Lent 4 06

      One of my favorite television commercials of the past was when actor John Houseman was dressed as a representative of a financial investment firm. Some of you may remember his famous words in that commercial. In a beautiful and proper British accent he would say, “We make money the old fashioned way. We EARN IT!” Houseman expressed the deeply held belief of many people that resources one has should be earned. Expecting to get something for nothing is wrong. Gains that come too easily or too quickly or as the result of taking advantage of the benevolence of the government or some other means of attaining wealth are unacceptable.

      George Brushaber, musing on this television advertisement, once wrote, “I think John Houseman, gold watch chain encircling his vested girth, perfectly fits the image of God as the scribes, Pharisees, and Judaizers imagined – proper, solid, dependable, tolerating no nonsense, a comfort to do business with…They gained God’s favor the old fashioned way, ‘They earned it.’” Many people are seeking to earn God’s favor even today.

      St. Paul said in our second reading today from his letter to the Ephesians, that there is no way we can earn God’s favor. Christ has done that for us. Listen again to what he said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – not because of works, lest any man should boast.” The law of God is like a mirror that shows us what we are really like; it points out the sin in our lives and shows us that we are in need of a spiritual shave, if you will, to take away our sins.

 One morning as John was standing in front of the mirror he resolved not to shave himself anymore but rather he would go to the barber shop each morning for a shave. His pastor was also his barber. As he entered the barbershop he noticed his pastor was not there only the pastor's wife, Grace, was there. When John asked where the pastor was Grace informed him that he had taken the day off but could she help him. John said he had stopped in for a shave. Grace said she could shave him. John said ok and got his shave. After the shave he asked her how much he owed for the shave. She said it would be twenty dollars. Wow, said John, He had had a great shave but he could not afford to pay twenty dollars every morning so he decided he would have to shave himself after all. Well the next morning as he prepared to shave he noticed he did not need a shave. This went on for several mornings. Every time he started to shave he noticed he didn't need a shave. After about two weeks he went back to the barber shop for his haircut. His pastor was there so John told him about getting a shave and never having to shave since. I am not surprised, said the pastor. What do you mean asked John? Well, said the pastor, you were shaved by grace and once shaved always shaved.

      A chaplain was addressing the soldiers in his company one day. He said to them, “There are two possibilities following death. Heaven and hell. If you would like to know your destination I will be happy to give you a little test – the results of which will be your answer.” They answered in unison, “Okay, give us the test.” They found some pencils and paper and the chaplain told them to number off ten spaces. Each question would count ten points. Question number one was, “Have you always loved God above all else and not put anything else before Him?” Each soldier was to grade himself on a scale of one to ten. “Have you ever misused God’s name or made light of Him?” There were other questions about family, God and conduct as the chaplain went through the Ten Commandments. When the test was completed, he asked the men to tally up their scores. One thought that he had scored quite well and had given himself a 75. HE recalled in school that was considered passing. Eventually, one of the men asked, “Say Padre, what’s a passing score for this test, anyway?” The chaplain answered, “100 points.” The men shook their heads. “What’s the use of trying? No one could be that perfect. We’re all doomed. The chaplain smiled and said, I’ve got good news. There was a man who walked this earth and took this test and scored 100 points. His name is Jesus. And he says that the purpose of the test is not to score 100 points but to indicate our need for help. There is mercy and forgiveness for all who will receive it. Even though we may not score 100 points we can substitute his test score for our own. Because of what he has done, we are accepted.”

      We don’t attain heaven the old fashion way. We don’t earn it. It is a gift. That is, of course, the meaning of the word “grace.” The theme of God’s unmerited, unrestrained love for sinners was so important to St. Paul that the word grace occurs 101 times in writings attributed to him. It only appears 28 times in the rest of the New Testament. Why was it important to St. Paul? It was important to him because he had tried his best to earn his way to heaven. He was the most passionate Pharisee of all. He had even persecuted the early Church in his zeal. And yet he met Jesus on the Damascus road. There Jesus turned his life around. HE, who was in his words, the chief of sinners, came into the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ not because of works but because of grace. So St. Paul wanted the whole world to know that salvation is something we cannot earn. Salvation is a gift freely given.

      Why is this important to us? The knowledge of our acceptance by God, in spite of our unworthiness, is important for three reasons. In the first place, the good news of God’s grace is a call to humility. No one can boast, says St. Paul in this and another of his letters, about his or her status as a Christian. We are all sinners saved by grace.

      The great preacher Dwight L. Moody once said, “It is well that a man cannot save himself for if a man could only work his way to heaven, you will never hear the last of it. Why, if a man happens to get a little ahead of his fellow and scrapes a few thousand dollars together, you will hear him boast of being a self-made man. I’ve heard so much of this sort of talk, that I am sick of the whole business. And I am glad that through all eternity in heaven we will never hear anyone bragging that he worked his way to get there.”

