“Our Unrecognized Values”

Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – March 6, 2016

Centenary United Methodist Church

Luke 15:11-32

 

    Our lesson today is the story of the Prodigal Son and the response from his brother after his head-strong, opinionated sibling came home after squandering his inheritance.  Jesus' parable is an amazing story because it captured so well many aspects of how life is lived by a good number of people.  This morning, however, we are going to focus on the reaction of the faithful son that responded with anger.

    As he was approaching his house, the older brother heard music and saw the shadows of people dancing.  He said to one of the servants, "What's going on?  What is everyone celebrating?"  The man answered, "Your brother has come home and your father is celebrating his return by slaughtering that calf that was ready for the market place." Upon hearing what was taking place, an unrecognized value burst to the surface of his life.  Listen to how he gave that value verbal form:

The older brother was so angry that he could not go into the house.  His father came out and begged him to come inside.  He talked back to his father, 'Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave.  I never once disobeyed your orders.  What have you ever given to me?  Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my friends!  But this son of yours wasted all of his inheritance on prostitutes, and when he came back home, broke and destitute, you decided to kill our best calf to celebrate his return.  (Luke 15:28f)

    What value was living in this young man that had gone unrecognized?  There are numerous possibilities. He might have convinced himself that he had won the invisible sibling rivalry for their father's approval. He could have felt that his dad's love was misplaced. He could have felt betrayed because he had never experienced any recognition from his father that his faithfulness and superior work ethic were valued.

     An unmarried friend of mine has literally given her heart and soul to the company where she is employed.  Because she is single, she always volunteers to work for colleagues who want to be with their families on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, Easter and other special holidays.  In addition, she is so efficient with her tasks that she often finds time to help others that are having problems getting their reports completed in a timely fashion.  Because of her leadership, the entire team is exemplary among all the teams for its efficiency in resolving customer issues.

    Her company had recently merged with another company. In light of the costs associated with necessary reorganization, the bosses further up the food chain decided to give everyone the same bonus across the board without considering anyone's performance.  The high achievers and committed leaders were given the same bonus as all the other employees.  This was the first year such a thing had happened.

    In a sense, many of the employees experienced the same unrecognized value as the brother of the Prodigal Son -- they were hurt that their work ethic and values had not been taken into consideration.  Jesus told a parable about this very issue.  (Matthew 20:10f)

    My friend's response revealed why she is the person she has become.  She said:

Sometimes, this is the way life is.  We are fortunate to receive a bonus. There are many companies that never give bonuses.  When I look into the mirror, I am proud of who I have become.  No one can place a dollar amount on a person's desire to perform everyday to the best of his or her ability. That recognition in myself is a value that is worth more to me than any seasonal bonus.

    During this period of Lent, we need to remember that many of us have unrecognized values dwelling inside of us.  The first symptom that one of them has been violated is that we are hurt.  We can invite hurt into our minds by feeling that we have been taken for granted. We can choose hurt feelings when a person, for whom we have gone to great lengths to be of service, has never voiced appreciation even by saying a simple "Thank you."  Such unanticipated violations can happen out of the blue anywhere, at any time, by anyone.    

    Jesus may have anticipated Judas' betrayal. Jesus may have been prepared for Peter's repeated denials of having any associations with him.  However, he could have easily been hurt when Pilate addressed the Jews that had gathered outside of his compound.  "To honor one of your customs," Pilate said, "I always release a prisoner during Passover.  Do you want me to set free the King of the Jews?"  After all that Jesus had done for so many people, he heard the crowd respond, "No! Give us Barabbas!  We want Barabbas!"  (John 18:39f)

    What was it that enabled Jesus to rise above the recognition that he had fallen out of favor with so many people?  He was busy sowing his seeds and allowing how and where they were planted to be up to the invisible creator of the universe.  He remained connected to God through the intuitive linkage within him that could never be broken by anything taking place in the external world. 

    Jesus was not without feelings.  How many people are recorded in the Gospels as showing appreciation for Jesus' ministry of healing? Not many.  In so many instances, when people received what they came to get from Jesus, they were on their way.  Sometimes others responded to Jesus as though he had failed them.

    Among his best friends were Mary and Martha.  Both said at different times, "Had you only been here, our brother would not have died." (John 11:21)  There is the Gospel account of the ten lepers that were healed of their leprosy and only one returned to thank Jesus.  Jesus said, "There were ten who were healed, where are the other nine?" (Luke 17:17)

    There is a spiritual principle that can help us to keep our unrecognized values in check even when injustices present themselves. We are often misunderstood.  We can be the object of gossip.  We may find ourselves in awkward circumstances that go beyond our levels of comfort.  If we can name it, it can happen to us because people that are unhappy with us live in a different universe of values from our own.

    A way to rid ourselves of all unrecognized values is to extend our energy without having any expectations, any need for recognition or reward or any desire that gratitude should come to us.  Remember, Jesus was busy sowing his seeds and allowing how and where they were planted to be up to the invisible creator of the universe.

    This is the nature of God's love.  God's love is always radiating toward us even when we do not notice it or care about it.  There are examples of people all around us that display this same loving energy. Rather than looking for it in the lives of other people, why not choose instead to be a source of such compassion.

    During the 18th century, the Ospedale Della Pieta hospital in Venice, Italy became a tourist attraction.  The hospital had an all-girl orchestra and choir that had gained a remarkable reputation throughout Europe.  In fact, in 1714, the world-famous composer Vivaldi was the director of that orchestra and choir. 

    In 1743, the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau visited the hospital and was swept away by the performance he experienced.  His only complaint was that there were large wooden screens separating the orchestra and choir from the audience.  During their numerous performances, no one ever saw the girls.

    Rousseau wanted to meet them.  After repeated refusals, Vivaldi finally granted the request to this very persistent high profile philosopher.  The great composer arranged for a personal audience with Rousseau during the girls' lunch time.  During the gathering, Rousseau realized why the girls were never seen by the adoring audiences.  The philosopher wrote these words about his experience:

Nearly all the girls were physically disfigured -- many of them quite profoundly.  This magnificent music, which had been attracting audiences from all over Europe, was being performed without anyone’s knowledge, by girls who, because of their disfigurement, had been abandoned by their parents. The girls had been gathered by Christians who treated them as though they were little angels. In response, the girls played and sang like the angels they had become. 

    Vivaldi had been deeply touched by these female angels so much so that this famous composer stepped up and volunteered his time and talents out of love so that these physically disfigured children could experience becoming creators of musical excellence.

    The secret of never feeling slighted, of never feeling that we have been taken for granted, or developing feelings that our goodness has been largely overlooked, is to give to others with absolutely no expectation that gratitude will be expressed.  It was this understanding that allowed Jesus to be so giving and forgiving until he drew his last breath.  There is never anything to forgive when a person is not offended by people living in a universe of values far different from his or her own.

    Think about Doctors Without Borders.  Think about physicians who retire and give their skills away at free clinics or who open a small practice in a rural setting where the closest doctor is many miles away.  These are individuals that have made their mark and in the process have become people who continue to give back.

    Matt Damon, who played Jason Bourne in a trilogy of movies, has given money and his energy helping rural populations in Africa to dig wells.  Damon knows that there is one hundred times more water in the underground aquifers than is on the surface of Africa. He wants everyone to have access to it.

    During this Lenten season, let us keep our eyes open to who we are capable of being by sowing all the seeds of loving deeds that we can without knowing or caring what happens to them.  If this is how we label ourselves, keep sowing, keep sowing, and when we become tired, sow some more.