March 4, 2007

Spiritual Blindness: Arrogance

Reduced to Silence

Mark 9:30-37

Opening Words:” The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good then your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad then your whole body will be filled with darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness?” Those words were first spoken by Jesus. They are recorded in Matthew 6:22-23. Those are powerful words and act as a theme for this entire sermon series I have called Spiritual Blindness.

The truth is most are spiritually blind. Most people haven’t seen God a work in our world for a long time. We are in the middle of eight reasons why our spiritual eyesight is so poor. Each sin acts like a filter, blocking out a little more light. The more filters are added to your life the less light is able to enter your eye. In the end, like the passage says, only darkness remains. What are these filters? They are our prejudices, our narrowness, our arrogance, our jealousy, our self-importance, our mixed up-priorities, our selfish ambitions and our exclusiveness. Each one robs us of perfect spiritual vision. It is my hope to help you eliminate these filters from your eyes so light can enter your body. So you can God at work in our world. This morning we look at the sin arrogance. This evening’s text is Mark 9:30-37.

Mark 9:30-37 ³⁰They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, ³¹because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." ³²But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

³³They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" ³⁴But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

³⁵Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

³⁶He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

In 1969, a group of friends in Pass Christian, Mississippi gathered to prepare for their "hurricane party." They were excited because they were going to have wild night. There was going to be a surplus of food and drink. Local authorities warned everyone to evacuate the area but this group decided to stay and party on. To put it mildly they were more then a little annoyed when Police Chief Jerry Peralta arrived and encouraged them to leave. He encouraged them to leave because their upscale apartment complex was less then 250 feet from the beach. A man with a tall cold one in his hand came out to the second-floor balcony and waved. Peralta yelled up, "You all need to clear out of here as quickly as you can. The storm's getting worse." It was then that others joined the man on the balcony. They just laughed at Peralta's order to leave. "This is my land," one of them yelled back. "If you want me off, you'll have to arrest me." Peralta didn't arrest anyone, but he wasn't able to persuade them to leave either. He just wrote down their names just in case. They laughed at the officer. They had been warned, but they had no intention of leaving. Why didn’t they leave? There is only one answer. They didn’t leave because of their arrogance. Do you know anyone who is arrogant? Has anyone ever described you as arrogant?

Let me state the obvious. There is a lot of arrogance in our time. It was on Tuesday evening Brian Williams of NBC news introduced me to a new generation. Do you know what the Me Generation is? It is that group of people who now find themselves in High School and College. They are my children’s generation. According to the report, they are the celebrated generation in recent history. With birthday parties that are more like wedding receptions and trophies for everyone just completing, syncs tell my generation we have produced the most selfish generation in history. I thought we were just trying to build up their self esteem. There is a lot of arrogance in our time.

I have a good friend who says he believes the most selfish generation in history is the World War II generation. They went off to war and sacrificed for our country. We owe them a great deal. They beat the Germans and they beat their chests in pride! He says they have been cashing on those wars years the rest of their lives. No generation has been given or received more. They bought their home for $5,000. That house is now worth $100,000. They financed it with a VA loan and they went to college on the GI Bill. Those programs were established as a way to say thanks. He has a point. They call themselves the Greatest Generation. No generation has received more in thanks. No generation has expected more. He says the greatest generation has turned into the most selfish generation. There is a lot of arrogance in our time. Where do you find the arrogance in that story?

There is a lot of arrogance in our churches. The mission statement of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples for Jesus Christ. We are in the disciple making business! Nothing else really matters except making disciples. However, as I look around making disciples seems to be the last thing that really matters in the lives of many United Methodist congregations. Everything else in the life of the church seems to be more important. One of the reasons we are struggling as a denomination is our arrogance. Our arrogance just won’t let us forget the good old days. So we appoint our pastor’s and worship like it is 1957. In our arrogance we hope our world will change. In our arrogance we hope the world will get it but we don’t get it. The world isn’t going back to 1957. The choice is ours either we change or we will die. Many churches have chosen to die. There is a lot of arrogance in our churches.

There is a lot of arrogance in this evening’s scripture lesson. As I worked with this passage for this evening I was moved by this text. It is really a sad scene. It is a story of being alone in a crowd. Jesus and the disciples are walking toward Jerusalem. Jesus’ appointment with the cross is near. The Master must have been thinking about the cross. How could he not think about the cross? With every step the reality of the cross sank in. However, it was not his will that was important. It was the will of God. He knew the cross was all part of the divine pain. Jesus was thinking about the cross.

The disciples were thinking about themselves. They had scene Jesus do some mighty things. They knew Jesus was the Messiah. They knew he was going to Jerusalem for a great showdown. In the end a new kingdom would be established. Jesus would be the head of this new kingdom. They were friends of Jesus so they could expect some prime appointment in his new cabinet. The disciples are arguing about who would get the best job. Let me say it clearly. The disciples are arrogant. The disciples are only thinking about themselves.

The story ends by Jesus seating the disciples down. He confronts them with their arrogant speech and they are reduced to silence. He said the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with self, the corner office and the shapely secretary. The Kingdom of God has everything to do with service. This is not a story about salvation. We are saved by grace and by grace alone. It is a story about service. Jesus is telling the disciples, “If you really want to be part of the Kingdom of God then you must wipe every arrogant bone out of your body.” If we really want God to use us in this world then we must eliminate the arrogance in our lives.

