Phylacteries Broad and Fringes Long
A Homily on Matthew 23:1-12
by Griff Martin
For the Twenty First Sunday of Ordinary Time (and the Thirty Second of Covid Worship)
For the Beloveds of First Austin: a baptist community of faith
October 25, 2020
*This document comes from an oral manuscript.
Let’s pray… Incarnate God, we ask that you once again take the Word and transform it into a living and breathing reality we can all together experience. Be present here in this space and in these words God, for if you are present here then nothing else will matter, but if you are not present here then nothing else will matter. In the name of the Creator, the Christ and the Comforter.
It was on a Monday morning because it’s ALWAYS on a Monday morning. It was the day after we had sent out an all-church email about our book clubs focusing on helping us to be a better anti-racist faith community which begin next month and help us to better locate ourselves in the work of anti-racism. Plus, you can still join these and I think it’s very important work. So we sent that email inviting everyone into this work I believe is the most important work right now.
The sender of the email did not. The email was simple -- one question, eight words.
“What the hell is this waste of time?”
It took eight words to ruin my day, approximately 1.5 seconds to ruin all the other seconds.
Now, before you all take guesses on who you think wrote the email, let me tell you that I don’t think any of us actually know the individual who wrote the email; according to our records, this individual was a visitor from a while ago and, based on their response to the email, I think it’s safe to say they have not attended worship with us in some time and probably don’t stand where we stand as a community on matters of justice, where I think Jesus stands.
Now let me tell you what I did, allow me a bit of confession. First, I wrote a very short response that was very to the point, very direct, very “get behind me Satan.” It served little purpose beyond letting this man know that I was in the right and he was in the wrong and that Jesus loved me more.
But that did not seem like enough, so then I went the other route and I wrote a very long email. It referenced a lot of the facts you have heard in sermons recently about the issue of race in America and in Austin, it talked about the reality of this systemic injustice. Just the day before, Stephen Reeves had guest-taught my Sunday school class and had said, “choose any justice issue and take it to the foundation and it will have a racial component.” I quoted that. I quoted Martin Luther King Jr and Ibram Kendi. I quoted Jesus, a lot of Jesus. And I used all the words I knew, some that you would be ashamed that I knew and knew how to use so very well. And in doing so I wrote a three page reply which was really, if I must say so, quite brilliant.
And then a few things dawned on me… First, maybe this guy did not email an eight-word question praying that the pastor would reply with a three-page sermon. Second, this reply was more about making myself feel good than anything else; it was what therapists suggest are good letters to write and then to burn before anyone can read them. And then three, the truth that some of my friends who have done the work of healing from addictions have taught me, that our first response does not have to be our final response, that our first ideas are not our best ideas and that reactions don’t get to drive. This is advice that saves my job and vocation all the time.
So I sat there, reading both of my replies, the short one and the long one. And then I asked the essential question of email, how would Jesus reply? Which is a really good question to ask when it comes to email and social media.
And I realized that Jesus would probably have deleted the email the minute he received it knowing the grace of all graces, that first, you don’t have to reply to every email that comes your way, in no way are we obligated to respond to someone who shows up in our inbox, that there is a difference in inviting conversation and having it forced upon you, the difference is as important as inviting a friend over for dinner as opposed to coming home and finding someone you never wanted in your house sitting at your table and no one invited them. Second, that no one has ever changed their minds because of a cleverly worded email or social media post or a condescending lecture. Thus, Jesus and I reached the ever good response of simply deleting the email without responding.
Now, note what I did not do. I did not change my mind and I did not question if what we were doing was right; in fact, just the opposite. This entire thing even further strengthened my resolve that this work is not a waste of time and this is the exact type of work the church has to be doing today because it’s the work Jesus would be doing because the more of us that understand this issue and work to change it, the better chance that someone close to this individual will, in authentic relationship and community, be able to help them struggle through this issue and hopefully change his mind and realize the work of anti-racism is not a waste of time; in fact, just the opposite, it’s part of the work of salvation today.
But my desired reply was less about the real work and more about making my phylacteries broad and fringes long. Now, if that metaphor does not make sense to you, some context: a phylactery was a small leather box containing the Hebrew text and it was worn by Jewish men around the head (think of it like a headband with a small box up front), and the "long fringe" is a comment on a type of clothing religious men wore in which long tassel and fringes denoted religious importance and authority. It was outerwear that showed how religious you were; think of it like a spiritual varsity letter jacket.
And Jesus does not have great affinity for spiritual letter jackets. Our text today tells us this over and over and over… They are judged because they do not practice what they teach, they do all their deeds only to be seen by others, they want large phylacteries and long fringes.
