Walk the Talk

Matthew 23:1-13a.

November 2, 2008

Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.

We all know that actions speak louder than words. Parents who teach their children to tell the truth find that their own white lies and excuses have more impact on them than their moral instruction. How about when you get one of those political campaign calls, “Tell them that Mommy isn’t home.” What are you teaching your children?

Now you might think that a little bit of hypocrisy is necessary for us to get along together. You hate Aunt Sarah’s outlandish new hat, so you say that it’s different and unique. You laugh, rather than groan at Grandpa’s stupid joke because you don’t want to hurt his feelings. And when someone’s potluck dish tastes awful, you come up with something like, “Sorry, but it just doesn’t suit my taste though I appreciate the effort you put into this.” Come on, what you wanted to say is that it was disgustingly awful!

Pharisees and Scribes

In our lesson for today, Jesus is warning the people that the Pharisees and scribes were hypocrites because they were not practicing what they taught. They thought they were exceptional, religious role models, spiritual superstars, saints of piety and nothing made them happier than having the place of honor at banquets, the best seats in the synagogues, and the respectful greetings of people in the marketplace.

Jesus said, “Do whatever they teach you” because the law of God is still truthful, “but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.” The Pharisees and the scribes are hypocrites—people who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. It’s like parents who scold their children to not tell a lie but then recruit them to aid and abet in telling a lie on the phone!

These religious leaders “tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others,” Jesus observes; “but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.” They “make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long” so that people can see that they are upright faithfuls but “they do all their deeds to be seen by others.” Jesus criticizes the Pharisees and the scribes for not living up to what they taught and represent. They were acting like they were better people than they actually were.

When we are trying to be better people than we really are, we end up in the place of arrogance when Jesus recommends humility. Jesus tells the crowd and his disciples, “You are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.” You are not to be called, “instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.” And then at the end of our passage today, Jesus teaches us to not be hypocrites but to have humility when he says, “The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Trying to Be Someone You’re Not

It’s human nature that we all like to look good. We strive to be better people if not exceptional people. We wouldn’t mind walking around with broad phylacteries attached to long fringes, sitting in a place of honor at banquets, and people greeting us with respect out on the streets. But trying to be superstars may lead us to trip over these long fringes of our pride and cause us to fall flat on our faces. We end up not being the best models for those who want to be disciples of Christ. It’s better for us to be average than exceptional, because ordinary people can move through life with humility and accomplish some truly extraordinary things.

Our attempts to be exceptional superstars can actually cause us to be unhappy. Lyndon Duke, who studies suicide, has found that when people try to be extraordinary, nearly everyone fails. They end up feeling like losers for not being good enough, special enough, rich enough or happy enough. The result of trying to be exceptional is very often a life of unhappiness.

Instead of being hypocrites of someone we are not, we would be better of seeking for more humility. When we stop trying to exalt ourselves and simply accept the ordinary life that we have, we would be happier and more complete.

How many of us here have placed exceptional expectations on our children to succeed in school? It’s human nature that we do this and it’s very Chinese too. We expect A’s instead of C’s for average. But when we lessen up this pressure to be exceptional and help our children to become normally ordinary, they actually become on their own effort, extraordinary. When we stop pretending to be someone we are not, we can also stop being hypocritical. Our children would be more apt to excel in school and get good grades because they are true to themselves. They can walk their talk instead of trying to walk your talk.

Avoiding hypocrisy means focusing on living an ordinary and decent life. If we do this, the cumulative effect of many average days is actually quite extraordinary. An hour a day with your children adds up to 90 hours in three months, and then 1,800 hours over the course of five years. You know that such an investment is going to have an enormous impact.

Thirty minutes a day, five days in a week of active exercise is enough to keep your cardiovascular system healthy to live long and prosper. And if you keep doing this over the course of many years, exercising, eating well, getting enough sleep and reducing stress, you will not be lying to yourself about how healthy you really are.

Little steps add up. Trying to imagine yourself as someone else perhaps of greater importance rather than who you really are leads us to hypocrisy. Doing ordinary things helps you not be arrogant and turn you toward humility. Jesus tells us to be a student, a disciple of the Messiah, a humble servant. It’s through a life of ordinary service that we’ll accomplish extraordinary things.

