"Humility and Service"

Readings: Psalm 81:1, 10-16, Jeremiah 2:4-13,Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 , Luke 14:1, 7-14
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church on August 28,2022

One year, while living in West Virginia, I went up to Bluestone camp, near Hinton, WV during the summer. I was helping lead a creative arts camp. I had to drive the kids in my group to an open-air theatre at a park called Pipestem. I had to transport them in the camp van.  Now, Bluestone to Pipestem is a twisty, turny, mountain road, in some places only one vehicle wide. Not really designed for passenger vans. But it wasn't the road that was concerning the kids. It was the seating.

"I want the front seat."
 "I want to be next to him'
"Don't put me next to her!"
"I'll get sick if I'm not by the window"

I'm sure you've witnessed the same thing on numerous different occasions. Jostling for position. Everybody out to get the seat that in their eyes is the best. People do it all the time, in relation to numerous different things.

Our account from Luke this morning gave us a story about a party going on at which everybody wants to be on the head table. Jesus appears to be looking on in wry amusement as they hustle for places.

When everybody is settled, He offers the gathering some advice. He warns them of the danger of struggling for position all the time.  That you may make a serious misjudgment and find yourself embarrassed by being asked to move down the table to a lowlier place because you've sat yourself down in a place of importance.

If you are playing the importance game, He suggests that it would be better to occupy a low position on the table, and then be seen by the host, who would recognize you as a friend and invite you to a higher place on table.

At first glance it seems to be one of those "Sometimes by doing the wrong thing, you end up doing the right thing” type of stories. Sometimes you must think things through in a way that isn't, at first, the obvious way. For example, let’s see what you make of these questions;

1. Do they have a 4th of July in England? (Yes. It comes right after the third!)
2. A butcher in the market is 5' 10'' tall. What does he weigh? (Meat)
3. What was the Presidents name in 1960? (Joe Biden. He has not changed it)

Sometimes the way things appear are not the way they really are. The man who takes the high place at the table may not be all that he thinks he's cracked up to be.  The person way down at the end may turn out to be more important than anybody else there.

When my family and I lived in Wales, UK, on the Island of Angelsey, we were quite near a stately home, known as Plas Menai. It was occupied by The Marquis of Angelsey and situated in a beautiful spot on the banks of the Menai Straits in North Wales.

His family inherited the place from one of his ancestors that lost a limb in the battle of Waterloo. Legend has it that his ancestor and another officer were observing the battle of Waterloo from horseback when a stray cannonball hit the ancestor in the leg.

The officer on the horse next to him said, "By God, sir, you've lost a leg!" The gentleman looked down and replied, "By God, sir, so I have". So, they rode back to camp. Anyway, to cut a long story short, for his stiff-upper-lip bravery he was given a country estate (and a wooden leg) and he and his ancestors (who still have the wooden leg in a display cabinet) have lived quite comfortably ever since.

Much of the home and its magnificent grounds are now open to the public. However, the estate and its owner the current Marquis of Angelsey are still considered to be the gentry of the area.

The story goes that on a visit there somebody was seeking an audience with the Marquis, with the intention of relieving him of some of his wealth by fair means or foul. The man came across a Gardner who was digging the flowerbeds.

"What sort of person is the Marquis?" this no-gooder asked the gardener.
"Oh, I've heard this and that,” replied the gardener.
"Has he got as much money as they say?'
"Depends on who the 'they' are" replied the gardener.
"Is he a generous man? I mean would he help somebody out if they said they were in need?"
"I dare say he might,” said the Gardner.

"I've heard he's a bit eccentric, like a lot of these gentry folk" said the man, "I mean if somebody, like me, got their hands on his money, by fair means or foul, he probably wouldn’t miss it!"
"Hmm." said the gardener, "Sounds like you'd like to meet him."
"You could arrange that for me?" said the man; "I'd make it worth your while!"
"No problem" said the gardener. He brushed the sweat from his brow and removed a dirty garden glove to shake the man’s hand.
"Pleased to meet you!" said the Gardner, "I am the Marquis of Angelsey!  Now get off my property before I call security."

As the old saying goes, "You can't always judge a book by its cover." It is the same with people. Everybody has a tale to tell. Those who are at the bottom of the pile may not have always been so. Those who make it to the top can turn out to be the victims of good luck and whilst having around them all the trappings of success can be quite empty within themselves.

