Fourth Sunday in Epiphany 2006

Speaking Index

Delivered 28 January 2006, the Saturday service based on the readings for the Fourth Sunday in Epiphany.

Good evening! We come here at the close of this day, we gather beside the waters of baptism, we gather at the foot of the cross. This is the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, tonight we'll be looking at authority, where it comes from, who gets it, how we respond to it, and how we exert it.

Aside from the focus of the liturgical schedule, I'd like to note another significance of the day. We go through life, attending to our routine tasks. I hope that what I do from day to day is good for the community, but I don't claim to be doing anything great and I certainly don't take any significant risks. Others, however, strive for more dramatic things and do take risks.

Twenty years ago this morning, seven men and women boarded the space shuttle Challenger, their flight ended in less than two minutes in a fiery explosion. Sailing across the Atlantic was once a huge risk, rescuing sailors in a storm still is. The search for knowledge still involves danger. Someone has to try every medical development, and the first vaccine wasn't safe - nor was the first pacemaker a century later. I give thanks for those who are called to take those risks, we all benefit.

Look them up

Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from his son Jesus the Christ, and from the Holy Spirit. Amen

I'm a boomer. The sixties were my formative years. "Question Authority" was a common bumper sticker when I was in high school, and like many in my generation my relationship with authority has been central to my thinking ever since. We're going to look at authority here today, including Mr Beil, the vice-principal at my high school, the moronic Student Court I so enjoyed flouting, the cop on the beat, the draft board, and a long string of presidents, many of whom I might have gotten along with in any other context. I also include you and me.

The word authority itself is from the Latin auctoritas, which comes directly from auctor, or creator. When the phrase "author of all things" is used to describe God it doesn't mean that he wrote it down. The power to enforce the law or command respect comes from same root as the ability to write a novel, the ability to create.

In the first lesson we see the delegation of authority. As told in Exodus, the people of Israel had been at Horeb, Mount Sinai. The mountain was on fire, the people heard a powerful voice, and they were terrified. The voice of Yahweh, the creator, the terrible authority above all. And the people cried to be delivered from this experience, "Let not the voice of the Lord my God come to my ears again, and let me not see this great fire any more, or death will overtake me." Now the chosen are on the verge of the Promised Land, and Moses has been filling them in on what's to come in the land where he would not join them.

In the previous chapter he laid out many things about how their law should work, how the courts and priests should be guided by Yahweh, how the people should choose their king, guided by Yahweh. And now he's laying down the law for those who will serve as Yahweh's guides. Although we probably hear the word prophet used most often to describe a seer or fortuneteller, the primary meaning is still one who speaks for God. God's attorney, if you will, speaking not for himself or by his own authority, but speaking God's words, by God's command, to God's people.

Moses laid out how authority was to be passed to the King and to prophets, here he makes it clear that abusing such authority would be dealt with. Here I stand, devoutly hoping that I am speaking words to you on God's behalf, as God would have me do. Preparing this sermon had this difference from every other sermon before it - the text itself threatens me with death if I get it wrong, or if what I say isn't from God but from some other source claiming authority or authorship.

We used to hear every sermon start with "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be ever pleasing in thy sight, O Lord." When I stood to start this sermon and was silent for a moment? That silence lasted just long enough for me to invoke that prayer as I always do. It just has a little more punch today.

From Deuteronomy we jump about fifteen hundred years ahead to the reading from Mark. It's the year 30 by our accounting. The offices of the scribes, rabbis, and temple priests are well established, and a certain authority is invested in each of them by tradition and training. The eldest of these are highly respected, disputes about the law and the words of the prophets are referred to the greybeards who have spent their lives reading Torah and debating every verse. So it's Friday night, just after sundown. The community has gathered at the synagogue. Just like us gathering here, only everybody came because there weren't any services the next morning to divide the congregation. Jesus, then somewhere between 33 and 36 years old and just starting his ministry, joins the group and began to teach.

And what a lesson! He's young. He's nobody. But all are astounded at the authority of this teaching. Not only the faithful gathered to worship, but a demon who possessed one of the Jews that evening. The faithful knew the Torah - the history and the word of the prophets - and they recognized the authority of Jesus immediately. We know Jesus as true God. He was present at creation, so we aren't surprised that the author of all things would manifest authority over all things in the person of his only son. But the Jews were stunned, and his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

We jump ahead another couple of thousand years. The sun has set and the Sabbath is here. Moses and Jesus are not standing here to direct us. What authorities do we listen to? I'd like to challenge you to ask that of yourself not only this minute or this night, but from this day forth, whenever you make a choice.

Well, don't go nuts by asking the authority behind every single decision, we make too many of them and we live better as a result of making many decisions rapidly. We make hundreds of decisions every day without thought, automatically, which we call habit. The authority of habit is valuable - tie your shoes before you try to walk and you'll live longer.

The authority of habits can also be dangerous. For over a quarter century it was my habit to smoke twenty to thirty cigarettes every day. We call habits involving that level of compulsion addictions, and though tobacco is the most destructive of all to the body, there are plenty of others that are frightful. On what authority do I pour a glass of wine? That's easy. God has blessed us with grapes, the fruit of the vine, and further blessed us with skilled artisans to make wines and spirits that delight the senses. On what authority do I take the second drink at a party? Well, it tastes good, everybody else has a glass in their hand, and it will help me feel more confident. Note that only one of those is an authority I should be listening to. And if I were to pour myself a fourth or fifth drink when I'm at home alone? Challenging, and rejecting, that authority is past due.

