Learn Something New Every Day!

Text: Luke 14:1, 7-14
Theme: “Learn Something New Every Day!”
14th Sunday After Pentecost
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 29, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
Rev. Paul R. Dunklau


+In the Name of Jesus+
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, once said: “I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” Thus stated, President Lincoln would have surely agreed with this morning’s sermon title; “Learn Something New Every Day.” If studies of the brain are any indication, we do learn something new every day. It’s just that our recall isn’t always up to snuff.

Today is Christian Education Rally Day. Lots of churches have them. It’s the kickoff to the fall season of educational offerings and activities in the life of the congregation. Calling it Rally Day suggests that there should be some pep, some zest, zip, and excitement to the proceedings – and rightly so. It’s a new beginning and a new opportunity for everyone to learn something new and to expand the horizons of mind and spirit. It is the time to recognize and honor both those who teach and those who learn; all who nurture faith in others. We thank God for them all! It is a time for the entire congregation to rally behind God's intention that all Christians--children, youth and adults--grow and learn; a day for congregations to celebrate their ministry of Christian education!

We can smile when we take a trip down memory lane and think back with a pinch of nostalgia on those first back to school days of yesteryear. Some of us couldn’t wait; others of us didn’t look forward to it at all. I remember going shopping with mom shortly before the start of school. I’d get some new clothes and then school supplies – like pads and notebooks, pens and pencils, erasers and crayons. Quick question: which package of Crayola crayons was your favorite? If the Crayola website is to be trusted, there are now forty seven different packages and combinations of crayons to choose from. And I just had to look! My favorite one is still on the market. I liked the 64 Crayola crayon box with the built-in crayon sharpener. Take a new box of 64 to school and you were surely Joe Cool. You felt superior to those who had only the sixteen pack or the even the eight pack. But sometimes those who exalted themselves in the knowledge that they had a 64 crayon box were humbled by those who only had an 8 crayon box. Some of those 8 crayon box kids were much better in art class, you see.

Learn something new every day! Everyone does it – from the infant awkwardly learning to walk to the summa cum laude graduate student who just earned a second Ph.D. in international economics.

Speaking of learning, time to test your knowledge of sports: who played for the New York Yankees baseball team, the New York Knicks basketball team, and the New York Rangers hockey team all in the same year? The answer is: the organist, Gladys Gooding. Not into sports? How about geography? Here goes: what creatures are the Canary Islands named for? The answer is: dogs. Both of these questions have something in common: they are the stuff of pure trivia; the information is essentially worthless.

We turn to the Bible and ask yet another question: why do we study it? There are all kinds of answers to that question – some good, some better, and some great. As you think about it, I’m going to go through some Bible basics. It, the Bible, is a library of sixty six books written over a period of about two thousand years. It’s divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament has thirty nine books. The New Testament has twenty seven books. There are different types of literature in the Bible – such as history, poetry, prophecy, prayer, hymnody, biography, letters, and apocalyptic literature. Originally, the Old Testament was written primarily in the Hebrew language. The New Testament was written in the Greek language, and, specifically, the “koine” Greek language or common language of the people. For most of Christianity’s existence the Latin edition of the Bible called the Vulgate was in use. Then along came Martin Luther in the 1500s who translated the Bible into his mother-tongue of German. Ever since, the Bible has been translated into a host of different languages and versions. Probably the most famous – and still used – version is the King James.

But back to the question: why do we study the Bible? I’ll tell you why we don’t. We don’t study the Bible in order to become better Bible trivia players. More and more, it seems that there are more opinions about the Bible than actual knowledge of it. Some see it as a collection of fairy tales with a religious twist. Others see it as a catalog of myths collected down through the centuries. Others see it as a volume of morals. Some see it as a catalog of rules, regulations, and laws – both civil and religious -- that really have no more bearing on modern life. Still others see it as a “How to” book – where God shows people of all ages “how to” live. Some see it as a love letter from God, but they soon discover that there’s some tough love in their too. Some see it as historically inaccurate. Others see it as inerrant and infallible. Some are afraid of getting hold of the Bible for fear that it might get a hold on them. Get season tickets to the Cowboys and some might call you quite a fan. If people start noticing you read the Bible, they might call you a fanatic! People are confused by the Bible, bored by it, inspired by it, upset by it, changed by it. Some use it as a kind of political battering ram to reinforce their political point of view. You can get the Bible to justify just about anything. For example: The Bible says, “Judas went out hung himself.” Okay. The Bible also says: “Go and do thou likewise.” Furthermore, the Bible says “What you do, do quickly.” Do you see? I’ve just used the Bible to encourage you to take your own life, and, of course, that’s ridiculous. But you get the point. So many things in the Bible are taken out of context that it all but boggles the mind.

