Ephesians 2: 3-8

All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

1 Corinthians 14: 33-40

For God is a God not of disorder but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached? Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized. So, my friends, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues; but all things should be done decently and in order.

Matthew 23: 1-12

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market places, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father--the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Sermon Text

"Presbyterian" was one of the first words my elder son learned to read. I guess that's because he heard it spoken a lot where his childhood began, at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary where his old man was studying for the ministry. "Old man" isn't far from the meaning of the word, "presbuteros," the Greek noun from which our English word, "Presbyterian" derives. "Presbuteros" means "elder." And because the leaders of ancient societies typically were older people, "presbuteros" also meant "overseer." Eventually, when Christianity got well organized, presbuteros came to mean "bishop." Oddly, we Presbyterians don't have bishops. We tend to mistrust them. But now I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me slow down and give you, on this Presbyterian Heritage Sunday, a Presbyterian primer.

First of all, let me acknowledge that the word, "Presbyterian," feels like a relic these days. Lots of churches are dropping such tags from their names, because the public isn't interested anymore in the theological squabbles that divided the Christian family, particularly the Protestant branch, into hundreds of denominations. From a public relations standpoint, it is better these days when naming a new church to call it thus-and-such "community church"; or, if your church already has an historic name, as ours does, to clip it. Thus, in everyday parlance, "Hanover Street Presbyterian Church" becomes "Hanover Church." In Joe public's mind, this is a sufficient handle-- much more user-friendly.

But there is something to lose in clipping a name, make no mistake. One doesn't understand the importance of a community's name until one has lived in that community a while, and savored its special flavor. We who have acquired a taste for Presbyterian ways don't want to scare seekers off, though, or bore them stone cold, like people dragged to an exhibit of fossils. So, what to do? Well, a Presbyterian primer is called for, a user-friendly introduction to what makes us us, a primer that invites spiritual smorgasborders to pull up a chair to our welcome table.

I'd say that the very first item in a Presbyterian primer is this: The conviction that we do not establish a connection with God by our own efforts. Rather, God reaches out to us first. God is always looking for a way to connect with us. We who have acquired a Presbyterian taste call this initiative of God "grace." Grace is God reaching out to us. And grace is God's unconditional love for us. We are loved by God because God made us. God doesn't love us because we do right. God loves us even before we learn to do right. God loves us because God made us; and way down deep we are God-stuff, though we may fail to recognize that, or even deny it.

In the first Bible passage that we read this morning Paul talks about the loving initiative of God, called "grace." He says that we are saved (read, brought back into communion with God) by grace through faith. Faith is our part in making a connection with God. You know, you can't have a conversation with a caller unless you pick up the phone. The caller can ring and ring and ring, but unless you pick up the phone, the would-be conversation won't happen. Faith is having enough trust in the person on the other end of the line so that you dare to have a conversation. God always wants to communicate with us, but God can't unless we trust God enough to pick up the phone, and let God's kindness penetrate our hearts and our minds. That's faith: saying yes to a conversation that God wants to begin.

Lots of people think of faith as a system of beliefs. Perhaps they think that beliefs are needed to lay a foundation for the trusting. But I think that the trusting comes first and the believing second. The first movement of faith is just picking up the phone. Where Paul says that we are saved by grace through faith and not works, you are likely to miss what he's talking about if you think of faith as a system of belief, because as such, faith is just another work. No, what Paul is trying to get across is that God makes the first step by reaching out to us, and that we make the second step; but it is very humble one. We have nothing to boast about in this second step. It is just picking up the phone. That's all. That's point number one in our Presbyterian primer: that we are saved by grace through faith. It is God's doing, and nothing we can take credit for.

When theology professor, Shirley Guthrie, wrote about the distinguishing characteristics of Presbyterian theology, he cited six. I don't have time for that many this morning. Since I'm doing a primer, I just want to hit the essentials and spare you fanny fatigue. My primer has just three points, and I'm gong to talk to you now about point number two, which is this: Presbyterians like to do things "decently and in order."

We sure do! To help us do things decently and in order, we keep a Book of Order, and refer to it often. We edit it every year or so to help us keep pace with the changing situations in which we find ourselves. This book is based upon teachings we find in the Bible, and also, upon our understanding of Jesus, and how we believe he would have us apply those teachings as we struggle to be faithful in a changing world.

We get the phrase "all things decently and in order" from the Apostle Paul, who might be called the first published Christian theologian. Were you squirming as Paul's words were read this morning? Women should be silent and subordinate in church, he wrote. He wouldn't have written that if women were not already speaking out, challenging his authority and that of other men. (One doesn't rebut argument that hasn't yet been spoken). It's clear that Paul was trying to nip women's liberation in the bud. Elsewhere, Paul wrote that he was willing to "be all things to all people" so that he might win people to Christ. Please note, however, that Paul's striving to be all things to all people didn't imply that he always tried to get what he wanted by persuasive means. Oh no! He had a whole arsenal of conflict management tools. Yes, he could be the consummate diplomatic persuader, as he was when he wrote to Philemon complimenting him, and pleading with him free his runaway slave. And he could be a shrewd dealmaker, as when he agreed with James and the other circumcisers that they could still require that time-honored practice from Jewish Christians, just as long as they would allow him to interpret circumcision metaphorically among Gentile converts.

