Sermon Text: Just A GuyAll who exalt themselves will be humbled...usually by a spouse.
Years ago now, I heard a story I really liked from our previous bishop. Bishop Skip said he heard it from the Bishop of Bath and Wells. That's in England, and that bishop has a very prestigious job. So this very important English bishop told our bishop Skip that he once said to his wife, "Darling, did you ever in your wildest dreams think I would end up as the bishop of Bath and Wells?" His wife answered, "Darling, I hate to disappoint you, but you have NEVER been in my wildest dreams!" So I had to tell MY wife that story, and she said, "Now, THERE'S a woman I want to meet!" All who exalt themselves will be humbled, usually by a spouse. When you have a fancy title, like "Rector" or "Reverend" or even "the Right Reverend," and when you get to wear fancy robes, and sit up in front of the church, it's easy to get a little puffed up. Religious leaders often give in to that temptation, and get a little full of themselves. And this seemed to tick Jesus off. He has some things to say about it. Some of us wear these robes and start to think we might be Gandalf the Wizard, or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. But in fact, we are more like Bozo the Clown in drag. I remember one time I fell into the trap. I was feeling pretty good about the ol' priestly memory. I can recite long passages of Scripture by heart. I can do the Eucharist with no book on the altar, because I have the Great Thanksgiving memorized. And people had said how impressed they were about my ability to remember names. I was feeling a little smug, I'll admit. So it was a bit of a comedown when I could not remember where I had put my keys. I searched my bedroom. I looked in the car and in the basement. I checked the shelf where I usually leave them, several times. I went through all my clothes, and all the drawers in my dresser. Then I looked in every one of those places again. I....could....not....find....them. Finally, I decided I'd left them on my office desk at church, and I would have to find someone to let me into the building. The next morning, my sweet wife said, "I found your keys." I was amazed and I was relieved. "Where WERE they?" I asked. She said, "In the front door of the house....all night." All who exalt themselves will be humbled, usually by a spouse. What is the point of getting all puffed up? I may be a priest in a fancy robe, but I smashed my head into the Advent wreath during a church service. I tripped over the altar steps. I almost burned this church down because of a glass paperweight on my office desk. I am just a schlub, like the rest of humanity. "Schlub" is a Yiddish word. According to the dictionary, it means airhead, birdbrain, doofus, meathead, or....(I am not making this up)...LOON! Jesus said, "You are all disciples, students...You are all servants...So stay humble." The word humble comes from the Latin word humus, meaning soil. To be humble is to be close to the soil, or down to earth. The true friends of Jesus are down to earth. Ministers, priests, and bishops should view themselves as more like Bozo the Clown than like the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. You see, we're all just God's kids: the laypeople and the ordained, the rich and the poor, gays, straights, young, old, male, female and in-between, tall, short, able, disabled...We're all just God's kids. We're all loved simply for that reason. And I think it's so important that clergy like me are allowed to be married. You see, when I get a little puffed up, there is someone pretty close by who can bring me right back down to earth. She has a special gift for it. And if she doesn't do it, a child will. When I served a church in the Chicago area 32 years ago, I went to visit a family about baptizing their new baby. The baby had a 5-year old brother, and he was watching for me. When I pulled into their driveway, the 5-year old ran into the house and yelled, "Mom! Mom! The Church Guy is here!" I like that title much more than the Very Reverend. I'm just the Church Guy. I'm just a child of God. Nothing special, really, but, then, everything special. Same goes for you. So keep your feet on the ground. Stay down to earth. But remember -- you are always, always loved. Just as you are. |
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7/4/2020
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