There was a Rector of a very important parish back east who one day was moved to throw himself
down in front of the altar, beat his breast and exclaim loudly how unworthy he was and ask God to
forgive his sins.
Well, the Assistant Rector wandered in, witnessed this scene, and thinking this was a really good
idea, threw herself down in front of the altar, beating her breast and asking God for forgiveness.
Just then the door of the church opened and in walked the sexton, his broom in his hand. When he
saw what was going on he, too, was overcome with conviction and threw himself down in front of the
altar, loudly begging for forgiveness for his own manifold sins. Seeing this, the Rector nudged the
Assistant, pursed his lips and said, “Look who thinks he’s a sinner now!”
Well, pride comes in many shapes and forms. It seems like humility has been kind of an ongoing
theme in our scripture readings, at least off and on, over the last several months. In fact last week
we were reminded that the throne of grace, which we’re encouraged to approach boldly, is still very
much a throne. The young rich man who approached Jesus, and who Jesus felt great compassion
for, found that, to gain eternal life, he must make some hard choices and put Jesus on the throne of
his heart.
How very hard this can be for us to do! Even when we respect the authority of the Lord, we can still
try to finagle our way into getting what we want, rather than what God may want. I have to say, once
again we have a Gospel account that kind of cracks me up when I take the time to visualize it. St.
Mark writes that “James and John, the sons of Zebedee (on whom, by the way, Jesus also offers the
nickname ‘Sons of Thunder’), came forward to Jesus and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do
for us whatever we ask of you.’”
Did you ever try anything like this on your parents when you were a kid? “Mom, will you give me
whatever I want for my birthday?” Or even, “Dad, I’m going to tell you something, and you have to
promise not to get mad.” OK? It’s kind of like saying, “I have something to sell you for a hundred
dollars, and I’ll show it to you after you give me the money.”
I have to think that Jesus sees into their hearts just like he saw into the young rich man’s, and
quickly discerns their ploy. But with characteristic patience Jesus humors them, and inquires, “What
is it you want me to do for you?” And they reply, “No biggie. Just that you make us the number one
and two men in the kingdom of heaven. That’s all.” Because of course that’s what sitting at His right
and left hand in glory means.
And perhaps after initially resisting the impulse to choke on his pomegranate juice, Jesus then looks
at them, and loves them. But he also peers briefly into the dark shadow of the future, and says to
them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized
with the baptism that I’m baptized with?”
That phrase “drink the cup that I drink” was a Jewish expression that means to share one’s fate.
And in the Old Testament the cup of wine is sometimes used as a symbol of God’s wrath poured out
on sinful humanity.
So here Jesus is referring to his own bearing of divine wrath in our stead. It’s a reference to his own
impending suffering and death, and Jesus is asking if they’re up to facing the darkness ahead.
James and John innocently affirm that they are, but this is where Jesus then says something that
cuts to the core of the way we as subjects of God’s kingdom relate to the King himself. He informs
them that being placed on the right and left hand of the Lord is a decision that is only made by God
the Father, not even by Jesus the Son.
And this points to something that, once again, is crucial for us to understand. And that is that (hold
on to your pews!) the kingdom of God is not a democracy. It’s not run by the people. It’s a kingdom
run by a king who is wise and benevolent beyond all human measure. And yet this idea is sure to
get our backs up like a rooster, here in the land of “give me liberty or give me death.” We don’t like
to be told what to do. We don’t like it when we’re not in control.
And here Jesus is saying that there’s even a hierarchy in the Holy Trinity. And that hierarchy begins
with God the Father. We studied Paul Young’s great book The Shack on Wednesday evenings over
the spring and summer. It was helpful in many ways in understanding the nature of God, but this was
one specific area in which I felt like he really fumbled the ball. He seemed to give in to American
popular culture and proclaimed through the voice of Jesus that “we (the Trinity) have no concept of
final authority among us, only unity. We are in a circle of relationship, not a chain of command…
Hierarchy would make no sense among us.”
So is this really true? In answer, please listen to the words of Jesus. He says: “No one takes (my
life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take
it up again. This command I received from my Father." And he also says, “The world must learn that
I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” I don’t know about you,
but this sounds a little hierarchical to me. It’s a hierarchy with love at the center, but a hierarchy
nonetheless.