My goal this evening is to help you understand true arrogance so you can eliminate it from your life. This is not a message about salvation. We are saved by grace and by grace alone. It is a message for anyone who wants to be used by God in this world. I am going to be looking at three reasons why the disciples were reduced to silence. Each one is a different aspect of arrogance. In the end I hope that you have the ability to disarm some of the arrogance in your life so you God can use you. So if you are ready say, “Amen!”

Reason Number One: Ruthless Pride

The disciples were reduced to silence because of their ruthless pride. I did not say pride. I said ruthless pride. There is a great difference between the two. I believe that having certain kind of pride is a good thing. Let me give you some examples.

My wife and I have been married a long time. I am proud of my wife. I am still not sure what she sees in me? We are proud of our daughters. They are pretty young girls, who do great in school. But do you know what really impresses me? They are good people. I am proud of my home. It is a symbol of my years of labor. I am proud of my church. You are the finest people I have ever known. I am proud of my denomination. I have seen with my own eyes what your apportionment dollars have bought for people around the world who are in need. I am proud to be an America. With all the problems we are facing, I still consider this to be the best country in the world. Having pride in certain things is a good thing.

The disciple didn’t just have pride they had ruthless pride. I do not know the origin of the word ruthless but I think of the Old Testament story of Ruth. She is one of the great characters in the Bible. Do you remember her story? She is a symbol of love and loyalty, thoughtfulness and faithfulness. She worried more about her mother-in-law, Naomi, than she did herself. She is a beautiful example of humility. The disciples in this story are not “ruthfilled” they are ruthless. They only cared about themselves. They possess none of the qualities of Ruth. Unless, that ruthlessness was extracted from their lives, they could not be used in the Kingdom of God. If we want God to use us in our world then we need to eliminate the ruthless pride in our lives. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Reason Number Two: Bitter Self-Centeredness

The disciples were reduced to silence because of their bitter self-centeredness. Ruthless pride and bitter self-centeredness go hand in hand. Labors in the Kingdom of God can not be consumed with themselves. D. L. Moody once said, “God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves.”

I love the story of Roy DeLamotte. He was chaplain at Paine College in Georgia. He was asked to give a sermon answering the question, "What does Christ Answer When We Ask, "Lord, What's in Religion for Me?" His sermon is the shortage sermon in the history of Paine College. It was one word. (Don’t you wish you could here a one word sermon?) His one word sermon to the question, “What’s in religion for me?” was NOTHING! The complete content of his sermon was in one word: "Nothing." When asked how long it took him to prepare the message, he said, "Twenty years."

The disciples could not be used by God in their world as long as bitter self-centeredness was part of their lives. We can not be used by God as long as bitter self-centeredness is part of our lives. There is more to this world then us. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” The disciples were reduced to silence by their ruthless pride. They were reduced to silence because of their bitter self-centeredness.

Reason Number Three: Bickering Hostility

The disciples were reduced to silence because of their bickering hostility. The disciples had what I call a condition called “Elitist Domination.” That is when one person or small group dominates the behavior of the whole group. Maybe you are in that group in your congregation. I hope not because that is not a good thing.

If you come to Western Reserve you know I believe in something called “Healthy Tension.” That is when everybody has a voice. Everybody is aloud to express their opinions. Yes, tension is produced. Yes, some feelings maybe hurt but I believe in that tension is God’s will. In the church setting two groups are always present. They both hold strong opinions. They both believe they are right, both are very insincere. It is usually the bean counters verses the visionaries. The bean counters are represented by the Finance Committee. They like to determine what the church will do or not do based on the check book. If you have ever said in a church meeting, “We can’t afford it.” You are a bean counter. If you have every said in a church meeting, “We need to step out on faith.” You are a visionary. You are usually led by the pastor. Logic has very little to do with your stand. The truth is neither the bean counter or the visionaries are always right. Both sides wrestle regularly for this reason. It is in that tension between the two we discover God’s will.

The disciples were consumed with bickering hostility. They didn’t believe in healthy tension because they wanted to dominate the group with their ideas. If their bickering hostility could not be eliminated from their behavior God could not use them. And if you think you have all the answers for your congregation then God can not use you! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Let me end where I began. In 1969, a group of friends in Pass Christian, Mississippi gathered to prepare for their "hurricane party." Police Chief Jerry Peralta arrived and asked everyone to leave. They arrogantly refused. He wrote their names down just in case. It was a good thing he did. At 10:15 p.m. the front wall of the storm came ashore. Scientists clocked Camille's wind speed at more than 205 miles-per-hour, the strongest on record. Raindrops hit with the force of bullets, and waves off the Gulf Coast crested between twenty-two and twenty-eight feet high. News reports later showed that the worst damage was a place called Pass Christian, Mississippi. Approximately twenty people were killed during a hurricane party. Nothing was left of that three-story structure but the foundation. Let me ask you a question. What killed them? Did the hurricane kill them or was it their arrogance?

Jesus reduced the disciples to silence when he confronted them with their arrogance. What will we say to Jesus when he confronts us about our arrogance? Could that be our story? Are we dead in the water because of our arrogance? God can not use you in His work in the world as long as you are filled with ruthless pride, bitter self-centeredness or bickering hostility. And all of God’s humble people said,”Amen!”