proper20-our-savior.md

Homily: Proper 20 Our Savior

Sept. 23, 2018

Introduction

Several weeks ago in my homily at another church I made reference to the first lesson we heard this morning – the final chapter of the book of Proverbs. The chapter devoted to a description of the ideal good wife. I suggested that if people were in church they might listen to whether the preacher preached on Proverbs 31. I made a wager that not very many clergy would dare to do that. I mention that here not because I’m going to focus on it, but I am going to come back to it.

The passage that guides me this morning comes from the 2nd reading, the Letter of James.

“Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; …”

The moment I read that, I was captivated by the possibilities of what James was saying. First off he had the temerity to suggest that we human beings were immersed in “conflicts and disputes”. Now I know that you don’t have anything like that around here, but in my family and in all the places I’ve ever lived or worked in that was true. It seems like the possiblities for conflict and dispute were endless.

Now the thing that makes James observation interesting to me is that he provides an explanation for the conflict that seems to surround us on all sides. He attributes it to the cravings that are at war within us.

I realized something about Jesus the other day. I guess I have known it for a long time, but it struck with new-found power. When Jesus looked at a person he never looked through them, as if they were unimportant to him. And he looked into the heart them. He was unimpressed with the appearances on the outside of a person. He saw right away what their inner cravings looked like.

I have known little children who were like that. There’s an old folk tale about that – the child who could see that the king was wearing no clothes.

Late night comedian

Several late night talk shows have recently commented on the way in which a person’s public persona often doesn’t match up with what is going on on the inside. Sometimes those observations seem more important than other times – it depends on if the king is wearing clothes I guess. Jesus wasn’t afraid of calling a spade a spade.

The other night we watched a piece where a comedian did a riff on judging a book by its cover. Of course, you know – probably because your father or your mother taught you – that one shouldn’t do that. The comedian’s attempt to speed-read the book by reading its cover – summarizing it – was of course tongue in cheek. He went on to invent the story that he imagined was in the book, based on what he saw on the cover. It was a very funny story.

Of course when the book cover was opened and we read a synopsis of the book, the comedian’s version didn’t bear any resemblance to the real thing.

Jesus was harsh on those whose outer person didn’t match their inner person. The disciples arguing about who was going to be first is a good illustration of the point. Jesus looks at them and sees their heart. He sees that as they smile peacefully on the outside, in their inner heart they want power and prestige. They weren’t getting it.

The warrior and the monk: Inner and Outer Harmony

I once heard a story about a warrior and a monk. I don’t remember how or why I heard it. But I never forgotten it.

Once there was a powerful warrior who was sweeping across the countryside, conquering everything in his path. He knew he was powerful.

He came upon a monastery where there was a lone monk, meditating in the courtyard. The warrior came up to the monk and ordered him to rise and bow before him.

The monk continued to meditate without interruption. The warrior became more and more agitated and, pulling his sword from his belt, he finally yelled at the monk, “Don’t you realize that I could cut your head off in a moment or a whim?”

At that the monk replied, “Don’t you realize that I could let you?”

That reply completely shook the warrior to his core. He recognized that the power of the monk – a function of his inner peace – was far greater than his own. He laid down his sword and became a disciple of the monk.

The letter of James should be read with such a story in mind. Although there is a long tradition in the church of arguing over which comes first, faith or good works, my sense of it is that that is a mis-reading. James speaks with the same authority as Jesus. James knows that a person’s appearance on the outside is only as good as the inner person.

The good wife

I said that I would come back to the 31^st chapter of Proverbs. If I were to preach on it – which I’m not here – I would argue that it should be interpreted allegorically.

The wife lives peacefully, her inner and her outer selves are at peace with one another.

The wife and the husband in Proverbs 31 know one another and know that each is genuine. Each can be expected to fulfill the expectations placed on them because there is no difference between their inner and their outer cravings.

Proverbs 31 gives us a view of what is described in Genesis 1, where male and female are equal and it takes both to reflect the image of God.

So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

We can draw lessons from this that have to do with relations between men and women. For myself, the current stirrings generally under the “hashtag” Me Too movement point to an important human development that we should all be paying attention to.

But it seems clear to me that Jesus’ words – and the wisdom that James delivers us about Jesus’ words – point to a deeper lesson. It has to do with hearts of men and women. It has to do with the stirrings and cravings within us that we have trouble exposing to the light of day. James seems to be telling us in his letter that we must get our inner self and our outer more public self aligned. A harmonious marriage between the two – as it were.

Jesus carries the lesson some ways deeper. His word to us has to do with the basic paradoxes of his life and death. If we desire life we must accept the death. If we desire power we must embrace the powerless. If we desire to be #1 again we must walk into the place reserved for the least among us.

Jesus was and is a man who is accustomed to seeing into the heart of all he meets. Welcome him and he will change you. “…whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me.” And you will be welcomed home.

Addendum

lectionary

• Good wife: lots of details
• Be wise & understanding … disorder within leads disarray without
• disorder comes from cravings within
• disciples arguing amongst themselves (on the way) … first will be last, servant of all … welcome child, deep hospitality