What Standard?
Theme Jesus reprimanded the religious leaders of his day for reveling in the symbols of status and the trappings of their office. He reminds us that true greatness is found in service.
Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Leader: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever.
People: Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed and gathered.
Leader: Let us give thanks for God’s steadfast love, for God’s wonderful works to humankind.
People: God satisfies the thirsty, and fills the hungry with good things. God turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground.
Leader: God turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
People: Let us worship God!
—Based on Psalm 107.
*Hymn of Praise # 285 Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It
Invocation (the Lord’s Prayer) God of our history, we know that we stand on the shoulders of so many giants in the faith—Moses, Miriam, Joshua, Deborah, Mary, Paul, and countless others throughout time. We are here because of their faithfulness to you, and your faithfulness to them, which is beyond measure and beyond our imagining. God of our future, we know that others will stand on our shoulders. In your faithfulness speak to us, that we might be equipped for ministry and mission in the world, in Jesus’ name.
Gloria Patri
Just for Kids Skits
Our Offering to God
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication Creating God, you have set us in the midst of abundance. Redeeming God, you have brought us from death to life. Sustaining God, you are our faithful companion on life’s journey. Grant us one thing more, we pray: give us hearts that break for earth’s sorrow and are as generous with others as you have been with us. For Christ’s sake we pray, Amen.
Scripture Reading 1 Thessalonians 2:7b–9, 13
First Thessalonians may be the New Testament’s oldest document. Paul exhibits extraordinary tenderness toward the Thessalonians, and reminds them of how much he cares for them.
*Hymn of Prayer # 286 At Calvary
Pastoral Prayer Blessing and honor and glory and power are yours, O God. In love you created the human race and called Israel to be your people. You summoned Abraham and Sarah to follow you and through their descendants all the peoples of the earth are blessed. You brought Israel through the wilderness and established them in a land flowing with milk and honey. Through prophets you spoke your word of grace and judgment. And in the fullness of time you came among us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. You call disciples in every age to follow his example of humility and service. Raise up faithful leaders to embrace the way of the cross, to stand with the weak and oppose the proud, to find life in dying to self. Guide the nations of the world into ways of freedom and give them leaders who will honor human dignity. May those who suffer in body, mind, and spirit be filled with your abundant life. And in all things, gracious God, grant that we may raise hearts and voices to you in prayer and praise; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
*Hymn of Praise # 512 Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service
What a stark contrast Jesus draws for those listening to him when he advises them to “not do as [some] do, for they do not practice what they teach,” but instead live humble lives of service: “The greatest among you will be your servant.” This hymn, Albert Bayly’s wonderfully poetic text, admonishes us to live the life Jesus talks about here.
Scripture Focus Matthew 23:1–12 1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. 3So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden.
5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside,£ and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. 6And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue! 7They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called ‘rabbi.’£ 8Don’t ever let anyone call you ‘rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters. 9And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. 10And don’t let anyone call you ‘Master,’ for there is only one master, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Jesus’ criticism is leveled at the Pharisees’ behavior, not their teaching: “observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do.” Service, not self–aggrandizement, is the path to greatness.
Message What Standard?
We misunderstand Jesus’ condemnation of the religious leaders of his day for their love of titles and status if we do not also hear it as a word of judgment against us. Before he took the scribes and Pharisees to task, Jesus had already rebuked his own disciples with similar words. Jesus sets before us the path of service and humility, the path no one has followed as completely as Christ himself.
In today’s gospel reading Jesus denounces the scribes and Pharisees for reveling in the trappings of status, receiving more honor than others. The Pharisees’ traditions and their interpretations and applications of the laws had become as important to them as God’s law itself. Their laws were not all bad—some were beneficial. Problems arose when the religious leaders (1) held that man-made rules were equal to God’s laws, (2) told the people to obey these rules but did not do so themselves, or (3) obeyed the rules, not to honor God, but to make themselves look good. Jesus did not condemn what the Pharisees taught but what they were—hypocrites.