Last night it was my task to make patties from a package of turkey sausage and fry them while steaming a vegetable. What authority demanded this of me, and further expected that I'd clean up at least some of the mess afterward? Why, Larkin told me to, of course. In his great mercy God has established this authority so that I don't have to stare in confusion into an empty refrigerator. We don't want to dwell long on what I'd buy at the store if it were left to me, but you can be certain that beer and potato chips would be prominent in my cart. Do I do everything Larkin expects of me? Well, uh, …., let's say I fall short of perfection in this area. But most days my life, and our life together, is better because she has authority, and the authority I have in other areas of our home is, I hope, also for the best. She plans and shops, I cook and clean. It turns out that assigning authority saves us time and stress.

I like to work the occasional movie reference in, one of the movies suggested by our theme is a 1992 gem named Strictly Ballroom. A corrupt and hidebound system controls the ballroom dancing competitions, a system that perpetuates the steps once taught by the leaders of the Australian ballroom dance federation, in the interest of the teachers and studios. But the authority of the federation stands counter to the interest of the audience, the Federation president sneers at "crowd pleasing steps" on the dance floor. That authority is also counter to the interest of the dancers, fated to stylishly rework the same moves over and over. Scott and Fran reject the authority. Scott burns to grow as an artist and dance in ways never before seen, but suffers from his fear of losing his position as one of the best dancers, a possible winner of the Pan Pacific Latin Dance Championship. Fran says "A life lived in fear is a life half lived." So do you answer to the authority of tradition? The authority of rules? The authority of your fears? Or do you answer to the authority of the creative spirit God gave each of us? Scott's father had succumbed to his fears, and to the badgering of his wife and other dancers, and we see him as a mere shadow of the man he once was. Scott and Fran chose the authority of the spirit, the spirit of creation. They danced with authority, their own authority. And the movie ends in smiles.

Sol Wachtler, a judge in New York, has often been quoted on the subject of abuse of authority by prosecuting attorneys. The role of a grand jury is to protect the innocent from unfounded criminal charges. Lamenting that this function was failing, Judge Wachtler noted "Even a modestly competent district attorney can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich." He used his authority as the highest-ranking judge in the state to try to curtail what he saw as abuses of authority by prosecutors. He used his authority to seek the wellbeing of his community. Most likely he thought the prosecutors were driven not by such thoughts, but by a hunger for headlines, putting their job security and political advancement ahead of their obligation to truth and justice. Most of us get caught up in the pressure of our daily work, we must stop to ask what authority is pushing us to make decisions.

Most of us watch a certain amount of television. We drive around the island and we hear the radio. We pass signs. We read magazines and newspapers. And everywhere there is the constant influence of advertising. TNS Media Intelligence, a New York City market research consulting firm, released their forecast for 2006 US advertising spending just last week. They predict a 5.4% increase to $152.3 Billion dollars. That's a little over $500 for every man, woman, and child. Yes, five hundred bucks will be spent on changing how Dorothy spends her money this year. Another five bills will be devoted to Dewey. The same to me. And you know, when they spend that kind of money year in and year out they get really good at it. If you're not comatose or living as a hermit in a cave, you are being influenced by it. So when you reach for the latest from Nike or choose a convenient packaged entrée in a compelling package from the freezer case, stop to ask yourself if the authority behind your choice is the judgment God gave you or those well-paid voices we can't possibly escape.

Why do businesses spend that kind of money on those ads? It's not because they take pity on the poor ad reps and write up juicy insertion orders. Believe me: I've been an ad rep and nobody takes pity on ad reps! They do it because when they spend ten bucks on ads they'll sell you enough to earn at least an extra eleven. I'm not against profit, I've been in some kind of business almost as long as I can remember. I know that when you sell more shoes you can lower the cost so that more people can benefit from the advantages your shoes offer, and you can provide more jobs. Countless things that I enjoy are only possible if there is a big market for them, so business and advertising are not evil in my book. But here's another movie reference: Do you remember Tom Cruise as Jerry Maguire yelling "Show me the money!" Is that your authority? It's pretty clear that setting up money, our sometimes-desperate search for money, as an authority in our lives is not what God wants of us.

In our world there are many formal structures of authority. An infantryman has to obey his sergeant, a colonel has to answer to generals. We all must observe the laws of our community. Pastor Jim has to answer to the church council and our bishop.

In addition to the formal structures, there is the authority that grows from age and experience, what we recognize as the best guides to our life choices, and other voices that presume to guide our choices. We have our habits, for good or bad.

We have the families we have created or been born into, I'm not sure if that's a formal authority or not. Most of us have to make money. Most of us have to create.

Moses reminds us in Deuteronomy that we each exert authority on those around us. In the reading from first Corinthians that you have in your lesson insert, we have a question about whether or not our personal choices will lead others to sin. In that case, the reference is to eating meat offered to idols, something none of us is likely to have to worry about of course, but our examples can be seen as an authority - sometimes in surprising ways. As I ask myself what authority I am answering to when I make a particular choice, I guess I need to also ask myself what example I am setting. Bizarre as it seems to me, there are those who look to me as an authority.

Am I in authority here? I have the microphone. In our day, having the mike at the front of the room is a pretty clearly sign of authority. The Spirit might even use me to change how you think or live. But it's not just me. It's not the mike. It's not my training, my preparation, or my place up in front. There is one author of creation, one authority, and I can only hope that I am reflecting some of that in these words.

Like the Jews at Capernaum, we recognize authority itself and respond to it. But can we recognize when that authority is taking us away from the path God calls us to walk? Do we recognize the authority of the creator when it speaks to us? Today's lessons tell us of the source of authority, that it is delegated, and that we are capable of discerning it. As we race frantically through our lives, I think we need to remember this. I know I need to regularly examine the authority I answer to.

And this is what we call Good News. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Amen.