With the explosion of different social media platforms it seems that everybody has the potential to be famous. It’s not that uncommon for a regular person to get thousands of people who become friends or followers on Social Media, many even getting into the millions without every really achieving anything. They are, as the saying goes – famous for being famous.
In the past you’d have to study acting – hope for a break in the industry – probably have to get several jobs to pay the bills in between acting jobs. And then only a few would make it. Then came the advent of reality TV where people were plucked from the general public – from obscurity – and became famous on shows like Big Brother, Masterchef and the block. Today it’s even more obscure with people called “influencers” who start an account on things like Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok and get paid for posting pictures of themselves and have people “like” them. Sadly many are venturing into a more adult platform called Only Fans where they can make hundreds of thousands of dollars if enough people “like them” and subscribe to them. It sounds adventurous to many young people who don’t have to worry about the 9 to 5 grind and getting out of bed before dawn to get to work. They simply get up when they wish – grab their mobile phone and take a few pics and upload them – they call them “influencers” – influencing people’s lives and spending. In fact a news article this week said that over 50% of teenagers would quit school or work to become an “influencer”.
But sadly what this has done is that it has led to a growing obsession that has led to depression and in many cases narcissistic behaviour where young people aren’t able to handle it when someone else gets more likes than them or more followers. Narcissus was a character from Greek Mythology who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water and never left the waterside gazing into the reflection until sadly he passed away because he could never have the object of his desire. It is a very challenging time especially for parents who have children heavily influenced by addiction to social media.
It’s reported that there is a growing number of primary school aged children suffering depression because body image shame. But it’s not just children but many adults have become obsessed with fame and self promotion.
Our bible reading today has Jesus attending a special function hosted by one of the leading Pharisees on the Sabbath. And they were keeping a close eye on Jesus in case he got up to his old tricks of working on the Sabbath. But that doesn’t worry Jesus. He’s dealt with that before. Especially last week when he was criticized for healing a woman who had been bent over for 18 years and the healing happened on the Sabbath. He put them in their place. Today there’s a different concern by Jesus and it relates to what I spoke of earlier. There was this narcissistic attitude amongst the people who all thought that they deserved the seat of honour when they were invited to a function.
It can be easy for us to judge the guests at the Pharisees’ dinner who are scrambling for the best seats as social climbers. But the truth is pride and the desire to exalt oneself are part of fallen humanity. We all have this desire to be better, to achieve, to be on top, to be number one, and to be admired. We see this in the Garden when Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation to be like God. Even though they had everything they could possible want or need Satan convinced them there was one more step on the ladder for them to take – to be LIKE God. Instead of being content that they were created in the image of God – it wasn’t enough. It’s believed that this is what caused Satan to rebel against God, not satisfied with being “under” God.
That human desire didn’t end there but continued throughout the bible. At the Tower of Babel the people wanted to build a tower to reach heaven to make a name for themselves. Even Jesus’ disciples quarreled as to who among them was the greatest. The concerning part of greatness is that there is always someone better than you – or there is always someone wanting to take your place. Our reading from Hebrew talks about humility as being the true value in life. But humility is not about weakness but a hidden strength. Even though the world often sees humility as weakness we remember that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. That God chose weakness to shame the strong. Humility comes when we put others first.
Jesus says that we should take the lowly seat. But if we only take the lowly seat so that we will get asked to move up – then that’s not humility. Humility is a change of nature – accepting life as God has given. In the Hebrews reading it talks about empathy. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. An empathic person literally feels the pain of the other person. They don’t just feel sorry for them – that’s what we call sympathy. Empathy is to feel the pain as if you yourself are experiencing it.
And one of the true blessings of humility is the freedom you receive no longer having the need to compete or defend but simply accepting the life God has given you.
Just look at those caught up in the need to always be number one. There’s nothing wrong with excelling in your life but when it becomes all that you live for there is so much disappointment when you don’t achieve. On the other hand when we live by humility then we see all of life as a blessing from God. As the writer of Hebrews says – Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have from God; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” But not only that but there are hidden mysteries that God places in our lives as we heard in our reading – Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. That is so different to what Jesus witnessed as everyone scrambled for the seat of honour.
So Jesus says: when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. It is these poor and less fortunate that may very well be the angels that the writer of Hebrews is referring to. Remember that the word Angel means “messenger from God”. The word we use for Good News or Gospel – comes from the same word. As we entertain these less fortunate and leave the world of needing to impress others and ourselves we discover true inner beauty of the other person and also ourselves. We discover the true love of God who while we were still sinners sent Jesus to us. While we were unloveable God continued to love us. That is true humility.
