Proper
17 :: Proverbs 25: 6–7; Psalm 112; Hebrews 13: 1–8, 15–16; Luke 14: 1, 7–14
This
is the homily that was given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr.
Gene Tucker on Sunday, September 1, 2019.
“GIVING OURSELVES AN
EGO-CHECK”
(Homily
texts: Proverbs 25: 6-7 & Luke 14:
1, 7-14)
The
guests who had gathered at the house of a Pharisee for a banquet didn’t seem to
have any problems with their egos. They jockeyed for the places of honor (which
in that society meant being closest to the host), much to our Lord’s dismay.
Though
Luke doesn’t tell us, it’s possible that many, if not most, of the guests were
also Pharisees. If so, perhaps their conversation- as they tried to
out-maneuver one another – may have gone something like this: “Brother
Pharisee, I believe that I am entitled to sit in a place of greater honor than
you, for I saw you walk one hundred paces farther than you should have on last
week’s Sabbath.” Or this: “Brother Pharisee, I believe that you should give
your place of honor to me, for at a banquet you gave last month, I noticed that
your pots weren’t as thoroughly scrubbed as they should have been.”
Again,
we don’t know what the conversations were like, but the two examples I’ve just
offered are based on the sorts of things our Lord criticizes the Pharisees for:
Doing something on the Sabbath, and being sure to thoroughly scrub pots.
The
Pharisees were wrong about a number of things. One thing they are remembered
for is their conceit (which is evident in their behavior at the banquet).
Another thing they are remembered for is their hypocrisy. Of them (and the
Scribes), our Lord said, “Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in
the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like
unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.” (Luke 11: 43 –
44) Of both the Scribes and the Pharisees, our Lord said, “They do all their
deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their
fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in
the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called ‘rabbi’ by
others.” (Matthew 23: 5 – 7) (Clergy beware!)
When
we consider how God sees each one of us, each human being, we see that the
Pharisees were wrong in their assessment of others, as well. For Holy Scripture
makes it clear that God loves each and every human being. And, Holy Scripture
also makes another truth known about God’s regard for us: Each one of us is
incapable, absent God’s help, to come into the living of a holy life.
Now,
back to the Pharisees and their mistaken views of others.
The
first thing we should notice is that the Pharisees didn’t believe that God
loved everyone. They certainly didn’t believe that God loved those that they
had deemed to be notorious sinners, people like the tax collectors and the
prostitutes. God couldn’t and didn’t love them at all, according to the
Pharisees’ reckoning of the spiritual pecking order among humankind. That’s one
thing the Pharisees were wrong about.
For
another, they didn’t believe that those notorious sinners could ever be
redeemed. They didn’t believe that such people could ever become acceptable to
God.
Of
course, our Lord Jesus Christ came to disprove both assumptions, for He
demonstrated God’s love by His actions, associating with the lowly and the
outcast, as He said in this morning’s Gospel: Invite the poor, the crippled,
the blind and the lame (people the Pharisees thought were being punished by God
for some horrendous thing they’d done).
Furthermore,
no one is outside of the boundaries of God’s love, and no one is beyond
redemption. Our Lord came to disprove both of those assumptions as well. He
came and associated with the outcasts of the society of His day, saying that
the healthy aren’t the ones who need healing. The sick are the ones in need of
a physician’s care.
How
should we regard ourselves?
We
should begin by saying that having a healthy regard for one’s self is essential
for our overall well-being, our spiritual well-being included. St. Paul affirms
this truth when he says, “…I say to every one of you that they should not think
of themselves more highly than they ought to think, but to think with sober
judgment, each according to the measure of faith God has assigned.” (Romans 12:
3b)
Thinking
with that “sober judgment” that Paul mentions involves those two things we
articulated a moment ago. Those two truths are: 1. God loves each and every
person deeply and passionately; and 2. Each one of us is in need of God’s help
in order to grow into the full stature of Chris. We cannot improve ourselves,
short of God’s coming to our aid before we even begin the process.
Put
another way, we can say with confidence that we, each one of us, are God’s
prized possession, but that we need God’s help to grow into the fullness of
God’s image and design.
Engaging
in such a process of trying to see ourselves as God sees us involves a serious
ego-check. Such a process might be the source of tremendous comfort when we
remember God’s intense love for us. And, it might involve a measure of
discomfort when we realize the ways in which we have fallen short of God’s
holiness, and in the ways that we continue to fall short of God’s holiness.
But, even when we realistically assess our spiritual health, there is good news
in it, as well, for we ought to remember that God stands ready to assist us
through the power of the Holy Spirit to amend our lives.
AMEN.
