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Sermon - The Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (A) - 2nd November 2008
St Aidan’s West Epping 8.30 am
Readings: Matthew 23:1-12
Our gospel reading this morning tells of events during the last week of Jesus earthly ministry before he was crucified. He had come to Jerusalem and he was continuing his teaching ministry. But the Pharisees had challenged him and debated several issues with him. The Pharisees were the leading teachers of Israel and they were held in high regard by the Jews. Even Jesus acknowledged their importance when he noted that they occupied Moses seat. That is, Moses acted as a judge for Israel and settled their disputes. He also gave Israel much of their law. The Pharisees role was to know the law and interpret it for Israel. They acted as judges for Israel in Jesus day and they deserved respect.
But notice what else Jesus says about them. Though the Pharisees should be respected Jesus says they are not examples to be followed simply because they do not practice what they preach. They might tell others in Israel how they should behave but they do not do it themselves. Jesus says they put great burdens on others shoulders but they are not prepared to endure the same kind of burdens.
This can happen easily when you are in a position of authority. Consider my two daughters. Both their parents had been school teachers. So you can imagine how much pressure we placed on them to work hard at school. Yet they endured far more pressure than I ever experienced as a child. They both did well at school, but fortunately we are all still friends. But sometimes I think I overdid it.
And its so easy to do the same thing in the church. We can put pressure on others to do certain things to behave in certain ways that can be too much. People can start to believe that unless they can reach our standards they will never be accepted by God, and that simply isn’t true.
If you could spend some time with some of the people who turn up at St John’s Darlinghurst for help you would be amazed at how many of them show signs that the spirit of God is at work within them. What I mean is that they often demonstrate the fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. Yet in spite of that, their question is whether they will be accepted by the church. Its ironic because it is so obvious that God has accepted them, but the question remains as to whether the church will accept them.
I had a similar experience in my contacts with inmates at Silverwater Jail. I was invited to take a few services there. But what surprised me was the depth of the friendship they showed to each other and to me. It was obvious that there were men who prayed together regularly and were concerned for the day to day needs of each other in that fellowship. Again the fruits of God’s spirit were obvious. However, their problem would be what sort of reception they would receive when they left jail and attempted to join their local church.
So this was the error the Pharisees made, placing large burdens upon people, burdens that had come from the Pharisees and not from God. And Jesus second criticism of them was that they did not practice what they preached. They were quick to tell others how to live, yet they were weak in doing the same thing themselves. Rather than a concern for keeping the law, the Pharisees were more concerned about the width of their Phylacteries, or the length of their tassels.
Phylacteries were supposed to be small wooden boxes, like a locket, that contained short scripture verses. There was no need for them to be very big. But it seemed that the bigger they were the more holy the person, if you can believe that. Tassels could only be afforded by the rich. So if you wore long tassels you much have been wealthy. So the Pharisees are concerned for outward appearance. They wanted to look holy. They wanted to look rich and successful. They wanted the places of honour at banquets. They liked to sit at the head of the table. They wanted to sit in the seats of honour. They wanted to be called “Rabbi”. They just wanted the title and for others to honour them.
But Jesus is saying this is not how the people of God should behave. In some parts of the New Testament we are reminded that the people of God are like a body. The body consists of many parts. The parts are very different, with different roles to pay. So we don’t ignore the difference. Yet each part is very valuable. If the hand says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body.” But we would all hate to lose a hand. So each member of the church is valuable, though each member is different. But if one part thinks they are more important then they have misunderstood their role.
This is why Jesus condemns calling others “Rabbi”, or “Father” or “Teacher”. It is wrong to use these titles if we mean we see ourselves as better, or more holy than other people. Of course we can use these titles where there is mutual respect and love for one another. When we see ourselves as equal before God we are free to use titles. But we must not use titles as a power play over others.
But then Jesus shows us the true path to greatness and it is a difficult one. The greatest among us is the one who is the servant of all. We can enjoy others doing things for us. We can enjoy it when others pamper us. But it is very different when we do the work. That is the challenge. Our aim is to e the servant of ach one. And Jesus is the best example of that. His aim was to be the servant of his disciples. He now acts as the servant of the church, because he is the saviour of the church. If we want greatness, it is found in the path of servant-hood.
Jesus sums it up by saying “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” It is a very different way to behave to what we would like to do. Humility is not easy to do. But it is not grovelling. And it is not trying to manipulate others. Jesus humbled himself when he became a man and endured the cross. His selflessness is to be our example. Its his humility that is our example. The challenge for us is to live like that.