Why is this important for us to know? Well, once again we as Americans are steeped in a culture of
entitlement. It seems like we almost reflexively want to assert our rights in any given situation, and
sue somebody if we think we’re not getting them. It’s all around us. And we as Christians all too
often are inclined to announce to God that we’re ready to serve Him, then we want to call all the
shots as to when, where, and how. Or at the very least, ask Him to bless whatever we’ve decided
upon.
After General Convention drafted new canons in July granting equal ordination ‘rights’ to various
sexual minorities in the Episcopal Church, Bishop N. T. Wright replied, “Nobody has a right to be
ordained: it is always a gift of sheer and unmerited grace.” Bishop Wright is saying that we’re looking
at all of this in entirely the wrong way. When we’re truly intent upon serving the Lord, we’re to look
to Him for direction and gifting, and conform ourselves to His expectations rather than using our
“service” to declare something about ourselves and our rights. How very hard for all of us to
understand that the Christian life isn’t just all about us. That’s one of the things James and John
had to learn. And I struggle with that enough that for much of my ordained ministry I’ve had a sign
above my desk that says, “It’s not about me.”
In the latest issue of The Healing Line, which is the bimonthly publication of Christian Healing
Ministries, Francis MacNutt writes of a new trend in healing conferences in which leaders pray for
people to receive an impartation of specific spiritual gifts. Like praying, for instance, that a particular
individual receive the gift of healing. Francis says that this, too, is kind of backwards. He points out
that God is the one who chooses who gets what gifts. He says that when Jesus chose the Twelve
and then the 72, he didn’t ask for volunteers. He looked, prayed, and then chose. And Jesus says to
us in John 15 that if we keep his commandments, we’ll abide in his love. And then he says, “You did
not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit…”
The point is, the Lord does gift his people according to His will, and will generally leave us with a
clue or two as to what those spiritual gifts are in each person. And very often these gifts build upon
the natural, human gifts the Creator has already given us. “Grace builds on nature.” So if we want
to do God’s will our job is to ask the Lord to make it clear to us exactly how He’s already gifted us,
and to be completely open to any other gifts He wants to impart upon us as He sees fit. It all
originates from God the Father.
Now, does this mean that, after we have some kind of idea of how God has gifted us, we sit and wait
for God’s voice to tell us when to boot up and become active? Well, this is where some good,
practical advice from our Experiencing God training comes in. We’re learning in our Wednesday
evening class how the scriptures make it very clear that God is always at work around us, and that
our gifts can be put to use right here and now, often in a way that stretches us. As we discern what
God is doing around us now to bring love, redemption and healing to the world, we adjust ourselves
to Him and to His plan rather than expecting all the pieces to come into alignment with our own
preferences.
The author of Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby, writes: “Understanding what God is about to do
where I am is more important than telling God what I want to do for him.”
St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “You are not your own; you were bought with a price.” In other
words, by being set free from the law of sin and death through Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we
now follow the King. And the great news is that we’re taking our direction from the One who has
more blessings in store for us than we can possibly imagine. We were bought with a price, and we’re
under authority.
We’re under authority ultimately from God, but also from those He’s placed in authority on this earth.
I learned this back in 1998 when I discerned His call on my life to enter into Holy Orders. I called
Bishop Kelshaw, as is the procedure, and told him of this conviction. His response: “That’s splendid,
Dan. I’m delighted to hear that. Next month I’m going on sabbatical for a year. Please don’t do
anything until I get back.”
I could have been upset, but God gave me total peace. And you know what? It was well worth the
wait. Because I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive leader on my journey to ordination.
Following his direction was not only a small price to pay, but set the stage for a long and happy
relationship. How much more is this the case when we truly follow the lead of our loving Father in
heaven, who always has the best plan for us. If we say yes to God, we will be blessed.
May each of us increasingly learn to discern how He’s working around us, then be willing to apply
our God-given gifts according to His will, as we embody His hands and heart in bringing His saving
love to this world. Amen.
down in front of the altar, beat his breast and exclaim loudly how unworthy he was and ask God to
forgive his sins.
