There are lies that the world tells us. There are untruths that we hear over and over, and over again…and, we begin to believe. These false narratives disrupt our lives, harm our relationships, and do damage to our souls.
But for each of these lies, there is a corresponding truth. It is a word that counters the lie…it lifts hearts. It builds lives. And it brings hope.
Over these first 5 weeks of our fall together, we are going to spend a little bit of time unpacking these lies…discovering how they affect us, and then being reminded of the words of truth that counter them.
This week, we are going to talk about the first lie…the original lie. This lie is the foundation for many of the other lies that we hearThis lie breaks God’s first commandment.
The first lie is: “I am in charge.”
Grace and peace to you, from God our creator, and from Jesus, our Savior, the one who came not to be served…but to serve. Amen.
Cees ‘t Hart was the brand-new Chief Executive Officer of the Carlsberg Group, a global corporation located in Copenhagen, Denmark. On his first day as CEO Cees ‘t Hart was given a key card by his assistant. The assistant explained that when Cees enters the building’s elevator, from any floor, he can swipe the card in the reader next to the elevator buttons. The elevator will then lock out all the other floors and like an express train, would proceed directly to the 20th floor, where the doors would open right into his beautiful corner office, complete with picture windows, and a stunning view of Copenhagen.
People who were already on the elevator would have their ride interrupted. They would have to ride up to the 20th floor with him. Then once he exited the elevator, they could push their buttons a second time, and the elevator would return to normal operation. This was just one of the perks of his new position, one that spoke to his power and importance within the company. As his assistant told him about this magic elevator keycrd, Cees looked at her kind of funny. Like: “Really?”
Cees worked in his 20th floor corner office for about a week. Then, he made a change. He decided to switch from his luxurious corner office on the 20th floor to an empty desk in an open-floor plan on a lower floor. And at the meeting where he announced this change in office space to his executive staff, he took out his magic elevator key card, and with a scissor, cut it into pieces.
When asked why, Cees explained, “If I don’t spend time with people, I won’t get to know what they think. And if I don’t have a finger on the pulse of the organization, I can’t lead effectively.” And he went on to say: “The work that I do…it isn’t about me…it isn’t about power or privilege. It isn’t about being the most important; I am here to serve my team. And they are here to serve our customers.”
“It isn’t about me. It is about serving,” he said.
Humans have struggled with the question: “who is in charge, and what does that mean?” literally since we first walked the earth. In fact, if you turn to the very beginning of the scriptures, the story of Adam and Eve is fundamentally a story about…who is in charge.
God gives Eve and Adam clear instructions: The whole world is yours…except for this one tree. Stay away from the fruit of this tree. Everything else? It’s all yours! No problem. Have at it!
Adam and Eve look at the vast beauty of the whole of creation. But they were bothered…bothered by the one tiny thing they could not have. So, they choose to play the “you’re not the boss of me” card. And they ate the fruit of the tree. This moment is what theologians refer to as “the fall.” It was the original sin; the first disobedience.
And whether you believe it was an historical event, or a metaphor for our human, sinful need to be in charge…to be, in essence, the God of our own lives…it doesn’t matter. Adam and Eve grabbed…and we continue to grab…for the apple. We want to be God. “You’re not the boss of me.” We want to be in charge; in control.
And there were more: Noah…Moses…David…Solomon…Jonah…Saul, who became Paul…each of their stories involves moving from a perspective of “self-importance,” to a perspective of “other-importance,” or maybe even more accurately, of “God-importance.”
And look at our Gospel story today. The disciples are with Jesus, and the mother of James and John, in a moment of impressive helicopter parenting, approaches Jesus to ask a favor. “What do you want?” asks Jesus. “Well…could you put my two boys your right, and left hands? Could you elevate them above the other disciples? Could you make them more important? Could you give them more authority than the others?” Here, I imagine Jesus smiling…maybe laughing just a little…and saying, “Oh Mama, you have no idea what you’re asking for.” And then he goes on to remind James, John…and Mom, that Jesus didn’t come to be served…to be important…to be in charge. He came to serve. And that the role of the disciple is to do the same.
This narrative…this theme of wanting to be in charge…of wanting authority…of wanting to be the God of the world around us…this is a theme you find throughout the scriptures, and throughout human history. We see it today, in the world around us…in our politics…in our social media.
But this narrative; it is a lie. Because we are not in charge.
I have a good friend, who taught at Luther Seminary while I was a student there. His name is Dennis. I’ve spoken about him here before. And throughout his adult life, he has struggled with an ongoing heart issue. Because of it, he has a defibrillator permanently implanted in his chest to shock his heart any time that it goes out of regular rhythm.
He told me once that every day, when he gets up in the morning and is standing in front of his bathroom mirror brushing his teeth, he can see the outline of the device under the skin of his chest. And he says “this is my daily reminder that I am not in charge. At any moment, my heart could go out of whack…or worse yet…stop…and this little device will shock me. And to know…to be reminded that I am not in charge…is scary…but it is also freeing. It means that I can let go of my need to control, and I can just trust in God who created me to be who I am.”
So, if the lie is that I…that we…are in charge…what then is the truth? It is simple. Here is the truth: God is God, and you are not. Instead, you are a child of God. And you are loved beyond measure. Child of God. Loved beyond measure. That’s it. Easy.
But even though that truth sounds easy…you and I both know that it is not:
- It is not easy because part of our brokenness is that we have a hard time simply accepting who we are.
- It is not easy because we have a hard time receiving the gracious gifts of God, that aren’t dependent on anything that we do…or don’t do.
- It is not easy because the world teaches us that our identity is defined by where we are on the hierarchy, or by what we accomplish. Not by a loving God who created us just as we are.
So, when you look in the mirror, what do you see? Let’s be honest: We almost never see ourselves as God sees us. We don’t see the beauty, and the grace, and the love of God that overflows from us.
Instead, we see the flaws and the inadequacies. So, what do we do? Well, we grip tighter and tighter to control…we try to stay “in charge.” We try to control the narrative…to feel better about ourselves by looking better to others. By looking in control.
But today, Jesus reminds us that there is a different truth. He asks us to look in the mirror…and to see this truth.
We have a small gift for you. I’m going to ask the ushers to come forward, and to distribute these small mirrors. And when you get your mirror, I’d like you to look at yourself within it. And to look with new vision. Go ahead and look! Don’t see the flaws and the problems. Don’t see the inadequacies. See instead what God created. You are exactly who God created you to be. You are not in charge. But you are beautiful…flaws, blemishes, and all. You are a child of God, and you are loved, beyond measure. As people who follow Jesus, this is our truth. Put this mirror somewhere…on a shelf…or near your desk. Somewhere you’ll see it and be reminded of God’s truth for you.
My friends, you have been given a gift from God. Jesus’ loves you. And when you look in the mirror…this mirror…any mirror…I want it to be a reminder that you are who God created you to be. When you hear other voices that deny this…that tell you that you need to be more than you are…that tell you that should try to control…to try and be in charge of what is around you…well…these are lies.
Know who you are. Be who you are. Trust that God is with you, and that is enough.
Look in your mirror and see your truth: You are a child of God, and you are loved beyond measure. Trust in that. It is all you need to know.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
Test Driving Theology 