      It is so rare to encounter a genuinely humble person but how refreshing when we do. I ran across one such tidbit a while back, though. I thought you might enjoy this quote from the late actress Katherine Hepburn’s autobiography. It offers a kind of pleasant surprise. Actually, it is from the jacket flap of her autobiography. Usually on the flap of the jacket, the publishers boast of the author’s credentials. Their aim, of course, is to help sell the book. Katherine Hepburn did not need that. Here is what is on the book jacket, “Katherine Hepburn is an actress. She is interested in tennis and gardening and lives in a small town in Connecticut. This is her first book.” I like that.

      The knowledge of God’s unmerited, unrestrained love for unworthy humanity is first of all a call to honest humility. We are all sinners saved by grace. None of us is superior to any other in God’s eyes. We cannot earn God’s favor. God grace is a call to humility.

      The knowledge of God’s grace is also a call to compassion. Once we admit our status as sinners saved by grace then we can look with compassion on others. Rather than divide the world into two camps, the deserving and the undeserving as many are prone to do, we can move toward others with the attitude that we are simply one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.

      Jesus’ problem with the self-righteous Pharisees was that they had a superiority complex that would not allow them to reach out to others. This came to mind when I read about an event at the Special Olympics. Ed Beck, a former basketball player at Kentucky and a minister, doubled as a part time chaplain to the U. S. Olympic team. Once he thought that the kingdom of heaven is like the best, first class athletes. Seeing them train at the Air Force Academy practice field with all their dedication and native skill he concluded that here might be the pearl of great price.

      But then he wandered down to the running of the Special Olympics, which featured the physically and mentally limited persons of all ages, races and backgrounds. He watched while eight of these special Olympians lined up for the world 100 yard dash. All eight charged over the starting line at the sound of the gun, but suddenly a small-framed boy among them fell to the asphalt and began to cry loudly. What happened next is an amazing and beautiful thing. The other seven soon heard him and all returned to help. One large sized girl bent down, kissed his hurt knee and said, “That will help it feel better.” Then all eight joined hands and walked to the finish line to the roar of the crowd.

      In this self-centered, competitive-prone, isolated, suspicious world, that is a little like the kingdom of God. We can learn from those special Olympians to move from isolation to compassion; from self-centeredness to other centeredness.

      When you come to God the new-fashioned way – not earning it, but simply receiving it – you are led to a sense of humility and compassion for others. But there is one more thing to be said; acknowledging God’s unmerited, unrestrained love for us is a call for us to move out in ministry to the world. If, while we were unworthy, Christ would give his life for us, would it be to much to ask us to give our lives in service of others? It is not enough to feel humility and compassion. It is time for us to take up a cross!

      Dan Walker in his book, Energy in the Pew, points this out about the purpose of faith. “Reviewing the gospels recently,” he said, “I was astounded at the number of times Jesus sent his followers out to do something. The record is punctuated with these orders. Go preach. Go tell. Go work. Go into the highways and byways. Go to the next town. Go into the country. Go to the other side. Go into the deep. Go into the streets. Go into the city. Go into the village. Go to the lost sheep. Go call your husband. Go make it right with your brother. Go and learn. Go quickly. Go in peace. Arise and go!”

      Like the Pharisees many want the pride and prestige of being a part of the elect, but few want to take the next step of going and serving.

      The city of Miami, sometime back, established a municipal beautification committee. They appointed twenty-five members to it. But word got around, and it seems that everyone wanted to belong to that committee. Request after request was granted until 131 citizens were appointed. Then the committee had a meeting, nineteen members showed up.

      They wanted to belong to the committee, but they did not want to do the work. And something like that can happen in the church. Two men met on the street. One asked the other, “Hi, how are you?” The other replies, “I’m fine, thanks.” “And how’s your son? Is he still unemployed?” “Yes, he is. But he is meditating now.”

      “Meditating, what’s that?” The other guy replies, “I don’t know. But it’s better than sitting around doing nothing.”

      Some of you may have been meditating on what you could do for the church and the kingdom of God. May I suggest that there are a lot of service opportunities in the church and in the community? I’m thinking of the Azle Good neighbors project that we do each year. We need volunteers to teach three week segments of our Narnia: Through the Wardrobe program on Sunday mornings. These are just two of many different opportunities for service. As Jesus was prone to say, “Go and do something.”

      When we understand that none of us is deserving of the grace of God, none of us deserves to stand before the throne of God in the white robes that have been prepared for us, none of us would pass the test, none of us would score even close to 100, but there is someone who has taken the test for us – when we understand these things, then there is an opportunity for us to have our hearts filled with humility and compassion for those who also will not pass the test. There is also motivation for us to go beyond those feelings of humility and compassion into a life of mission, service and ministry.