Rev. Daniel B. England
October 14, 2007
Genesis 1: 26-31
Matthew 25: 31-46
"How to Keep from Eating Yourself Alive"

For the past several weeks, David has led us through several looks that our faith gives us: an upward look, a forward look and today, he specifically asked me to preach on this passage in Matthew, and he termed it the outward look.

Now this passage in Matthew is generally a kind of social gospel passage in which we are all told to see the Christ in the other and be kind to the less fortunate. We then all sing Frank North’s Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life, put an extra five in the collection plate and go home.

But the more I got to thinking about it, the more it seemed that there was a deeper warning and opportunity here than you might think at first blush. I think we can find here how to keep from eating yourself alive, by which I mean look at what is said here if you want to keep from becoming one of those people who is so self absorbed, they don’t even know they are self absorbed.

We’ve all run into them, and I’m not just talking about Paris Hilton who probably still thinks she’s thought highly of by adoring fans. To which I say, Fooey. But you know the type of person I’m talking about. You come across him at a party, say, and tells you about his most recent purchase and how much he paid for it, and his fabulous job and his influential friends and how much his house is worth and where he’s been vacationing and finally pauses for breath and says, "But enough about me. Let’s talk about you. What do you think of me?" At which point it is time to spot someone across the room.

My wife and I sometimes go to a place for lunch after church that has a regular cast of characters at the bar. One fellow, whom no one really likes very much – but he thinks he’s much admired -- is the definition of self-absorption: loud, so you can hear his opinions, smug as only the self enamored can be and predictable in that every sentence begins with I.

How do people get like that and are we all not in danger of it? Self-absorption can take many forms – for some the result is unkindness to people who can’t defend themselves, for others their problems are so much greater than just about anyone’s they are down and depressed most of the time, for others it means that even little acts of rare generosity are meant to reflect well on the giver. Behold, Jesus says, they have their reward.

Self-absorption is insidious because it is never quick but is gradual and cumulative. Does the bitter person, cut off from everyone lost in the world of his own making get to that point overnight? Nor does the selfless person for whom giving is a joy and kindness is a habit get there in a hurry. We move to self-centeredness or selflessness moment-by-moment, day-by-day, year-by-year.

Of course, the starting point of imitating the self-giving nature of our Lord begins in Genesis. Let us make humans in our own image, in our own likeness, God says. And so he did. And despite the fall in which Adam and Eve rebelled and hid, a drama that we re-enact every day in our own lives, the Imago Dei, the image of God remains. There is something of God in every human being, something of his creativity, something of his love, something of his impulse for goodness. Surely that’s why so many hospitals for example have been started by Christian Churches, because Christians believe that life is precious because every person is a creation of God, and that that life is worth saving, if it is possible. Indeed, if Christians believe anything, it is that life, even lives gone terribly wrong, can be redeemed. Even lives crushed by circumstance and poverty and war can be saved and ought to be. The task can seem overwhelming but it is not impossible.

The story is told of a man who comes upon a beach that is covered in starfish. They had been flung there by a freak storm and would die if not put back into the water. And then the man spotted another man on the beach, picking up the starfish and throwing them back in, one by one. So the passer by went down on the beach and approached the man. "What are you doing?" he asked. "I’m saving starfish," he said. "But it’s crazy. There are thousands of them. You can’t possibly save them all." "Maybe not," the man replied. And he reached down and picked up a starfish and threw it into the sea. "But I just saved that one."

Part of the humility that reaches out to people is founded in this recognition of the Imago Dei. What’s the song that children used to learn? Red and yellow black and white all are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world. Let me ask you something. Why are we here? No not why do we exist, why are we here in this community, in this church in this country. And not only in this great country but in a little patch of this country which is one of the most privileged and frankly most fabulous places on earth to live. Why? Because we’re lucky. Because we’re lucky.

Now God does not love us any less because we are lucky, but he does not love us any more either. It’s easy to come to think that we are not lucky but deserving. And that’s when humility begins to crumble. So to know that every human has the image of God is the start and we must do what we can to nurture that life.

But if humility starts in Genesis, it finds expression also in Revelation and in this chapter. Lots of people when they come to this chapter are happy to talk about the Christ in us but get uncomfortable when Jesus mentions the separation of sheep and goats. And yet, everywhere in scripture is told of a day of judgment. Paul says, "Why do you look down on your brother. For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat." And in First Corinthians: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." And in Hebrews: "For it is appointed once for man to die, and then the judgment." Jesus says, "I tell you men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken."

So we will all have to give account for what we are and what we do, whether we are haughty or humble, nice or nasty, selfish or selfless. Yes we are saved by grace, but accountable for what we are and do.

One little boy on the beach came up to a woman who was sitting there under an umbrella and he said, "Lady, do you believe in God?" And the woman said, "Yes." He said, "Do you go to church?" and the woman said, "Yes." He said, "Do you believe in the day of judgment?" She said, "Yes, but why are you asking me all these questions?" "Because," said the boy, "I want to go swimming and I need to leave my stuff with someone. I’m just making sure I get it all back."

