Sermon: Integrity
SERIES: All I Really Need to Know…is in the Sermon on the Mount
7. Integrity - Matthew 6:1-18
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Hidden Costs
People are good at hiding from themselves the true cost of anything they really want to do.
If I want a new car, my actual reason might be as basic as the fact that Spring has infected me with new car fever. How can I justify such a purchase? Hiding certain costs from myself will help. I can ignore the increased cost of insurance, the impact of a car payment on my budget, the cost of having to worry about scratches and dents, and the cost of lost freedom that debt always brings.
Or take low prices for example. We all love them, which is why we shop at the big box stores that deliver cheap shirts and cheaper TVs. But is there a hidden cost behind low prices? If low prices require a child labor force in Malaysia or environmental catastrophe in China, or if they produce a growing underclass of low-wage workers here in America that need government help to survive, we had better count the cost up front and be ready to pay the whole thing.
What about war? It’s too easy to hide the costs of war. That’s why I appreciate an online display I found recently called Faces of the Dead. It’s simply a creative display of the photos of every U. S. service member killed in Iraq, from Jay T. Aubin on March 21, 2003 to David Stelmat on March 22, 2008. These 4,000 men and women are only part of the cost – which includes civilians, families, businesses, hopes, dreams and billions of dollars – but let’s never allow these people to be hidden.
Perhaps the essence of sin is to hide the real costs of our actions and focus on short-term pleasure or profit. If David could have seen from his rooftop the awful cost of his sin, would he have sent for Bathsheba? If Judas had known the personal price he would pay, would thirty pieces of silver have seemed like such a good bargain?
If you and I would simply take a little time and sift out the hidden costs behind our cherished sins, would we choose to live differently?
Jesus doesn’t want anyone to follow him on false pretenses. He doesn’t hide costs. He puts them out front: “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple”, he says in Luke 14:33. Jesus never says that discipleship will be cheap. He says that it will be worth it.
For the April 2008 MHCC newsletter – 3.25.8
Sunday Seven
- Michael Wardian is the man! I saw him win the Outer Banks marathon in November, one of his four victories in 13 marathons - in 2007! This weekend, he’ll try to win TWO, one of them being in Knoxville this coming Sunday. Via Runner’s World Racing News for 3/24.
- Why internet commerce will never take off. A Newsweek article from 1995 disparages the internet. I love this kind of ancient internet history. Via Signal vs. Noise.
- Black power from the pulpit. Jeremiah Wright (Obama’s pastor) in context. From Christianity Today.
- eBible.com. An online Bible with a more up-to-date appearance and feature set than my current favorite, BibleGateway.com. Via TechCrunch.
- What killed Ryan Shay? Natural causes, to put it simply. The autopsy results for this elite marathoner are finally out. From Runner’s World.
- Book autopsies. Brian Dettmer creates art by carving up books. Incredible! From Centripetal Notion via Signal vs. Noise.
- Illinois-shaped cornflake sold for $1,350. The end is near. From CNN.
What Jeremiah Wright taught me about preaching
Barack Obama’s longtime pastor, Jeremiah Wright, has created a lot of trouble for himself (and Obama) with his preaching. I can only hope to do the same for my church members someday. For now, here are some lessons on preaching I have learned from watching Wright self-destruct.
- All of you MHCCers, should you ever run for national office, will be held responsible for every thing I say in my sermons and, much more importantly, all of my blathering in this blog. Therefore READ EVERY post, and be sure to distance yourself from my foolishness in the comments.
- It is possible to SHOUT while using a MANUSCRIPT. I usually think of the flamboyant, dynamic preacher as one who paces the stage and preaches without notes. But look at the video. Wright is even more tied to his manuscript than I am. So bring the ear plugs next Sunday.
- It’s probably not such a hot idea to use lots of profanity in the pulpit. So I’d better get busy rewriting next Sunday’s sermon.
Sermon: His Resurrection - the keystone of our faith
His Resurrection: The Keystone of our Faith
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Good Friday meditation
For an apt meditation on Good Friday, page through this slideshow at Christianity Today of art depicting the Last Supper. Some of it is quite unusual and will make you think about the meaning of the day.
In the painting at the left, for example, the artist uses light and darkness to illustrate the spiritual war behind the meal.
