In Style Matthew 23 103110

Matthew 23:1-12

23

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

Greek: phulakteria; meaning: "defenses" or "protections"

They consisted of strips of parchment on which were inscribed these four texts: (1.) Ex. 13:1-10; (2.) 11-16; (3.) Deut. 6:4-9; (4.) 11:18-21

What is the difference between being polite and being religious?  Kierkiegard

One evening an old Cherokee chief told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.”

“The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked, “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”The old Cherokee chief simply replied, “The one you feed"

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I often browse through the popular magazine “InStyle.”  It is a women’s fashion magazine that is packed with the latest fashion items, clothing, purses, makeup, shoes, and on and on.  The magazine is usually very thick because it is equally as full of advertisements from some high price designers like Gucci, Donna Karen, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, and more.  There are some absurd bargain sections where the authors of the magazine articles try to tell you how to get the $800 pair of shoes that you saw on TV for at least half off, so that you only have to pay a mere $400. Much of the fashion in this magazine is what most of us would understand as Runway Fashion.  Designs that you wouldn’t be caught dead in.  Color combinations that you didn’t know existed.  Bare skin revealed in most places where women are trying to cover it up more instead of letting people see those “trouble spots.”  The women in the magazine wear thick coats of drastic black and green layers of eye shadow, long lines of very noticeable blush and usually an outrageous shade of plum lipstick.  They look at you emotionless as if they are sitting in some sort of refugee camp, instead of being paid to pose for a glamorous fashion magazine.  

But somehow, this runway fashion affects us.  Perhaps we don’t run out and buy the items we see or perhaps we are even revolted by the current styles that seem inappropriate or amoral, but somehow the runway fashion affects us.  Soon enough, you will see much tamer, muted elements of design and style trickle down into everyday clothing, even into budget stores like Wal-mart and target.  Last season girls were seen wearing skirts with one side of the hem line longer than another, knee high boots have recently come back in style, and men are frequently seen wearing colors like lavender and pink.  

Our outward appearance says something about our inward self.  It might say that you take pride in your dress and you think it is important to be clean and fresh with tailored suits.  It might say you have a hard time waking up in the morning and just throw on whatever you have close by.  It might say you are color blind or that you really don’t care about outward appearances.  It might show that you care too much about outward appearances.

And that is just the case in the gospel of Matthew today.  In the issue of InStyle, circa 1 AD, Jesus has his own fashion advice column and he is begging the Pharisees to change their style of dress.  He has watched them walk around with one leather boxes tied to their forehead right between their temples and another leather box tied on their arm.  The leather strips attached to the boxes hang down low and as Jesus looks on to this style of dress, he groans out loud saying why do they do this?  Why do they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long? Their lives are perpetual fashion shows of embroidered shawls one day and flowery prayers the next.

The Pharisees always wore these phylacteries, these little leather boxes filled with three scriptures each to keep the scripture literally close to their mind and ….  They were an outward and visible sign of their brand and their style and a reminder to everyone in town that they were holy people.  By wearing these little leather boxes the Pharisee was always close to God.  When he didn’t wear them, he instantly negated any 8 positive things he had followed by dressing improperly.  

Jesus says that the people who engage in such fashion shows of piety love to sit at the head table at church dinners, love to bask in the most prominent positions, love public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called Doctor or Reverend.  

Reverend.  

Ah yes.  Reverend.  The fashion show of being a pastor.  Full and long black gown.  Beautifully embroidered stoles.  Often pure white collars.  People of the cloth, separated by dress.

It is the people in the church who are in leadership that Jesus challenges today.  

I read through some online discussions of this scripture as I was doing research and so many pastors were so frustrated with this passage…  Am I supposed to preach against myself?  Do I fall into this category of parading around in a concealing robe?  What am I hiding?  Who am I hiding from?

One pastor responded by saying --- well, that head of the table at church dinners… no way, not me.   My church tells me to go to the front of the line at pot lucks and I refuse.   I won’t eat til everyone else has eaten.  You know what they say – the first will be last and the last will be first.  I would never go first, I am the pastor.  

Another pastor responded, well if you are waiting to be last out of a sense of pride, then you are worse than those who go first.  Ahh, the great issues of our time.  Where should the pastor stand in the pot luck dinner line?

