The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost-The Rev Melanie Lemburg

 16^th Sunday after Pentecost-Proper 21C

September 25, 2022

 

        There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and who feasted sumptuously everyday.  His wealth and his power insulated him from the world around him; his sin was self-absorption.  He was so blinded by his own wealth and luxury that he couldn’t even see the need of a hungry man at his front door, and it created a great chasm between him and God, between him and others.  Even in death, when offered the opportunity to change, to cross some of the great chasm he had created by his own self-absorption, he couldn’t imagine that his money and power couldn’t buy him what he wanted. 

        There was a busy woman who valued her time above everything else.  While her busy-ness and her time management gave her a sense of control over the chaos, her obsession with her to-do lists and her calendar created a great chasm between herself and others.  Her sin was self-absorption. She valued getting things done over relationships, and a great chasm was created between her and God, between her and others.  She missed out on spontaneous moments of delight, of tasting the richness of unplanned joy; she was so busy planning that she couldn’t participate in the Kingdom of God as it unfolded around her. 

        There was a successful man who had done very well in life.  He always made top grades in school; he worked hard and he tried to make everything he did look effortless.  It was very important to him that people admire him and think well of him. His sin was self-absorption.  He cared too much about how people thought about him, and a great chasm was created between him and God, between him and others.  Because he was always trying to make a good impression, he never could be fully himself in his relationships and many times, he felt lonely, lost, empty, even in a room full of people.   

        There was a charismatic woman who seemed to have it all together, life well in hand.  She made friends easily, and she was beautiful.  Her sin was self-absorption.  She was much too concerned about doing something wrong, about past decisions, which she would second-guess, and because she would beat herself up when things didn’t go how she wanted, a great chasm was opened between her and God, between her and others.  She would often find herself frozen, paralyzed, thinking it was better to do nothing than to do the wrong thing and regret it. 

        There was a caring man who spent much time and energy taking care of others.  Every day, he poured out so much energy tending to the needs of those in the world around him, and everyone appreciated him for it.  His sin was self-absorption.  His caring slowly transformed into a secret resentment that no one cared for him as well as he cared for others, and so a great chasm opened up between him and God, between him and others.  Even as he continued to go through the motions of caring for those around him, he found his heart was hardened, and he was so very bitter deep down inside. 

        There was a self-sufficient woman, who was smart and capable and who lived a full life.  She was fiercely independent and didn’t really need anyone to be complete.  Her sin was self-absorption.  She wouldn’t let anyone get too close; she wouldn’t risk getting her heart broken, and so a great chasm opened up between her and God, between her and others. 

        Each and every one of us is one of these children of God, on the other side of a chasm made by our own flavor of self-absorption.  Jesus, who loves us, has already built a bridge across the chasm, and he invites each one of us to step out of our self-absorption, to see things a little differently, and to take one tiny step toward God and others on that bridge across that chasm. 

        Are you ready?