SERMON - October 30, 2011
Rev. Kevin E. Johnston
"A Matter of Integrity "
The Message
Matthew 23:1-12
“For a storyteller, the one we call Matthew can be fairly blunt. He does not tolerate fools easily.
And he will not countenance smugness and elitism.” (1)
In the story Henriette just read, he addresses the issue of leadership. But this time he has Jesus passing comment on some of the Jewish leaders of the day: “You won't go wrong in following their teachings…. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it.”
For Matthew’s Jesus, leadership is a matter of integrity, where one’s inner life and external behavior are in synch. Or as it has been said, “Without ortho praxis [right action], ortho doxy [right belief] is of little value”.(2)
I find it interesting that the disciples – his followers – are the ones he is talking to here. And I’m wondering once again if the storyteller wasn’t talking to the people in his own community by putting these words into the Jesus-figure’s mouth. To go a step further, is it possible that we, too, might be included in this.
This past week, United Church Moderator, Mardi Tindall, wrote an article about the current Occupy Wall Street movement that has taken the stage in North America and much of the Western world. I put a copy of her editorial on the bulletin board outside Maureen’s office. In it, she notes that it was
born in Vancouver at Adbusters magazine. As the movement has spread across the United States and around the world before finally ‘coming home’ to cities in Canada, people of the United Church have become involved by taking part in the protests, visiting the occupied sites, and providing material and spiritual support. (3)
Quoting American “author, educator, and activist [Parker Palmer,] who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change”,(4) Tindall observes that “ one of our ‘habits of the heart’ must be to understand that we are all in this together.” (5)
We’re all in this together. Hmmmmmmmm…..I wonder if perhaps that’s what the writer we call Matthew was trying to get across in this tale?
According to Tindall,
These actions [of the Occupy movement] are deeply rooted in the tradition of the United Church which as early as 1934, in the midst of the Depression, called members and ministers to "to study and understand the existing social order...to arouse the Christian conscience when injustice and intolerable conditions are discovered." The church's 2006 report, Living Faithfully in the Midst of Empire, identifies national and global inequalities that threaten life. Indeed the richest 10 percent of adults in the world own 85 percent of global househo l d wealth. This inequality challenges the faith we profess as followers of Jesus. (6)
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary describes a leader as “one who leads” (7) , a person who seeks “ to guide on a way especially by going in advance [or] to direct on a course or in a direction”. (8) Could it be then, that each one of us, as self-proclaimed followers of this Jesus guy and his teachings, is a leader in our own right? After all, we are disciples, aren’t we? At least, that’s what following him is all about according to the biblical writers.
When he invited people to join him and his way of life, he didn’t say, “Come, and be a member of the church.” He said, “Follow me.” It seems that a disciple is much more than being a part of a larger whole. Perhaps being a disciple has much more to do with living out what that vision, or dream, or hoped-for Reality is all about. What do you think? Are you a disciple? Or are you a member? Interesting food-for-thought, eh?
Australian “ progressive 'grass roots' theologian/religious naturalist, liturgist, and social ecologist ”(9) Rex Hunt tells the story of Andrew Furlong, priest of the Church of Ireland. It seems that Furlong was forced to resign from his position “on the eve of his heresy trial in 2002, as a result of being targeted because of his efforts to express Christian doctrine differently.” His book Tried for Heresy. A 21 st Century Journey of Faith, tells of those experiences. (10)
Of this book, Richard Holloway, former Primus of the Episcopal Church in Scotland, wrote:
‘Those people who believe that the Christian Faith is a pre-packed and unalterable teaching will find this book dangerously subversive. But the author is not out to replace the traditional faith with another, more modern version… What…Furlong is demonstrating in these pages is the vitality of a theology that allows, indeed celebrates, a number of different approaches, including his own. He is telling us that the day of prescriptive doctrine is over - it's just that the Church has yet to catch up with the fact’. (11)
Maybe, being a leader isn’t always an easy thing to do. What Furlong experienced reminds me of the guy they stuck on a piece of wood with a few nails some two-thousand-or-so years ago. The more things change, the more they stay the same I guess.
One of my online colleagues observed this week that today’s story
is not just a negative, "blame the Pharisees" rant. It is finally a positive prescription for authentic, effective spiritual leadership. But beyond that, it is a reminder that we ourselves cannot be…made whole until we recognize and let ourselves be embraced and conquered by the love of God and neighbor we have experienced it in Christ and in all who embody that transforming orientation.(12)
I wonder if that’s what being a disciple – a leader – is all about? Any ideas?
One of the books I have recently acquired and am making my way through is written by Clair Woodburn and Joyce Madsen of the Congregational Life Centre in Edmonton. The Centre’s mission is “ to assist congregations to be more effective in their ministry .”(13) In Wings Like Eagles(14) the authors talk about some of their findings and discoveries as they work with congregations across the country. Their chapter entitled Identifying and Supporting Leadership brings attention to several elements, or qualities, they have seen in more vital and life-giving faith communities.
