Role Models

Sermon delivered by David Burrow September 18, 2022 - First Congregational Church, Algona, Iowa

Click here for an audio version of this sermon. (30 MB - .mp3)

First Reading – Luke 16:10 - 16

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The person who is trustworthy in small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.

If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?

No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and wealth."

Second Reading – I Timothy 2: 1 – 8

Beloved:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
for kings and for all in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
in all devotion and dignity.

This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and humanity,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony at the proper time.
For this I was appointed preacher and apostle
— I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —,
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

It is my wish, then, that in every place the people should pray,
lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

Message:

I thought quite a while before coming up with a topic for today’s message. In the gospel reading today we heard the familiar lines “whoever is trustworthy in small matters is also trustworthy in great ones”, “no servant can serve two masters”, and “you cannot serve both God and wealth”. The second reading asks us to pray for those in authority and also says that we should pray everywhere, without anger or argument.

Like much of the Bible, these readings are directives on how to live a good life and be a good person. God directs us to “serve the true master” and gives us tips here and elsewhere on just how we can do that. While the actual words aren’t used, basically God is calling us to be role models for our fellow people here on earth.

The term “role model” is defined as a successful person worth emulating in life. These are people who inspire others—and especially youth—to be better human beings.

There are a lot of people who balk at the title of “role model”. You might recall a couple decades ago when some NBA stars were in the news because they didn’t want to be role models. Charles Barkley said, “I’m not paid to be a role model. I’m paid top wreak havoc on the basketball court. … Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.” Dennis Rodman said, “People think athletes and entertainers are role models, but they’re wrong. … Kids don’t need me to show them how to party.”

A lot of other people seem to revel in being bad role models. Far too many actors, musicians, athletes, and politicians swear like sailors, mistreat women, and act like playground bullies. They still want people to look up to them, even if they don’t act as they should.

There are, however, a lot of people who embrace being role models. In the world of sports, the vast majority of athletes try hard to set good examples for other people, and many go out of their way to make the world a better place.

I could mention a gentleman who shares my last name and plays for Cincinnati, but I’m going to recall another quarterback, Superbowl MVP Drew Brees, who spent fifteen seasons with the New Orleans Saints. Brees was playing in San Diego when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. After the Saints acquired him the following year, he donated more than half his salary to help those who were displaced by the hurricane, and he and his teammates volunteered their own labor to help rebuild more than a hundred homes.

Brees retired from the NFL after the 2020 season. Today he’s using the business degree he earned at Purdue to franchise restaurants. He continues to give away huge sums of money, though. His foundation donates more than $3 million a year to help cancer patients, provide scholarships, promote anti-bullying campaigns, and improve the lives of families in need.

When Drew Brees was drafted by the Chargers in 2001, expectations weren’t particularly high. Now Brees holds the record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass, and he’s near the top of the list in almost every other quarterback stat. Brees will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2026, and almost certainly he’ll be admitted on the first ballot. His sports accomplishments are outstanding, but they’re really nothing compared to how he’s lived his life and the type of role model he’s been.

While the spotlight is often on the negative, there are many other athletes who are good role models. There are also lots of entertainers who are more concerned with bettering the world than with making money or scandalizing people. And there are still a few politicians who think their role in government should be public service rather than personal gain. Beyond that, there are millions of lesser-known people who proudly work in professions they’ve chosen so that they could serve other people, and of course almost every parent does everything they can to set a good example for their children.

There’s one other famous role model I want to focus in on this morning. Today’s reading from Second Timothy asks that prayers and thanksgivings be made for kings. This weekend in particular, though, I think it’s appropriate to say a prayer of thanksgiving for a queen. It’s hard for me to think of anyone who has been a better role model in the past seventy years than Queen Elizabeth II.

While she was born into wealth and prominence, she didn’t let that go to her head. At a young age Elizabeth proclaimed that she would devote her life to service, and she made good on that promise. From working as a mechanic on an army base during World War II to volunteering to be the first British sovereign ever to pay taxes to sitting alone at her husband’s funeral to abide by COVID restrictions, she set a good example for her people and the world.

Historians have already said that the queen provided a sense of continuity and reassurance in a rapidly changing world. Everything she said and every move she made was done with dignity and decorum. Even when she told a joke, she commanded respect.

As someone who loves to explore our world, I’m particularly impressed that Queen Elizabeth II is the most widely traveled woman who has ever lived. A century before her Queen Victoria presided over one of the largest empires in history, but she never set foot in most of the lands she ruled. Queen Elizabeth granted independence to twenty-six different countries. She made a point of travelling to all those countries multiple times, as well as to almost thirty other former colonies that were independent before she became queen. She visited a lot of places that had no past ties with Britain, too—120 countries in all on every continent of the world. She made it her goal to understand the world and the place she and her country had in it.

While most of the Queen’s visits were formal state occasions, when she travelled, whenever she could she insisted on meeting not just presidents, prime ministers, or royalty, but also walking among the “real” people who lived in each place. She knew how important it was to understand people—to get to know them rather than being scared of them.

With the Queen’s passing, there have been a number of summaries of the many wise things she has said over the years. I want to share six brief quotations from Queen Elizabeth’s speeches with you today:

It has always been difficult to hate and destroy. To build and cherish is much more difficult, but that is what we all must do.
Change has become a constant. The way we embrace it defines our future.
Religion and culture are much in the news these days, usually as sources of difference and conflict, rather than for bringing people together. But the irony is that every religion has something to say about tolerance and respecting others.
We may hold different points of view, but it is in times of stress and difficulty that we most need to remember that we have much more in common than there is dividing us.
Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to do what is right, to take the long view, to give my best in all the day brings, and to put my trust in God.
… and finally
The true measure of all our actions is how long the good in them lasts.

That last comment reminds me of a sermon that Rev. Karen Dearchs gave when she filled our pulpit a few years back. Her title was “Living Your Dash”, and she commented on the dash that appears on tombstones between the dates when a person was born and died. Our memories of people are of what happened between those dates, how they “lived their dash”.

We’ve lost some people in our congregation this past year who did a very good job of living their dash. We’re mourning one of them who died just this past week. The same day we learned of Holly’s death I was reminded of another loss when Denny Schwab’s grandson happened to say “hi” to me in the hall at school. Denny was a great father and grandfather, and he served as a good role model for his family. I think he was a pretty good role model for all of us as well. He made church a priority, he was quick to volunteer when anything needed to be done, he never judged people, and he always put the needs of others ahead of himself.

We can all take lessons from Denny Schwab, Holly Filson-Heath, Drew Brees, and Queen Elizabeth. May they be role models for us, and may we in turn serve as good role models for everyone we encounter in our lives. Amen.