The Humility of the Cross

 ONLINE REFLECTION, ST. PAUL’S, FOLEY – PROPER 21, YEAR A – 17^th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

 

TEXT:               MATTHEW 21:23-32

 

In my frequent drives between my home in Fairhope and St. Paul’s in Foley, I pay quite a bit of attention do the various sights along the way.  Some are more natural i; others are less so.

 

There is one billboard I see on my trips.  I have noticed it for a long time, and it has prompted my internal questions the entire time.  It is a billboard for a radio station – a Christian radio station.  It has a nickname that includes the word POWER, and the visual is of the cross radiating lightning.  The idea is that the Christian message is about power.

 

I really understand what they are trying to say.  I understand what culture wants to hear. I understand what they are trying to SELL.  But the church has gotten in trouble any time it becomes more focused on exercising power than on carrying out the more essential Christian message.

 

In the gospel lesson today, Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders of Jerusalem, who apparently believe their power is being challenged by this young itinerant rabbi who has come to town.  They are incredulous at what he is saying and doing.  It does not jive with contemporary orthodoxy.  “By what authority are you doing this?” they ask him.

 

St. Paul, writing his letter to the Philippians, summarized the essence of the Christian message to the young church:

 

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”

 

The next time you are tempted to exercise the power of being a Christian, think of Jesus’ example: humility, servanthood, and giving of oneself.