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Home Page
The Rector's Welcome
Worship
Sermons
Music & the Organ
Newsletter
Schedule & Events
History
Programs & Ministries
Tour the Building
Links
Map & Directions
Monthly Calendar
Home Page
The Rector's Welcome
Worship
Sermons
Music & the Organ
Newsletter
Schedule & Events
History
Programs & Ministries
Tour the Building
Links
Map & Directions
Monthly Calendar
Fr. J. D. Ousley
11 February 2007Lk.6.17-26“Taking the Heat”
In the Name of God: Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Amen.
Some years ago, I heard a talk given by a former Bishop of New York. He was addressing a group that consisted of rectors, deans and others who held church positions in the New York City area.
The bishop was talking about the many stresses that weighed on clergy. We faced financial constraints, he said; we were under pressure to "succeed;" and we were expected to "please" our congregations.
He was right: no longer can the clergy simply conduct worship services and show up at church suppers. A century ago, for example, if the Incarnation roof needed fixing, there would be wealthy members of the congregation who could single-handedly pay the bill. And they would gladly do so.
There were no stewardship programs in those days because most of the pews were rented to wealthy families. Even if a family rarely came to church, rent money would be paid to cover church expenses and the clergy didn't have to worry.
Today, the bishop said, clergy should expect to undergo stress.
Skeptics attack their church as outmoded and irrational. Non-religious distractions from sports to video games to Sunday shopping keep their church members from devoting the time they would like to give to the church.
Of course, the pressures clergy face are similar to those that many laypeople in their congregations also must deal with. In the secular world, too, work hours are long. There, too, success is hard to come by.
For lay people as well as clergy, the call to ministry in the name of Jesus Christ rarely leads to a soft and easy life. So the bishop concluded his talk with a saying that is good advice for all Christians. The bishop said, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen!"
This is tough talk, I admit. But, really, the bishop was only repeating advice that Jesus gave to his followers. We heard some of that teaching in the Second Lesson today: "Woe to you, when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets."
"Woe to you, when all speak well of you ..." How can Jesus say this? Shouldn't we want people to speak well of us? Don't we need good reputations if we are going to succeed in life?
Take the case of someone moving into your apartment building. If all the references the person gave spoke badly of him, would you want the person to move in? By the same token, a good reputation is the first thing you would expect from someone who wanted to live your building.
As for clergy, good reputations would seem essential if they are to do God's work. I doubt that any man or woman could get ordained these days if people didn't speak well of them! "Woe" to any candidate for ordination who offends one of her interviewers!
Our Assistant Minister and our Seminarian Assistant will both attest that lengthy background checks and many letters of recommendation were required during the course of their evaluation process.
And why not? Would you hire a clergyperson who had left his previous parish because everyone there disliked him? Of course not. A bad reputation can be a clue that the person has real problems.
On the other hand, Jesus was surely right to suggest that the first interest of anyone who wants to be obedient to the call of God should be: to witness to the truth of God, to the justice of God, to the goodness of God.
And yet, despite Christ's words, we care a lot about our reputations. We don't want to be thought of as trouble-makers. We want to be diplomatic, and we want to listen to other points of view even when they seem to be wrong. Everyone likes to be liked, Christians included.
It is interesting to note, though, that there is one profession where the men and women don't care if they are "spoken well of." That profession is the sports coach.
Coaches of football or basketball teams, managers of baseball teams — could care less what people think of them! It is their duty to focus on their teams. They have to be leaders; they need to inspire their players to perform at their best.
And athletes expect their coaches to be tough. They want their coaches to push them and to correct them.
Of course, some coaches may still be popular with players and fans. (Many observers noted how in last Sunday's Superbowl, the opposing managers were both soft-spoken, kind men who are much loved by their players and fans.)
Still, the most important job of the coach is to coach, not to be popular. It would be a very odd pro football coach who went into the office of the team's owner and said, "Gee, there's a lot of pressure on me to win. I wish people would appreciate that I'm working hard and my players like me even though we keep losing!"
And while the Superbowl coaches this year were admirable exceptions to this rule — and devout Christians as well — one imagines they too would choose being right over being popular. They wouldn't be afraid of criticizing their players so their teams would perform better.
St. Paul said the Christian faith was like running a good race. He even compared faith to fighting a good fight.
Granted, when we evaluate our Christian "performance," we don't, like a boxer, count up our wins and compare them with our losses.
Rather, as St. Paul says, we concentrate on the "prize" of the "call of Christ." In the face of that quest, secular honors don't matter. We follow the call of God, whatever people think of us.
One of the greatest football coaches, Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers. was notorious for his competitiveness. I can't believe he ever fretted for a moment about whether his players thought well of him.
Coach Lombardi supposedly said, "Winning isn't the most important thing — it's the only thing."
What about sportsmanship? Getting in good shape? Learning to play by the rules? Doing your best? All these virtues can be attained by athletes on losing teams!
And obviously these are worthwhile goals for anyone, athlete or not. Moreover, if winning were the only thing, then a lot of people would gain nothing from their efforts to compete.
For few lucky souls bring home Superbowl rings. In a running race like St. Paul mentions, everyone but the winner leave the track a "loser."
Now as it happens, scholars of football history claim that Vince Lombardi actually said, "Winning isn't everything — but wanting to win is."
Much less macho than the words traditionally attributed to Coach Lombardi; yet these words are perfectly compatible with the ideals of the Gospel. "Wanting to win" is compatible with the goal of winning the Kingdom of God, even when it costs us the good will of others.
By coincidence, the coach of this year's football champions, Tony Dungy, only last year had his faith tested as few Christians are ever tested. His popular 18-year-old son, possibly suffering from a drug problem, committed suicide.
But Coach Dungy and his wife didn't look for sympathy; they didn't appear on talk shows, discussing their unimaginable pain. Instead, they withdrew from the public eye. They retreated into their close Christian community — so they could grieve and bury their son.
Then, with hardly a word to the curious media, with little concern for what anyone thought of him, Tony Dungy returned to the football field to do what he does best. A year later in Miami, his team won a trophy named after Vince Lombardi.
To Christians who need courage in taking the heat of life — to Christians who want encouragement when life seems frozen around us — the example of Coach Dungy offers profound inspiration.
He survived a personal test greater than any Superbowl. He went back onto the field, and once again he sought the prize of God's assurance and he won.
And now unto that same God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be ascribed as is most justly due all might, majesty, power, dominion and praise, now and forever, Amen.