Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
What we hope for as Christians is to have the power of God behind us. When we normally think about the necessity of having God on our side, it's easy, at least it is for me, to think about the negatives. It's easy to focus on those televangelists who have failed because something in their life was found wanting. Maybe they are taking money and get caught, or they find themselves in some sort of scandal, usually an affair.
But we don't think about the positives, those who have succeeded with the power of God. Martin Luther King is an example who comes to mind. He wasn't a perfect man, as none of us are, but he was a faithful one. He was hated for trying to bring people together, but he never gave up.
And most of all, Dr. King's life and work was centered on his faith. You could hear what he was about when he spoke. You could hear that it wasn't about him, but about the world that we would all leave behind for our children. In his writings, you can see how his faith informed his actions. In "A Letter from a Birmingham Jail", you hear the voice of a highly intelligent man who has spent long hours in conversation with God. In Dr. King, you see a man who was not seeking glory at all, but a man who would gladly accept a jail cell if it meant doing God's Will, if it meant bringing us all closer together again.
Paul, in our reading from 2 Corinthians, says that "we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake."
All those examples we can think of who failed, they were people who were out there for their own glory, and when the blinds were stripped from the eyes of the world, they were seen for who they truly were. But with someone like Dr. King, we see someone with power. We see someone who was strong not because they sought their own glory, but because they sought to glorify God.
Our readings today point us to this fact, that we should proclaim the glory of God above our own.
It's why when Elisha asks Elijah if he can inherit his prophetic spirit, Elijah tells him he does not know what he is asking for. Elijah has seen that the prophetic life is one of giving yourself away completely. But he has also seen that it is the only life worth having. In his early days, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest: the one whose god was able to light their sacrifice was the one true God. Without God, our lives are empty like the unburned sacrifice of Baal's prophets, but with God, our lives become a bright and burning flame, just like Elijah's sacrifice to God.
In the Gospel too we see that we should proclaim God's glory always instead of our own. It's why Peter's proposal to build tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah during the Transfiguration is so ridiculous. The Transfiguration isn't about building Jesus up. It's about showing who Jesus is. It's about showing that while we could not fulfill the law, while we could not heed the words of the prophets, Jesus could. He is the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets. And it's about showing that God was willing to come down to fulfill our part of our covenant with Him. God was able to do what we could not. God was able to do the impossible.
If Jesus had stayed like Peter wanted, there would have been nothing to praise. Jesus needed to go back into the world. He needed to fulfill His purpose the world, to be who He was. He needed to continue to do the work He had been given to do. He needed to continue to do The Father's will, His will. That is why The Father is pleased with Him. That is why The Father asks us to listen to Him.
When we hold ourselves up for praise, we will find ourselves to be empty. But when we proclaim God and God alone, we will be full.
That is because apart from God there is no life. There is no purpose. He gives us our life. He made us, and thus gives us our purpose.
When we turn away from God, we turn away from that which gives us life. That is why God paved the path for us to come back to Him, so that we could have life once again.
Without God we are nothing. With God, we have everything.
When you think about your lives, what you do, and why you are here, think about what it is you are proclaiming, what it is you give glory to. Are you glorifying yourself, or God? Are you living just for yourselves, or are you living for others, for God and your neighbor? If you are following Christ Jesus, then you will find life and purpose in it. But if what you are doing is for yourself alone, then all will be for nought.
We are not perfect. We often struggle to be like Jesus, conforming our will always to The Father's. So we must ask these questions of ourselves from time to time. What is our motivation? Who is it that we truly wish to serve?