Genesis 18:1-10a, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42
Back about fifteen years ago, in the early 1990s, I worked as a consultant in the Financial Services practice at Arthur Andersen. We provided strategic and operational consulting services to banks and other financial services companies. When we were competing to attain a project for a new client, or perhaps an existing client, we would put together a power point computer presentation showing how we would undertake and complete the project, our credentials and our fees. As you can imagine, we were often working right up until our deadlines. Generally, we would print out a hard copy of the final presentation and put it in the mail allowing a few days for the package to get to the client. Yet, there were times when we cut it a little too close and we would add to our expenses by putting someone on a plane in order to deliver the presentation directly to the client, rather than taking the risk of the package being delayed through the mail.
One day, when we were up against a tight deadline, someone told me that if I took my computer disk with the presentation on it up to the 15th floor of our building, there was a secretary who could send my file to the client through her computer. I didn’t believe him. Skeptically, I took the elevator up to the 15th floor, found the secretary and asked her if this was in fact true. She confirmed it – oh, the wonders of the internet! In the world of business, competition is an important tool. Competition pushes us to create better products and services, and to produce these products and services through more efficient operations. Both the consumer and the producer benefit.
In 1908, John Hayes won the first marathon of the modern Olympic games. His time was 2 hours and 55 minutes. I believe the current men’s marathon record is held by Paul Tergat of Kenya at 2 hours and 4 minutes. In the world of sports, competition pushes us to train harder, to train more efficiently, to deepen our knowledge of the human body – athletes excel and the fans enjoy the thrill of the game.
We were introduced to the Star Wars saga in 1977. The first installment was actually Episode IV – “A New Hope”. In this movie, Luke Skywalker rescues Rebel Leader Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader. The sixth installment, actually Episode III, came out nearly 30 years later in 2005. In “Revenge of the Sith,” Anakin Skywalker makes the move to the Dark Side. If you ever have an interest in going back and watching the first installment from 1977, I think you will be amazed at the advances in cinematography over the past 30 years. Scenes that captivated us in 1977 seem almost comical in their simplicity, in the rudimentary special effects. With competition, artists in the film industry, directors, screenwriters, actors, actresses, costumers, and cinematographers, perfect their art offering the viewer enjoyable and meaningful entertainment.
Competition is good. We affirm and promote competition through awards. We have the Academy Awards for excellence in the film industry. We have the Super Bowl and the World Series and Wimbledon in the world of sports. We have the Nobel Prize for achievement in physics, chemistry, medicine and literature. Yet, an important aspect of our lives is simply not about reward. Our behavior, our conduct, how we interact with one another is not about reward. In the Gospel today, we hear about Mary and Martha. Mary is attentive to Jesus, sitting by his feet, listening to his words. Martha is busy with chores. Certainly, chores need to get done. Yet, when Martha complains that she’s not getting any help, Jesus tells her that she is distracted. Perhaps when we complain, we are asking for some sort of reward or acknowledgement of whatever we are enduring. Our distraction may not be the fussing with the chores, but our attitude, our motivation, our need for something in return.
Stephen Holmgren in Ethics After Easter helps us understand Christian behavior. This book is part of The New Church’s Teaching Series, a series published through Cowley Publications for the Episcopal Church. The series includes books on Scripture, worship, prayer, and spirituality. In Ethics After Easter, Holmgren tells us that “…individual acts are important because they become part of a pattern of living. Acts that are repeated form habits, and habits create dispositions to act in certain ways.” (p. 105) In other words, if we act charitably towards one another on a consistent basis, if we show compassion and understanding and forgiveness, these behaviors become a part of who we are, of how we interact with one another. Behavior, then, is not about good deeds and rewards. Christian behavior is simply our disposition to act in a certain way.
Christ taught us the way. Christ taught us to love, respect, and care for one another. When we love and serve one another, we fulfill our call to live in right relationship with God. We live out our lives as we are meant to live them, in relationship with one another, according to God’s will. In the letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we allow the Spirit to guide us, when we follow Christ, when we live according to God’s will, we will know the fruits of the Spirit, we will know love and joy and peace. But, we don’t serve to reap reward. We serve in our love for God. One step at a time, we are patient, we are kind, we are generous, and our acts become habit and mold our disposition.
I read a wonderful story in the Chicago Tribune back in February of this year. This story is about Herb Linneweh, a retired janitor, a recluse, and his neighbor Joanie Schwarzbeck. When Joanie moved into the neighborhood, she saw Herb peeking out through the curtains. In the following weeks, if he was outside when she was coming or going, he would flee. The neighbors rarely spoke to him. But, Joanie wasn’t satisfied. She reached out to Herb with small gifts on various holidays and eventually they developed a friendship. Joanie had her first child, Erich, and Herb, who had never been married or had children, became a surrogate grandfather to Erich. Herb pitched baseballs to Erich, watched baseball games with him on tv, and attended his Park District baseball games. Then, one day, they discovered Herb was dying from cancer. Herb asked Joanie if she would be willing to take care of his financial affairs, and she agreed. After Herb died, Joanie went to his house to begin the cleaning out process, and discovered envelopes throughout the house filled with cash. This retired janitor had assembled an estate worth $700,000. He left instructions for the money to be equally divided among seven designated non-profit organizations. This is a wonderful story, of course, because seven non-profit organizations each received $100,000 – money that will be used to serve so many other people. But, this is also a great story because of the renewed life Joanie gave to Herb. She reached out to a recluse, which led to a deep relationship between Herb and Erich. Rather, than living out his life hidden away in his house, Herb enjoyed the last years of his life tossing a ball and rooting for the home team, being a loving grandfather to the boy next door. Joanie expected nothing in return. She simply reached out. Her husband says, “That’s just the way she is.”
In this world in which competition and reward are an integral and important part of our lives, we almost unknowingly expect all aspects of our lives to be governed by reward. At some level, we believe the good deed will be rewarded, in kind, or by a pat on the back, or by points on the great scorecard of life. But, in terms of how we live in relationship with one another, the score is irrelevant. We love, respect, and care for one another because we are called to, because it is the right way to live, because in serving one another we love God, our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sustainer.
