"Running On Empty"
(Philippians 2:1-13)
INTRODUCTION:
A number of years ago, I went by to visit a woman who had recently come home from the hospital after surgery on her foot. She and her husband attended regularly and often brought their four or five year old granddaughter. It was a nice fall day like we have been having and the weather was cool enough to open the windows and doors and let the house air out. I knocked on the door and was greeted by the granddaughter, who said: "Oh, wow, Hi!" Then she took off running. Then through the screen door, I heard the most humbling thing I think I've ever heard. She hollered out: "Hey Grandpa, it's God"
I'm pretty sure that was the first and the last time I was ever mistaken for God. I felt awed and humbled all at once. At first it really stroked my ego but then the reality of what she said hit, I was overwhelmed with feelings of unworthiness. I felt humbled.
I felt like Mohammad Ali had to have felt one time on an airplane. Ali was in his prime, and he was about to take off on a flight and the Flight Attendant reminded him to fasten his seat belt. In good Mohammad Ali fashion he announced, "Superman don't need no seat belt."
The Flight Attendant came back just as quickly, "Superman don't need no airplane, either." Ali fastened his belt.
Humility is not easy. In this passage, Paul writes about living a humble life of faith. He writes concerning our Christian life and how we are to live with one another and how we are to live in the world through a life that reflects Christ. But in our experience, it's like the old Mac Davis song says, "Oh, Lord, it's hard to humble." It seems to us that we're called to travel this long journey of faith while running on empty. But then, that really is the point.
I. EMPTY SELF:
A. The first step in the process of running on empty is achieved by emptying ourselves.
A father of three brought his boss home for dinner one evening. He told all the boys to be on their best behavior. And they were. They spoke only when spoken to and were as polite as could be, even the youngest one. The boss was one of those blustery, braggart, pompous kind of people who loved to talk about himself. No matter what the conversation, he turned the topic to back himself. Over and over again he talked about being a self made man.
About half way though the meal, the boss noticed the youngest boy staring at him with a puzzled look on his face. His curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "What's the matter boy, something troubling you?"
"Yes, sir," said the boy. "I don't mean any disrespect, sir. But you said you were a self made man, right?"
To which the boss replied, "That's right, son, and darned proud of it, too."
The boy cocked his head a little and then said, "Well, sir, if you're self made and all that, then why'd you make yourself like that?"
This young boy realized something that a lot of us adults don't always get. When you're too full of yourself, there's no room for anything or anyone else.
B. You see, the human spirit is like a fine crystal wine glass. It is hand crafted. The Creator has taken pains to make it the best and most beautiful wine glass possible. The wine glass is created with such beauty that it reflects the glory of the Creator. The wine glass of the human spirit has been Created to hold and share the wine of the Kingdom of God. It is made for the new wine of Christ; the wine flavored with love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. This wine has been aged and brought to perfection through both the sacrifice and cross of Christ. We all have one. Our lives are that wine glass.
The problem is, many of us settle for less than the best. Most of us fill this one of a kind wine glass with the wine of pride. The wine of pride looks like the most delicious wine possible. When you sniff the cork and take that first small taste it is heady and delicious. It is the most delicious and desirous thing you have ever tasted. You can't wait to dive in and drink more and drink deep. Unfortunately, the more you drink, the more you have to drink because pride is a non-satisfying kind of wine. It fills you up but it doesn't satisfy. Not only that, but if left unchecked, it soon turns bitter. It's taste is loud and boisterous not soft and mellow like the wine of the Kingdom.
And the saddest part of all is that when the wine glass is filled with the wine of pride, there is no room for anything else. Not even the new wine of Christ. God the Creator and steward of the new wine is waiting at your elbow, offering and waiting to fill your wine glass with the new wine of Christ. A lot of us try to mix the two but each ruins the taste and flavor of the other. The wine of Christ makes the wine of pride tasteless. And the wine of pride makes the new wine of Christ taste inviting but harsh.
In order to enjoy the new wine of Christ, the wine of the new covenant, the wine of the Kingdom, we have to empty ourselves. We have to pour out the wine of pride just like Christ poured out his life for us on the cross. Our crystal wine glass then has to be washed in the waters of baptism, washed clean and made new. Then the crystal wine glass, which is our lives, has to be put back into the hands of its Creator who will then fill it with the wine of the Kingdom which is Christ our Savior.
We have to empty ourselves in order to be filled.
II. IN HUMILITY:
A. The second step is to act and live a life of humility. That's hard work. But I'll tell you the truth, humility is pretty easy around the parsonage. I believe that every clergy spouse is a gift from God. They too are called into the ministry. Clergy spouses are given a specific task by God. They are called to keep clergy humble. I'll tell you what. I can come home from church feeling just really pumped about a sermon that I've preached. Especially after hearing some of your comments. I walk in the door thinking, "Wow, thank you Lord, that turned out to be a fantastic sermon. My delivery was perfect. That one was good enough to be preached on the Protestant Hour. I wish the bishop would have heard that one."
All those kinds of thoughts are running through my head, as it gets bigger and bigger. I walk in, and before I can put my brief case down and hang my jacket up, Mary says, "Good, your home. How about taking out the trash." From glorious the heights of radio stardom to taking out the trash. There is absolutely nothing like a good old fashioned clergy spouse to keep a preacher humble. The truth is, Humility is hard.
Paul lays out a pretty tough job description for the life of humility. He says Christians should "be of the same mind." Do you know how hard that is? If you put two preachers of the same denomination in the same room and ask a question you get three different opinions. Some normal Christians are like that, too.
