CALL NO MAN FATHER

I haven't warn a clerical collar in many years, but a long time ago I was coming home from making hospital calls, wearing a black suit and a Roman collar.

I make a left turn into our street, not paying attention to the sign which says "No Left Turn From 4:00 to 6:00 P.M."

I pull into our driveway, and right behind me is a police car.

"Hello, Father, Do you know what you just did?"

I'm making good progress with this Irish policeman who thinks I'm a Catholic priest, when along comes our little five-year-old Gretchen.

"Hi Daddy, what's the policeman doing here?"

"Shhhhh!

Well, the policeman let me off the hook anyway. He could see that I was a "man of the cloth."

And we think of this respect as the proper way to go. After all, why shouldn't the clergy get a little respect? But listen to Jesus comparing the clergy of his day with what he expects of us:

"…They love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places and being called rabbi by men. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."

Matthew 23:6-12

Why does Jesus make such an issue of it? What's wrong with giving the clergy a little respect? What's wrong with a little top-down authority in our churches? That's how you get things done.

Apparently Jesus' disciples felt the same way. For as soon as Jesus begins to warn them that he's going to be arrested and killed, and rise again on the third day, the disciples put their heads together and start figuring out which of them is the greatest. Who's going to be in charge after Jesus is gone? This talk about "rising the third day" goes right over their heads. And they still haven't grasped the lesson Jesus taught them over and over again,

"If any one would be first, he must be last of all, and the servant of all."

Mark 9:35

They don't get it. And we're just like those disciples: we don't get it! Two thousand years have gone by and we're still kissing the Bishop's ring, handing out awards for "outstanding Christian service." We like it this way. Why not give a little glory where glory is due? After all, who of us does not crave a little recognition once-in-a-while?

But this lesson which Jesus is teaching us is not a minor thing. It is the most liberating lesson in the entire gospel of the kingdom.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:1-4

What is it about a child? Here's a little girl. She gets up in the morning, has her breakfast, hugs her Mom and Dad, and goes out to play. She isn't trying to prove anything. She's not driven by greed. She is who she is. At night she says her prayers. Her Mom tucks her in. She goes to sleep, and sleeps well.

But as soon as she grows up and starts pushing others aside to get ahead of them, uses them for her own ends, then she is no longer a child. And her peace is gone. When she was a little child she was free of all this nonsense.

Hence, the greatest person in the kingdom of God, the person who is really free, alive, joyful, is the one who is content to simply be that little child before God. They don't have to prove anything. They aren't driven by lust, greed, deceit, envy. When they go to bed at night, God himself tucks them in. And they sleep well.

In the morning when they wake up, they are nobody's Master, nor are they subject to any one but the Lord Jesus. In his name they are content to wash feet and serve, letting all the glory go to God.

Why is it that we have such a hard time getting hold of this simple truth? This is how our Master lived. And this is how he is teaching us to live.

"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

So how do we get there? How do we humble ourselves and become like that child?

Once upon a time I had a dream. I dreamed that Jean and I were on a plane heading for a holiday in Australia. Suddenly the plane had to make an emergency landing on a tiny Pacific island. Repairs were going to take several days, so we were driven by bus to a hotel. The weird thing about this island was that everyone, from the bus driver to the hotel clerk was stooped down under the weight of three large stones.

One stone was strapped to the right shoulder. One was strapped to the left shoulder. The third stone was strapped to a cushion on the head. The people seemed to be totally unconscious of the weight they were laboring under.

It was a hot climate; and you could see that these men and women, and even teen-agers were sweltering in the heat under their burdens.

Only the little children were free of these stones.

Finally I got up enough nerve to ask a well-dressed man in the hotel lobby, "Why do you all walk around weighed down by these stones?"

The man smiled. "You think you're different from us? You think you're free of these weights? Truth is, you weights are doing the same thing to you, only your stones are invisible.

"You see this stone on my right shoulder? It's the Stone of My Importance. How could I live without this stone? How could I live without knowing how important I am?

"And this stone on my left shoulder---it's the Stone of my Need to Be Right. You'd be surprised how much time I spend proving that I'm right. Whenever I forget this, the stone reminds me: I am right. Always right!

"And this stone strapped to a cushion on my head is called the Stone of Control. It reminds me by its weight on my head that I need to control my circumstances, my destiny----everything!"

"But don't you get weary, walking around with this weight on you all day long?" I asked.

"Of course I get weary," he replied, "but I'm no more weary than you. You're carrying exactly the same three burdens, and their weight is no lighter than these stones. On you right shoulder: your own importance. On your left shoulder: your need to be right. And on your head: the compulsion to control. Nice meeting you," he said and dashed off toward the elevators as best he could, under the weight of those stones.

Then I awoke from my dream. My own importance. My need to be right. My compulsion to control. Three invisible stones that weigh me down.

"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

How do we humbles ourselves and become like that child? We give these three stones to God----and keep giving them until they're gone.

The Stone of My Importance. What a relief to dump it at the foot of the cross, and leave it there! I don't have to be anything but a child of God. So what am I trying to prove? Every time I catch myself carrying this stone, I need to dump it again. And again. And again.

The Stone of My Need to be Right. What a relief to let that one go! Why am I so defensive all the time? Why do I have to be right all the time? The only one who is right is God. If I have to dump this stone 50 times a day, I need to keep tossing it down every time I find myself "winning" another debate.

Now I'm starting to become like that little child. But there is one more thing holding me back: The Stone of Control. My compulsion to make things always go my way. To make everybody fit into my agenda. "It's killing me! Here, Lord, take it! I'm not the Rabbi. I’m not the Master. You are!" And every time that compulsion to control gets hold of me, I need to dump it again!

" But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."

What a relief, to get rid of those useless stones!

What a relief , to be just a child before God!

"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Lord, help us to repent and become a child before you! To give up proving how important we are…..how right we are…..always trying to make things go our way! Help us to just follow you by faith with the heart of a child, and take life as it comes.

That's what we want to do.

Help us, Lord!