Paul could also be a dictator. We see him resorting to this tactic in this morning's passage. Some women in the church at Corinth had tried his patience too far. Perhaps he had tried a softer touch with them already. We don't know. It's clear that he is now finished with gentler means. He wields all his patriarchal power, and all his prestige as a church founder. He tells those obstreperous women to sit down and shut up! He adds that it must be clear to anyone that what he is writing is God's will, and that if any persons (probably women) don't recognize this, then they will simply not be recognized in the community any longer. In other words, they will be shunned.

What a different Paul we find here than the one we hear in his letter to the Romans! He says there that Christians should be transformed by the renewal of their minds, and should not think more highly of themselves than they ought to. With the Corinthian women Paul was not practicing what he preached.

When our authority is challenged, when push comes to shove, all of us, like Paul, are tempted to stop practicing what we preach, and resort to methods of intimidation, or even violence, to get our way. Woefully, Presbyterians have done that, and continue to do that. Even the mentor of our tradition, John Calvin, confused the will of God with his own self-importance, and burned a brilliant adversary at the stake, Servetus.

The problem with our watch word that we must do "all things decently and in order" is that it can be too easily be bent by powerful people to shore up their own authority, all for the supposed sake of God. That's why we have a Book of Order, to levy checks and balances against any person or group of persons who would pretend that their way is God's way and must be obeyed, or else.

We Presbyterians usually try to do things as fairly and democratically as possible. That's what we mean by doing all things "decently and in order." Our Book of Order helps us with checks and balances against undue power. Mostly, it's people in high places who have enough clout to get what they want by overpowering others. That's why we Presbyterians have mistrusted bishops, and make the presbytery--a community of pastors and elders--our corporate leader instead.

Presbyterians tend to be savvy and shrewd and suspicious about power, both in the church and in society, perhaps more so than other Christians. I view that as a good thing. But without clean hearts and minds and courageous spirits, nothing can protect us against illicit use of power. Our Book of Order is useless without these. No matter how ingeniously contrived we believe that book to be, it can still be used as a weapon of coercion by people whose minds and hearts and spirits have been corrupted by fear and arrogance. The spiritual must guide the political, not the other way around.

This leads me to item number three in our Presbyterian primer: the priesthood of all believers. When Luther launched the Protestant Reformation by criticizing the corrupt leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, he let fly a doctrine that would challenge hierarchy all over the world. He taught that all people have spiritual gifts, and that there are people not ordained as priests whose spiritual gifts are just as important as those of the clergy. He based this doctrine of the "priesthood of all believers" on Paul's metaphor of the church as a human body, all of whose parts are equally important. Where would the body be, queried Paul, if one part said to another: your job isn't important? Why, the body would be sick, or maybe even dead!

Thus, Paul began to honor little people, people whose gifts tend to be less obvious, less esteemed, less celebrated. Still, he continued to speak of some members of the body being "more honorable" than others. Thus, his teaching was not as radical as the one we find in this morning's speech, attributed to Jesus. Jesus says that we should stop altogether the practice of making distinctions among us between more-honored and less honored. There should be no titular differences between Christians, no mention of holy fathers, or popes, or cardinals, or right-reverend bishops; no reverends, not even teachers who are honored by a special title. Why? Because we all have one teacher: a messiah who broke all the expectations about a coming almighty conqueror, and emptied himself instead, breaking the stereotypes of leadership which humankind had accumulated, shaming and eclipsing them so ironically that his anti-authority was at first not comprehended by most people. We should not make distinctions among ourselves because this was not Jesus' way of being with people. It's that simple.

Well, there are my three points for a Presbyterian primer: salvation by grace through faith, doing all things decently and in order (which includes guarding against tyranny), and finally, the priesthood of all believers. There are other important features of being Presbyterian of course, but they will have to wait for another sermon.

Shortly we will welcome five new members into our Presbyterian family. Derek and Jasmine and Daniel and Katie and Pat, I'm sure I speak for all the people of Hanover Street Presbyterian church when I say that we are proud of our heritage. I charge you new members to keep learning, and to uphold this heritage--which will be yours now--by the way you live.

To those of you in the congregation who are not Presbyterian, I have tried to give you a glimpse of the goodness of our tradition. Presbyterians should not pretend that they are better than other Christians, nor better than other people in general; but we can certainly rejoice that our way of discipleship offers seekers a good way to follow our Lord, one refined by experience and prayerful longing. I urge you seekers to find people who have acquired a taste for Presbyterianism, people who have been steeped in the tradition their whole lives long, and ask them what commends it. I trust that your conversation will be fruitful for the ongoing work of Jesus in our world. Let it be so! Amen!