Not long from now, Lord willing, I will stand before God and all of you at a service of ordination. The moderator of my ordination will ask me this question: “Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to you?” With conscience clear, I plan to answer yes because that’s exactly what I understand the Bible to be: that unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ!

Some people I know have read the Bible through, cover to cover, more than one time in their lives. And that’s fine. But, since the Bible is library of books, someone might ask for a suggestion on which book or books to read first. My response is always to start with one of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. If that’s too many choices, choose Mark. It’s the shortest and most action-packed of the four!

Today’s selection is from the Gospel of Luke, and we learn something about Jesus right off the bat. He keeps company with all kinds of people. Today we run into Him hanging out with a Pharisee. Now Pharisees were sort of religious lawyers in the time of Jesus. To be sure, they were educated. We are told that this was not just a Pharisee, but a leader of the Pharisees. So this was a higher-up, as they say. As you may know, the Gospels portray Pharisees as not exactly happy campers when it came to Jesus Christ. They caused him a headache or two from time to time.

At any rate, Jesus had their attention; it says they were “watching him closely.” And today, we catch up with him as he goes to enjoy a meal with this leader of the Pharisees. Apparently, it wasn’t just dinner for two since other guests were arriving. Some of those guests wanted a seat at the head table – presumably with Jesus.

Meanwhile, Jesus was doing some close watching of his own. Observing the people jockeying for position, he speaks up: “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place’, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

I love the story of the proud pastor and the proud astronomer who sat next to each other on an airplane flight. They struck up a conversation, and the pastor started going on about the great theological education he’d received at such and such seminary. The astronomer smiled and said, “I already know everything I need to know about theology. Jesus loves me; this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” He then proceeded to share with the pastor all about the vast amount of graduate level studying he’d done in the field of astronomy. The pastor eventually replied, “Oh, I already know everything I need to know about astronomy. Twinkle! Twinkle little star! How I wonder what you are!” Both of them betray the fact that they were exalting themselves.

What’s the lesson here on Christian Education Rally Day? What can we learn from these words of Jesus? In view of Christian education, those who exalt themselves are the ones who say “I go to church; I attend Sunday School; I know the basics, and that’s good enough for me. I’ve got the good Christian sealof approval. Case closed.” On the other hand, those who humble themselves are the ones who say “I can’t wait to learn more from such a Lord as this; I’m excited to be His disciple; I get to learn my Lord’s way of life and then have the chance, every day, to live it.”

Christians call themselves disciples of Christ. The word disciple literally means learner. If not learner, then not disciple. You may notice the word discipline is in the word disciple. They are linguistically related. And it’s true. Not much learning occurs without some discipline. Yes, we can pick up a few things by osmosis but not much. So attend a class. Go through a study guide on a Bible book with some friends. Read C.S. Lewis or Bonhoeffer. Get to know a child at Denton Christian Preschool. Don’t close your mind – or soul – from the adventure of learning more and more.

I remember a professor from my seminary days in St. Louis. He was originally from Australia. His area of expertise was systematic theology and he was and is the most brilliant man I ever met. He knew Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Greek; he knew Latin; he was conversant in German and had translated the works of German theologians. He was a Lord’s Supper scholar and an example of narrative preaching at its very best. I was in awe of the man – and I still am.

While at seminary, I was once invited to his home with a number of other students. Once in the door, I was treated as though I was the guest of honor -- and all of the other students would have said the same. Rev. Professor Nagel went out of his way to serve us (with food and wine and conversation and some of the lessons he had learned while in seminary and some fine cigars from his humidor). He would literally sit at our feet simply wanting to know, genuinely, how things were going for us. For all of his knowledge (and it was vast), he was the most humble man I ever met. He gave of himself with no thought of return.

Jesus says: “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Clearly, Jesus isn’t talking about manners or social propriety. Neither is he talking about fairness – as in “You serve me; I serve you, and we’re even.” Look deeper at this or even meditate upon it. The Lord is our host. We are His guests. The Lord is sour God; we are His children. In Baptism, He calls us. In the Supper, He feed us. In the Gospel, he proclaims a dying, rising, forgiving love that cannot be separated from us. Can we repay that? No. But we can learn more about it – something new about it! -- every day!

Amen.