Election Day

In a couple of days, we’ll finally be done with this year’s elections. If you are like me, I am tired of the relentless campaigning and negative ads. Isn’t it amazing and ironic that the presidential candidates are giving speeches, doing interviews, debating on TV, and filling our television sets with non-stop political ads that the San Francisco Chronicle would need to report weekly what are lies, half-truths, and facts! No wonder we don’t trust politicians! They are hypocrites! They are trying to be someone of more importance than they really are instead of doing ordinary things that will lead to extraordinary results.

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass, the 19^th century abolitionist, shocked his listeners at Rochester, New York, when he was asked to speak at their Independence Day celebration.

He said, “What, to the American slave, is your 4^th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham…your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy.”

Those were harsh, but true words, the truth of which would require many long and hard struggles for more than a hundred years until virtually all Americans acknowledged this truth. A hundred years later, during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, America’s acceptance and perpetuation of racial segregation provided plenty of ammunition for our enemies to discredit our nation in the eyes of the people of Asia and Africa. Frederick Douglass, like Jesus, whom he often quoted, hated hypocrisy.

When we go to the polls this Tuesday, we have an opportunity to elect political leaders who speak truthfully and will walk the talk. And if they don’t, in four years, we can vote them out because they were hypocrites!

Humble Life

While we need to be concerned about integrity in government and sincerity of our political leaders, we also need to be concerned about our own life. By living a life of humility, one in which ordinary faithfulness leads to extraordinary results, we avoid being hypocrites. We can choose to live a truly humble life that is anything but average. In Jesus words, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

To live a humble life, it’s important to avoid three traps that the Pharisees and scribes fell into. First, “they do not practice what they teach.” (v. 3) They were hypocrites, saying one thing and doing another. If we are to be humble servants of Christ and have a positive impact on the world, we need to make sure that our deeds are in line with our words.

This is true at home, where it doesn’t work to say to children, “Do as I say, not as I do.” It’s also true at school and on the job, where people are always going to be watching to see if we are people of integrity, showing consistency between our words and our actions.

Second, the Pharisees and scribes lay burdens on the shoulders of others, “but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them” (v.4). While these religious leaders were applying the ancient purity laws of the Israelites on the people, Jesus considered this to be an unfair burden. When people are in need, it is critical for us to go beyond giving advice—we also need to lend a hand.

Thirdly, they “do all their deeds to be seen by others” (V.5). They are more interested in making an impression on people than in having a relationship with God. Seats in the synagogue, fringes on prayer shawls and phylacteries can all play a role in good and faithful worship, but they lose their value when they are designed to exalt the person who is doing the prayer. Jesus condemns those who “love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others.”

Instead, Jesus recommends to his followers, “When ever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matt. 6:5-6). Worship is all about connecting with God, not impressing other people.

Avoiding these traps will help you to live a humble life, one in which decent living becomes honest living, when the ordinary becomes truly extraordinary. Practice what you teach. Offer a helping hand. Focus on God.

You notice that the 2009 Nominating Committee will be meeting this afternoon to nominate persons to serve as church officers, board and committee members. Some of you have been church members for some time; so when we come recruiting you to place your name into nomination I hope you will practice what you teach. When we give our life to Jesus Christ, we need to also walk the talk.

Some of you may feel that you may not enjoy serving as an officer or a board member, but Jesus tells us that you need to offer a helping hand. You need to walk the talk.

All of us like to look good all the time. We like to be recognized and respected. With our phylacteries and long fringes or big Bibles that we tote along, we show off that we are more important then we really are. Shamefully, we end up being hypocrites like the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus tells us to focus on God alone. You need to walk the talk.

Jesus said, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (V.12) In the end, we don’t get anywhere by exalting ourselves. We end up simply as hypocrites. When we walk the talk, we follow the journey of Jesus Christ and talk about God’s grace and mercies.

Let us pray.

Merciful Savior, it pains us to recognize ourselves as Pharisees, to see and acknowledge that we are better at talking about our faith than actually living it; that we are more concerned with our appearance before others than the purity of our hearts before you; that too often we are motivated by our need for appreciation, admiration and approval rather than by compassion and unconditional love. Forgive us, we pray. Free us from all that holds us captive to selfishness, fear, pride and greed for these diminish the image of you that is in each of us. Instead, empower us to fully embody the joy of living as your children; we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Friend. Amen.