Well, the Assistant Rector wandered in, witnessed this scene, and thinking this was a really good
idea, threw herself down in front of the altar, beating her breast and asking God for forgiveness.
Just then the door of the church opened and in walked the sexton, his broom in his hand. When he
saw what was going on he, too, was overcome with conviction and threw himself down in front of the
altar, loudly begging for forgiveness for his own manifold sins. Seeing this, the Rector nudged the
Assistant, pursed his lips and said, “Look who thinks he’s a sinner now!”
Well, pride comes in many shapes and forms. It seems like humility has been kind of an ongoing
theme in our scripture readings, at least off and on, over the last several months. In fact last week
we were reminded that the throne of grace, which we’re encouraged to approach boldly, is still very
much a throne. The young rich man who approached Jesus, and who Jesus felt great compassion
for, found that, to gain eternal life, he must make some hard choices and put Jesus on the throne of
his heart.
How very hard this can be for us to do! Even when we respect the authority of the Lord, we can still
try to finagle our way into getting what we want, rather than what God may want. I have to say, once
again we have a Gospel account that kind of cracks me up when I take the time to visualize it. St.
Mark writes that “James and John, the sons of Zebedee (on whom, by the way, Jesus also offers the
nickname ‘Sons of Thunder’), came forward to Jesus and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do
for us whatever we ask of you.’”
Did you ever try anything like this on your parents when you were a kid? “Mom, will you give me
whatever I want for my birthday?” Or even, “Dad, I’m going to tell you something, and you have to
promise not to get mad.” OK? It’s kind of like saying, “I have something to sell you for a hundred
dollars, and I’ll show it to you after you give me the money.”
I have to think that Jesus sees into their hearts just like he saw into the young rich man’s, and
quickly discerns their ploy. But with characteristic patience Jesus humors them, and inquires, “What
is it you want me to do for you?” And they reply, “No biggie. Just that you make us the number one
and two men in the kingdom of heaven. That’s all.” Because of course that’s what sitting at His right
and left hand in glory means.
And perhaps after initially resisting the impulse to choke on his pomegranate juice, Jesus then looks
at them, and loves them. But he also peers briefly into the dark shadow of the future, and says to
them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized
with the baptism that I’m baptized with?”
That phrase “drink the cup that I drink” was a Jewish expression that means to share one’s fate.
And in the Old Testament the cup of wine is sometimes used as a symbol of God’s wrath poured out
on sinful humanity.
So here Jesus is referring to his own bearing of divine wrath in our stead. It’s a reference to his own
impending suffering and death, and Jesus is asking if they’re up to facing the darkness ahead.
James and John innocently affirm that they are, but this is where Jesus then says something that
cuts to the core of the way we as subjects of God’s kingdom relate to the King himself. He informs
them that being placed on the right and left hand of the Lord is a decision that is only made by God
the Father, not even by Jesus the Son.
And this points to something that, once again, is crucial for us to understand. And that is that (hold
on to your pews!) the kingdom of God is not a democracy. It’s not run by the people. It’s a kingdom
run by a king who is wise and benevolent beyond all human measure. And yet this idea is sure to
get our backs up like a rooster, here in the land of “give me liberty or give me death.” We don’t like
to be told what to do. We don’t like it when we’re not in control.
And here Jesus is saying that there’s even a hierarchy in the Holy Trinity. And that hierarchy begins
with God the Father. We studied Paul Young’s great book The Shack on Wednesday evenings over
the spring and summer. It was helpful in many ways in understanding the nature of God, but this was
one specific area in which I felt like he really fumbled the ball. He seemed to give in to American
popular culture and proclaimed through the voice of Jesus that “we (the Trinity) have no concept of
final authority among us, only unity. We are in a circle of relationship, not a chain of command…
Hierarchy would make no sense among us.”
So is this really true? In answer, please listen to the words of Jesus. He says: “No one takes (my
life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take
it up again. This command I received from my Father." And he also says, “The world must learn that
I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” I don’t know about you,
but this sounds a little hierarchical to me. It’s a hierarchy with love at the center, but a hierarchy
nonetheless.
