February 24, 2008

I Have Sinned: Arrogance

Luke 10:25-37

Opening Words: Romans 3:23 says “All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.” Many will admit they are sinners but few ever repent. Instead, they have become experts at making excuses. As disciples of Jesus Christ we must remember three things. First, God sees through our excuses for sinning. Second, God is more interested in forgiving us than hearing our excuses. Third, God expects us to repent and become more like Jesus everyday. Lent is a time to stop making excuses. It is a time to identify and eliminate your sinful ways. It is a time to start practicing what you will do in heaven for eternity. This morning let’s look at the sin of arrogance. We find ourselves in the tenth chapter of Luke.

Luke 10:25-37 ²⁵On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

    ²⁶"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

    ²⁷He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'^]"

    ²⁸"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

    ²⁹But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

³⁰In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³²So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

In 1846 former president John Quincy Adams suffered a stroke. Although he returned to Congress the following year, his health was clearly failing. Daniel Webster described his last meeting with Adams: "Someone, a friend of his, came in and made particular inquiry of his health. Adams answered, 'I inhabit a weak, frail, decayed tenement; battered by the winds and broken in upon by the storms, and from all I can learn, the landlord does not intend to repair.'"

How is your physical health day? Do you consider yourself a healthy person? Do you consider yourself a sickly person? When was the last time you had a physical examination? When was the last time you had your blood pressure checked? Do your blood levels look good? Or do your blood levels reveal a great problem? Are your kidneys working correctly? Has your liver had a little too much exercise lately? Do any joints hurt or refuse to bend? Is your mind functioning clearly? How many pills have you already taken today? Does anyone here feel like John Quincy Adams? Are you trapped inside tenement that has fallen into disrepair and the landlord refuses to repairs it? How is your physical health today?

How is your spiritual health today? I spend a great deal of time in various hospitals but I know next to nothing about medicine. I am not employed to care for your physical bodies. I know nothing about your liver, kidneys, pancreas or spleen. The only organ that captures my attention is your heart. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not interested in the organ in your chest that has four chambers. I am talking about your heart. I am talking about you. When the Bible speaks of the heart the Bible is speaking about the real you. Our society still understands the heart in that way. For example, we still understand the phrases, “speak from your heart” and “in your heart of hearts.” In 1986 J. Stowell wrote, “the heart is the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity," "the heart is comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will," and "the center of a person. The place to which God turns." Pascal wrote, “We come to know truth not only reason, but still more so through our hearts.” What is the condition of your heart?

Today, as your spiritual health care provider I would like to give you a spiritual examination. Here is the good news for you and for me. You don’t have to take your clothes off! I can tell the condition of your heart by your attitudes, opinions and actions. What are your hopes, your dreams, your attitudes, your values, your purpose and your approach to life? Those things reveal to me the condition of your heart. I am hoping I find a spiritually healthy heart. A spiritually healthy heart is a compassionate heart. That is the kind of heart that the Good Samaritan had in the parable. More importantly, Jesus had a compassionate heart.

You are a disciple of Jesus Christ. You recognize what Jesus has done for you. You should admire Jesus and you should want to be like him. Jesus had a compassionate heart. Do you have a compassionate heart? Or do you have an arrogant heart that only thinks of self? Has anyone in your life ever called you arrogant and selfish? Let me state the obvious. There are a surplus of arrogant hearts in this world and a shortage of compassionate hearts. What kind of heart do you have? If you are ready for your spiritual examination say, “Amen!” You can define an arrogant heart in two ways.

Cold Heart

If you have a cold heart then you have an arrogant heart. In the parable for today the robber had a cold heart. He lurked in the shadows waiting until the right moment and overpowered his victim. He was not worried about his victim. He was only worried about taking what he wanted. It is painful to say but many people operate in our world with a cold heart. How many victims have they left in their path?

When I was in Israel we learned about Herod the Great. He ruled the Holy Land at the time that Christ was born. History remembers him as a cold hearted man. He was both insecure and paranoid. He always thought someone was trying to take his power. For that reason he was hard on the people. In return the people hated him. Herod the Great knew his people hated him and was afraid the people would celebrate in the streets at his death. How would this look? So he gave a cold hearted order. He ordered at his death three hundred beloved people should die! Why? He wanted to fool history. If three hundred beloved died then there would be mourning in the streets. He hoped people would think they would be mourning for him. (The good news is that order was never executed.) Herod the Great was a cold hearted man. Do you know any cold hearted people? Don’t answer too quickly.

When I was in Moscow I visited the largest McDonald’s in the world. That one McDonald’s generates fifteen million dollars in sales annually. That one location has been a great success. What impresses the Russians is not the food but the service. They are not used to such service. Their lives are hard. At McDonald’s the employees say, “May I help you?” “What can I do for you?” “You deserve a break today.” That kind of attitude and service is refreshing to the Russians. The Russians are like us. They like being catered to. In America, we expect good service. If the service is poor, we are frustrated and outraged! Does anyone here not like feeling special? However, there is a great challenge in this mindset. You must be careful.

The church has always run against society’s norms. The church doesn’t exist to make you feel special or to make your life easier. The church exists to make you a disciple of Jesus. Who was Jesus? Jesus was many things, including servant to all. In other words, we are God’s servant people, not God's privileged people. We are God’s work force; not God’s pampered. Cold hearted people are more concerned about good service than the needs of others. Are you more concerned about good service or the needs of others? A spiritually healthy heart is filled with compassion. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Calculating Heart

If you have a calculating heart then you have an arrogant heart. In the parable the priest and the Levite had calculating hearts. They saw the problem but they did not want to take any risks. Identifying a problem takes no real skill. Anyone can spot a problem but not everyone will be part of the solution. Through the eyes of God there is no reason not to become part of the solution. In the face of our world that is filled with problems have you ever been tempted to do nothing? Have you ever stopped to consider that the world is worse off because you did nothing.

In several weeks I will be going to Washington DC with a group of Youngstown State University students. I go as a chaperon to help my wife at Campus Ministry. The truth is I enjoy these trips. I enjoy our nation’s capitol. It is one of my favorite places in the world. We will see all the sites, memorials and monuments, including the Holocaust Museum. I have been there before. It is a horrible place which reminds us of a horrible act in history. I would encourage you to go. It is not a fun place but it is a challenging place. It makes you think. It is disturbing to me that people knew the Nazi party was trying to execute an entire race of people but no one acted. They identified the problem but they didn’t care to become part of the solution. So to speak they passed on the other side of the road. And the problem grew to the point that it couldn’t be ignored any longer. Martin Niemoeller said it best.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

The Priest and the Levite saw the problem but did nothing. I am sure they had some wonderful excuses. Our world is filled with some massive problems and many chose to do nothing. They pass on the other side of the road. I hope that is not your story. A spiritually healthy heart responds to human need and is filled with compassion. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me end with this story.

Mamie Adams always went to a branch post office in her town because the postal employees there were friendly. She went there to buy stamps just before Christmas one year and the lines were particularly long. Someone pointed out that there was no need to wait in line because there was a stamp machine in the lobby. "I know," said Mamie, 'but the machine won't ask me about my arthritis."

How did your spiritual examination go? Is your heart healthy or diseased? A spiritually healthy heart is filled with compassion. A diseased heart is filled with arrogance. Lent is a time to stop making excuses. It is a time to identify and eliminate your sinful ways. It is a time to start practicing what you will do in heaven for eternity. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”