HOME

11.02.08

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

SUPERSTAR

PSALM 84; MATTHEW 23:1-12

• Heroes
• Pop Culture Obsession
• Our culture thrives on superstars
• Everywhere you look, you can find one
• You can’t turn on the TV or pick up a magazine without encountering the latest news on some top-name celebrity—Brittany Spears, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, Mylee Cyrus—to name a few
• We’re intrigued—no, obsessed—with the lifestyles of the rich and famous
• Even though it’s been eleven years since her death, it amazes me how often Princess Diana still makes the news
• What is it that attracts us to those who reach celebrity status?
• Why is it that we feel a need to be privy to the most intimate details of their lives?
• Is it because, in some way, we live vicariously through them?
• They have achieved everything we want—fame, fortune, celebrity status—and we want to be like them
• Role Models
• It’s certainly OK to have heroes, to have people we look up to and want to emulate
• However, we must be careful who it is we choose as role models because what we see is often not who they really are
• It’s a long way to fall when someone we’ve put up on a pedestal comes crashing to the ground
• And it happens so often among those whom we elevate to superstardom
• Actors and actresses who lose themselves in drug and alcohol addictions and promiscuous living
• Sports legends who have been found to be using steroids to enhance their performance
• Elected officials who are caught engaging in illegal or immoral activity
• Corporate CEO’s who pad their pockets at the expense of employee pension funds
• Religious leaders who violate a sacred trust
• A little over seven years ago, we found ourselves facing the most horrific ordeal of American history—the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001
• In the horror of that day, and in the weeks and months to follow, we began to understand what a true hero was and we dramatically changed our definition of superstar
• A superstar isn’t one who has made it into the public spotlight, nor is it one who makes millions of dollars acting in movies, performing on stage, or playing professional sports
• A real superstar is one who isn’t seeking glamour or attention, or seeking to get rich because of their abilities
• A real superstar is one who doesn’t seek to glorify self but to serve others in ordinary ways
• One does not achieve superstardom by doing anything great; instead one attains the status of superstar through the cumulative experiences of living an ordinary life, living each day to the best of our ability, and using our time and effort in humble ways to meet the needs of those around us
• The Path to Greatness
• Misguided Scribes and Pharisees
• In the days of Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees thought they were exceptional
• They were the religious role models, spiritual superstars, God’s own Dream Team
• Nothing made them happier than having the places of honor at banquets, the best seats in the synagogue and the respectful greetings of people in the marketplace
• They had the authority of the great lawgiver Moses, and they literally wore their religion with pride with long flowing robes, broad phylacteries, and long fringes on their stoles
• And they beamed with pride when people addressed them as “rabbi,” which means “great one”
• They were the height of arrogance, flying high—and completely out of touch
• And Jesus wanted to bring them down
• “Do everything they tell you,” Jesus says, “but do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach”
• In other words, they were hypocrites—people who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk
• They expected and demanded high standards from others, yet they failed to live up to those standards themselves
• It’s OK to be Average
• Instead of arrogance, Jesus recommends humility
• “The greatest among you will be your servant,” Jesus says.  “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
• You see, superstars have a tendency to trip over their pride and fall flat on their faces
• They certainly don’t make the best role models for anyone, especially those who want to be disciples of Jesus
• It’s better to be average than exceptional, because ordinary people can move through life with humility and accomplish extraordinary things
• That’s why Jesus chose twelve very ordinary men to be his disciples rather than the religious elite of his day
• He knew that those twelve men could accomplish remarkable things, and they did because they had no pride or ego to get in the way
• And Jesus continues to call ordinary people today, people like you and me, and by living a humble life faithful to Jesus we can accomplish extraordinary things
• Lyndon Duke, who studies suicide, has found out that when people try to be extraordinary, nearly everyone fails
• They end up feeling like losers for not being good enough, special enough, rich enough or happy enough
• Often the result of trying to be exceptional is a life of unhappiness
• One weekend, Duke visited his son who was struggling to excel in his first semester of college