Many pastors pointed to the image of shepherd and said that pastors are supposed to lead with the gentle nurturing that we see when Jesus holds the lamb sweetly in his hands.  One response said, that sounds nice, but in this day and age, when someone says I’m a shepherd, I just can’t relate.  But who then are our models if not the shepherds? Should we look to CEO’s for church leadership? I can’t imagine that shepherds were leaders in biblical days.  After all, Jesus was anti-authoritarian and grass roots.  And another said “don’t knock the shepherd image – they were tough guys -- A good shepherd has to be something of a bad guy - vigilant, watchful, ready to fend off predators, raiders, and enemies armed only with sharp instincts and a crooked stick. Yet a shepherd must be clever and patient in rounding up and moving the sheep from place to place, discerning the needs of the sheep.

What should the leader of a church look like? Act like?  Dress like?

How much does leadership have to do with how and what we preach? How about our administrative skills? How much do we need to have those gifts and talents? What about how we dress or how we carry ourselves?

Some want a prophet, some a teacher, some a leader, some compassion. 

John Maxwell says, "leadership is influence." I agree. Leaders have the ability to influence and motivate people to move in a particular direction, to go places they wouldn't have gone without a leader, do things they would not normally do. Leaders are people with a vision of how something can be better. Leaders take time to dream about what could be. Leaders see what others don't. Leaders challenge the status quo. Leaders are people who are very intentional about personal growth. Leaders lead themselves and then others.

But after Jesus is done critiquing the dress and behavior of the religious leaders of his time, he continues on to offer a word of advice to the pastors who are caught up in what exactly their role should be

8 But you are not to be called rabbi – or pastor or reverend, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. 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.

So, if we are to have no titles?  Are we to have no leaders?  Absolutely not.

In Thomas Hawkin’s book “Faithful Leadership”  he describes church leadership as directly related to the image of the trinity.  Most people that I have asked about this have never really given it much thought – but how do you think of the trinity?  Do you think of the trinity as a triangle with the pointed side facing up?  Where god is at the top and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the bottom two points?  Do you think of it as a straight vertical line where God is at the top, Jesus is in the middle, and the holy spirit is at the bottom?  When you see the Trinity, how do you see it?  

Well, Hawkins sees the trinity directly related to church leadership, but in a different way than most congregations see it.   There is a theological term called perichoresis, which literally means to dance. It is related to the English words choreography and chorus.  The three persons in the trinity are not related in a hierarchal structure, instead they are equal widths apart in a circle.  Research shows that this is the model that the early church depended on as its model for leadership.  The patterns in the dance were not rigidly divided into to who leads and who follows.  The dance patterns do not hold onto one another tightly because they are moving confidently in the same pattern.  They do not clutch or grasp or cling because they are listening to the same instructions from the same God.  They dance of leadership has no place for possessiveness or for a heavy hand.  Dance partners can change roles effortlessly, sometimes arm in arm, sometimes face to face, sometimes leading, sometimes following.  They know that they are partners moving to the same rhythm worshiping the same God and they are sustained by that knowledge.  

When church leaders exhibit the sort of power that the Pharisees exhibited, we see a power over structure where dominance and control are the norm.  In that system, we expect that the pastor will serve us and we will not have to serve.  Leadership must be relational.  It requires mutual service.  The ultimate goal is mutual service to the same leader, the same teacher, the same “father”. 

Jesus looks at us and says “You are all students,” what a magnificent and crucial insight, inviting us to live always as students, followers, and disciples of the master. We are all and always beginners in this. The more we know, the more we know that we don’t know. The more we know, the more we know our need of God. The secret of leadership is to be a follower, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, as you stand at this cross roads in the life if this church, remember the words of Jesus Christ.  There is only one leader, one teacher, one rabbi and that position will never be filled by this pulpit, by these robes, by this world.  It is your duty, whether you are a leader in this church, a follower, absent or present, it is your duty to seek your God first.  You have heard of the ways to do this.  You have seen people do this.  You must find your faith and let it consume you until you can no longer distinguish the difference between yourself and Godself working within you.  Pray for God to show you this, ask people about their faith.  Pray for the church and for guidance for the leaders that are set in place.  In every decision you make at committee meetings, consistory meetings, family meetings, make your focus God’s will and you will not go wrong.  You will not falter.  

I imagine that even for the models, it takes some courage to walk down the runway.  You all know that if I were there, I would trip and fall every time.  But the beauty of our life as Christians is that we are not only welcome, but encouraged to stand up before our world and walk confidently, following our Creator, setting the trend for everyone we know and every place that we might reach.  Blessings to you on your journey.  Amen.