Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, Matthew 22:34-46, 10/29/2023
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
May your will be done,
Through me.
I remember my freshman year in college at a co-ed university.
You see I had come from grade schools and high schools that were all boys schools, so this was the first time I had women on my campus.
One morning, walking into the science building, I opened the glass door for a woman who was walking next to me, to let her go in first.
But she stopped walking, and glared at me and said, "Are you opening the door for me because I'm a woman?"
I simply froze, stunned, and silent, motioning for her to go in - as it would take me 2 weeks to dream up my one-liner of a reply:
"No, I'm not holding the door for you because you're a woman, I'm holding the door for you because I'm a gentleman."
Silencing the critics is never easy, is it?
This is something Jesus was intimately acquainted with!
If you've been with us all month, you've heard story after story of Jesus silencing the critics!
Using images of...
John the Baptist
Caesars coins,
And today, King David!
In every instance, Jesus silenced the critics.
These are the people who are coming against him.
Against his plans
Against his dreams
Against his very calling
They tried to keep God's will from being done.
So Jesus had to do something.
The title of this morning's message is, silence the critics.
Maybe you've come to church this morning and are dealing with criticism,
From your family,
In your workplace,
Inside of you, where our worst critic never seems to pipe down!
Maybe God has placed a dream, project, plan, deep in our hearts, and wants us to live into that dream - but the critics are coming out against you.
It has never been more important for you and me to silence them.
Life is too short,
The problems are too big.
We only have a brief amount of time to gladden the hearts and come to the aid of those with whom we share the journey!
That dream, that plan, that project God put into your heart needs to come out!
We need to be reminded of 3 things:
There will always be critics.
Critics can be your friends.
Critics don't control you!
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I had the pleasure of going to a comedy show recently.
4,000 people inside the grand old Masonic Temple.
Everyone was there to see Nurse Blake!
Please raise your hand if you have never heard of Nurse Blake
It's because Nurse Blake is a nurse.
And if you're not a nurse, you've probably had no occasion to run across him.
99% of those at the show were nurses.
The men's restroom was not crowded.
There was no safer place to have a heart attack.
If you were part of the 1%, you probably did not get many of the jokes.
And that's ok, they weren't meant for you.
They were meant for the 4 million nurses in the US.
1% of the population - of which 1/10th of 1% of 4 million were in attendance at Masonic Temple - Making Nurse Blake a multi-millionaire.
Most people don't know, care, or desire to cross paths with Nurse Blake
But that's ok.
They're not supposed to.
God has made this big beautiful world a wonderland of variety.
God did not make us all to like Nurse Blake.
God did not make everyone to like me.
God did not make everyone to like you.
A big part of dealing with critics is accepting the fact that God made a world like this!
Don't expect to be liked by everybody!
Don't waste your time trying to please everybody.
You are already liked and loved by the greatest lover in the world, Almighty God!
Listen to that voice,
Follow that path,
Be at peace with God's plan for you,
And make the critic your friend!
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I once attended a formal event at a museum.
I got a chance to wear my tuxedo, which I love, but it has a cummerbund and it has a very long fly.
I know some of you are getting uncomfortable talking about this, but stay with me, because during that evening, I ran into a friend who I did not particularly like.
He was a work colleague that was always critical, judgmental, and never very encouraging.
He pulled me aside and he said can I tell you something.
And I suspected it was something I probably didn't want to hear.
And I was right, as he said,
Your fly is down.
I was very happy that my critic shared that information.
In fact, very often, your critic will share good information with you!
The role of the critic, is not always to Be ignored!
Our job is to be the critic of the critic!
Eating the fish and throwing out the bones!
So before you cast out that critical friend,
Before you write them off and refuse to listen to what they have to say,
Have you found any truth to what they're saying?
God will often use that person you don't like,
That relative you can't stand,
That person who voted differently than you did,
To bring perhaps, some humility into your life!
When engaging with your critic, be humble!
Don't be too dismissive!
Realize that they're not always a threat to you!
But they may just be giving you something you really need!
Now I know all you men listening to this are checking your flies right now!
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During COVID one of my good friends battled mental illness.
I'm sure I'm not the only one in this room who could say that.
And as he would explain his struggles, he used to term called intrusive thoughts.
He used this term as a formal medical and diagnostic word,
But I have found a way to relate to it as well when it comes to my own struggles with perfectionism.
Ever since I was a kid, I remember my parents huddling over me at breakfast, as they saw me break my pieces of bacon into smaller pieces so that I could perfectly arrange them atop my buttered toast!
Anybody who has seen my bookshelves knows exactly what I'm talking about...
Perfectionism, as we know, is a big manifestation of the inner critic,
Your inner critic may keep you from dating certain people,
It may keep you from taking certain jobs,
It may keep you from inviting people over for dinner, cuz things just aren't perfect!
The antidote is self-compassion.
We put that inner critic to pasture when we speak well of ourselves.
The other day I called myself stupid, I have many occasions on which to do so,
And my wife stopped me and said no, no, not stupid, silly.
Having self-compassion means speaking to ourselves, like God would speak to us.
God would not call us stupid,
God would not put us down,
God would handle our inner critic with grace and mercy.
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Someone once approached Jesus asking him about the commandments, which one is the greatest!?
Jesus famously said to love God heart, soul and body,
And to love your neighbor as yourself.
Loving ourselves is at the heart of self-compassion, of handling that inner critic.
We want to talk to ourselves, as God talks to us! And this is our assignment for the week ahead!
Take a few moments of quiet and imagine the person who loves you most sitting across from you!
And imagine that person to no end!
Telling you how handsome you are,
Telling you how smart you are
Telling you how lucky the world is to have you!
What is the difference between a critic and a puppy?
With time, training, and patience, it is possible to make a puppy stop whining.
Friends, we will always face criticism in this world!
But God has given us the victory over our Critics.
I believe that as we silence the critics and live into the plan and purpose of our lives, God will give us peace!
I believe that as we learn to silence those critics and live more into the plans and purposes of God, we will make a more peaceful community!
I believe that as we learn to silence the critics and move forward with the plans God has given us to carry outs, we will a better place!
To the joy of humanity, and the glory of God!
Can I get an amen?