Joy in life does not come through occupying the high places or knowing the people of most influence.  Lasting happiness cannot be found in the multitude of possessions that people accumulate around themselves. Life is about more than position and possession.

Living in this beautiful part of the world, where for some money is no object, it would be tempting to think that power, prestige, and position are what really counts in life. Yet I think those local lads from my homelands, the Beatles, put it rather well when they sang, “Can’t buy me love.” Since being in this area, I have had some heart-breaking conversations with some folk about the way money has not helped their families, but caused division, over-indulgence and regrets.

I am reminded of Mark 8:36, in the King James version, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Or as it reads in the Contemporary English Version “What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourselves?”

The message within the message of this passage we are considering, is that true fulfillment comes to us through making a realistic assessment of our lives before God. We think of ourselves in one way. Sometimes we may overestimate our importance. Other times we may put ourselves down and make ourselves out to be less than we are. Both are a denial of who God made us to be.

Sometimes other people may make a more realistic assessment of our lives than we make of our selves. Sometimes they will be wrong about us.  Sometimes we may have made a favorable or unfavorable impression on a person without even realizing it! Everybody we meet and spend time with forms an impression of the person that we are.

Remember how Jesus was accused of not being important because He chose to hang out with people with no earthly status? He was a friend to tax collectors, no-hopers and sinners. Therefore, He must be just the same as them. A person of little significance and dubious moral character.

I’ve noticed every time there is a Hollywood Premiere or awards ceremony, the TV commentators go to great lengths to figure out for us 'who's who' and 'who's with who', who are the 'up and coming', whose 'on the way out'. Do not be seen hanging out with a loser. Could be the end of your career.

The Kingdom of God, Jesus keeps telling us through the gospels, is nothing like the kingdoms of this world. In the Kingdom of God, everything is turned around. Verse 11 of our reading; "For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted."

To reinforce that message Jesus tells the dinner guests that if they really want to put on a party that, in Kingdom of God terms, would be considered the showiest, ritziest, most glamorous party of them all, then give a reception and invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Ask everybody to come who has not got a hope of ever repaying you.

According to this teaching, Kingdom greatness is not measured by what you own, whom you know or whom you hang out with, but by what you have done for those least able to reward you. The Kingdom principle appears to be… that to those to whom much has been given, much is expected.

That explains why Jesus is so critical of those who are at the party jostling for the best places. It is a lesson in humility.  C.S Lewis once wrote. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of your ‘self’ less.” From the Kingdom perspective even if you are at the head of the table, you are still a nobody unless you have love.

As Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians chapter thirteen remind us, "I may have all the faith needed to move mountains, but if I have no love, I am nothing!” It is love of that nature which brings security, lifts up the fallen, and heals the broken hearted. 'Love of God' and 'love of neighbor' are the two great principles upon which the Christian faith is built.

It is in the light of God's love that we can make a realistic assessment of our lives. We love because Christ first loved us and gave His life for us. It is His love that is the motivation, and it is God's love that sustains us through the action of God's Holy Spirit upon our hearts.

So, friends, don’t worry about where you are in the pecking order. Don’t be like those kids I had transport down a mountain in West Virginia in a big van, jostling for position and wanting the preferred place, oblivious to the fact that they were on a treacherous road and there was a British guy at the wheel who was still figuring out which side of the road to drive on.

Don’t be like that no-good fool who encountered the Marquis of Angelsey in the garden of his palatial stately home, and presumed, because the Marquis was doing humble work, that he was of no importance and was a person who could be used to further his unlawful aspirations. Never consider anybody on the basis of what ‘use’ they can be to you. Jesus suggests we are acting like a Kingdom person only when we consider what use we can be to them. Whoever they are!

Paul writes to church people of all time and all places (as it reads in the Amplified Bible), Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves.”

Doesn’t that cut across the spirit of our age! “Regard others as more important than yourselves.” But is not that exactly what Jesus exemplified throughout His ministry? Is it not His example we are called to follow? A life of humility and service is part of our call as disciples. Both individually and as a church community.

May God help us, through the empowering of the Holy Spirit, to embrace the teachings of our Savior in both word and deed, with both humility and service Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

"Woman, You Are Free!"

Readings: Psalm 71:1-6, Jeremiah 1:4-10, Hebrews 12:18-29,  Luke13:10-17
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, August 21, 2022

To reach into today’s Bible Story, let us consider it from three perspectives. Firstly, how would the story seem from the perspective of the woman who was healed? Secondly, how did things appear from the leader of the synagogues point of view? Thirdly, how might an onlooker consider the scene?

