Psalm 34:8-10, 22
At my clergy retreat we sang Goodness of God, by CeCe Winans, and it filled my heart, singing
about all the blessings and promises of God. The Psalmist offers another experiential way of
learning of God, “O taste and see that the Lord is good!” The truth we just sang together. A truth
that we will soon experience at Christ’s table. READ Matthew 23:1-12
Who was your favorite teacher? Maybe she was an elementary school teacher, and you had a crush
on her. Or he was your coach in high school who made a big impression. Or maybe you had a
special mentor in college. Teachers are sprinkled throughout our lives, sharing information,
shaping our characters, expanding our world. Yet often we have a favorite teacher. Someone who
stands head and shoulders above the rest. Can you picture this person in your mind? What they
wore, a funny line they often said, their charisma that is hard to quantify. Maybe this teacher was
the first person to see you and your gifts and found creative ways to empower you to develop your
gift and share it with your community. That is what a good teacher does- they see you and
understand what it takes to nurture parts of you to grow and flourish.
My favorite teacher was Mrs. Sabine, in fourth grade. She brought people together and inspired us
to be our best. She got my mom to paint fun decorations on the yellow walls of our classroom, a
sun encircled the clock, making me smile when I glanced at the time. She painted bees flying
around the room, and a butterfly floating by. Mrs. Sabine had us sit in groups of four or five
students, with our desks all facing each other. This was when I sat next to Karen who would copy
all the spelling words from the board, because I had a hard time seeing it. Karen later became my
best friend, who I still see and love to this day. But what I really loved about Mrs. Sabine was after
school she taught us how to play the guitar. I willingly pressed my small fingers against those
strings until they formed callouses. With every strum she brought music to life, and Karen and I
would play and sing together. At the end of the year, I made Mrs. Sabine a cat pillow, with orange
and white fur you could pet. She loved cats.
In honor of your favorite teacher, I want you to picture them and then shout out their name. Now I
want everyone who has taught, be it gym, preschool, math, music or English or any other subject to
raise your hand. Thank you for your service and dedication! Thank you for your commitment to
teaching. Thank you to every teacher who made each one of us the people who we are today!
We have all been shaped by many people and teachers and yet Jesus just told us we have one
instructor, the Messiah. At first this seems odd, but then we realize that Jesus is expressing the
primacy of Christ’s teachings and of following God’s law, when that is done properly.
Jesus is calling out the scribes and Pharisees who sit on Moses’ seat, meaning teach God’s law.
Moses’ seat represented the recognized responsibility to teach God’s Law to Israel. Jesus
acknowledged that the scribes and Pharisees occupied an office connected with Moses’ teaching,
yet Jesus condemned their failure to practice what they taught. Jesus said, “Do whatever they teach
you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach” (3).
It almost feels like those less than desirable parents who say to their wayward children, “Do what I
say, not what I do.”
It seems the Pharisees were caught up in the honor and prestige of their position seeking to have the
best seats at banquets; they want the VIP section, hearing people’s respect and deference when they
called them Rabbi or Teacher, and weighing burdens on those in their care without lifting a finger to
help them. “The Pharisees are described as putting heavy burdens on those they teach, the yoke
image would have brought to mind the teaching of Torah. By this Jesus places the Pharisees in
direct contrast to himself as Torah teacher, since his yoke–his teaching of Torah–is easy and light, not heavy and burdensome (Mt.11:28-30), in part because his interpretation of the Torah places
centrality on love, mercy, and justice” (Working Preacher, Jeannine K. Brown).
The practice that might need a bit of explaining is the phylacteries. Part of Jewish practice is
wearing phylacteries, which are two small black leather cube-shaped cases containing Torah texts.
One is placed on your forehead, connecting to your mind and the other on your arm close to your
heart. Both are reminders of God and the obligation to keep the Law during the day. But when
Jesus calls out their broad phylacteries with long fringe, it reminds me of Tammy Faye Baker’s eye
make-up, her long eyelashes which were for external show, when what Jesus wants is for internal
growth, learning.
“Matthew is clear: Rather than jockeying for position and privilege in social hierarchies, the faithful
should seek a deeper understanding of God’s purposes from the Savior in whose radiant light ‘many
who are first will be last, and the last will be first’ (19:30; 20:16). The power of Christian love is
expressed not in domination or prestige but in serving others, for ‘the greatest among you will be
your servant’” (Working Preacher, Carolyn J. Sharp).
Many of you know that I am in a twelve-step program, because I love food a bit too much. I am
addicted to food; I am a compulsive overeater. Recently I was talking to a friend in the program
about one of the steps and we both marveled at how it felt like the step changed since the last time
we read them, because we heard something new or that applied to us in a new way. She happens to
be Buddhist, but I likened that experience to the Living Word of God. The Word of God is living
because we are always changing. When we read it, encounter it, it is a vital, life-giving experience.
The Holy Spirit amplifies that encounter allowing us to hear what God is teaching us. What Christ,
our only instructor, is teaching us! I have felt a similar experience reading Pastrix, by Nadia Boltz
Weber, in the way she approaches familiar teachings of Christ from a new perspective. This week
she told a story of Martin Luther claiming his baptismal identity when preaching on the Baptism of
Jesus. Here Jesus’ baptism, gender issues, a renaming ceremony united as the living Word of Christ.
You see our identity and name are wrapped up in our baptism, the same way Jesus is named “Son”
and “Beloved” during his baptism. When Luther was struggling with doubt and discouragement,
when he felt betrayed by the Church, only then did he discover through God’s living word, divine
grace and love. Living in God’s grace he found courage in boldly proclaiming, literally shouting on
the castle grounds, “I AM BAPTIZED!” Not, I was baptized like something from his past, but I
AM BAPTIZED! (pg. 140). Our baptismal identity is a living reality that helps us in our darkest
times. And what was Luther doing when he passionately claimed his baptismal identity? He was
translating the Greek Bible into German so that for the very first-time regular folks could read it for
themselves. The living Word of God that we know and love and can access, is thanks to Luther’s
passion and faith. You and I can read Christ’s teachings, we experience Jesus as our one and only
instructor because Jesus is our Messiah. The one we follow, the one we trust, the one we know as
the living Word of God.
Baptism was one of Jesus’ first teachings, one he embodied and modeled. The Messiah, God’s
anointed one, teaches us how to find our identity in God’s love and grace, not in what the world
tries to tell us. Boltz Weber writes, “When what seems to be depression or compulsive eating or
narcissism or isolation takes over, try picturing it as a vulnerable and desperate force seeking to
defy God’s grace and mercy in your life. And then defiantly tell it ‘I am baptized’ or ‘I am God’s,’
because nothing else gets to tell you who you are” (pg. 142).
I am a child of God, you are a child of God. I am baptized, you are baptized. Jesus is our only instructor, because Jesus teaches us how to find our identity in God. Jesus sees us
for who we really, loves us and forgives us, and then teaches us how to share our gifts with the world, because we rest in God’s love and care. And that is the best teaching of them all. AMEN
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