Practicing What We Preach

THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL: MATTHEW 23: 1-12 (MESSAGE)

Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. "The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God's Law. You won't go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it. They don't take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It's all spit-and-polish veneer.  Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend.'  Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of 'Father'; you have only one Father, and he's in heaven. And don't let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ.  Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.

Do we really practice what we preach or do our lives reflect more of a “do what I say and not what I do” philosophy?  What does it mean to live with integrity?  What would we need to do or to change to live in such a way that our words and our actions are consistent?

As Jesus teaches the crowds and the disciples, he encourages them to reflect on these questions by thinking about the behavior of others who do not do what they teach and who live to be elevated.  He reminds them and us that if we can be ourselves, caring for others, loving our neighbors without the desire for recognition or power getting in our way, that our lives will count for plenty.

This Sunday is Reformation Sunday when remember Martin Luther’s act of integrity when he asked the Church to practice what they were teaching and called all of us to integrated lives of reason and faith.

Join us this Sunday, October 30 at 10:00a.m. in Christ Church when we move into the unique space between remembering the reformation out of which our denomination was born and that funner holiday known as Halloween. In Church we will think about what it means to practice what we preach even as we hear Jesus tell us to do what is taught not what is done. Please bring your friends and your family for this exciting time of worship.

If you have time, join us for a Halloween Costume Party tonight, Friday, October 28 at 5:00pm downstairs in the Fellowship Hall of Christ Church.  Dust off those mini-skirts, cut holes in that sheet, paint yourself yellow to become Pac-Man and join us in what is guaranteed to be fun! We will have pumpkin carving, games, pizza, candy and much more — for the child in all of us.… booohaaaaaa…