“Passion” , they note, “is the key. … Passion has power. When someone is motivated from within they can accomplish anything. … Peter is an excellent example…He failed many times, but learned from each of those failures. If people are afraid to make a mistake, they will not take risks. The willingness to risk is more crucial today than ever. New approaches are the stepping stones that lead to new insights.”(15)
United Church minister, Bruce Sanguin, in his book The Emerging Church: A Model for Change & A Map for Renewal(16) comments that
Self-definition is a built-in feature of the universe, manifesting in galaxies, solar systems, cells,organisms, and all living systems. In the human realm, individuals and organizations enjoy the capacity for conscious self-definition. Every individual and every community functions optimally as a centre of creative emergence only by clearly defining itself – what it is and what it is not. Self-expression flows from clear self-definition. If you lack clarity about your parameters and purposes, you will lack power and presence when it comes to self-expression.(17)
Referring to his own congregation of Canadian Memorial UC in Vancouver, he recalls that
we had to begin asking ourselves what we were…for. We needed to discern our function before we could determine the forms that would embody them… In doing so, we were aligning ourselves with nature’s way. The particular form an organism or a system takes in nature invariably arises simultaneously with its function in an ecosystem.(18)
And
for many congregations, their purpose is about membership in Club Christendom,…not about discipleship. … in an emergent model, each [community] will manifest their own distinctive culture, what the corporate world calls their “brand”. In order to arrive at this unique expression, the congregation needs to define their vision and mission.(19)
Two weeks ago, I mentioned that I would be meeting with the Board to present and discuss a proposed pathway for our own community here at FAM. I noted that in the months ahead, each and every person in our community will have opportunity to be part of a discernment process, invited to imagine and re-vision where and what Spirit might be leading us into during the next stage of the journey together. I also said that a ll – every person – is necessary and vital in not only discerning what that may be, but also bringing it into reality.
Remember the story of the two disciples who were making their way to a place called Emmaus? Remember they met a stranger who journeyed with them¸ and had no idea who that one was until they broke bread together that evening? Emmaus has never been identified as an actual place, per se. We don’t even know if the two actually arrived at their “destination”. But whether or not they did, or didn’t, the journey, the discovery of “new”, the adventure of re-imagining their reality is perhaps the important part of that adventure.
The proposed pathway I presented to the Board nearly two weeks ago is called “The Road to Emmaus: Imagining Discipleship , adapted from a process a former ministry teammate and I created just over two years ago. At that gathering, the Board made and passed a motion for FAM to embark on this journey, beginning in the new year. You’ll hear more about this invitation and opportunity in the weeks ahead. But in the meantime, I invite you to begin wondering and pondering about who we, as a faith community, are, and where Spirit may be leading and inviting us into over the next many years.
Notes Tindall,
The Occupy movement has prompted strong reactions. The New York Times characterized the outrage against the peaceful protests as “ remarkably hysterical.” Much has been made of the fact that the Occupy movement, which describes itself as "a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colours, genders, and political persuasions," appears to have no coherent goals. What is it resisting? Where does it want to go?
For my part, I see the movement as both a search for hope and a statement of hope, made by people who have come to believe that something is deeply wrong in the staggering inequality of our current society. I don’t think it is required of anyone to provide a complete, documented solution before they’re allowed to express concern. To the contrary, recognizing that “something is not right” is the essential first step toward defining change.
… I’m deeply moved by all that I’ve seen of United Church members and leaders who are actively participating in on-the-ground community efforts to seek justice and participate in God’s healing and mending work toward abundant life for all. The occupy movement is yet another expression of our hope. (20)
Of the religious leaders, and the community – the disciples – of his day, Matthew’s writer comments, “ “You won't go wrong in following their teachings…. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it.”
I wonder if that’s who I am – who we are – what FAM is about? Then again, if “Without ortho praxis [right action], ortho doxy [right belief] is of little value”, I wonder if what this story is about how we, as followers of the Jesus-figure, live out our lives, live out our faith and who we purport to be as a matter of integrity?
May it be so.
(1)www.rexaehuntprogressive.com/sermon_collection/year_a_sermon_collection/year_a_sermons
_pentecostaft/leadership2pentecost25a2112.html
(2) Ibid
(3)
www.wondercafe.ca/blogs/moderator-mardi-tindal/occupy-hope
(4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Palmer
(5) www.wondercafe.ca/blogs/moderator-mardi-tindal/occupy-hope
(6)
Ibid
(7)
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leader
(8)
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lead
(9)
www.rexaehuntprogressive.com/
(109)http://www.rexaehuntprogressive.com/sermon_collection/year_a_sermon
_collectionyear_a_sermons_pentecostaft/leadership2pentecost25a2112.html
(11)
Ibid
(12)
Rev. E. Allen Siebold, Cornerstone Community Church of Lansingburgh, Troy, New York, USA, on midrash@joinhands.com
(13)
www.congregationallife.com/whoweare.html
(14)Woodbury, Clair and Madsen, Joyce. “Wings Like Eagles: How to be a Thriving congregation in the 21 st Century”. Congregational Life Centre. 2000/2004/2010
(15)Woodbury/Madsen, Page 68
(16)
Sanguin, Bruce. The Emerging Church: A Model for Change & A Map for Renewal. CopperHouse. 2008
(17)
Sanguin. Page 63
(18)
Sanguin. Page 65
(19)
Ibid
(20)
www.wondercafe.ca/blogs/moderator-mardi-tindal/occupy-hope