iAugust 11, 2019
Luke 12:32-40
I love the television show Undercover Boss. Technically it falls under the umbrella of shows known as reality tv, but that hasn’t stopped me from watching it. For those of you who may not be familiar with this show, “Undercover Boss is a two-time Emmy Award-winning reality series that follows high-level executives as they slip anonymously into the rank-and-file of their own organizations.”[1] The company owners, or high level executives, living the American dream of material wealth and social influence, choose to give it all up, at least temporarily, in hopes of better understanding the inner workings of their organization. In making this choice, these individuals are putting the best interests of the community over and above their own self interests. Now this doesn’t mean there are no benefits to these individuals, because there are, but making the choice to remove yourself from your protective bubble that you have worked to create, a bubble that will shield you from the pain of others… a bubble that will protect you from all that comes from having to deal with people, is a statement about community, not self.
Now some will tell you shows like Undercover Boss are actually scripted, and maybe they are which is why for the most part I can’t stand to watch them. Undercover Boss feel different to me, though, and I think it is because no one is backstabbing someone else. No one is saying cruel and demeaning things about anyone else, something our world knows far too much about these days. Where so many of these shows are about selfish interests and trying to build alliances for self-preservation and elimination of others, both outside the alliance and then later inside the alliance, Undercover Boss is about something bigger. It is about community. In a world that seems dead set on eliminating diversity, Undercover Boss highlights it. Whether socioeconomically, politically or racially, Undercover Boss brings diversity to the table for the betterment of an entire community, something everyone in this room… something every person turning to social media platforms to post or share mean spirited, destructive, tribal comments… something everyone in this beaten and battered country could learn from. To accomplish such a task in today’s climate is spectacular, and to accomplish it something had to be taken away. Something had to be taken away from someone and you want to know what that is? Privilege.
Believing you are superior to another human being is scary. That belief always comes from a place of privilege and privilege itself is scary. It shades the way we see the world, and most of us don’t even know it. It clouds everything, and most of us are too scared to admit it. This, in my mind, helps explain how difficult it is for those who are privileged to acknowledge that privilege, and then to the extent they can, set it aside for the betterment of the larger community. Why would anyone want to give up the luxury of their privileged life? Why would they want to sacrifice part of themselves, especially in a world like ours that celebrates tribalism and self-centered goals. Well, I think the answer to those questions is quite simple… they do it because community means more than self-interest. They do it because they believed the adults who told them on their youth sports teams that there is no I in team. They do it because they remember what is was like to be a kid in elementary school who couldn’t see skin color, or money, or opinions, and because they couldn’t see them they weren’t tribal dividing lines. They do it because they are human, in the best form possible. Not the kind of human that believes their opinions matter more than others. Not the kind of human who says, or more likely today writes or posts to social media, words that are mean spirited and harmful. No, these humans are the ones who truly believe they and all other humans were first created in the image of the divine upon whom God blessed as being very good.
***************************
How else do we explain a slave master flipping the script and serving a meal to the slaves? Kingdom living is so counter-cultural it scares us. The thing is, if we listen closely, and truly believe, not just simple intellectual assent, but truly believe what we hear in this story, then we must admit that Kingdom living goes against cultural living. Cultural living has unfortunately so far always been about station in life and aligning oneself with like-minded people who hold similar opinions and stations in life. Kingdom living, though, is about the blessing of those who have worked so hard to serve you, by doing the unexpected, serving them. That is part of what Jesus is teaching here.
There is no cultural benefit for the slave master to serve the meal to the slaves. Quite to the contrary, by becoming the servant, this slave master would be talked about, ridiculed even. He would become the laughing stock of the town. More than likely this decision to serve would cost him status and friendship. Surely it would be much easier to just keep the status quo. Stay inside those culturally created tribal lines.
The thing is, this is not a lesson about the status quo. This is not a lesson about tribalism. This is a lesson about Kingdom living and in Kingdom living the master always becomes the servant. In Kingdom living we all become servants and we serve all. There are no lines of distinction in this regard. Where the servants once served, those they served now serve them. Kingdom living is about stepping out or breaking out of the restrictive walls your society has erected for you and becoming something more than you knew you could. Kingdom living is counter-cultural if your culture is telling you that you are the only one who matters. Kingdom living is counter-cultural if your culture is telling you that your opinions, and the opinions of those who agree with you, are the only opinions that matter and therefore those people are the only people you have to speak kind words to.
