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LENTEN SCRUBBING - The Mind

LENTEN SCRUBBING

The Mind

February 17, 2008

Text: Luke 6:17-23; Romans 12:3-6

Luke 6:17-23

He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.”

NRSV

Romans 12:3-6

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members…so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.”

NRSV

Have you ever had this experience.

You decide to take your family out to the movies. You stop by the bank, take out a small loan, then buy the tickets. Ten minutes into the movie, you know it’s going to be a clunker. Two hours later, you all leave the theater thinking, “We spent how much to see that?”

To help people avoid such expensive disasters, the Post features movie reviews in its Friday edition. It rates movies from “A”—an excellent, worth-your-money, flick—to “F”—an avoid at all costs, what were the producers thinking, movie. My wife found a site on the internet that similarly provides movie critiques—it’s called “Rotten Tomatoes.” People write in giving their opinions. You judge a movie by how many fresh tomato votes and rotten tomato votes it receives.

However, as I’ve gone about deciding which movies to watch, I’ve discovered an interesting phenomenon. It’s this.

You read an ad for a movie, and it contains snippets of glowing reviews.

But in this same paper, in the reviews, another critic says this.

So—WHO ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE?

That’s the problem with being a critic. No one judges according to pure, objective standards. We all have a bias of some sort.

If I were to review the movie, “Feelings,” I’d review it as, “They embraced, they talked, they cried, they separated, they got back together, they talked and cried some more, they embraced again.” My grade for it: D. My wife would say, “It had a good plot, and good dialogue.”

If my wife were to review the movie, “Machine Gun Mayhem,” she’d say, “’D’, as in ‘dumb.’” I’d say, “Well, it had some action.”

We’re all critics, and we’re all flawed, we all have our biases.

And then, there’s Jesus.

Once upon a time, he was up on a mountain. As he descended with his disciples, he saw a crowd.

“[There was ] a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon…”

I imagine Jesus stopping midway down the mountain, taking in this scene. His newly-formed band of disciples huddle up behind him.

Peter says, “Look, Master—over there are the lame and the blind. The rabbis teach us that it’s their sin that’s caused their disease. Tell them to go repent and THEN come back for healing.”

James says, “Look, Master—over there are the people from Tyre and Sidon. They’re Gentiles, unclean. They have no business being here. Let them seek their own Savior—WE, the chosen people, need you!”

Matthew says, “Look, Master—over there are the poor. Tell them to put in a good day’s work before they come over here begging!”

Andrew says, “Look, Master—over there are the Pharisees, those uptight religious bigots. We’ve had enough of their arrogance. Tell them to get lost.”

Such might have been the counsel of his twelve merry men. They, like you and me, were such good critics.

And what did Jesus do? Did he stay up there, looking down and pointing a righteous finger? It would have been his privilege, you know.

But the Bible simply, amazingly, says,

“He CAME DOWN with them and stood on a LEVEL place.”

This is different from what we read in Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew records a sermon when Jesus stood on a raised place and looked down, preaching to the people. Matthew preferred to see Jesus in the pulpit, proclaiming the Word down to the people.

But for Luke, Jesus didn’t stay above the people. He got down on their level. He was WITH them, freely and easily.

You can’t be a critic, and do what Jesus did. Critics stay aloof, looking down from the top of the hill, as if they are the king or queen of that hill. They make pronouncements—“That person? ‘B,’ tops.” “The one over there? Oh my, ‘D-‘”

And yet Jesus—King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Son of Almighty God, Co-Eternal Word of the Father, the Christ, the Chosen One, the Messiah: Jesus COMES DOWN to the people, and stands on a LEVEL place with them.

I don’t know about you, but this makes me feel pretty small.

I don’t want to do what Jesus did.

I want to stay on the hill, looking down.

I bet you do, too.

Time to be honest.

On the sermon notes, I’ve included a place called, “Confession.” Either now, or when you get home, I dare you to write down all the ways you can be critical of someone the first time you meet them. What goes through your mind instantly, unconsciously? You’ll find that there’s not enough room to list them all.

