Sermons by Bishop Paul V. Marshall
We Have This Treasure in Tupperware
Convention Eucharist, June 12, 1999, St. Luke's, Scranton
Bishop Paul V. MarshallIsaiah 55:1-13 2
Corintians 4:1-10
John 15:1-11It is only when we take our fallibility, fragility, and occasional imbecility for what they are that we realize that in the long run this whole enterprise called life depends not on our talents or good looks, but on the grace of God. St. Paul isn't urging any of us to be poster child for National Low Self-Esteem Week. What he's trying to show is that for each of us, life and God's love and power are gifts, not attainments, so we can relax a bit "so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies."
We see both sides of St. Paul in our epistle today. We see the bold witness to the gospel of Christ, declaring God's word with clarity wherever and to whomever he could. He could express himself in words you and I can only envy. Who can put a vision and mission statement together as well as this one of Paul's:
"We do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us."
We like to think of religious leaders, in fact we like to think of our fellow Christians as like that, confident and well-spoken, folks we can look up to.
Paul had learned the hard way that thinking like that insults God, and deceives people about God's gift. So more than once Paul showed his readership what we would call his vulnerabilities, his other side. We all know about the mysterious thorn in the flesh that kept Paul from boasting, and if you read the book of Acts carefully, it is clear that he was not easy to get along with.
But that is just the point. Paul finally learned not to disguise or be defensive about his weaknesses. In today's passage he reminds us that he was "perplexed, but not driven to despair," a way of saying that it didn't kill him not to have all the answers, even when the questions really vexed him. But our epistle is also the famous earthen vessels passage, which we translate "clay jars."
It's a very interesting image, this business of clay jars. If you've given or received a gift from Tiffany, Cartier, Kisner's, or another first-rate jewelry store, you know that the gift box is appropriate to the value of the jewelry and status of the store. They don't throw the stuff into a plastic bag, thrust it into your hand, and say a dismissive, "Have a nice day." It would be self-contradictory.
Well, that may work for jewelry, but Paul says that God does just the opposite with the good news about Jesus Christ. God puts that treasure in very ordinary containers, spiritual Tupperware, folks as fallible as you and I seem to be. Some of you may not like thinking of yourselves as Tupperware, preferring to think of yourselves as Lennox or Wedgewood, but for purposes of this epistle lesson it is necessary to remember that beneath the beautifully fired Wedgewood exterior there is a core of pure plastic, and when we close this vessel we have to burp it. It is only when we take our fallibility, fragility, and occasional imbecility for what they are that we realize that in the long run this whole enterprise called life depends not on our talents or good looks, but on the grace of God.
Please note that Paul isn't urging any of us to be poster child for National Low Self-Esteem Week. What he's trying to show is that for each of us, life and God's love and power are gifts, not attainments, so we can relax a bit "so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies." Our culture teaches us to make objects out of and to devalue our bodies. I recently heard somebody say that "the best form of birth control for people over forty is nudity." That is to devalue that body, to make it hard to believe that the life of Jesus can be seen in it.
Jesus life alive in our bodies: I recently heard one preacher tell about a Buddhist spiritual master who decided to try something different and give a Christian retreat. So he read the New Testament. He told the group of retreatants something like this:
"I have read your New Testament and find it an absorbing book, especially the passages that speak of Christ's resurrection and the resurrection that is promised to his followers. Why can I not see this in you? If you believe in the resurrection it should change the way you walk, the way you hold your bodies, the look in your eye, the way you hold your pencil..."
Is the life of Jesus visible in our bodies?
Based on reports of the hearings held yesterday afternoon, we are going to have some intense discussion today on a number of resolutions before the Convention. It is important that as we do this the life of Jesus is apparent in us.
I believe in letting the democratic process happen, and whatever the Convention does with these nine resolutions is what it does with them. But as your fellow bearer of God's treasure in a damp Tupperware lettuce keeper, I remind you "not to think more highly of yourselves than you ought." Our psalm today prayed, "Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins." Please do state your beliefs as clearly and as forthrightly as you can, but know that it is out of order to make remarks that presume to know the state of another person's soul or presume to know what another person thinks. We are free to admonish, teach, persuade, and even argue, but we are not free to break charity with or question the motives of sisters and brothers in Christ. There is a great deal of difference between believing a sister or brother to be mistaken, and calling them names. Say what you think, but please say it in a way that challenges ideas without devaluing people
There is more at stake here than just a convention, so let me show you a better way. Yesterday was the feast of St. Barnabas. Barnabas means "son of encouragement," which was a Hebrew way of saying "one who encourages." It's a funny thing about human nature. Study after study shows that employees value an encouraging, complementary word more than a raise. We know that children who are praised turn out better than those who feel themselves always under judgement. Nonetheless, it remains difficult to bring that knowledge to Church. To the extent that we do, we can, once again, help to reform the Church by doing the work of the Gospel.
What would happen if members of this convention went out of their way tomorrow morning to thank a choir member, an acolyte, an altar guild member, an usher, a coffee hour host for their contribution to the life of your parish? What would happen if you did that with a different person each week, something like, "I've always wanted to say how much appreciate what you contribute to our worship," or something equally simple. Would the roof fall in? There is only one way to find out. Let me know what you discover.
On a deeper level, there is the fact that the Tupperware in us provides constant challenge. For example, you have probably figured me out as a person who both has some gifts and has some real limitations as far as being a living witness to the life of Christ. I am a shy person, I get silly when I am nervous, am afraid of crowds, and have almost no small talk. Last night I managed to re-baptize delegates from District Four with a full glass of Coca Cola.
But there is more here, and it is in the gospel lesson. When you and I work to be daughters and sons of encouragement, we bear the kind of fruit that glorifies the Father. Jesus goes on to say that we will end up with his own joy, complete joy. Joy? That's where I ended up with you in Reading last year, but, as the song says, it's in the book
It's a funny thing, if you work at loving someone, and if you love them long enough, you may be surprised to find out that in time you have come to like them, too. But that's the small joy, when compared with the larger joy of feeling and knowing ourselves to be working the works of God. You know that you have reached spiritual maturity, that you have passed from death to life, when that is enough to make your day.
Home Site Map Please direct any questions or comments to the webmaster@diobeth.org
