It Isn’t Right!

The 14th Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 17C), Sept. 2, 2007

BCP: Ecclus. 10:(7-11)12-18; Psalm 112; Heb. 13:1-8; Luke 14:1, 7-14

RCL: Jer. 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1, 10-16 or Ecclus. 10:12-18 or Prov. 25:6-7; Psalm 112; Heb. 13:1-8,15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14

Most us of believe we deserve an exalted place in this life. We’ve worked hard, after all, for what we’ve got. Either that or we’re smart enough to have been born into wealthy and influential families. In any case, it’s only right that those around us give us our due.

Ours is a culture of privilege and deference — so much so that we seldom think about it. First-class airline passengers are entitled to far faster publicly funded security checks than are the masses who travel in steerage. The affluent buy places at the head of the line at the most popular attractions at some major theme parks. And in a western state, lone commuters will soon be able to pay to avoid rush hour traffic through driving in bond-funded “high occupancy vehicle” lanes. We’re so used to privilege based on money that only its most ridiculous displays actually get our attention.

Our church closely mirrors the culture in which we live. Our privileged leaders, though paid by donations, usually have gross incomes which are grossly larger than those who do the donating. In many cases, many times over.

“Arrogance is hateful to the Lord and to mortals,” we read in Ecclesiasticus, “and injustice is outrageous to both” (10:7). And indeed it is. The truth is, eventually “[t]he Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers, and enthrones the lowly in their place” (10:15). For no matter what we might think, “pride was not created for human beings” (10:18). Jesus promises this in today’s gospel: “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).

This Sunday’s readings exhort us to a prophetic style of living, quite at odds with that promoted by popular culture. “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for [God] has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you’”

(Heb. 13:5). We’re to “go and sit down at the lowest place” (Luke 14:10). And we’re to identify ourselves, in thought and deed, with “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” (14:13).

“It isn’t right,” by our culture’s standards, how today’s readings challenge us to live. Maybe we just have to get used to it.

Look It Up

In Matthew 20:20-28, the mother of James and John requests a privileged

place in the kingdom for her sons. How does Jesus respond? How do the

other disciples respond? Why?

Think About It

How do we personally display spiritual arrogance in our lives and in our

ministries? What can we do to change that?

Next Sunday

BCP: Deut. 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1-20; Luke 14:25-33

RCL: Jer. 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-5, 13-17 or Deut. 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33