Jesus lived the life we know we should strive for – a life of servant-hood - a life of joy - a life of bringing His life to others – a life of sacrifice – and lastly – a life of respecting and honoring others. I've spent the last couple of months talking about the “Culture of Honor” at St. Luke's, and I think it's time to examine how Jesus modeled giving honor to those around Him and what that means for us.
Our modern culture is generally one of dishonor. We no longer live in an age where someone is honored even based on the position they hold. (Nothing is sacred anymore). A half-century ago, you may not have agreed with the president, but you honored him – at least by virtue of the office he held. As president he was afforded the honor and respect of our elected leader. Lampooning our president or national leaders would have been unheard of. But one only has to glance at the newspaper, the radio or the TV to see that as a society we have lost the ability to honor. Our society now seems focused on the destruction and humiliation of others to somehow make ourselves feel superior.
A few years ago I was chatting with a woman (a fellow Christian) who said she could not bear to watch modern sitcoms. She said the main comedic device was one person elevating themselves at the expense of another – that our sitcom mentality was one of putdowns. My friend's comment got me thinking and I began to watch TV more closely. And you know, I found she was absolutely right. Modern television is filled with sarcasm, putdowns, anger, hatred, insults and abuse. Many talk shows are built around fights (sometimes physical), accusations and participants spewing bleeped out vulgarity at each other.
TV shapes much of our thoughts and attitudes today. The images we see – the words we hear – the attitudes displayed on TV – we absorb them and they become part of us. Those things that were once outrageous and controversial on TV are now accepted as the norm (remember the controversy over “Soap” and “Married With Children” and “Rosanne”, etc?). Once the controversy blows over TV then has to raise the bar once more and we need greater shock, controversy and bigger putdowns in order to stand out from the crowd – and the cycle goes on and on. We get caught up into this and we begin to think, talk and act in the same dishonoring way.
But there is good news and Jesus is that good news. Since He is our model, we to look to Him and His example in the Scriptures to see how we are to honor people. In the Gospel of John we are told of Jesus first miracle at the wedding in Cana. One of the most interesting things about the exchange between Jesus and His mother is the fact that Mary asks Jesus to help out with the situation (the wedding host had run out of wine) and Jesus essentially replies “Why is that a concern for us? It is not yet my time to reveal myself to the world.” Mary seems to take no account of Jesus' answer and instructs the servants to “Do whatever He tells you” and Jesus turns the water into wine. So the question for us is why did Jesus do this? He certainly did not have to – as he said “It is not yet My time.” But one of the things happening here is that Jesus is displaying honor towards His mother (by answering her request) and to the wedding host by saving him embarrassment. Jesus could have flat out said “No” and that would have been it. But instead He honored those around them. He honored His mother and all those at the wedding by edifying them and demonstrating their worth as God's creation.
In the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8) Jesus demonstrates honor towards the very woman caught in the act. In looking at the story we see a woman who in our eyes is hardly worthy of any sort of honor. She may even be a prostitute – at the very least she is not engaging in an honorable activity. But Jesus sees beyond her sin and sees her as His beloved child – worthy of His love, forgiveness and honor. He does not condemn her but neither does he condone her sin. “Go and sin no more.” Jesus recognizes that her activity was a sin - but He looks beyond the sin to the woman who is worthy of His honor. In a very real way through His actions He as God is honoring one of His creatures and showing us that God, our Creator, the Great I Am, honors us. What an amazing thought! God honors us!
In a world beset with sin, degradation, and put-downs where people try to elevate themselves at the expense of others God seeks to honor us; looking beyond our sin to who we really are as His beloved children. When we are able to accept the honor God has for us, we are able to see who we are as His children. When we are secure in this fact we no longer need to elevate ourselves at the expense of others and then we are better able to honor them for who they are as God's beloved children. Seek Him. Receive Him. Let Him honor you and impart that same honor to others. It will change your world and the world of those around you.
God's richest blessing be upon you!
Shalom,
Fr. Jim