Knowing that we are accountable in the end changes behavior.

But there is more here than acknowledging the Imago Dei in people and paying attention to what we do in this life. This passage also speaks to what we are becoming.

You see, if it is true that we have this stamp of God upon us and the spirit of Christ within us, then we are either nurturing that goodness and love and humility and generosity and kindness or we are snuffing it out. To be fully human is to be more and like the God who created us, more like the Christ who emptied himself of all but love.

Let me ask you this. Do you remember being in love? Some of you are going to have to think about that harder than others. Now being in love is not a state you want to be in very often, but it is instructive. When you’re first in love you can’t eat, you can’t sleep, you can’t work – it’s useless. But it is also a state when all you can think about is your beloved, what you can do for him, how you can please her, what kind of flowers she likes, what kind of food he prefers, where you can go that would make her or him happy. And is there ever a time when you feel so totally alive? That’s why there are so many love songs, because as awful as that state can be, you never feel more alive, more human, and less selfish.

When we give ourselves away, we find ourselves. Or as Jesus said, when we lose our life, we find it. And so in giving ourselves to others and in practicing that we become more human and the image of God in us comes forth.

I want to tell you briefly about my cousin. She’s a Christian woman, not rich, quite the opposite. She’s in a crummy marriage that she can’t get out of and she’s had a hard life. But over the past several years something has happened to her.

She recently sent me a letter explaining a little bit about it. And yes, she said it was okay to use it.

She entitles it, "How God called me behind prison walls." She writes…

"What is a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" That was a question I found myself asking as I sat in the reception area of Jackson prison waiting to be processed as a visitor. I thought back to 1999.

"To say that I had a hard heart toward prison ministry was putting it mildly, my decision was solidified and my heart perfectly hardened. None of this, however, was caused by a prisoner but by someone in prison ministry and it had infected my spirit for many years."

"It all came to the surface when my friend Lorraine asked me if I would write to her son in prison and other men who never got a letter of any kind. I told her I would do most anything for her, but I was not interested in writing to a prisoner."

"In December of 2000 my mother took ill and was hospitalized. I stopped by her apartment and in her mail was a letter from a man in Jackson Prison. When I got to the hospital I asked her about it and she said, "Oh yes, I don’t write to him much but he writes to me." So I started reading the letter, which began, "Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." I went on reading this letter telling mother about how God was blessing and working in his life and the tears started to come because I could feel God’s hand of love around my very cold heart crushing my indifference. Mother asked me to write to him."

"I put it off with every excuse. I do not know this man, I don’t know what to say, I don’t know how to do this… but none of it mattered to God. So I wrote to him."

"On Saturday, I got a letter back from Bob. He wrote, "Judy where in the world has God been keeping you? I have never received such a letter of blessing and encouragement all my years in prison. I have shared your letter with the men in a little Bible Study group and it has been such a blessing to them as well. Judy, I do not know you and what your life is like, but would you possibly have time to write to a couple of guys who never get a letter from anyone?"

And so it began. She has now corresponded with over 30 prisoners and not only that but she has gone to parole board hearings and has been there for several of the prisoners when they are finally released. Of the 30 prisoners she has corresponded with, 17 of them have become Christians because of her. And last week, the girlfriend of one of the prisoners also became a Christian after a conversation with her, so I guess that makes it 18. And I can tell you from my own observation that this ministry, this giving away of herself has changed her life. She has become a much more loving, caring and compassionate person than the way she was raised, which was full of judgment and self-righteousness. "Did you visit me in prison?" Christ will ask her someday. And she will have an answer.

You know, just this week, I met with a photographer and publisher who is working on a project and needed a writer. So he called me. And when we were through, he said, somehow knowing about my church connection, that he was about to start a property development business that was specifically for charitable organizations. He said, "I’ve been a photographer for 16 years and I have been very successful at it. But I photograph models and I make pretty things look prettier. But I’m not doing much good really. So I decided I needed to do this project and start to give something back." And he asked for my help and we’re going to meet about it next week.

And thinking about this sermon, I wanted to say to him, "Don’t you see? That the Imago Dei coming alive in you." But I didn’t.

And I myself can testify to this phenomenon of coming more fully alive when self-absorption yields to self-giving. This last week we had a Bible study and more than thirty people showed up. Was it a lot of work to get ready for it? Sure. But really, the hours were like minutes so wonderful was the response from those good people who came.

Do you remember the when Jacob loved Rachel in the book of Genesis?

Jacob said to her father Laban, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." Laban said, "It is better that I gave her to you than I should give her to any other man. Stay with me." And the scripture says, "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her."

God is calling us out of ourselves to do something in this world beyond that which concerns our own well being. But of course, the secret is that it will not seem hard or onerous and you will never feel more alive. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me."

Let me close with this. I came across an aphorism this week that was kind of funny but also true. You might think of it from time to time when the pull of self-absorption is calling to you. It goes like this. "If everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane."

Amen