Why is this important for us to know? Well, once again we as Americans are steeped in a culture of
entitlement. It seems like we almost reflexively want to assert our rights in any given situation, and
sue somebody if we think we’re not getting them. It’s all around us. And we as Christians all too
often are inclined to announce to God that we’re ready to serve Him, then we want to call all the
shots as to when, where, and how. Or at the very least, ask Him to bless whatever we’ve decided
upon.
After General Convention drafted new canons in July granting equal ordination ‘rights’ to various
sexual minorities in the Episcopal Church, Bishop N. T. Wright replied, “Nobody has a right to be
ordained: it is always a gift of sheer and unmerited grace.” Bishop Wright is saying that we’re looking
at all of this in entirely the wrong way. When we’re truly intent upon serving the Lord, we’re to look
to Him for direction and gifting, and conform ourselves to His expectations rather than using our
“service” to declare something about ourselves and our rights. How very hard for all of us to
understand that the Christian life isn’t just all about us. That’s one of the things James and John
had to learn. And I struggle with that enough that for much of my ordained ministry I’ve had a sign
above my desk that says, “It’s not about me.”
In the latest issue of The Healing Line, which is the bimonthly publication of Christian Healing
Ministries, Francis MacNutt writes of a new trend in healing conferences in which leaders pray for
people to receive an impartation of specific spiritual gifts. Like praying, for instance, that a particular
individual receive the gift of healing. Francis says that this, too, is kind of backwards. He points out
that God is the one who chooses who gets what gifts. He says that when Jesus chose the Twelve
and then the 72, he didn’t ask for volunteers. He looked, prayed, and then chose. And Jesus says to
us in John 15 that if we keep his commandments, we’ll abide in his love. And then he says, “You did
not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit…”
The point is, the Lord does gift his people according to His will, and will generally leave us with a
clue or two as to what those spiritual gifts are in each person. And very often these gifts build upon
the natural, human gifts the Creator has already given us. “Grace builds on nature.” So if we want
to do God’s will our job is to ask the Lord to make it clear to us exactly how He’s already gifted us,
and to be completely open to any other gifts He wants to impart upon us as He sees fit. It all
originates from God the Father.
Now, does this mean that, after we have some kind of idea of how God has gifted us, we sit and wait
for God’s voice to tell us when to boot up and become active? Well, this is where some good,
practical advice from our Experiencing God training comes in. We’re learning in our Wednesday
evening class how the scriptures make it very clear that God is always at work around us, and that
our gifts can be put to use right here and now, often in a way that stretches us. As we discern what
God is doing around us now to bring love, redemption and healing to the world, we adjust ourselves
to Him and to His plan rather than expecting all the pieces to come into alignment with our own
preferences.
The author of Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby, writes: “Understanding what God is about to do
where I am is more important than telling God what I want to do for him.”
St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “You are not your own; you were bought with a price.” In other
words, by being set free from the law of sin and death through Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we
now follow the King. And the great news is that we’re taking our direction from the One who has
more blessings in store for us than we can possibly imagine. We were bought with a price, and we’re
under authority.
We’re under authority ultimately from God, but also from those He’s placed in authority on this earth.
I learned this back in 1998 when I discerned His call on my life to enter into Holy Orders. I called
Bishop Kelshaw, as is the procedure, and told him of this conviction. His response: “That’s splendid,
Dan. I’m delighted to hear that. Next month I’m going on sabbatical for a year. Please don’t do
anything until I get back.”
I could have been upset, but God gave me total peace. And you know what? It was well worth the
wait. Because I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive leader on my journey to ordination.
Following his direction was not only a small price to pay, but set the stage for a long and happy
relationship. How much more is this the case when we truly follow the lead of our loving Father in
heaven, who always has the best plan for us. If we say yes to God, we will be blessed.
May each of us increasingly learn to discern how He’s working around us, then be willing to apply
our God-given gifts according to His will, as we embody His hands and heart in bringing His saving
love to this world. Amen.
God, Gifts and Guidance
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
October 18, 2009
The Rev. Daniel Tuton
The Rev. Daniel Tuton
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