Firstly, let us imagine that we have discovered the woman’s diary. What might she have written into her journal that day?

1. Excerpts from Diary

"Dear Diary,

What a day. Has there ever been such an unexpected, liberating, breath of fresh air day as this? You know diary how I have shared everything with you since the first day I could write. Now, I am scribbling away with an urgency never experienced before. Diary, I have a smile on my face and my head is held high!

You know it has not always been so. It has been twenty years since mother died. Being the only woman in a house full of men, life has not been easy. As Father grew older somebody had to care for him and my brothers being younger than I needed somebody looking out for them.

I never asked to be the mother they never had.  If I had been, they may have treated me with some respect. As the years have rolled by it seems as though all I've heard is ..."It is a woman's duty".

A woman’s duty? What to be treated worse than a paid servant? To be at the beck and call of a whole household, just because they are men? Do not I have a voice? Do not I have a life to live? Did not I have hopes and dreams and needs to be met? "It is God's way" they would tell me. "Remember ... It was Eve who took the fruit. Do not our Scriptures teach that woman is to obey?"

I thought after Father had died things would be different. Yet increasingly my brothers took advantage. They knew I relied on them for my food and my lodging. A woman on her own had little hope of a decent life. And marriage was out of the question. What man would look to me? Particularly after the problems started in my back.

It was just a nagging pain at first.  Maybe it was lifting Father or fetching the water. I always had something weighing down on me. Over these last eighteen years things have grown worse. I guess I've just spent too much time bending over washing clothes, bending over making meals, over the well, over the fire, making the beds, cleaning the floor.

I had never really thought until today how I had become accustomed to looking down. It meant I could avoid making eye contact with anybody. I knew what they were thinking when they looked at me. Old Maid. Poor thing. What a shame. But now they can keep their pity.

It came around to the Sabbath and, dutifully I went to synagogue. Diary, you know how much I hate that place. Of all the things that drag me down, that has got to be the worst. As soon as I walk through the door it is as though a cloud of disapproval settles upon me.

So, there I sat. Grinding my teeth. Looking at my shoes. Going through the motions like I always do. Suddenly the preacher calls me over. "Woman" he said. I almost answered, "I have a name you know!" but held my self in check.

As I drew near, he reached and took both of my hands. I tilted my head back and looked him in the eye. Those eyes of his! Looked right into me. They were so full of love and acceptance. He smiled as he held my hands, and it was as though he was drawing into himself all the hurt and the pain and the rejection I had felt for so long. I have never felt so totally known by another person in all my life.

I was aware of joints in my back clicking away. I felt as though I was having a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. Then, as though it were something I had done everyday of my life, I straightened up and stared back into those healing eyes. Tears beginning to flow in mine. "Woman" he said, "You are free."

As he let go of my hands and returned to the podium an involuntary, over loud "Praise God" slipped from my lips. By then the atmosphere in the place was electric. People were coming up out of their seats, looking me in the eye, giving hugs, and a murmur of astonished awe and wonder was flowing through the room.

Well, diary, you know what happened next. Some of those religious stuffed shirts took offense. The head man took over and started telling everybody to calm down.  They started accusing the preacher of doing bad things on the Sabbath. But - diary - that preacher tore a strip off them. "Daughter of Abraham" he called me.

Daughter of Abraham! Inheritor of God's promises. Child of God. Oh yes diary things are going to be different from now on. This lady is taking control. This lady is walking with her head held high. I am free. I am free. Praise God. "

The woman’s perspective. But what of the head of the synagogue?

2. Minutes of Closed Session Meeting : Regarding events on the previous Sabbath.

"A report was given on the problems that had arisen. Last Sabbath's service was plainly lacking in decency and order. We will not tolerate such laxity in the House of God. Nor will we tolerate those who excite congregations to emotionalism and dissent.

We wish to make the following statements.

i) On upholding the Sabbath.

Religion is a matter of loving God with heart, mind, and soul. That love is expressed through our obedience to God's commandments. One of those commandments is "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy." We have a great heritage to uphold.

ii) On healing

We acknowledge the work of healing as an important part of God's covenant with His people. However, guided by our traditions, we recognize there are times when works of healing are either appropriate or inappropriate. We are particularly skeptical regarding alleged healing that appears to be performed purely to garnish support for a particular speaker’s viewpoint or message.  

