If you were paying attention, and I know you all were, you noticed a common theme in our readings this morning. The first lesson comes from the Old Testament book of Proverbs which is an ancient guide for practical, ethical living. Proverbs is known as “Wisdom Literature” and its passages advise us in raising children, keeping good relations with our neighbors, and getting along with mothers-in-law. In essence, the pages present rules for a peaceful life. Verses from the book include, “Better a dinner of vegetables where love is than a fatted ox served with hatred.” Another entry suited to any building committee says, “Without counsel, plans go wrong, but with advisors they succeed.” And from today’s lesson we hear, “Do not assume a place that does not belong to you.” 

     In our next reading, the psalm, we recited the verse, “Happy are they who fear the Lord.” In the context of Old Testament writings, the word “fear” does not mean trembling and trepidation. Instead the word implies a healthy respect and a realistic awareness of the Almighty’s power and His expansive scope of influence. To “fear the Lord” is to understand that God’s reach is wide and his rule is final. His authority is boundless while ours is noticeably limited.

     Our 3rd lesson from the Letter to the Hebrews includes this line, “be content with what you have.” And our gospel passage from Luke recalls the parable Jesus told at dinner with the leader of the Pharisees. Slightly paraphrased, he says, at a gathering, do not go to the head table and get comfortable. Go sit in the cheap seats and wait to be invited to the corporate box. “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

     So from the 4 readings we hear, “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great.” “Happy are they that respect the Lord.” “Be content with what you have.” “All who exalt themselves will be humbled.” These passages all center on the same idea. The word for the week is Pride and this morning, we learn that its effects are detrimental to our well being. But because the language is old fashioned and the images of exalted and lesser seats of honor are rare in our democratic society, we may have missed the point. In modern times, especially in America, we expect to rise continually in stature. We expect to be rewarded on the basis our work and merit, our productivity and skill. Moving up, getting ahead is a sign of ambition and this is a quality admired and affirmed in our country. Humbleness, holding back, finding satisfaction with what we have right here, right now is not part of our culture. “Being content with what we have” is contrary to the American dream.   We expect a better future for our children. We plan for an easier life down the road when we retire. We dream big but we also work hard to make those imaginings real. Is this ambition “Pride” and does our pursuit for more displease God?

     The answer is yes. The desire and expectation for more than we are meant to have, more than is good for us, more than we can legitimately handle is the quality, and the “sin” of Pride. The drive for more power, more wealth, more respect, more friends, more love, puts us at the center of our universe. We begin to think of ourselves as creators, as the force controlling our destiny. We imagine we hold the fates and fortunes of those we care about. We begin to believe that by our will, focus and determination, we can make the world conform to our image and our most excellent plan. At the heart of these often subconscious thoughts is the root cause of our broken world. When we imagine that

 we’re the cause rather than the effect, we put ourselves forward. We push our way

 in and stand in the place of the great, in the place that belongs to God. We become presumptuous and incredibly unrealistic. An encounter in a garden after a quick bite of an apple illustrates the consequences of such folly. There is fruit for the divine and there is food and enlightenment for human consumption and they are not the same. The story of Adam and Eve reminds us “made in the image of God” does not make us God. For our well being, we need to know our place in the order of creation. We need to understand our role and the limits of our role in God’s cosmic drama. 

     Generally in our lives, when confronted with a clear directive from God, we know how to respond. Overall we get the concept, “God knows best.”  So when He says, “Do not steal,” we don’t presume to know better and take that man’s new hybrid station wagon. We don’t covet our neighbor’s plasma TV. We try hard not to be jealous of our nephew’s full ride to Emory when we’re paying Virginia Tech off for the next 11 years. We refrain from murder and bowing to false idolsIn observing the 10 big rules, in our prayers and in our general orientation, we know where God begins and where we leave off. We know which of us is eternal and which one of us is finite. And knowing our faith story as we do, today if we met God in the garden, not one of us would touch the forbidden tree. We’d dispatch that snake without a thought. We’re not prideful in those obvious ways. Our sin is much more subtle.

     Every year when I go to our diocesan convention I walk into the grand ballroom of the

hotel and I see the dais and I count the chairs. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Let’s see there are 3

bishops and 2 canons, the treasurer and the secretary of the convention. Nope, that’s not

me, I guess I’m not sitting up there. So I look over the 150 lower tables and I find St. Mark’s-Huntersville with its five chairs, 2 for clergy and 3 for delegates and the water pitcher and the free pens and note paper and all is well. That’s my place and it’s a fine seat. It comes with enough comfort and plenty of responsibility. In that moment, I’m very clear about my domain and my role, where I belong and what my work looks like. 

    But not every situation presents such certainty. In fact last Sunday in this very spot I lost my focus. Just as I was about to begin my sermon at the 10:30 service that pew broke and 5 surprised worshippers were unsettled or more accurately, they were unseated. There was some momentary confusion and like this, snap, snap, snap I thought, okay, the church is pretty well filled up, where will they sit? Are there folding chairs in the sacristy? How fast can we get that pew out and chairs in? Didn’t we have pew repair in the 2006 budget and the 2007 budget? Who does that kind of work in this area?

     128 people were sitting in this space and I guarantee you at least 40 of those souls were better equipped to deal with the broken pew than me. They had better tools than I have. They have more wood working experience than I do. They could pick the thing up easier than me. Aside from the strength question, the armrests would have gotten tangled in my robes. And of all those 128 people the only one who came prepared to preach a sermon was me. The only person in this building with 12 minutes of considered material tying God’s revelation to the appointed lessons on the tip of his or her tongue was me. So in that instance, why was I, snap, snap, snap pew problem solving? God called me to this spot for a particular purpose. I needed to accept and honor that purpose. I needed to accept the part God intended for me and not push myself forward and stand in the spot 

     You see how seductive Pride can be. We tend to think the unfolding of our lives

 is the only story going on. We forget that God is the writer and director of the great eternal story and our lives are just a tiny subplot. Each detail is precious and important to Him, but our moment to moment dilemmas are just one piece of the cosmic whole. And even more irritating to us is the truth that, even within our own plot line we are not the starring character in every scene. Sometimes God intends for us to be an extra, someone who delivers a throw away line so that the next person’s idea or action has the necessary effect. It is hard and humbling not to be the center of our own universe. It injures our sense of self to think, “my gifts aren’t called for here,” or “my role is only to listen and remember, to be ready to remind people what was said later.” When we’ve been created smart and motivated and proactive, it is difficult to rein ourselves in and not move forward. It is counter intuitive not to expand our sphere of influence at every turn. Relinquishing total responsibility of our destiny, even to God, takes faith and intentional energy. 

     But putting down the responsibility of being the ultimate answer is also marvelously freeing. When we understand that our actions may be the beginning rather than the culmination of a divine plan, we can rest easy and breathe in peace of mind. When we finally accept that God is in charge of all outcomes, that He is the master of the final cut, that’s when we achieve spiritual maturity.  This realization is a glorious accomplishment, not a boast, not a self congratulatory high five, not pride, but a gift. 

     So this morning, are lessons call us to consider the times and places in our lives where we forget who’s truly in charge and instead assume grandiose personal importance. Today our charge is to think about where we push ourselves forward and allow our pride to obscure God’s better direction. We have enough to do just being faithful children. Let’s have the good sense and the appropriate humble spirit to allow God to be God. For “Happy are they that respect the Lord,” and “those who humble themselves will one day be exalted.”