First Reading: Philippians 2: 1-11
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had:
Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, [our Creator].
Luke 18: 9-14
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
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God, giver of the gifts of peace, mercy, justice and truth, speak to us this day. Call us to wonder anew at Your creation. Teach us to walk in right relation through the love of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Here’s a story you may recognize—don’t worry, the names have been camouflaged to protect the innocent or not so innocent. Seems there was this couple, they’ve been together a really long time—know each other well. Very little surprises them—they could be Josie and Joellen, or John and Jack, or Jack and Joellen, for that matter. Well, they were sitting on their lanai, having their coffee one morning and reading their papers. Joellen says to Josie (you substitute the names that work for you), “Do you know what day it is?” Josie, thinks for a minute and then panics (You may identify with her panic!), “Of course, she says.” Now we all know the truth—Josie has no clue what day it is and so she sets out to make sure that she does everything she can to keep Joellen from finding this out. As soon as she gets to work, she orders a big, beautiful bouquet of white roses—has them delivered “with love” right to Joellen’s desk at work. Then she stops and buys a great big box of chocolate and makes a reservation at the nicest restaurant in town. She texts Joellen—meet me at the Steak Place at 7—let’s have a special meal to celebrate. She walks into the restaurant, kisses Joellen, gives her the chocolate, orders the most expensive bottle of wine in the place and proceeds to order the chateaubriand for two. Midway through dinner, Joellen says (and we can hear the ‘twinkle in her eye’), “wow, this is the best groundhog’s day I’ve ever had!”
And so we come again to this Table spread before us. Some of us come tired from the week we’ve just finished and some come anxious about the week ahead, but God invites and we arrive in all our humanness and need: our joy, our pain, our confusion and certainty. And God, says “Welcome to the Table!” But sometimes, we really don’t know what day it is and although we may rush around and try to do all the right things—we miss the mark. We answer a question with the completely wrong answer when the right answer is so close at hand.
God invites us, as Paul invites the Christians at Philippi—to participate in right relationship as we enter into this feast of fellowship and common celebration. Paul asks a favor from his friends in Philippi—Have they experienced any encouragement or comfort from being in Christ? If the answer is yes (and we know that Paul already knows that it is so), then he wants it to be so for all. He calls them to be in ‘right relationship’ with each other. Not to buy gifts for him or for each other, but to give the gift of Christ as they share in common. And Paul describes exactly what this means: “in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had.” Paul continues, “ Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!”
Aha! the crux of the matter—humility. Jesus points this out in our Gospel lesson as well. Not impressed with the ‘showing off’ of the Pharisee—the grandiose religiosity for the sake of being seen and heard, Jesus calls us to be like the flawed, but humble tax collector, praying quietly in the corner—seeking God’s forgiveness and mercy. Surely this is not quite what we expect, not quite the day we thought it was. Here we have both Jesus and Paul challenging us to think these things through a different way—to put away the answer we thought God required and all those things we hoped would do, and hear the question again, this time is a new way, a way that challenges us to the very core of who we thought we were—challenges us to make sure that we know what day it is, that we understand the fullness of the feast and the nature of God’s call.
God calls us to right relationship in three separate, yet very much related areas—with the Divine, with others and with self. Let’s look briefly at each as it applies to God’s welcome to the Table. In humbleness, we seek to be in right relationship with God. Perhaps this right relationship in all areas will become more clear if we think about God’s peace offered to us as we come to Table. God’s perfect peace, known as shalom in the Old Testament can be described as complete and whole and only present when right relationship exist between people and God, people and each other, and people and themselves. I believe that there are seven aspects of this right relationship which can help us understand God’s call to us this day.
One: God is, by nature, relational and revelational. The world, including humankind, was created to be in relationship with the very source of creation. When human beings are in right relationship with their Creator, they will rejoice in the rest of creation and care for it. They will celebrate their inter-relationship with all of creation and experience a profound sense of gratitude to the God who invites us to come along. And God, through creation and constant re-creation, reveals the divine desire to remain in positive relationship with us. Once we grasp that the relationship between God, humankind, and the rest of creation is inter-twined, that we cannot have one without the other, God’s shalom—perfect peace—is present.
Two: Our common purpose, shared with all of creation is to bring glory to the God who creates us, redeems us and sustains us. When we recognize that we share this purpose with all creation, we become more keenly aware of our place in creation and our responsibility for maintaining that relationship. We become convinced that we must maintain right relationships with others and with ourselves. We honor those who differ from us, who dislike us, who wish us ill. And when, we treat ourselves with less than God’s fullest love, we are called back into the perfect relationship with the one who created us in the image of the Divine. We take on, as Paul calls us to, the mind of Christ.
Three: We—all of us—break down those perfect shalom-like relationships when we allow ourselves to reject the humility to which we are called. Sin, the belief that we are equal to God, clouds our perceptions and causes us to set ourselves above others—like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable for this day. We come to think that we are better than the rest of creation—the rest of humankind—that we can make it without God’s perfect grace and peace. Our right relationship, our shalom is shattered, by our own turning away from that which keeps us settled in the midst of God’s love.
Four: Jesus, whom we celebrate each and every time we are invited to this meal, restored the broken relationships caused by humankind refusing God’s grace and gift of peace. As we celebrate the ‘cup of the new covenant’ we proclaim that this restoration of broken relationships has taken place. And so we come to this Feast with open hearts, ready to heal and be healed—ready to reach out and to be reached out to. We come longing for the restoration of our relationships, seeking those with whom we have broken the sacred trust of God’s lovingkindness.
Five: Once our relationships are restored, God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us maintain those right relationships. It is through this divine Spirit that we learn to love as Jesus loved. Our ‘process’ becomes God’s process at work in us—our journeys belong to God, our peace, God’s perfect shalom at every step.
Six: We can maintain those right relationships only by being open to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our interactions with those around us and our individual spiritual formation as led and directed by this same Holy Spirit. We bring the working of the Holy Spirit in all our relationships with us to the Table each and every time we accept God’s invitation.
And, finally, seven: the Church, God’s perfect example of right relationship on this earthly plane, is sustained and transformed constantly through the work of this same Holy Spirit. Falling out of right relationship with God, each other, or ourselves, we are called back—we are offered the chance to enter again into this place of rightness and shalom—we are reconciled through the Feast itself. And so, again this Sunday, like every Sunday, we come, we taste and we see that God is very good indeed. Amen and amen.
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