Readings for the Day:
Original Manuscript:
This is an interactive manuscript. To follow links, click the highlighted words below.
Today’s Gospel is one of those readings I wish we didn’t have to wait for over a year to hear on Sunday because it is one we all really need to hear, possibly even at all times. It tells us who we are called to be not only as a parish, but as individuals. This lesson is not just something we can learn from here at our parish. It is something all churches everywhere can learn from.
If we want to make sure people are coming to and staying in our parish, don’t act like the leaders of the scribes and Pharisees. Don’t be judgmental towards others. Don’t make people jump through hoops. That sounds really easy on the surface. It is not. It is really really hard. I’ve seen many churches struggle with this because it is so easy forget that as a community we aren’t called to be insular but instead to be open to growth and thus welcoming others, even when they may seem odd or don’t quite “fit” with how we see ourselves. If we can do that, then we won’t have to struggle with why it is so hard to retain people in our church, whether it is our community here or others throughout The Episcopal Church.
We can do this by living into what Jesus calls us to be at the end of the Gospel. We are called not to be know-it-alls, but students, striving to learn. Really we are called to continue to grow in our own trust in and relationship with God. This is a life-long journey. This is an adventure with many ups and downs along the way. This is something we never finish working on until we see our Lord Jesus face to face in the next life.
Being a life-long learner in faith means following Jesus’ final words today: “the greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” Put another way, as Paul does in 2 Corinthians 12:9, the power of God “is made perfect in weakness.”
My hope is that you will share what you’ve learned here today, not to be a know-it-all but because you yourself have learned from our Gospel today. It is so easy for us to be prideful. It is so easy to think we have all the answers. We unfortunately see examples of these kind of people in the life of the church as well as without it. My hope is that instead you will see yourself for what you are: a life-long learner trying always to get closer to God. I also hope that you will do the work to make this church a place where all can come and do that without being judged for who they are but instead be nurtured as they do the work for who they will become: servants of God who spread the love of Jesus to the world.