And Jesus sums it all up, warning, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Now, I have been having the same conversation over and over and over the past now 4 years... "Pastor, what do I do about my ____?" And you can put "father," "mother," "in-laws," "friend," "boss," "co-worker" and so on there. "What do I do about ___ and how opposite they see the world from how I see the world? How do we engage?" And then I go over all the steps: you listen, you don’t argue or fight, you find creative ways to engage, you love. But more and more often the conversation is continuing and I am hearing this: “But Griff, they won’t ever change their mind and I won’t change my mind, so what comes next?”
And I think I want to go back now and change my first responses, the "listen and don’t argue" start. Just a fair warning, when we have these pastoral conversations I think I am going to begin by asking this: is this about a broader phylactery and longer fringe? Which is a nicer way of asking, are you just trying to be on the right side outside, so all can see?
Because if that is the case, then that is what is known today as "performative allyship," or "performative wokeness." It’s when those of us who are part of the privileged and the non-marginalized groups want to be seen for doing right but might actually not care at all for doing the right work. These might be new phrases for you, but the concept is old… Jesus: “I would rather spit you out of my mouth than you be lukewarm.” Jesus again: “Be hot or cold, let your yes be yes and your no be no.” Jesus again, angry at a fig tree that says it has figs because it’s in blood but does not… paraphrased, "there better be fruit to your words."
Let me help you if that is not landing. Have you made a social media post about Black Lives Matter but not stood up and called out racist talk at your family dinner table or found ways to support black-owned business in our city? Have you celebrated Pride month by wearing a rainbow flag but never actually stood up for the rights of our queer siblings that are being threatened daily by protesting or calling elected officials or sending funds to HRC or Q Christian Fellowship? Have you voiced concern about the issue of homelessness in Austin but never made or served a meal with Selena, or even better, sat at a table and shared a meal with one of our unhoused neighbors, or gone to City Council to push better affordable housing and better mental health? Have you argued on social media with people who vote different than you but what have you actually done about the cause you are fighting for? Have you shared a meme about RBG but never actually done anything to benefit the girls in the less-resourced AISD schools?
Because if you are not doing the work, then it’s simply about broader phylacteries and longer fringes, and if you have not caught it yet, that makes Jesus eye-roll into another dimension.
Jesus does not care what bumper stickers you put on your car; he cares about where your car carries you to do the work you say you support.
I listen to today’s text and what I hear is Jesus reminding us that it’s not about doing the work so that others know you do the work, it’s about doing the work because you believe in the work so much that you would give your entire life for it. You know, the very essence of the Gospel when God believed so much in love and equality that God became one with us and gave God’s life for love, equality, and justice. You know, the very life of Jesus. All of us are glad God did not just talk about the ministry of incarnation, but we are glad -- actually, we are saved -- because God did the ministry of incarnation through Jesus.
So what does that mean for us today?
It’s letting people know what matters to you to by not just saying it, but by doing it. Jesus ministered with his hands and his feet more than with declarative statements. He did the work and then talked about the work but the doing always came first.
It’s about loving people and knowing that loving people does not mean you have to understand them or they have to understand you, let alone agree. Agreeing and understanding are not preexisting conditions for loving. Read though the Gospels, pick any one and see how often you find Jesus loving people that he does not understand or agree with. Yet he still loved them, as though he believed that doing the right thing, standing for the right thing and loving all people while doing the right thing, might just make all the difference.
We are at a really important time as a people this election season; I think this election is so import in terms of our future. But I also know this, that after November or whenever we know what is next for us, the work still belongs to the church. So much of what I am seeing us argue and divide over, so much that we are wasting so many words on… it’s actually doing the work Jesus asked us to do a long time ago and it does not matter who wins this Presidential election, the work is still ours to do. As I said almost 4 years ago to the day, Jesus does not need another politician, Jesus needs a people.
A people who care more about doing right than just saying what is right.
A people who take over the spiritual letter jackets so they can fully do the messy work of Kingdom building.
A people who don’t have to say what they believe because the way they live their lives says it for them, how they spend their dollars and hours, who they sit at the table with, who they give to, what they live for.
A people whose lives declare it more than their mouths.
You know, Jesus people.
And that is what the world needs right now. We need to vote, but then we need to do a lot better job living like Jesus… being on the right side of things, and by that I mean not just saying something but doing something.
Because doing can change the world.
And God knows our world needs it right now.
Be doers of the word, not just hearers and sayers. Take off the phylacteries and fringes and put on your work clothes. Amen and amen.
*artwork: "Accepting Divine Paths" by Iris Sullivan
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