“They make their phylacteries – These “prayer boxes” were leather boxes containing Scripture verses. Very religious people wore these boxes on their foreheads and arms in order to obey Deuteronomy 6:8 and Exodus 13:9, 16. But the prayer boxes had been made extra wide and had become more important for the status they gave than for the truth they contained. - They make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi” (Mt 23:6–7). Jesus again exposed the hypocritical attitudes of the religious leaders. They knew the Scriptures but did not live by them. They didn’t care about being holy—just looking holy in order to receive people’s admiration and praise. Today, like the Pharisees, many people say they know the Bible but do not let it change their lives. They say they follow Jesus, but they don’t live by his standards of love. We must make sure that our actions match our beliefs, otherwise people would be right to call us hypocrites. People desire positions of leadership in business and in the church. It is dangerous when love for position grows stronger than loyalty to God. This is what happened to the Pharisees and teachers of religious law. Jesus is not against all leadership—we need Christian leaders—but against leadership that serves itself rather than others.
Jesus says that signs of status are to be avoided. “You are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father – the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah” (vv. 8–10).
All pastors would do well to feel a little uneasy now and then about Jesus’ words in Matthew 23. Whether they call us reverend or father or pastor or some other title, congregations have a tendency to put clergy on a pedestal. In the sermon he preached at his installation as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Frank Griswold said that the more you put on externally, that is, the more trappings of priestly or episcopal offices, the more you are called to take off internally through a greater intimacy with Christ.
However, these are not temptations of clergy only. Jesus’ words to the scribes and Pharisees echo his words earlier in Matthew. When the “mother of the sons of Zebedee” asked Jesus if her sons could occupy places of honor in the kingdom, he replied, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mt 20:25–28). Jesus challenged society’s norms. To him, greatness comes from serving—giving of yourself to help God and others. Service keeps us aware of others’ needs, and it stops us from focusing only on ourselves. Jesus came as a servant.
Jesus’ point, of course, was not that it is wrong to give honor where honor is due, but that our priorities are wrong. We lift up and celebrate the wrong things. We honor the wealthy and powerful rather than those who have distinguished themselves by lives of service. A few years ago Harvard University gave two honorary doctorates in the same year. The first was Walter Annenberg, the founder of TV Guide, a billionaire and friend of Presidents Ford and Reagan. For his generosity he was not only given honorary degrees but also named ambassador to Great Britain. The same year Harvard also honored Oseola McCarty. Oseola McCarty was a sixth grade dropout who spent 75 years as a washerwoman in rural Mississippi. During her career she saved $150,000 that she gave to the University of Southern Mississippi, saying, “I wanted to do some good for somebody else’s child.” //// Did Walter Annenberg deserve the honors he received for his generous philanthropy? Of course he did. But when you hear Jesus say, “The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted,” do you think first of Annenberg or McCarty? We do not have to take in laundry for 75 years and then give away our life’s savings to exemplify Jesus’ words. Nor is it wrong to receive or give honor where it is due. But Jesus does suggest that we need to examine our priorities. Do we live lives of self-aggrandizement or service? Do we measure our lives by how much we get or how much we give?
Jesus’ words in Matthew 23 hold up a standard against which all of us fall short. Yet it is a standard perfectly embodied in Jesus’ own life. Jesus shows us that the way of service and humility is also the way of true greatness. Jesus is not arguing against leadership per se. Jesus himself showed how to exercise leadership, but he led from a position of humility and service.
Jesus’ call to his disciples in all ages is “follow me.” There is no place we can go where he has not already gone. The most prized title is not Doctor or Reverend or Lord or Master, but Servant. The place of honor is not the throne but the cross. And the only distinction we should seek is to be recognized as faithful disciples of the King who reigns from the cross and the Lord who kneels to wash the feet of his friends. – J. Barry Vaughn
In today’s epistle reading for Paul to say that he relates to them “like a father with his children” meant a lot more than a simple push around the block or just bringing home the proverbial bread. Paul’s image of fatherhood involved a lot of “urging and encouraging ... and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (2:12).