Sunday Seven
- A person’s a person no matter how small. Chistianity Today Movies says that the new Horton movie finally gets Dr. Seuss right. I’m skeptical. But I hope it’s true.
- Billy Crystal bats lead-off for the Yankees in Spring training. Mavahlous. From ESPN.
- Have you ever heard of Henry Shrapnel? Can you guess what he invented? From Wired.
4-5. Racing in high heels. It may be a little low-brow, but the runners in this video are tough as nails. Via The Complete Running Network and Manolo’s Shoe Blog.
6-7. This thing scares me! It’s the Big Dog robot from Boston Dynamics. Wait till they silence it. Via Signal vs. Noise.
The Burning Word by Judith Kunst
Years ago, my dad was teaching a Sunday School lesson to adults. He said: “We don’t know much from the Gospels about the early years of Jesus. What can we learn from Jewish history and culture about what his life may have been like?” An older man spoke up: “Since the Bible is silent on Jesus’ youth, we have no business delving into it.” End of discussion.
My dad liked to ask questions of Scripture. He would have enjoyed The Burning Word: A Christian Encounter With Jewish Midrash by Judith Kunst, a book that deals with the well-established Jewish tradition of wrestling with all Scripture - the knowns and the unknowns (and especially the unknowns). The word midrash literally means study but figuratively refers to the practice of commenting on Scripture and grappling with hard passages. For thousands of years, rabbis have written stories, poems, proverbs and other commentary on the meaning of the sacred texts, and by so doing have debated one another across the generations.
Kunst invites Christians into the practice of making midrash. How? Pick a text. Identify a question or problem it raises. Draw out of your imagination a solution for the problem, perhaps shaping it into a story or parable. Then find someone who will argue with your interpretation, refine it, or even reject it in favor of a better one.
Christians of my stripe tend to be leery of too much “grappling” with the text. Isn’t that disrespectful to its authority? Kunst convinces me that it isn’t, especially if I look at my ideas not as the conclusion of the matter but as the starting point for entering the discussion.
(Thanks to Bob Silvera for lending me this enlightening book).
Sermon: Rethinking power, pt. 2
SERIES: All I Really Need to Know…is in the Sermon on the Mount
6. Rethinking power - Matthew 5:38-48
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Meeting personal goals by betting against yourself
I have trouble getting started on the things I’d really like to do. I have trouble doing something different tomorrow than I did today and last week. I can fill my head with good ideas and my heart with inspirational energy, but it doesn’t stop me from postponing change as long as I can.
Maybe loss aversion will. NPR recently did a story (which I found through 43 Folders) on the idea of placing bets against yourself to motivate change. The idea behind loss aversion is that many of us are far more motivated by what we have to lose than by what we could gain.
Example: I recently got overcharged 40 cents at at the Starbucks drive-through. I didn’t realize it until the window closed. Then I sat patiently for 2-3 minutes until someone noticed me. Then I went through the embarrassment of showing how important that 40 cents was to me (they were cool about it, BTW). All in all, it took about five minutes to fix it. But I couldn’t just drive away! If someone offered me a chance to earn 40 cents by spending five minutes sitting at a drive-through, there is no way I would do it. But I did it to keep from LOSING 40 cents.
Now let’s say I want to lose some weight - about 18 pounds would be good, at the pace of a pound a week. Instead of promising myself a new iPod when I reach my goal, I could tap into the motivating power of loss aversion, and make myself pay a price if I fail to lose a pound in a given week - maybe an anonymous $20 gift to someone I don’t like. 
If my 40 cent battle at the drive-through is any indication, losing something may be far more motivting.
The NPR article mentions a web site devoted to loss aversion. I actually visited the site, and almost went through the process of making myself accountable to run a marathon. The site asked me to choose the race and date, to pick someone to hold me accountable (it was going to be John H.) - AND to pledge to make a donation to a distasteful political or social organization if I failed to meet my goal. I thought it was all a great idea. The only reason I backed out at the end was that it was a pass/fail proposition - either run the race in November, or don’t, and pay up. For something that big, I need many steps along the way.
But I love the idea, for me anyway. And if I ever get my plan together, John is the man to be my enforcer!
