the tax collector, minus any overblown or hyperbolic wailing about his sinfulness. Humility may be an old fashioned religious virtue, but it is one sorely needed in our conflicted and violent contemporary world. Amen.
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