The Loss of Our Self-Identity

Luke 18:9-14

I heard a funny story the other day about the Pope on his last visit to the United States.  On his last day of the visit, he was delayed due to meetings and was unable to break away to catch a flight.

Since he couldn't depend on his Pope Mobile, he phoned for a limousine. When the limousine arrived, the driver was joyfully surprised that it was the Pope who called for him. The driver became nervous and was beside himself and proceeded to drive very slowly. The Pope became nervous and told him to hurry up but it did not make a bit of difference. The driver went slower; he wanted to keep the Pope in his limousine as long as he could. The Pope could not be delayed any longer so he asked to drive the limo himself. He sped off and reached the speed of 85 miles an hour. The policeman who stopped him was shocked when he discovered the famous personality behind the wheel. He frantically phoned his police chief and said, “Chief, I have stopped a very important figure for speeding. I don’t know what to do?”
--“What do you mean? Give him a speeding ticket!” 
--“Sir, in all honesty, I can’t.”
--“Why can’t you? The law is the law. Who is it anyway that you stopped? Is it the mayor?”
--“No, sir.”
--“Is it the governor?”
--“No, sir.”
--“Is it a congressman?”
--“Is it the president?”
--“No, sir.”
--“Well, then, who is it?!”
--“I don’t know sir! All I know is that the Pope is driving him to the airport.”

I would have substituted Archbishop of Canterbury for the Pope, but I don’t think it would have worked as well.  But in all seriousness, the pope continues to teach us about humility.  This week he censured a bishop in the German church.  The Bishop was spending a ridiculous amount on his residence including $34,000 for a conference table and $20,000 for a bathtub.  In a public statement the Pope drew attention to the humility of not only the calling of the ordained, but what it means to be a Christian. 

Humility not only keeps us from lavishly living but it also keeps us from drawing attention to ourselves.  So today, I want to draw attention to our liturgy in particular.  We began with a collect that brought us all together.  It asked God to cleanse our thoughts so that we may love God.  We heard together Holy Scripture and now we are hearing together a sermon.  In a moment we will make a statement of faith.  At each turn, we proclaim what We believe.   What follows are our prayers of the people, a chance for us as a group to pray on behalf of the world, the church, those in need, and those who are in our own community.  We do this together.  We read the names of our congregation together.  We do not offer what we as individuals pray for and this is important.

And then we confess our sin.  While there is silence and space to acknowledge our own personal sin, we offer a prayer that acknowledges our sin together.  We confess that as a group we have failed in so many ways.  We confess that we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves, that we have not always walked the way God has called us to walk. 

And finally, we gather together to make Holy Eucharist.  This is an action that we cannot do alone.  In our tradition, not even a priest can make Holy Eucharist by his or herself.  Jesus tells us that whenever two or three are gathered in his name, God is there.  As Christians we give we take on a corporate identity. 

In all of these actions, what is evident is the loss of a need for an individual identity.  There is even a loss of individual theology or the need for individual prayer.  Instead, what emerges is a corporate identity.  By giving up of ourselves, we become the body of Christ.

A friend of mine from seminary’s daughter was just born three weeks ago. Her name is Audrey Grace.  She is a fighter and not like most others.  Her heart was born with only two chambers.  Immediately after being born, she was flown in a helicopter to another children’s hospital to have her first of several heart surgeries.  There are other complications too.  Over the past few weeks, a trend has emerged.  People who know Grey and his wife Monica, and their family have sent pictures wearing “rally” caps or hats.  Pictures have been sent of entire sports teams, families, and the entire student body of our seminary all wearing “rally” caps.  Thousands of people have sent pictures which essentially say, “We are rallying with you Audrey Grace.”  Word has even traveled from the Presiding Bishop’s office.  Audrey is not even a month old, but their family is learning that they do not fight alone.  Their entire community and more stand in solidarity with Audrey Grace.  This is what community is about.  It means we are not alone.  We give of ourselves to be something greater. 

This Sunday, we encounter two people in the parable from Luke’s Gospel.  We encounter the tax collector and the Pharisee.  We know where this going.  If you heard a story about these two, you would know exactly who is the good guy and who is the bad guy.  The Pharisee is the punk who thinks he is better than everyone else.  The tax collector says, “Have mercy on me, a sinner.” 

One of the challenges of a parable, is to do precisely what we are told not to do – identify ourselves as one of the characters.  The Pharisee has compared himself to others, being grateful that he is not like those others who he believes live inferior moral lives.  He uses comparison as the means to understand himself.  The tax collector, on the other hand, avoids this game of comparison altogether.  The temptation of the parable is to say that we should behave like the tax collector.  Yet in that very acknowledgement is an unspoken claim – to not be like the Pharisee.  The parable lures us into a trap.  It lures us to play the game of comparison, to believe that we are better than the Pharisee because we are not like the Pharisee.  It is a tempting invitation as well, because we want to be the best people we can be.  Being the best, though means better than others.  And this means we view the thrust of our identity as individuals.  Yet when we see ourselves as a collective group, as a body of Christ, there is no need for this comparison.  We accept ourselves for being exactly who we are – beloved children of God.

Look around the room.  As a collective body of Christ, there is no need to evaluate ourselves to one another.  Yes, we all have our flaws.   Big ones.  Bad ones.  Stinky ones.  And it doesn't matter in the slightest.  Because we care and love one another.  We desire the best for another.  And we desire to grow through our love for each other.  This is all possible because we give up our self-identity.  We are no longer John Burruss, or Doug Gordon, Debbie Allen, or Lana Marler.  This is a chance to think back to our Baptism.  In Baptism, We lose our surnames take a new one – Christians.  Our identity is together as the body of Christ. 

Humility is not just about our ego, or trying to keep from evaluating ourselves by comparing who we are to our fellow brothers and sisters.  Humility is about checking our individuality at the door to be a part of a community.   It is about letting go of what we need to have, what we need to know, or what we need to believe. And we can do that right now by turning and proclaiming not what you or I think, but what We all believe.  Let us stand together and proclaim our faith in the words of the Nicene Creed….

Sermon Preach October 27, 2013

Church of the Annunciation