"A Teachable Moment", Fr. Howard J. Hess Sermon, June 13, 2010
Pentecost 3, Year C June 13, 2010
A Teachable Moment The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess
I. Introduction: A Teachable Moment. As many of you know, I spent the majority of my vocational life prior to ordination, as a university teacher. I have loved teaching – both then and now. One of the joys of teaching comes from becoming truly excited about the content one is teaching, mastering that content, and then helping students become excited about what they are learning. Occasionally there is a second, profoundly powerful aspect of teaching that emerges from discerning and entering into a “teachable moment.” A teachable moment occurs when the dynamics of our immediate life situation help make clear or magnify what one is trying to teach. Jesus was a master at using the “teachable moment;” Scripture, including this morning’s Gospel, gives us example after example of how Jesus worked to take his disciples and his followers – all of whom were his students – to a new level of spiritual comprehension. I believe that we may have a “teachable moment” right now at Church of the Ascension. But more about that later.
II. The Uninvited Guest. In this morning’s Gospel, Jesus had been invited into the home of Simon, a Pharisee, for dinner. The fact that Simon is given a name is significant, because it suggests that Jesus had a personal relationship with him. While they were eating, a woman of the city, described as “a sinner,” entered the room. She began to weep, using her tears to wash Jesus’ feet. She then dried his feet with her hair and anointed them with ointment. The woman’s unusual public expression of emotion appeared to be strongly related to her repentance for her unspecified “sins.” Jesus told her: ”Your sins are forgiven; your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Her public actions communicated her deep inner faith and sorrow for her sin and her gratitude for Christ’s forgiveness. The woman’s outward signs of her inner repentance were the central focus of that evening. Sharing with others our need for and acceptance of repentance can be important.
But Simon, the Pharisee, didn’t get it. He relied upon the Law to judge the woman and castigate Jesus. For Simon, judgment triumphed over grace, condemnation over love. Jesus did not shy away from this teachable moment. He told a parable to Simon about repentance and forgiveness. Scripture is silent about whether Simon understood and also repented.
III. I believe that we may have a teachable moment this morning at Church of the Ascension regarding the many ways in which the Holy Spirit affects our enthusiasm for ministry and our generosity in supporting that ministry. At our monthly Vestry meeting Tuesday night, we learned that our financial giving in 2010 continues to be generous and constant. By this time last year we had had to borrow $50,000 to meet our basic expenses. Thus far in 2010 we have not had to borrow any money. You have given faithfully in spite of many personal financial challenges. In the past three years, I have seen your enthusiasm about supporting the ministries of the Church of the Ascension grow steadily. The Vestry agrees that with your constant generous support we will be able to fund more on-going ministries, such as Vacation Bible School, through the regular budgetary process.
The Holy Spirit has given us excitement about beginning new ministries and rejuvenating ministries that already existed. To me, it makes eminently good sense that when we commit ourselves to seek the direction of the Holy Spirit for our parish and our own individual Christian ministries, the Holy Spirit will enliven us and generate excitement. And as we become excited in this way, we are going to experience calls to different ministries. As Jesus reminded us, even though we are one in the body of Christ, we have different gifts and talents. In our enthusiasm, we reach out to others to share in and help us with our ministries. In this teachable moment, we are learning that when the Holy Spirit is alive in a community of believers, members of the community will be called to a broader range of ministries and will request additional help. This is the way in which a community of believers and its members grow. However, I am sensing that some of us may feel uneasy or burdened by such requests, so I’d like to suggest another way to understand our experience in this moment.
First, we share an obligation to support the overall ministry of Ascension. We are doing this as evidenced by the gifts that are supporting the new roof currently being built. However, special requests for assistance with other ministries fall into a different category. Contributing to support new and recently expanded ministries is an opportunity, but it is not an obligation. I encourage us to understand our brothers’ and sisters’ requests for help not as a demand, but as an expression of their desire to share their call to ministry with us. You are not obligated to contribute. The Holy Spirit may inspire us to do so, but contributions should be expressions of generosity, not of obligation.
I do believe with all my heart that Christ calls us to support each another as we commit ourselves to go out into the community and the world carrying Christ with us. Each request -- whether to help prevent the suffering or death of abandoned animals in Knoxville, to feed the hungry and care for the homeless in our community, to educate our children about Christ, or to support the work of the Gospel in Bolivia and Madagascar -- is a reflection of our brothers’ and sisters’ passion for ministry. This passion for ministry is exactly what the church should nourish in all its various forms. During this teachable moment we are being reminded that God’s economy is based upon abundance, not scarcity; that God does not mean for us to feel burdened as we support one another, and that God does not want us to worry about whether the success of one ministry will result in the failure of another. God’s will for us and for those God sends to us is to prosper and move forward together, faithfully and optimistically, in the power of the Spirit. Amen.