Paul says we should "have the same love." We know it should be the love of God but there are different spiritual types and we are fed in different ways, so consequently we love and experience God in different ways. Some love God through praise and contemporary type worship services. Others get off on lots of liturgy and the high holy style of worship. Some folks don't even want to be with other people when they worship. Other people are a distraction. And for some, doing the work of the Church is more like worship, not sitting in a pew, no matter how exciting the service is. So, how are we supposed to "have the same love?"
Then he starts meddling and tells us not to do anything "from selfish ambition or conceit." I mean really, if I don't show off and do an outstanding job when given the opportunity, if I don't toot my own horn every now and then, how is the boos or the preacher or the District superintendent or the Bishop ever going see that I have the gifts and graces to serve a District or Conference office?
B. But the one that takes the cake is this one that says: "in humility regard others as better than yourselves."
Does that mean I have to think that greasy kid with the pimply face who waited on me at the fast food place is better than me? Or what about that loser with all the tattoos and all the body piercing? Or how about that welfare Mom or that crack addict or the woman locked up in Mountainview? Am I supposed to look at them as better than me? The answer is yes.
If the answer is anything but "Yes" then the wine in your wineglass begins to sour. The dregs of pride have corrupted and overtaken the wine of the Kingdom. You see, it all boils down to pride again. The more you think of yourself, the less you think of others. But the inverse is true also. The more you think of others, the less you think about yourself.
A guy walked into a grocery store one day and a couple shopping who looked pretty seedy. They were rough unkempt. They were clean. They wore clean but bedraggled clothing. They were those kinds of folks (You'll have to fill in what you mean by that but you know what I'm talking about when I say: "Those kind of folks).
This guy immediately made a snap judgment, which is always the wrong thing to do in the Kingdom of God. The couple looked shabby. They looked like they were from the wrong side of tracks tracks. He didn't really want to go down the aisle they were on but needed something out of that section. And that was when he had a very humbling experience. He overheard the couple talking. The wife asked the husband, "Are you sure you want to eat that much macaroni and cheese?"
The husband answered, "First, it's on sale, four for a dollar. Second, we've got no choice. I'll do anything to stay off welfare. I'm not going down that road again. My job might not pay much but at least I've got a job."
Snap judgments based on appearance are never good. Judgment by Christians is never good. Now I'm not talking about the kind of judgment we're supposed to have in choosing good and evil. I'm talking about the kind of judgment that makes us feel superior in some way to someone, any one, else. We are called to live a life of humility.
III. RUNNING ON EMPTY:
A. We're called to let our lives of faith run on empty, empty of what the world offers. The only way we can do that is to empty ourselves of self and to think of others as better than ourselves.
Have you ever tried NOT to think of yourself? It's sort of like trying NOT to think about a hippopotamus. Go ahead, try it. Whatever you do, don't think about a hippopotamus. It can't be done, can it? That's all you thought of. It can't be done.
At least not by our effort. But there is one who can do anything. We can truly NOT think of self when we give our lives to God and we become servants, Servants of God. You see that's really what this whole concept of "running on empty" is all about. We empty ourselves to be filled with God. We let God fill us with the wine and spirit of the Kingdom, the wine of Christ and the Holy Spirit.
And once full, we pour ourselves out in service to God through giving away and sharing the wine of the Kingdom with others. Once filled, we look at each other and everyone else in the world in a different light. We look through the eyes of the Kingdom, the eyes of love.
Love becomes the major force, the major purpose, the major motive, movement and message of the Church. Love is what we do and how we act. Love is how we live. It is the love of Christ, the love of God as expressed in Christ Jesus our Savior, that is going to change this world. Love was the only thing that could have changed Larry Gene Ashbrook.
We wonder how this could have happened. We don't know what was going on in his head, but we do know that he was one of the marginal people. A person on the fringe, like Blind Bartimaeus or the woman at the well, or the ten lepers. He was one of those that most of the good people wouldn't have associated with. But he was one of those who needed the love of Christ more than anyone else. And somehow he slipped through the cracks.
I know what a lot of people are thinking. There was a letter to the editor about how the Church is under attack and how we should stand up and fight back. The truth is, the Church has been under attack since Jesus started his ministry. He even told us that we could expect to be persecuted, too. But we can't fight back the way the author of that letter wanted us to fight back.
We can't arm ourselves with weapons of war. But we can arm ourselves with love, mercy and forgiveness. We can't hire security guards and wall ourselves in. The hymn says God is a Mighty Fortress, a bulwark never failing, not the Church, God. We can't shut ourselves off from the world. The world is why we've been called and set aside. If anything, this should spur us to action. But there is only one language that people will understand, the language of love. And we have to speak it in all that we do. In every action and every word.
B. It's only when we're running on empty that we can we be filled with Christ and make a difference in the world. We have to be filled with love, unconditional love. No strings attached kind of love. The same kind of love we experienced when we gave our lives to Christ. This is the will and the work of God that Paul was talking about. And this is what the world needs. God is at work in us, changing us to change the world, one person at a time.
CONCLUSION:
The clergy of our Conference had the opportunity to hear Dr. Fred Craddock, to expressed this whole concept this way: "To give my life for Christ appears glorious," he said. "To pour myself out for others ... to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom. I'll do it. I'm ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory."
"We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table. 'Here's my life, Lord. I'm giving it all.'"
"But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid's troubles instead of saying, 'Get lost.' Go to a committee meeting. Give up a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home."
"Usually giving our life to Christ isn't glorious. It's done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it's harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul."
We're called to start running on empty. We're called to empty our wine glasses and allow the best wine, the wine of the Kingdom, the wine of the new covenant to fill us to over flowing with the love of God. We're called to put self aside and think of others. We're called to get out of the pews and into the world and love others. We called to get out from behind the stained glass and go out into the sin stained world proclaiming the Good News and the love of Jesus Christ. Empty yourself and drink deep of the new wine. Let everyone know you are a child of God.
This is the Word of the Lord for this day.
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