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Mass was a lot less stressful this morning. It started with the excellent news that Mthr Alice's honorific is now a more literal description. She and daughter are doing well, and there was much delight and cooing over the photo she sent me before and after the service.
I was preaching again today, and was quite pleased with how it went - I feel as though I'm getting better each time I preach, although there's still plenty of room for improvement. Constructive criticism very welcome.
The readings were Isaiah 53.4-end, Hebrews 5.1-10, and Mark 10.35-45. Although I only reference the latter two specifically, I think they all informed my thinking.
There are some people who advise that when you're applying for a job, you shouldn't ask too early about the salary and benefits, because it makes it look as though that's all you care about, and you should be demonstrating passion for the work in and of itself. Personally, I think that's a bit daft, because most people, even if they enjoy their jobs, are doing them primarily in order to get paid, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Jesus himself tells us that "the labourer deserves to be paid." (Luke 10.7)
But in today's Gospel, James and John appear to be taking a concept of payment that works perfectly well for relationships between humans in a material society, and applying it to the Kingdom of God. They're asking Jesus to be rewarded with glory, as though it's a kind of payment that they deserve for their labour of following him. And that doesn't work, because the Kingdom turns all notions of deservingness and of glory upside down in a way that is as revolutionary today as it was then.
The upside down nature of this revolution is laid out clearly in the reading from the letter to the Hebrews. Jesus, despite being unique among humans in being worthy of being glorified, was glorified not because of that worthiness, but because of his reverent submission and obedience. This crucial theme is also brought out by St Paul in his letter to the Philippians when he observes that Jesus "though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend" (Phil 2.7,9-10)
But we, like James and John, are often guilty of approaching the things we do for God as though they were a means to obtain a reward or glory for ourselves. We do good works for our community or our friends, or our society, but if we don't immediately get the recognition or praise that we feel we've earned for this work, we start to feel resentful, and that resentment can lead us down a dangerous path. Perhaps we start to look down on other people who aren't doing the same work, forgetting that they might be serving God and one another in ways that we can't see. Perhaps become slapdash, telling ourselves that if no-one appreciates us, we might as well not bother putting in the effort. Perhaps we even start to exaggerate the things that we're doing in order to obtain the praise we were seeking, and justify it to ourselves as something that we deserve for all the good we've already done.
This is not to say that it's wrong to want people to thank or praise us, or to enjoy it when they do. It is only human to appreciate being appreciated. But it becomes a problem when the appreciation becomes the only or the primary reason that we do something, or when we come to think of it as our due.
One way to guard against this is to recollect that everything good in us is created by and a gift from God, and not something that we can actually take credit for. So any praise and glory that comes to us in this life is really just praise of God for creating us with the gifts that we have. Remembering this can help to diffuse the sense of entitlement to a glory that was never really ours in the first place. We see Jesus doing exactly this in Luke's gospel, when someone calls him "Good Teacher" and he responds "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." (Luke 18.19) Of course, Jesus is God, but in showing humility in this way he gives us an example to follow. There is a certain irony in realising that by deflecting any glory that comes our way towards the God to whom it truly belongs, we become more like Christ who is God.
There is another danger here of false humility, of telling people to praise God rather than us in the secret hope that they will then think even better of us, not only for the work they were originally praising, but also for our humble response. So it may often be something more appropriate for us to bring to God in prayer later, rather than expressing out loud in the moment.
From one perspective, everything I've just said could feel a bit disheartening and demotivating. The idea that there is nothing that we can do that will mean we deserve glory or praise or a reward in the Kingdom of God might tempt us to think "Well in that case, why should I bother?" But the good news is this. The Kingdom turns all notions of deservingness and of glory upside down in a way that is as revolutionary today as it was in biblical times. Through the mystery of his death and resurrection God gives us an honoured place in his Kingdom whether we deserve it or not. It is not the wages for which we labour. It is pure gift, freely given.
And so when we serve God and each other, let us do so not for a reward, be that praise from those around us, or in a vain attempt to deserve salvation. Instead, let it be an outpouring of gratitude, a response to the abundant overflowing generosity of God, who gives us everything.