This appears to have been the situation the previous Sabbath. Our speaker put forward views, which were plainly in contradiction to the traditions of our Fathers. He then used a member of our faith community to make a point by alleging to have healed her. The genuine motives of this man are questionable as:-

a) This was not an instance, such as the rescuing of an animal, that required an immediate response. This act could have taken place at a time when Torah law would not have been broken. We suggest this was a deliberate and calculated act of disobedience.

b) The use of godly actions, (such as healing), to promote an ungodly view, (namely that breaking Sabbath law is permitable), proves this man to be fraudulent in his claims to be a servant of God.  We furthermore suggest that his whole presentation was an attempt to discredit the synagogue and defame the true people of our most Holy and Righteous God.

The Session therefore makes the following resolutions:

1: To be more careful whom we invite to exegete the Scriptures during Worship. We have appointed a task force to consider background checks upon those we allow to speak. Had such a check been accomplished we would have discovered this was not the first time the speaker had deliberately promoted dissent in the house of God.

2: To send a copy of this report to our central Council in Jerusalem, as well as to local religious leaders that they may be aware of this man’s blasphemous ways.

Meeting ended after much discussion later that evening."

We've had a woman's view and a Pharisees view. But had a reporter from the local newspaper been present that day, how would the headlines appear? Maybe something along these lines;

3."VISITING PREACHER CREATES DISSENT”

"He's been described as controversial and charismatic. Some say he's a charlatan, others that he could be the Christ. (For you Gentile readers that is a Jewish term meaning ‘God’s chosen One’). They call him by the name of Jesus, he hails from Nazareth, and he surely brewed up a storm during morning services down at the local synagogue.

Things went along their usual predictable way, until during sermon time he invited forward a woman. He said a few words about setting her free, then healed her of an illness that had crippled her for eighteen years.  A number of folks in attendance knew of her past suffering and there followed a period of exuberant rejoicing such as never before witnessed in any synagogue around here!

The Chief Pharisee attempted to restore calm by suggesting that healing and disorder in the sanctuary were not appropriate on the Sabbath.  That is when the sparks really started to fly! Jesus, to the approval of many in the crowd, accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy, suggested they cared more for their animals than their women, and warned them to watch out, because the Kingdom of God was near.

I have the impression, dear readers, that the sparks will continue to fly for many a year. Charlatan or Man of God... I do not believe we have heard the last of the preacher from Galilee…. that some call a fraud and others call “The Lord.”"

CONCLUSIONS

This passage of Scripture calls us to embrace the freedom that knowing Jesus Christ can bring within our own our lives. The extent to which we taste and see that freedom is dependant on the faith we have in who He said He was, what He is able to do and how He works in our world today.

This passage also calls us to examine our prejudices and traditions. Is there a balance between freedom and order in our lives? How radically has the gospel captured our hearts? Are we prepared to have our lives challenged and renewed by the Spirit of Jesus Christ?

My response is simply to affirm that the Jesus whom people eventually crucified for breaking the laws, rose from the dead, and His Holy Spirit is still about the business of straightening people up and bringing the freedom of God's love alive in their hearts.

My prayer is that God's freedom will work in our lives in as equally powerful ways as we have heard in this morning’s gospel lesson.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D

"Be Still and Know" (Communion)

Readings: Psalm 37:1-8, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Mark 9: 2-8, John 8:2-11
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, August 7, 2022

Ecclesiastes 3:7
"There is a time for silence and a time for talk"

There are times when saying nothing can communicate a lot more than using words. Words are not always the best vehicle to express things. As part of our communion service, we have time for silence and reflection. We should make the most of such times as, sadly, with the pace of modern life, such moments are all too few.

As we come to the table I would like to reflect on some times, recorded in Scripture, when words were inappropriate.

Casting the first stone.
JOHN 8:2-11

The account of the woman caught in adultery. The teachers of the law and Pharisees bring  a woman to Jesus saying that because of her behavior the law demanded she should be stoned to death. They are talking at Him, rather than to Him. He bends over and starts writing something in the sand. Then He straightens up and challenges them, "O.K. Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her". He bends down and starts writing in the sand again.

Slowly people put down their stones and quietly walk away. Jesus looks around. Everybody's gone. He asks the woman, "Is there no one left to condemn you?"

"No" she replies.

"Well, then, I don't condemn you either, go on your way and sin no more!"

