“A Common Servant ” SAPC, October 29, 2017; Matthew 23: 1-15; Kirkin’ of the Tartans

I preached this sermon as part of a Kirkin' o' the Tartan service.  I had never seen one of these services, so it made for an interesting week of putting together the liturgy and trying to find a way into the sermon.  My friend and colleague Karl Travis, who serves at FPC, Ft. Worth, sent me a couple of sermons he had preached for similar services.  He gave me the idea of preaching on this passage from Matthew, which included the observations about Knox' grave and the statue of James VI. The Scottish liturgist who joined us today is a member of FPC, Ft. Worth, and he noted that my preaching reminded him of Karl's preaching! 

I had some fun exploring some of the Reformation themes in the context of this sermon.  The point suggesting the Reformation's emphasis on bringing leadership to the local level means the accusations that Jesus as for the Pharisees are not directed toward the church congregation made for some interesting conversations after the service.  

I noted Peter Marshall told his call story every year on the anniversary of his coming to the United States  What I did not tell was my own variation of Marshall's pattern.  I happened to read his Peter Marshall's biography, A Man Called Peter, my first fall in seminary.  Although I did not start the habit of preaching my call story every year, I did begin reading his biography every fall to connect to my first sense of call to ministry and be reminded of Marshall's strong sense of call.  I probably followed that pattern for 5 or 6 years.  It was good to skim through this book again as I reflected on this sermon.

“A Common Servant ” SAPC, October 29, 2017;  Matthew 23: 1-15; Kirkin’ of the Tartans

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; 3 therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,[a] and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. 6 They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, 7 and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.[b] 9 And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.[c] 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them.[d] 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell[e] as yourselves.

Introduction:   Peter Marshall, the Presbyterian minister credited with organizing the first Kirkin of the Tartans service (that was actually the name of the sermon he preached at the service honoring the Scottish heritage of the Presbyterian Church) was, in fact, from Scotland, the land of the kirk.  Kirk, of course, being the name for the church.

Marshall had come to the United States with the intention, no concrete plans, but the intention of figuring out a way to go to seminary (his cousin had suggested he come to the United States because it would be a easier to work his way through seminary).

he became a popular preacher (when I say popular, I mean popular — a church i worked at in Austin during seminary had an older member who lived in Washington DC during Marshall’s tenure at NY Ave Presbyterian Church there.  She told me of going to church to hear Marshall preach and having to stand outside on the sidewalk with others to listen to his sermon piped outside because the sanctuary was too full) and chaplain to the Senate.

Every year, on the Sunday nearest the anniversary, he would tell his call story.   Not just his story, but the story of his brothers and sisters in Christ who encouraged him and helped him along his journey; and the story of the local congregations that supported him, joined with him in ministry, and heeded his preached words.

 A reminder of his roots in Scotland, his roots in the kirk.

This morning we go back to our roots.  all the pageantry and tartans remind us of our Scottish Presbyterian heritage.  

Three things to remember about our Scottish roots.

Move 1:  Scots took their faith seriously.

a.  One of the compelling theological forces behind the Reformation was the theological assertion that the grace of God that did not have to be earned, nor did it have to mediated by a religious authority such as a priest, bishop, or pope.

1.  John Knox joined Luther and other Reformers in this new understanding.

2.  Part of that theological push freed people, but it did not remove people from responsibility.

b. Our Scottish Presbyterian forebears understood their faith to be a serious matter, not to be taken lightly.

1.  The Scripture reading this morning might come across as a bit severe, but it would have a been a typical text to be expounded on in the Kirk in Scotland.

2.  One day a Scottish preaching was going on about hell.  He said that it will be awful, painful, that there will be much gnashing of teeth.

   An old man on the front pew looked up and smiled broadly, smacking his gums.  He had no teeth.

   

The preacher looked him square and replied, “Teeth will be provided.”

c. The love of God did not need to be mediated by the pope or a priest, but it made high demands on the Christian.

Move 2:  Our Scottish predecessors shaped what we know as the Presbyterian church to invite all God’s people to participate.

a.  As the Presbyterian Church of Scotland took on its shape, it was built on the kirk, the local congregation, which was run on democratic lines.

1.  The kirk was free to choose or reject its own pastor.

2.  No bishop or pope told the people who they must have as a minister.

b.  Instead of bishops like the Catholic structure, Knox introduce the idea of ten to twelve superintendents, to diffuse the leadership.

1.  Ultimately, even the presence of superintendents was rejected and shared leadership between clergy and members became the hallmark of the Presbyterian Church.

