Sermon 10/26/08 (Matthew 23:1-12)

“Good Words and Bad Behavior”
Matthew 23:1-12
Rev. Désirée H. Gold
St. Mark’s United Church of Christ, Baltimore, MD
Sunday, 26 October, 2008
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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 Yesterday I received my official sample ballot in the mail, in preparation for the November 4th elections. In case you haven’t gotten yours yet, the sample ballot has all of the ballot initiatives on it, just like the real ballot will, and it has some facts about the Maryland slots amendment and the voter’s rights amendment.

It was really refreshing to get this dry-as-bones, just-the-facts mailing. It’s the first information I’ve seen in months that is actually impartial! At this point in the election season, it seems like every other piece of “information” out there is strongly biased one way or the other. There are the political ads, which spend more time complaining about the opponent or about how terrible things will be if we don’t vote for this particular thing than they do expounding on the benefits of a candidate or ballot initiative. There are the emails I get from one organization or another. The prerecorded phone calls. Even the “news” stories are biased -- they often tell just one side of the story. I really feel for those people who have not yet made a decision about how they are going to vote, as it is nearly impossible to find plain facts now, amidst all of the information being spewn in the public’s direction.

I am grateful that the elections will be over in a few weeks. Then we will get to live with the results of our votes. If you believe the ads, wonderful changes await us if we vote the “right” way! The presidential candidates promise a better America and a better world. The Maryland candidates and the supporters of the slots initiative promise a better Maryland. I can’t wait until we enter into this great new world where all our troubles will disappear!

And Jesus said, “...Therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.”

The problem with political campaigns is that it is simply impossible for the candidate to keep all of his or her promises once in office. I do have hope and I do believe in the voting process, but I also know from experience that even the best-meaning politician will say more wonderful things than he or she will actually do.

There’s the humility factor too -- or lack thereof. In the words of Jesus: “They do all their deeds to be seen by others.” It’s the nature of a political campaign to puff oneself up as the savior of a nation. Candidates don’t win by being self-deprecating. Sure, it helps to have famous supporters speak up, so the candidate himself isn’t the only one saying how great he is, but there has to be a fair bit of self-promotion too. The candidate has to say that she is better than her opponent.

Then there’s the servant leadership aspect. Jesus said “The greatest among you will be your servant.” Our national leaders do actually try to stick to this one. President John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” Of course, when our modern leaders make statements about “serving the American people” they don’t always come across as particularly humble themselves.

So, basically, this morning’s entire gospel lesson could be about American politicians -- their falsehoods, their lack of humility, how they use the concept of “servant leadership” to their own benefit. ...Americans love complaining about politics -- just watch one political ad or see one news story -- and I could direct this entire sermon at “them,” those “horrible” politicians! ...I think you know me better than that, though.

It is so easy to blame other people for our problems, especially when those people have more power than we do. We blame politicians (Liars!), we blame celebrities (Think they’re better than everyone else!)...we even blame preachers (What kind of humble servant wears a $3,000 suit?!). Jesus was talking about rabbis here, and there certainly are some less than humble clergy. But we spend so much time blaming other people that we fail to notice our own failures. (In Jesus’ words, we spend a great deal of time examining the speck in our neighbor’s eye but fail to see the log in our own.) Jesus wasn’t just addressing powerful people here. He was using power-abusing rabbis as an example, but in Matthew’s gospel he was addressing the crowds and his disciples. He was essentially speaking to his Church and its leaders. He was talking, in our modern terms, to the church council, other folks who hold leadership roles, and everyone in the pews. He was -- and is -- warning us all against arrogance and self-exaltation.

As written in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus was specifically referring to arrogance over one’s role as a church leader. But his message can easily be expanded to all areas of life. In these days, church leadership does not carry the weight it once did -- and anyway, our own council president, Alta Horn, does not have an arrogant bone in her body. But there may well be other areas of our lives in which we do not practice what we preach either, in which we like to be called by a fancy title, and in which we believe that we are better than everybody else.

This is something we must all watch carefully. There is nothing wrong with finding success in our careers, but it is easy, then to say, “I have money in my pocket, so I’m better than that person down the street who can’t afford to feed his kids.”

Humility is hard to live by, even in difficult times. We have been speaking a lot about the financial crisis lately, and it may seem obvious that losing one’s job or home would be a humbling experience. But we have to be careful that if we fall into that terribly unfortunate position we do not begin to believe that we are better than “all those snobby people who think they have it all.” Even when our lives are falling apart we find ways to believe that we are better than our neighbor.

The truth is, Jesus Christ has called us to a life of humility no matter what our circumstances. The majority of people in the crowds to whom he spoke were not privileged -- even his disciples were fisherman who lived from day to day. Christ’s earliest followers were persecuted for their beliefs -- they were not in a position of power. Yet Jesus called even these struggling people to a life of humble servanthood. He called on them to remember that they had one parent, their God in Heaven, and one teacher, Jesus himself. Jesus has called us to a life of service, whether we are running for President of the United States or whether we are a homeless person who sees another homeless person in greater need than we are.

As you go about your daily tasks, be ever mindful of where your heart is. Are you looking at the person you’re serving across the counter and thinking: “I’m better than him?” Are you thinking to yourself, “Gee, I sure like being called Reverend...or Doctor...[or whatever title you use]? Do I misuse my title or my position?” Are you saying one thing but doing another? And are you living a life of servanthood?

Following Christ is not easy. Putting God before everything else is hard in our busy world. We will make mistakes. That’s the nature of being humans. But a world in which people go out of their way to serve one another -- in which love for neighbor outweighs self-pride -- will draw us closer to the realm of God.

Now let us pray.