I was preaching again today, and was quite pleased with how it went - I feel as though I'm getting better each time I preach, although there's still plenty of room for improvement. Constructive criticism very welcome.
The readings were Isaiah 53.4-end, Hebrews 5.1-10, and Mark 10.35-45. Although I only reference the latter two specifically, I think they all informed my thinking.
There are some people who advise that when you're applying for a job, you shouldn't ask too early about the salary and benefits, because it makes it look as though that's all you care about, and you should be demonstrating passion for the work in and of itself. Personally, I think that's a bit daft, because most people, even if they enjoy their jobs, are doing them primarily in order to get paid, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Jesus himself tells us that "the labourer deserves to be paid." (Luke 10.7)
But in today's Gospel, James and John appear to be taking a concept of payment that works perfectly well for relationships between humans in a material society, and applying it to the Kingdom of God. They're asking Jesus to be rewarded with glory, as though it's a kind of payment that they deserve for their labour of following him. And that doesn't work, because the Kingdom turns all notions of deservingness and of glory upside down in a way that is as revolutionary today as it was then.
The upside down nature of this revolution is laid out clearly in the reading from the letter to the Hebrews. Jesus, despite being unique among humans in being worthy of being glorified, was glorified not because of that worthiness, but because of his reverent submission and obedience. This crucial theme is also brought out by St Paul in his letter to the Philippians when he observes that Jesus "though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend" (Phil 2.7,9-10)
But we, like James and John, are often guilty of approaching the things we do for God as though they were a means to obtain a reward or glory for ourselves. We do good works for our community or our friends, or our society, but if we don't immediately get the recognition or praise that we feel we've earned for this work, we start to feel resentful, and that resentment can lead us down a dangerous path. Perhaps we start to look down on other people who aren't doing the same work, forgetting that they might be serving God and one another in ways that we can't see. Perhaps become slapdash, telling ourselves that if no-one appreciates us, we might as well not bother putting in the effort. Perhaps we even start to exaggerate the things that we're doing in order to obtain the praise we were seeking, and justify it to ourselves as something that we deserve for all the good we've already done.
This is not to say that it's wrong to want people to thank or praise us, or to enjoy it when they do. It is only human to appreciate being appreciated. But it becomes a problem when the appreciation becomes the only or the primary reason that we do something, or when we come to think of it as our due.
One way to guard against this is to recollect that everything good in us is created by and a gift from God, and not something that we can actually take credit for. So any praise and glory that comes to us in this life is really just praise of God for creating us with the gifts that we have. Remembering this can help to diffuse the sense of entitlement to a glory that was never really ours in the first place. We see Jesus doing exactly this in Luke's gospel, when someone calls him "Good Teacher" and he responds "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." (Luke 18.19) Of course, Jesus is God, but in showing humility in this way he gives us an example to follow. There is a certain irony in realising that by deflecting any glory that comes our way towards the God to whom it truly belongs, we become more like Christ who is God.
There is another danger here of false humility, of telling people to praise God rather than us in the secret hope that they will then think even better of us, not only for the work they were originally praising, but also for our humble response. So it may often be something more appropriate for us to bring to God in prayer later, rather than expressing out loud in the moment.
From one perspective, everything I've just said could feel a bit disheartening and demotivating. The idea that there is nothing that we can do that will mean we deserve glory or praise or a reward in the Kingdom of God might tempt us to think "Well in that case, why should I bother?" But the good news is this. The Kingdom turns all notions of deservingness and of glory upside down in a way that is as revolutionary today as it was in biblical times. Through the mystery of his death and resurrection God gives us an honoured place in his Kingdom whether we deserve it or not. It is not the wages for which we labour. It is pure gift, freely given.
And so when we serve God and each other, let us do so not for a reward, be that praise from those around us, or in a vain attempt to deserve salvation. Instead, let it be an outpouring of gratitude, a response to the abundant overflowing generosity of God, who gives us everything.
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