For the 9am Chapel Service on September 1, 2013
Luke 14:1, 7-14
Nobody likes a show off!
You know the type: egotistical, haughty, condescending, arrogant, big-headed self-promoter, only looking out for their own interests and concerns at the expense of others. They can only see the world through their own eyes, not the eyes of others. At the Ironman 70.3 Brazil race last weekend, Jeremy Jurkiewicz of France was the first one finished with the race, but for some inexplicable reason he stopped short of the finish line. Nobody knows why. Maybe he thought he was so far ahead of the person in second place he could afford to just mess around a little. Little did he realize was that Brazil’s Igor Amorelli, who was in second place in the race, came around the corner, saw what Jeremy was doing and broke into a full sprint. At the last second, Jeremy noticed Amorelli coming up in fast and quickly pushed himself in front of him to actually win the race. The excessive pride and arrogance of this guy is too much. What led Jeremy to think nothing bad would happen if he simply stopped short and chilled out just before the end of the race? He just swam, biked and ran 70.3 miles, but now he feels like pulling up for a quick visit with the pretty people gathered at the finish line. We see this showboating behavior happening more and more these days. We live in a culture that thrives on this kind of behavior. It’s an approach to life where we exalt ourselves at the expense of others.
It’s September! School has started and football is back! And do we love football. Not just here in Texas, but across the nation. The NFL in recent years has worked tirelessly on how to do away with excessive celebrations by teams after they score a touchdown. It started years ago with a simple, harmless spike of the ball, but it snowballed into group high-fives, sack dances, push-ups, cartwheels, sit-ups, boat-rowing, snow angels, and worm crawls. The arrogance of these athletes has become so bad that excessive celebrations have been prohibited and players are penalized fifteen yards on the ensuing kick-off. The excessive, in-your-face celebrations say more about the person’s character than anything else. The push for excessive celebrations is a sign poor sportsmanship and is demeaning to ones’ opponent. It is condescending and humiliating to the opponent. In the words of D.L. Moody, “Be humble or you’ll stumble.”
Muhammad Ali, the world famous boxer, is reported to have boarded a plane at the height of his career, and resisted the instructions of a stewardess (as they were called then). The stewardess told him to buckle up (repeatedly) and Ali said, "Superman don't need no seat belt."
The stewardess, without missing a beat, replied, "Superman don't need no airplane, either. Buckle up." Ali swallowed his pride and buckled up.
You can see this same arrogance in popular music. Most of you are familiar with the old country song by Mac Davis that goes, “Oh, Lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way, I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'Cause I get better lookin' each day.” Indeed it is hard to be humble, especially in a world that seems to value arrogance and self-promotion over humility and modesty.
Last Sunday night, Miley Cyrus gave the world her best “I’m not Hannah Montana anymore” routine while the older, married with children Robin Thicke gave us his best “no, she’s definitely not Hannah Montana anymore” routine. As blogger Bo Stern wrote, “How does a darling little girl go from Disney stardom to that moment where she finds herself nearly-naked on a stage in front of millions doing obscene things with a foam finger?” It’s another break in the wall of our cultural foundation where success is defined by how far you are willing to push the moral envelope and blur the ethical lines that were once so crystal clear. It’s all about how successful you appear to be to others, in order to gain publicity and attention, good and bad, no matter the cost.
Jesus had no patience with prolonged, premeditated and excessive granduear and self-promotion. When going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, he said, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down in the place of honor" (v. 8). Don't assume that you are all that. Don’t assume you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. Don’t assume you’re the greatest singer in the world, the greatest fighter in the world, the greatest athlete in the world, or the greatest anything in the world as too many of us seem to think. Jesus knows that someone more distinguished than you might show up, which would cause your host to come to you and say, "Give this person your place," forcing you to take a walk of shame and go to the lowest place (vv. 8-9). Can you say, “Awkward!”
Instead, says Jesus, "When you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you" (v. 10).
This kind of behavior is not a sign of arrogance. It's a sign of humility. In the words of C.S. Lewis, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less." It’s thinking of yourself less and others more. We are to walk with humble hearts; we are to walk in humility, a humble spirit.
Jesus’ parable summarizes the way God’s kingdom turns our world upside down. This passage in Luke is a call for commitment to the ways of God rather than to the ways of the world.
The ways of the world instill a sense of entitlement in our children and parents, who want trophies for participating in sports, not just for winning tournaments. Many parents expect their kids to be admitted to Ivy League colleges, even though only one in ten will get in. College students want A's, not because they have studied hard and learned a lot, but because they have simply showed up for class and paid $3,000 for it. Basketball players go to prestigious universities not necessarily because they want a first-class education, but because they want to play a year and then jump to the NBA.
And let's not forget the arrogant antics and unapologetic self-promotion on reality television. Reality TV is full of people who become famous for being outrageous, not for any specific skills or talents or achievements: The Real Housewives of Orange County, Jersey Shore, The Bachelor, Big Brother, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Jesus makes a prediction that should be heeded by the stars of reality television and by all of us: "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (v. 11).
The good news is that God has shown us the way: we are humbly exalted through our faith in Jesus Christ. The good news is turning the world upside down and reorienting our lives based on our faith in Christ. Every now and then, we see this reversal at work in the world.
Not every musician is arrogant, conceited or egotistical. I’ve always been a big fan of the music of Bruce Springsteen, since I was eleven or twelve years old. With all his success, he never let it go to his head. It didn’t change who he was; he stayed true to his roots. He has done so much over the years to help fight poverty and hunger and help those in need. I am sure you can think of a favorite musical artist who despite their successful careers have remained grounded and humble in whom they are.
And not every athlete is noted for brash boasting, bragging or self-promotion. On September 6, 1995, Cal Ripken, shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles, became baseball's new "Iron Man," breaking Lou Gehrig's all-time record of 2,130 consecutive games played. Ripken had not missed a game since May 30, 1982.
While a superb athlete, Ripken's Iron Man record is not based on flashy, prima donna behavior on or off the field. Players don't rack up a statistic like that unless they place very high value on faithful service, training and teamwork.
On the night when he broke the record, Ripken said: "Tonight I stand here, overwhelmed, as my name is linked with the great and courageous Lou Gehrig. I'm truly humbled to have our names spoken in the same breath."
What's more, everyone who heard Ripken say those words, believed them to be true.
We cannot forget that no matter the situation God is the real actor here. God humbles the pretentious and exalts the humble. We are all on the same team. We must be humble or we will stumble. God’s direction for each of us is that we think of others more than ourselves because God’s kingdom includes everyone: male and female, protestant and catholic, black, white, latino, and asian; Jews, Christians and Muslims, gay and straight; those with disabilities both physical and mental; everyone is included at the banquet table in the kingdom of God, no matter what the culture says or thinks. Jesus came to turn the world upside down by extending hospitality to all and committing ourselves to God’s reign rather than the ways of the world.
May we be God’s representatives to extend God’s hospitality to all whom we meet and know inviting them to come as they are to the table of grace.
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