A Teachable Moment The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess
I. Introduction: A Teachable Moment. As many of you know, I spent the majority of my vocational life prior to ordination, as a university teacher. I have loved teaching – both then and now. One of the joys of teaching comes from becoming truly excited about the content one is teaching, mastering that content, and then helping students become excited about what they are learning. Occasionally there is a second, profoundly powerful aspect of teaching that emerges from discerning and entering into a “teachable moment.” A teachable moment occurs when the dynamics of our immediate life situation help make clear or magnify what one is trying to teach. Jesus was a master at using the “teachable moment;” Scripture, including this morning’s Gospel, gives us example after example of how Jesus worked to take his disciples and his followers – all of whom were his students – to a new level of spiritual comprehension. I believe that we may have a “teachable moment” right now at Church of the Ascension. But more about that later.
II. The Uninvited Guest. In this morning’s Gospel, Jesus had been invited into the home of Simon, a Pharisee, for dinner. The fact that Simon is given a name is significant, because it suggests that Jesus had a personal relationship with him. While they were eating, a woman of the city, described as “a sinner,” entered the room. She began to weep, using her tears to wash Jesus’ feet. She then dried his feet with her hair and anointed them with ointment. The woman’s unusual public expression of emotion appeared to be strongly related to her repentance for her unspecified “sins.” Jesus told her: ”Your sins are forgiven; your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Her public actions communicated her deep inner faith and sorrow for her sin and her gratitude for Christ’s forgiveness. The woman’s outward signs of her inner repentance were the central focus of that evening. Sharing with others our need for and acceptance of repentance can be important.
But Simon, the Pharisee, didn’t get it. He relied upon the Law to judge the woman and castigate Jesus. For Simon, judgment triumphed over grace, condemnation over love. Jesus did not shy away from this teachable moment. He told a parable to Simon about repentance and forgiveness. Scripture is silent about whether Simon understood and also repented.
III. I believe that we may have a teachable moment this morning at Church of the Ascension regarding the many ways in which the Holy Spirit affects our enthusiasm for ministry and our generosity in supporting that ministry. At our monthly Vestry meeting Tuesday night, we learned that our financial giving in 2010 continues to be generous and constant. By this time last year we had had to borrow $50,000 to meet our basic expenses. Thus far in 2010 we have not had to borrow any money. You have given faithfully in spite of many personal financial challenges. In the past three years, I have seen your enthusiasm about supporting the ministries of the Church of the Ascension grow steadily. The Vestry agrees that with your constant generous support we will be able to fund more on-going ministries, such as Vacation Bible School, through the regular budgetary process.
The Holy Spirit has given us excitement about beginning new ministries and rejuvenating ministries that already existed. To me, it makes eminently good sense that when we commit ourselves to seek the direction of the Holy Spirit for our parish and our own individual Christian ministries, the Holy Spirit will enliven us and generate excitement. And as we become excited in this way, we are going to experience calls to different ministries. As Jesus reminded us, even though we are one in the body of Christ, we have different gifts and talents. In our enthusiasm, we reach out to others to share in and help us with our ministries. In this teachable moment, we are learning that when the Holy Spirit is alive in a community of believers, members of the community will be called to a broader range of ministries and will request additional help. This is the way in which a community of believers and its members grow. However, I am sensing that some of us may feel uneasy or burdened by such requests, so I’d like to suggest another way to understand our experience in this moment.
First, we share an obligation to support the overall ministry of Ascension. We are doing this as evidenced by the gifts that are supporting the new roof currently being built. However, special requests for assistance with other ministries fall into a different category. Contributing to support new and recently expanded ministries is an opportunity, but it is not an obligation. I encourage us to understand our brothers’ and sisters’ requests for help not as a demand, but as an expression of their desire to share their call to ministry with us. You are not obligated to contribute. The Holy Spirit may inspire us to do so, but contributions should be expressions of generosity, not of obligation.
I do believe with all my heart that Christ calls us to support each another as we commit ourselves to go out into the community and the world carrying Christ with us. Each request -- whether to help prevent the suffering or death of abandoned animals in Knoxville, to feed the hungry and care for the homeless in our community, to educate our children about Christ, or to support the work of the Gospel in Bolivia and Madagascar -- is a reflection of our brothers’ and sisters’ passion for ministry. This passion for ministry is exactly what the church should nourish in all its various forms. During this teachable moment we are being reminded that God’s economy is based upon abundance, not scarcity; that God does not mean for us to feel burdened as we support one another, and that God does not want us to worry about whether the success of one ministry will result in the failure of another. God’s will for us and for those God sends to us is to prosper and move forward together, faithfully and optimistically, in the power of the Spirit. Amen.
If you wish to teach, you must understand what you are doing. All knowledge is based upon basic principles and logic. The teacher must understand how students think and build from there using the basic principles. See "Teaching and Helping Students Think and Do Better" on amazon.
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