**************************
Sadly, Kingdom living IS counter-cultural and that has been on full display this past week. The ways in which we celebrate tribalism. The ways in which we celebrate mean spiritedness. The ways in which we celebrate evil has been on full display this past week. If you don’t believe that is what we celebrate, look at what Facebook has become for the majority of people. These are truly difficult times, and social media is making them so much harder. Social media is allowing people to draw dividing lines in ways that are so hurtful. Ways that I do not think anyone could have ever imagined.
Unless I am on vacation and making some silly humor-filled observation I think long and hard about what I say and post on social media. Before posting I ask myself as series of questions:
“What is my purpose in posting this particular statement?
Am I looking to be served or am I serving? And
If I’m serving, then who am I serving?”
If my purpose is one of self-interest, then I have no business posting. If my purpose is mean spirited or divisive in any way, then I have no business posting. If my post is self-serving, I have no business posting and if I am not serving the servants, I have no business posting. It’s a lot to ask of yourself before sharing, but the more our cultural animosity grows, the more we should be asking this of ourselves. It was also a lot to ask for a master to become a servant and maybe that is the point.
Sacrificing self and self-interests for others is at the heart of Kingdom living. Those CEO’s and high-level executives learn this firsthand when they go undercover within their own community. They learn so much about the greater good when they lose their perceived privilege. They learn so much about others and more importantly, they learn so much about who they are really meant to be in this life. They lose the self-centered focus and gain a purposeful life. They break free from the oppressive walls created by their culture and gain a beautifully diverse community that enriches their lives. That is what happens when the master becomes the servant. That is what happens in Kingdom living and that is what happens with you let the Good News of the Gospel teach you and direct you.
[PRAYER]
Amen!
[1]https://www.cbs.com/shows/undercover_boss/about/
Luke 12:32-40
I love the television show Undercover Boss. Technically it falls under the umbrella of shows known as reality tv, but that hasn’t stopped me from watching it. For those of you who may not be familiar with this show, “Undercover Boss is a two-time Emmy Award-winning reality series that follows high-level executives as they slip anonymously into the rank-and-file of their own organizations.”[1] The company owners, or high level executives, living the American dream of material wealth and social influence, choose to give it all up, at least temporarily, in hopes of better understanding the inner workings of their organization. In making this choice, these individuals are putting the best interests of the community over and above their own self interests. Now this doesn’t mean there are no benefits to these individuals, because there are, but making the choice to remove yourself from your protective bubble that you have worked to create, a bubble that will shield you from the pain of others… a bubble that will protect you from all that comes from having to deal with people, is a statement about community, not self.
Now some will tell you shows like Undercover Boss are actually scripted, and maybe they are which is why for the most part I can’t stand to watch them. Undercover Boss feel different to me, though, and I think it is because no one is backstabbing someone else. No one is saying cruel and demeaning things about anyone else, something our world knows far too much about these days. Where so many of these shows are about selfish interests and trying to build alliances for self-preservation and elimination of others, both outside the alliance and then later inside the alliance, Undercover Boss is about something bigger. It is about community. In a world that seems dead set on eliminating diversity, Undercover Boss highlights it. Whether socioeconomically, politically or racially, Undercover Boss brings diversity to the table for the betterment of an entire community, something everyone in this room… something every person turning to social media platforms to post or share mean spirited, destructive, tribal comments… something everyone in this beaten and battered country could learn from. To accomplish such a task in today’s climate is spectacular, and to accomplish it something had to be taken away. Something had to be taken away from someone and you want to know what that is? Privilege.
