printer-friendly version
Take Heed!
by The Very Rev. Frank F. Limehouse, III
Year C, 3 Lent, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
March 7, 2010
unedited
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
The things that are written in the Scriptures are written, not for entertainment, but for teaching, reproof, correction, wisdom and truth: truth about the world, truth about ourselves and for the eternal well being of our souls. With that in mind, I turn to Saint Paul's letter to the Corinthians. The Apostle saw that many in the church there were “cruising for a bruising” as my mom used tell me, her devilish little son. Paul could see that the Corinthians were cruising for a bruising because they were too confident in themselves; they believed in themselves too much. So Paul pointed them back to their history. In the verses assigned to us this morning, Paul talks about the ancient Israelites in the wilderness, God's own chosen people, how they had fallen and the destruction they brought upon themselves. Paul said all that had been recorded, not just for historical purposes, but for a warning. Therefore he proceeded to give them this solemn admonition, a famous verse of biblical wisdom, “Let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
That surely runs counter to the wisdom of Mr. Worldly Wiseman. We live in a culture and an age when everyone is supposed to uplift their strengths and affirm themselves. It's just a part of the self-esteem fervor that has swept this country. I don't mean to completely belittle that, because there may be some good in it, but we just live in a time when self-affirmation is considered the smart thing to do ad nauseam and it is not biblical wisdom.
The classic example from television is Stuart Smalley, no kin to Craig. He's the ridiculous character on Saturday Night Live from years ago. To begin his mornings, he used to look in the mirror and say to himself, “I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me.” And then he would go out and completely blow it, make an idiot out of himself.
The essence of the modern psychology of self-affirmation is so very different from what we prayed in today's old Anglican collect: “Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul…” Get that: “Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves…”.
Well the Corinthians should have known better than to think they had power of themselves to help themselves for the ancient scriptures showed plenty of examples of how the loftiest, mightiest people had fallen. Goliath thought he stood, so he lifted up his helmet. David thought he stood, until he “fooled around and fell in love”. Of course in the New Testament, the classic example is Peter. He thought he stood, so he pledged his allegiance, “Jesus, I will never deny thee.” There are too many examples to start naming them. The scriptures warn against trusting in any inherent human strength, but only in the strength of God. St. Paul saw the Corinthians had not taken it to heart. They had a misplaced confidence. They weren't lacking in self-esteem. They believed in themselves too much. So Paul said, “Let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall…”.
Jane and I - as well as half of the community - were shocked when we heard about our friend many years ago. It happened out of the blue. We learned that our very good friend left his wife and three children for a new, much younger trophy wife and took off for the West Coast. (They say she was a trophy wife. I say if she were a trophy it wasn't a first place trophy.) I realize that happens a lot, but the thing that makes it all so ironic is the fact that I cannot tell you now many times he talked about the priority of this family. He was a bone fide family values kind of man who had crusaded, with great passion, for “family values.” He was actually my next-door neighbor and I can tell you he often made a big deal about the sacrificial love he held for his family. And the next thing we knew, he'd gone to San Francisco. But the thing is, it's too easy to look on the other guy and say, “I would never behave like that!” Is that right? The Apostle said,“Let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall…”. St. Paul isn't talking about my neighbor, he's talking to me; he's not talking to your neighbor; he's talking to you.
I can almost guarantee you that the thing you most have to insist upon about yourself covers a window of vulnerability. I get real nervous when I'm in counseling with someone and they keep saying “Well you know, I'm just not the kind of guy who holds grudges… I'm not the kind of guy who goes back on his word.” Translate: “I hold more grudges can you can imagine… I'll go back on my word in a skinny minute if the stakes are high enough.”
I can't tell you what the Devil looks like. In my own mind he wears red tights, has horns and a tail and carries a pitchfork. Other than in the Garden of Eden, in which he is described as crafty and subtle; and Ezekiel, who tells us he was perfect in beauty, I cannot talk so much about what the devil looks like. But we can talk about how the devil operates. St. Peter said, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Interestingly, the devil doesn't come at you only where you're weak. He's very interested in your gifts and strengths. This is where we are most vulnerable. The woman with a charming smile is tempted to “get away with murder.” The salesman with the gift of persuasion, is often tempted to “take ‘em for what they're worth.” God, on the other hand, is most interested in what? Your weaknesses. The Lord said to Paul ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'… Get that: God's works with our weaknesses, for that is how God's enters into our hearts and lives. “For the sake of Christ, then”, Paul said, “I am content with weaknesses…for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9,10).
With that in mind I want to wrap this up by saying how scripture and the Lord keep us outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls and sustains us vis-à-vis all the forces arrayed against us. It says here, “Let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall…”. That's you and me. But then he goes on to say, “Yet God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. There's a lot we could say about that verse, but there is one key thing, expressed in the words, “God is faithful.” That is the key thing. Paul said elsewhere to Timothy, “Even if we are faithless, God always remains faithful.” God is there to help us. He must win the battle.
I'm going to quote a poem written by one of the most significant poets in the German language, Rainer Maria Rilke in the early 1900s. Actually I first heard this from Henry Parsley when he preached here on Ash Wednesday and was intrigued by it.
“The leaves fall, fall as if from far away, like withered things from gardens deep in sky…
And through the night the heavy earth falls too, down from the stars into loneliness.
And we all fall. This hand must fall. Look everywhere: it is the lot of all. Yet there is one who holds us as we fall eternally in his hands' tenderness.
I hope that conjures up in your mind the biblical image of hands that were once nailed to the Cross for our transgressions, the same hands that hold us tenderly after picking us up when we fall, loving us, cleansing us, that we may escape destruction. As the poet said, “There is one who holds us as we fall eternally in his hands' tenderness.” The Christian may fall and break a limb, so to speak, but as we are held by his omnipotent, loving hands we cannot possibly suffer a final, eternal fall, but stand without blemish before God.
So how do we resist the devil and all of the forces arrayed against us? You and I resist him by not putting a dime's worth of assurance in your own strength. You resist him by owning up to your fragile nature and by drawing near to the throne of Grace for the mercy and help we constantly need.
And I'll end by quoting one of the most beautiful and profound benedictions, I believe, in all the Bible, the concluding benediction in the Book of Jude: “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever” (24,25).
May God draw reluctant hearts, and now give doubting souls courage to believe this for Jesus' sake. Amen.
|
 |
|