First, real spiritual parenting involves work (2:9). Work not motivated by the “flattery” and “greed” (2:5) that cause many parents (and pastors!) to work long hours at the expense of their families. Rather, Paul’s work was directed at bringing him closer to his spiritual children. It enabled him to be in a place to share with them not only the gospel, but himself (2:8).
Our real work is to invest the bulk of our energy, time, effort and resources into raising others up to have a relationship with Christ.
Next, spiritual parenting requires that we walk with Christ ourselves while we walk alongside others. Paul, unlike many athletes and celebrities, is more than willing to be a role model to these young Christians. He reminds the Thessalonians that he had been “pure, upright, and blameless” among them (2:10). That might sound a little self-righteous to us, but the reality is that Paul backed up his words with action. He had no problem inviting others to imitate him in his walk with Christ and in living by that example.
We who are parents have to realize that, when it comes to our kids, more is caught than taught. Our children will watch us closely to learn what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Rather than beg off that responsibility or pop in a video of Mother Teresa to give them a righteous example, we need to be out in front of our children rather than pushing from behind, showing them the joy of following Jesus in our own lives.
But there’s also the need for us to use personal words as we lead our families at home and at church. Paul’s spiritual parenthood involved dealing with “each” of the Thessalonians “like a father with his children”(2:11), which implies that he spent individual one-on-one time with people in the fellowship. His “encouraging, comforting and urging” were powerful witnesses to each of them as they sought to grow “into a life worthy of God” (2:12).
The best gift we can give our children at home isn’t an all-terrain vehicle to protect them from the potholes of the suburban jungle. The best gift is time — face time, one-on-one time, time to listen and to encourage, time to just enjoy being with them.
The same is true for youngsters in the faith. How do we best help others get connected to a vital relationship with Christ? It’s not through more gadgets in our worship space and programs that seem to have more style than substance. It happens little by little, one moment at a time, as we intentionally spend quality and quantity time listening and loving, whether it’s at church or at Dunkin Donuts. Investing our work, our walk and our words with others, be that at home, at church or anywhere else is the way best investment.
Sources: Wiersbe, Warren. The Bible Expository Commentary. Wheaton, IL. Victor Books, 1989. Electronic edition copyright SP Publications, 1996.
*Hymn of Response # 385 Take My Life
*Sending forth We are called to be witnesses to God’s glory. God urges us, encourages us, pleads with us to take this call seriously—to live a life worthy of God. Jesus is our model and ideal, and also our savior and hope. When we fall short, it is the Spirit who supplies all our needs. Go from this place, committed to be witnesses to God, disciples of Christ and a community of the Spirit, through the power of the triune God. Amen.
*Postlude
Thought for the day
The more you put on externally, that is, the more trappings of priestly or episcopal offices, the more you are called to take off internally through a greater intimacy with Christ.
– Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
The temptations for pastors [to meet the expectations of a secular culture] are huge. Eugene Peterson nicely names these temptations as threefold. First, he says, we are tempted to think that pastors are necessary as guardians of the moral order and of virtue for the culture. Second, pastors are tempted to imagine that they are necessary for the church to function (in case you hadn’t noticed, we like to be liked). And, third, pastors are tempted by congregations to think that they are necessary to lead the congregation to success as a religious organization. The problem with all these seemingly necessary roles for the pastor is that they seduce the pastor and the church into avoiding the once necessary thing. In other words, it is essential for the health of gospel communities that pastors avoid the roles which we have assumed are necessary in order that they — that we — can do the one necessary thing: to proclaim the gospel of God.
—Ed Searcy, “The unnecessary pastor,” November 3, 2002, University Hill United Church Web Site, uhill.swift-web.com.