• Duke spoke very clearly to him, saying, “I expect you to be a straight C student, young man.  I want you to complete your unremarkable academic career, meet an ordinary young woman, and, if you choose, get married and live a completely average life.”
• Of course, his son thought his Dad had flipped out
• But what Duke did was give his son a remarkable gift
• He relieved his son of the pressure to be extraordinary and taught him the value of humility
• Duke’s son did an average amount of studying for his final exams and the result was not straight C’s, but straight A’s
• This story illustrates the paradoxical promise of an average-life philosophy
• If we focus on living an ordinary life the best we can live it, the cumulative effect of many average days can be quite extraordinary
• Little steps add up
• Serving others produces great results
• Those who humble themselves will be exalted, Jesus says
• Makes sense
• None of this suggests that we should be a doormat for other people
• Jesus isn’t suggesting that we should subject ourselves to abuse
• Instead, he’s saying that we should give up our arrogance and seek to be humble
• The best way to seek humility is to be a disciple of Jesus—to subject ourselves to his teachings, to follow his example
• It’s through a life of ordinary service that we’ll accomplish extraordinary things
• The Path to Humility
• Humility is a word we all understand—we don’t have to look it up in a dictionary
• We like the thought of humility—it’s a good value to strive for
• Demonstrating it, however, is a whole other matter
• For instance, a person who impatiently shakes his or her head as you explain a new idea finally breaks in and says, “We’ve tried that before and it doesn’t work,” can’t claim to be humble
• Nor can a person who must have his or her way all the time, who feels he or she must be in charge of everything
• Humility is being open-minded and realizing that no matter how long you’ve been around, you couldn’t possibly have experienced everything there is to experience or know everything there is to know
• The best definition of humility is this: Humility is an act of courtesy
• Through these rather harsh words about the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus gives us three hints on how to practice humility
• The first one is practice what you preach
• This was Jesus’ major complaint with the scribes and Pharisees for they didn’t practice what they preached
• They were hypocrites, saying one thing and doing something else
• If we are to humble servants of Jesus and have a positive impact on the world, we need to make certain that our deeds are in line with our words because people are always going to be watching to see if we are people of integrity, showing consistency between our words and our actions
• The second hint to help us practice humility is to offer a helping hand
• Those religious leaders were notorious for laying heavy burdens on others, but doing nothing to help them carry those burdens
• They had high expectations of others, but refused to give any guidance on how to meet them
• They thought of their own needs and ignored the needs of others
• When people are in need, it’s critical that we offer more than advice—we need to get into the middle of things and lend a helping hand
• Jesus’ third hint is that if we truly are to be humble, we must focus on God rather than on ourselves
• The scribes and Pharisees thrived on other people’s attention
• It inflated their ego and made them feel important
• But their responsibility as leaders of the religious community wasn’t to draw attention to themselves, it was to point the way to God and help others find it
• They were more interested in impressing people than on having a relationship with God
• Humble people put God first, others second, and themselves last
• They seek to glorify God in all things rather than be the center of attention themselves
• The way to be a superstar is to live an ordinary life of humble service
• A superstar is one who does something outstanding
• In the me-first, self-centered climate of our culture, it’s rare that we find someone who thinks of others ahead of themselves
• To live the live of a humble servant seeking to be a faithful disciple of Jesus in the climate of our culture will truly make us outstanding
• We will be different from the crowd
• This is the weekend when we remember all of the saints of the faith who have gone before us
• They are the superstars of Christianity
• What makes them great is not what they did but how they lived
• You don’t have to be a miracle worker to be a saint, and you don’t have to accomplish some great feat
• A saint is one who has lived their life humbly and faithfully, seeking to glorify God as they gave their lives in service to others
• A saint is one who is content with being a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord rather than being in the center of the stage
• A saint is one who does whatever work God gives him or her to do as faithfully as possible because they know that the work they do is for God, not for themselves
• Anyone can be a saint—anyone can be a superstar