Of Humble Choices

October 24, 2004 (Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost -- Proper 25)

  by The Rev. Linda Yeager, Deacon

- Jeremiah 14:1-10,19-22
- Psalm 84 or 84:1-6
- 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18
- Luke 18:9-14

(From The Lectionary Page)

"...for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted." Jesus was speaking to his disciples on the topic of prayer. The Pharisee in this gospel passage was a good man no doubt: respected and a careful observer of the law. He fasted twice a week, when Jewish law appointed just one absolutely obligatory fast, that on the Day of Atonement. But, to gain special significance, some Jews chose to fast on Mondays and Thursdays as well. In addition, the Pharisee tithed, with the emphasis on "all" his income, meaning his seed, grain, wine, oil, firstlings of the herd and flock and so on. Clearly, he was proud of himself.

That sense of pride happens to all of us, even though we are not proud of that particular characteristic. We begin to look at our lives and our accomplishments and think we deserve special rewards for them; we think that maybe we are pretty important to the place where we work or to the neighborhood where we live or to the family gathering. There is an old Hasidic saying that addresses this situation: "The person who thinks he can live without others is mistaken; the person who thinks that others can't live without him is even more mistaken."

The Pharisee in the passage then contrasts himself with the tax collector -- as well as with thieves, rogues, adulterers -- and comes away thinking that he is living a pretty good life. The tax collector, on the other hand, offers a prayer of a simple seven words: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" Perhaps we also have offered a prayer like that, a simple plea for mercy, understanding how far we are from the children of God that we would like to be.

So, I suspect that there is a bit of the Pharisee and of the tax collector in each of us. The fact that we are in church on Sunday shows that we are people of prayer. The fact that we compare ourselves with others and come out on top shows we are a bit like the Pharisee. The fact that we know that we are inveterate sinners and seek God's forgiveness shows that we are also kindred to the tax collector.

When I first read this passage, I thought, I must admit, about the political ads that are dominating the media in these final days before the November election date. It seems to me that many of these ads are on the self-congratulatory side. Those ads that the candidates "approve of" spend a good deal of time tearing down someone else in order to heap praise on themselves. Now, I know that this is the current political philosophy, but it doesn't make the candidates very appealing, does it? I would guess that the men and women who are running for office are pretty good people, all of them, and sincere in the belief that they will do what they can to make this city or state or nation a better place. Nevertheless, humility would not be a prime characteristic according to many of the ads.

So, some voters are inclined to put all of the candidates in a package and say, "I'm not going to vote at all because I can't believe any of the candidates and I have no idea whom to believe." Others say, "I don't listen to any news anymore because it's all bad and the political leaders are all crooks." And then there is the standard, "Oh, well, my vote won't make any difference anyway."

In the presidential election in 2000, one in five voters said they were too busy to vote. Only 36 percent of 18-24 year olds turned out to vote. Depressing statistics for a nation that has fought wars for its freedom, for a nation whose soldiers have sacrificed their lives for this freedom. It goes without saying that if we don't vote, our voices are not heard. Our right to vote is truly humbling when one thinks of the struggles going on throughout the world merely for the privilege to vote. This October, the people of Afghanistan had the unique opportunity to vote for their president. The U. S. ambassador to Afghanistan called the election a "remarkable event" characterized by the courage of Afghan voters to cast ballots in the face of intimidation from insurgents.

The ambassador said, "Afghans, in the face of threats from al Qaeda and the Taliban, some of them prepared themselves to die, washing themselves, saying special prayers as if they were going to die. Women, for example . . . did that at 3:00 in the morning to go and stand in line for four hours to be able to vote. Or women and men in Kunar Province not running away, although there was an explosion about 100 yards from where people were lining up to vote. But they said they would not leave until they were allowed to vote, and they didn't budge."

Humbling, isn't it, when voting here is such an easy process. How many of us have taken the time to pray about this election, to truly pray for the candidates and pray for the wisdom to vote effectively, not basing our decisions on emotions or hearsay? How many of us have taken the time to work for the candidates we believe in or volunteer our time and talent to make sure that everyone votes, no matter which candidates are being supported?

When I say that everyone should vote, I scratch my head as I recall an experience I had at the polls a few years ago. An elderly couple was in line in front of me. The husband was quite frail and needed his wife's assistance to walk. She helped him into the voting booth, but he needed additional aid in voting since he was having difficulty reading the ballot and understanding the issues. Finally, they finished voting, and she led him slowly and haltingly to their car. Then, to my amazement, she helped him into the driver's side, she got in on the passenger's side, and off he drove. I kept a safe distance away.

Did you know that the Episcopal Church has a public policy network (http://www.episcopalchurch.org/eppn.htm) that is easily accessed on the Internet? It does not formulate policy but is committed to the ministry of justice and peace through public policy advocacy. They encourage us to inform our leaders on how we feel about the issues in our country. Let me quote from the Episcopal Public Policy Network website:

"As Episcopalians, we promise in the Baptismal Covenant to 'strive for justice and peace.' Striving for a just and peaceful world can take the form of helping those in need one-on-one. It can also involve pursuing broad, social change through public policies designed to help the needy. The Episcopal Public Policy Network is committed to the ministry of justice and peace through public policy advocacy. Your national leaders need to hear from you, as Episcopalians. Each year, Congress considers hundreds of bills that impact the mission of the Church. Many organizations are actively engaged in the debates on Capitol Hill. If we are not, others wind up speaking for us. We have a Christian view of public policy that our nation's leaders need and want to hear. Your letters and calls make a difference."

This website is just one small example of what we can do with our prayerful and humble hopes for our nation. We can educate ourselves, pray, and respond. Samuel Adams said, "Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual . . . but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country."

Humbly, we offer to God our voices and our votes, not with pride in our support of a particular person or of a particular issue, but with prayer, that God will impart wisdom to our lawmakers and guide their decisions. No matter who is elected, we have a covenant as citizens of this country and as children of God to pray and support our country's elected leaders.

Bernard of Clairvaux in his book, The Steps of Humility, said: (1) Pursue truth of God and you come to contemplation; (2) Pursue truth of neighbor and you come to compassion; (3) Pursue truth of self and you come to humility.

Let us do likewise. Amen.