If we were in the crowd, clamoring for justice, would we have qualified to throw the first stone? Who amongst us could say they have committed no sin?

The silence is a telling moment. It reminds us that not one of us is good enough to come into God's presence. It reminds us that we are all sinners in need of the grace and mercy of God. The passage also talks of the forgiveness of Jesus towards unworthy people. "I do not condemn you, now go, but sin no more"

In the silent moments around our communion celebration there is time to think about the sort of people we have become, to examine ourselves, put ourselves to the test, and realize we are not all we could or all we should be.

As we reflect on the symbols, they speak of the forgiveness of Jesus who was crucified for our sakes, the bread… His broken body, the wine… His poured-out life. We come to the table, not professing our innocence but because we need the renewing touch of God upon our lives.

On Trial
Mark 14 & 15

My second passages are found in Marks gospel, where Jesus is put on trial, firstly in Mark 14, before the Council, secondly, in Mark 15, before Pilate. During these trials Jesus is being lied against and accused of all manner of conflicting things. Jesus enemies are desperately trying to cook up evidence to have Him condemned. But every single accusation they throw at Him is met with a response of silence.

Before the council we read, "Jesus kept quiet and would not say a word" (Mark 14:61)

Before Pilate, "Pilate questioned Him again, "Aren't you going to answer. Listen to all their accusations." Again, Jesus refused to say a word and Pilate was amazed." (Mark 15:14-15)

For Jesus to have protested His innocence would have been a waste of breath. That's how much hatred and animosity there was towards Him at that point in time. Whatever He said would be twisted and used against Him. Yet even to Pilate, His innocence was crystal clear. Pilate, according to Mark 15:10 "Knew very well that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because of their jealousy". By not speaking Jesus said more than words could ever express.

The love of God is put on trial by every generation. People dismiss Jesus as irrelevant, the gospel as outdated, the church as a lost cause. We can shout out against God, we can rebel against God’s  will, if we so desire. But through the silence our empty words will echo unceasingly and rebound upon us.

In the simple act of breaking bread and sharing wine, though nothing is spoken, a great deal is said. We share communion in the setting of a world which still has little room for the Son of God. We need not offer words in His defense. By celebrating His life around a communion table, we say a lot more than words could ever express. 'For as often you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim His death until He comes.'

Peter... Be quiet!
Mark 9: 2-8

Our third passage concerns the Mount of Transfiguration, that time Jesus went up a mountain with Peter, James, and John, and on the mountain top, Jesus is transfigured before their eyes, and they witness Him talking with Elijah and Moses in the midst of a cloud.

That was some scary stuff! The disciples were totally awed by what they saw happening before them. They should have kept their mouths shut. But Peter started to ramble. “Wow, Lord, this is gggrreatt! Is it good to be here or what? I've got it, I've got it, Let's put up three big tents, one for  Moses, one for Elijah, one for Jesus, and people can come up here,, and... and.."

"Peter - Be quiet". He was scared. He wanted to capture the moment for all time for everyone. He didn't really understand the significance of the event before their eyes, that it was something to prepare them for the days that lay ahead when Jesus would be crucified and rise again. Words weren't called for. It was a time for silence, not for talk. Talk was simply inappropriate.

I often think of communion in the same way. It doesn't matter how carefully you explain it, how you describe it, what you make of it. It is something that can't be framed by words. It is not something we can capture or crystallize. It's an ongoing holy mystery.

It's a place over the years where people’s hearts have been melted like wax before a flame, sin confronted, lives renewed and changed as they have taken bread and wine in the faith that here was a meeting place with God. Words may speak to the mind but communion speaks to the heart.

Silence can be a noisy thing. Ever heard the expressions, "a deafening silence" or a "roaring silence"? Silence can make us aware of conflicts within ourselves and recall thoughts that trouble rather than comfort.

"Be still and know that I am God"
is translated in some bibles as
"Stop fighting and know that I am God".

When we have fighting's within, we need the touch of God's Holy Spirit to sort us out. As we be still before God, may we know God is God, our Father, Our Creator. As we take the elements of bread and wine, may we know the assurance that Jesus is our Savior and know His love as a present reality able to touch the depths of our lives.

 Friends… Be still. Be still. Be still.

The wisdom of Ecclesiastes is right on target.
"There is a time for silence , a time for talk".
As we come to the Lord's table it is time to;
'Be still and know that God is God'.

 The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt  B.D.