Here’s a sampling of what you could write down:

Race…Sex…Sexual orientation…Hygiene…Language…Clothes…Political Persuasion…Nationality…Religion…Age…Body Type…What High School They Went To [I understand this last one is a St. Louis thing.]

Those people who are most like us in these areas? They’re “A” quality folks. But then there are the ones we’d give the “B” review to, and the “C”, and—heaven help us—the “D” and the “F.”

And Jesus—the one who had the right to be a critic—got down off the mountain, and stood on the same level with them.

If Jesus did this, can we do anything less? If we are to follow Christ this Lent with honesty and integrity, we had better get off our mountain, too.

Let me suggest two things that you and I can learn from Jesus that can help us be less a critic, and more a disciple.

In this passage we see Jesus relating to people in two very clear ways. If we can do the same, then we’ll come closer to having the “mind of Christ,” as Paul once put it.

Here’s the first way Jesus related to people. He saw that …

PEOPLE ARE OUR TEACHERS.

Luke records that

“Jesus LOOKED UP at his disciples and said…”

This is a posture a student takes with a teacher, isn’t it? Looking “up,” seeking to understand?

Jesus was curious, not defensive, not judgmental. It’s almost as if he were from another world.

I wonder if he didn’t look around him and ask himself, “What pain has she felt?” “What has he been taught?” “What injustice has been done her?” “Why is he so violent?” “What made him choose the path he’s going down?” “Why does she talk with such bitterness?” “Why does he judge so harshly?”

Maybe Jesus’ secret of not judging lay in his tendency to ask questions before making judgments—something we can all learn from, right?

I like what one person wrote about how monks lived with each other day in and day out:

The life of humility manifested itself in a willingness to learn from others, combined with an unwillingness to stand in judgment of others. Both of these stances toward the neighbor grew out of a self-understanding based upon the grace of God rather than the [monk’s] own virtues or accomplishments.

--Michael Williams

The monks had it right. Jesus had it right. We need to have it right. Look UP to others, not down on them. Let them be your teachers.

The second way we see Jesus relating to people is this. He saw that…

PEOPLE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO LOVE.

Luke notes that

“All in the crowd were trying to TOUCH HIM, for power came out from him and healed all of them.”

Jesus allowed himself to be TOUCHED by people.

Do you allow people to touch you? Do you take time, do you drop your defenses, to listen, to feel? Their needs, hurts, hopes, stories—do you allow people to touch your heart?

People are not opportunities to make yourself feel good, feel superior.

People are opportunities to love.

Sort of hard to do, isn’t it? Judging is so much easier, so much more fun.

This past week I ran across a couple of creative ways to be more loving to people, and less judging. See if these ways aren’t helpful for you.

One guy, named Andy Grass, told this story.

He started his day determined to follow Jesus’ command of “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But when he got on the bus, on his way to work, he looked around him. Instantly he started judging the people around him—“Everyone seemed to be cold, self-centered, and unfriendly. How could I love these people?” he asked himself.

Then it dawned on him. He remembered the verse about Jesus blessing the children. So, he decided to look at each person on that bus as a child—teenager, old man, working woman. All were children in his eyes. Suddenly, he couldn’t judge any more—how can you be critical of childhood innocence? He said, “When I pictured them as children, I found it extremely hard not to love them.”

--Upper Room, 2/12/01

Want to treat people as opportunities to love? Want to be touched by them? See them as children.

Or, do what famous author Bernie Siegel suggests.

He says that we should ask ourselves, “How would I behave if I were a loving person?” We should answer that question by identifying a role model—someone really good at loving—and imitating that person.

Here are Siegel’s words.

“I follow Don Quixote. I view the world with love. I tell people to experiment with this. Judge no one you meet for the next 24 hours. Love everyone you meet and see. It’s incredible how that changes your relationship with people .… When you judge everybody — he’s lazy, he’s no good, he only wants money, he doesn’t care about me — you project that, and you affect those people. When I walk around being loving, it’s incredible how people respond.”

You and I now have some “brushes” by which we can scrub our minds. Scrub away the attitudes that keep us above others, the attitudes that encourage us to be “people” critics.

Siegel follows Don Quixote.

But I know a better role model.

Don’t you? For once upon a time,

“Jesus came down TO US, and stood on a level place.”