  2.  Each kirk elected its own elders, to lead the congregation.

3.  this governing body was made up of elders, the English translation of the Greek word Elder is the English translation of the Greek word “presbuteros,” which is why we are known as the Presbyterian Church — church run by elected elders.

4. Beyond the Session, was a presbytery, which was made up of equal number of clergy and elders to ensure the clergy did not dictate policy.

5. at a national level, there was a General Assembly, made up of an equal number of ministers and elders from each presbytery.

6. our structure in the United States looks very similar, although we have an added layer of synods between the presbytery and General Assembly, again made up of equal numbers of clergy and elders.

7. the practice of people electing the elders and voting to call a minister continue in our church today.  In fact, immediately following the recessional this morning, we will live out this practice and elect officers for next year.

c.  John Knox also pushed for national education, which did not pass the Parliament, but reflected the Church of Scotland’s desire and insistence to for the common people to have the ability to read the Bible and live out their faith responsibly.

d. As we remember our heritage and its emphasis on the people leading the church, we might that Jesus’ words we read from Matthew speak directly to the problem of religious authorities and give thanks for the Reformation’s push away from those types of authorities.

1.  It’s true that Jesus hated hypocrisy. 

2. He loved hypocrites, just like he loved sinners, but but he hated hypocrisy.  

3.  he hoped for, he modeled for us, he demanded of us lives of consistence, authenticity, and integrity.  

4.   And Jesus confronted anyone who was pretending to be one type of person by day but another by night, pretending to be one type of person in public and another in private.  

   

5.  Jesus even confronted the religious authorities of his day.  

     

6.   He said that the rabbis bound others up in high expectations,  then did nothing to help them.

      He told people to do as the rabbis said, but not as they did.

      

7.  Jesus called the rabbis hypocrites. They loved public attention.  They loved the prestige of position.  They loved the head table and the black tie affairs and the title and the robe and you have no idea how uncomfortable it is for me to read this passage.

  

8. The Reformation set that straight once and for all, right?

e. Except, except that Jesus shifts the conversation from those religious authorities to “you.”

1.  You, meaning all of us, fall prey to hypocrisy.

2. you, meaning all of us, are called to be servants.

3.  When the Reformation bring leadership down to the level of the common person, it also brings the challenge to our hypocrisy to the common person.

4.  If we find the church hypocritical or not not humbly serving God, we are in the bulls-eye of Jesus’ accusations.

The Reformation invites us all to participate in the leadership of the church, which also invites us to the challenge of leading as a servant.

As Jesus reminds all of us :     “the greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Move 3:  The call to reform continues as we seek to be the body of Christ in the world. 

a.   two images left from the Scottish Reformation that were shared with me by my friend and colleague Karl Travis at FPC, Ft. Worth.

1.  When Knox died in 1572 they buried him in the church graveyard.  In a symbol of something or other, the graveyard is now a parking lot.  John Knox, the father of Scottish Presbyterianism, is buried under space 23.

1.  Perhaps fitting.

2.  Certainly a sign of changing times.

b.  Interestingly enough, above the asphalt, looking down upon space 23 and therefore down upon Knox’s grave, is a statue of James VI.  

1.  That’s James VI of Scotland.  In England they remember him as James I.  He was the first king of the United Kingdom.  

2.  Scotland had been independent before that, free from England.  James VI was therefore seen as a traitor.  

   

3.  Which is why that statue of James VI has a strange feature.  On the nape of James’ neck, maybe four inches tall, barely visible unless you know to look for it, is a small face.  While the statue looks east, this face looks west.  And whose face is this?  Like the front of the statue, it is also the face of King James.  The small addition was the sculptor’s way of saying that James VI was two-faced.

4. A comment about hypocrisy among leaders.

c.  Time passes.

1. the world changes.

2.  Graveyards become parking lots.

3. The demands on God’s people change.

4.  The clans we celebrate today spawn familial connections that expand and integrate all sorts of different ethnicities.  

d. the Israelites learned this truth.

1.  Moses, the great leader, will die.

2.  In fact, he will die without completing his task of settling in the Promised Land.

3.  His mantle of leadership will pass on to Joshua.

4.  the tasks change.  the leaders come and go.

e. our Scottish heritage provides a meaningful and powerful background that has shaped us and who we are.

1.  From our past, we move into the future.

2.  Scotland of the 16th century is not Denton of the 21st Century.

Conclusion:  But we worship the same God, the God who meets us in Jesus  Christ, the God who calls us to be humble servants.