Believing you are superior to another human being is scary. That belief always comes from a place of privilege and privilege itself is scary. It shades the way we see the world, and most of us don’t even know it. It clouds everything, and most of us are too scared to admit it. This, in my mind, helps explain how difficult it is for those who are privileged to acknowledge that privilege, and then to the extent they can, set it aside for the betterment of the larger community. Why would anyone want to give up the luxury of their privileged life? Why would they want to sacrifice part of themselves, especially in a world like ours that celebrates tribalism and self-centered goals. Well, I think the answer to those questions is quite simple… they do it because community means more than self-interest. They do it because they believed the adults who told them on their youth sports teams that there is no I in team. They do it because they remember what is was like to be a kid in elementary school who couldn’t see skin color, or money, or opinions, and because they couldn’t see them they weren’t tribal dividing lines. They do it because they are human, in the best form possible. Not the kind of human that believes their opinions matter more than others. Not the kind of human who says, or more likely today writes or posts to social media, words that are mean spirited and harmful. No, these humans are the ones who truly believe they and all other humans were first created in the image of the divine upon whom God blessed as being very good.
***************************
How else do we explain a slave master flipping the script and serving a meal to the slaves? Kingdom living is so counter-cultural it scares us. The thing is, if we listen closely, and truly believe, not just simple intellectual assent, but truly believe what we hear in this story, then we must admit that Kingdom living goes against cultural living. Cultural living has unfortunately so far always been about station in life and aligning oneself with like-minded people who hold similar opinions and stations in life. Kingdom living, though, is about the blessing of those who have worked so hard to serve you, by doing the unexpected, serving them. That is part of what Jesus is teaching here.
There is no cultural benefit for the slave master to serve the meal to the slaves. Quite to the contrary, by becoming the servant, this slave master would be talked about, ridiculed even. He would become the laughing stock of the town. More than likely this decision to serve would cost him status and friendship. Surely it would be much easier to just keep the status quo. Stay inside those culturally created tribal lines.
The thing is, this is not a lesson about the status quo. This is not a lesson about tribalism. This is a lesson about Kingdom living and in Kingdom living the master always becomes the servant. In Kingdom living we all become servants and we serve all. There are no lines of distinction in this regard. Where the servants once served, those they served now serve them. Kingdom living is about stepping out or breaking out of the restrictive walls your society has erected for you and becoming something more than you knew you could. Kingdom living is counter-cultural if your culture is telling you that you are the only one who matters. Kingdom living is counter-cultural if your culture is telling you that your opinions, and the opinions of those who agree with you, are the only opinions that matter and therefore those people are the only people you have to speak kind words to.
**************************
Sadly, Kingdom living IS counter-cultural and that has been on full display this past week. The ways in which we celebrate tribalism. The ways in which we celebrate mean spiritedness. The ways in which we celebrate evil has been on full display this past week. If you don’t believe that is what we celebrate, look at what Facebook has become for the majority of people. These are truly difficult times, and social media is making them so much harder. Social media is allowing people to draw dividing lines in ways that are so hurtful. Ways that I do not think anyone could have ever imagined.
Unless I am on vacation and making some silly humor-filled observation I think long and hard about what I say and post on social media. Before posting I ask myself as series of questions:
“What is my purpose in posting this particular statement?
Am I looking to be served or am I serving? And
If I’m serving, then who am I serving?”
If my purpose is one of self-interest, then I have no business posting. If my purpose is mean spirited or divisive in any way, then I have no business posting. If my post is self-serving, I have no business posting and if I am not serving the servants, I have no business posting. It’s a lot to ask of yourself before sharing, but the more our cultural animosity grows, the more we should be asking this of ourselves. It was also a lot to ask for a master to become a servant and maybe that is the point.
Sacrificing self and self-interests for others is at the heart of Kingdom living. Those CEO’s and high-level executives learn this firsthand when they go undercover within their own community. They learn so much about the greater good when they lose their perceived privilege. They learn so much about others and more importantly, they learn so much about who they are really meant to be in this life. They lose the self-centered focus and gain a purposeful life. They break free from the oppressive walls created by their culture and gain a beautifully diverse community that enriches their lives. That is what happens when the master becomes the servant. That is what happens in Kingdom living and that is what happens with you let the Good News of the Gospel teach you and direct you.
[PRAYER]
Amen!
[1]https://www.cbs.com/shows/undercover_boss/about/
