Sermons for the Month
What is Your VROC?
DATE: September 26, 1999
SERVICE: Pentecost XVIII
TEXT: Philippians 2:1-3“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
During the Kosovo incursion the Pentagon sent over several Apache Longbow attack helicopters. Perhaps you read where after one or two crashed unexpectedly, they grounded all of them. Apparently the Pentagon is having trouble with the Apache Longbow. They have discovered their new attack helicopter has a vertical rate of climb (VROC) insufficient to operate successfully. The truth is, this chopper, like us, flies best empty. It's got a little weight problem. It costs millions of dollars. And it can't fly. The Pentagon is having trouble with its AH-64D Apache Longbow, a new attack helicopter from Boeing. Not to worry; the military is spending $4.9 billion to buy 758 of them anyway. They're impressive. No doubt about it. Shortly after NATO launched air strikes against Slobodan Milosevic, President Clinton agreed at the Pentagons insistence to send 24 of these death machines to help out. They're "fearsome tank killers at night, but their mission and their sensitive, high-tech gear also make them vulnerable to ground fire. Skimming low over the trees at little more than 150 m.p.h. with lights out, their pilots wearing night-vision goggles, the choppers have radar that can spot armored columns three miles away, and they can unleash 16 Hellfire missiles, plus scores of 70-mm rockets." While these choppers allow the pilots to get up close and personal, they also allow the enemy to get "dangerously personal as well. The slow-moving Apaches will show up like lighted Christmas trees on ... radar" (Michael Duffy and Douglas Waller, "Inside Clinton's War," Time, April 19, 1999, 25-26). But there are other problems as well. The Longbow lacks the "agility to operate successfully in combat." The reason: its "vertical rate of climb," also known as its VROC. The Army required the Longbow to have a VROC of 450 feet per minute at an altitude of 4,000 feet and temperature of 95 degrees, and the helicopter can do that and more, achieving an impressive VROC of 895 feet per minute. But there's a catch -- it can do this only when it's EMPTY. When loaded with fuel and a full complement of 12 missiles, the Longbow can't get the job done. Add those additional 1,721 pounds and its VROC is a negative 549 feet per minute. In other words, it not only would not be able to climb, it would actually lose altitude -- even at maximum power (Eric Umansky, "Chopper Troubles: The Army's new attack helicopter has a little weight problem," Mother Jones, Jan.-Feb. 1999). Enough about choppers already. In today's text, Paul suggests that we need a fresh understanding of our own VROC: a vertical rate of climb into the presence of God. We make this ascent by following Jesus, the one whom God has highly exalted, and given the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9). But here's the wonderfully odd and unexpected thing about the rise of Jesus into the highest heaven -- it came as a result of his willingness to humble himself, empty himself, take the form of a slave, and become obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (vv. 7-8). For Christ, fullness is the fruit of self-emptying, lordship is the status earned by servitude, glory is the splendor of humility, and everlasting life is sparked by a death on a cross. In other words, Jesus worked best when he was empty. So it is with us. A Christian's spiritual VROC is in direct proportion to his VROD -- his vertical rate of DESCENT. The way to heaven is down to earth, through the practice of heartfelt humility. The more we humble ourselves, the more we climb into the presence of God. The more we look after the affairs of others, the more our own affairs are taken care of. The more we follow Christ, the more we look like Longbow helicopters that fly -- disciples who work best when we empty ourselves! Let's say that again: Like the Apache Longbow chopper, we fly best empty. What's not too cool in an attack helicopter, is way cool for Christians. We fly best when we are empty: empty of selfishness, empty of pride, empty of greed and empty of self-righteousness. Here are the details. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul lays out some specifications for Christians who want to make a heavenly ascent through a humble descent. "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit," he implores, "but in humility regard others as better than yourselves" (v. 3). The epistle writer knows how to pen a potent prescription, doesn't he? "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit"? No power plays in the office, no angling for advancement, no buttering up the boss, no gossip to elevate myself and denigrate another? Well, there goes half our day! And how about this advice from the apostle who struggled openly with his own arrogance: "In humility regard others as better than yourselves." This doesn't mean only to regard Mother Teresa as better than yourself, or Billy Graham as better than yourself, or some other member of the contemporary communion of saints as better than yourself, but to regard great gobs of generic "others" as better than yourself. This means welfare moms and techno-geeks, body-piercers and rap stars, residents of rusty trailers and inner city tenements. True, there are parts of our American culture that seem to have become hopelessly decadent. We can easily agree that we live a culture of violence. The Littleton, Colorado, school massacre five months ago and the Fort Worth Baptist Church killings last week are a stark reminders of the moral, spiritual and cultural pathology which afflicts us. Marilyn Manson, the goth-death culture, Jerry Springer. Ad nauseum. But before we write off whole groups of people, let's take a close look at the culture we are so quick to disdain, and take the risk of regarding others as better than ourselves. Consider these candles in the darkness: African-American hip-hop artist Lauryn Hill is a stunning, deeply spiritual and gloriously talented 23-year-old woman who won a Grammy for album of the year in front of an audience of millions. According to conservative writer Mark Gauvreau Judge: "Hill accepted her award by opening up a Bible onstage and reading Psalm 40: 'I trusted you, Lord, and waited/ and you came to answer my plea.' She also performed 'To Zion,' a Christian song about ignoring her handlers telling her to have an abortion: 'Look at your career they said. ... But instead I choose to use my heart.'" Or consider young Jeremiah Neitz (19), the young boy who trying to get his life back on track challenged 47 year old Larry Ashbrook to stop as he was systematically spraying a room full of young Baptist youth at a youth rally with bullets. Another candle reported by Judge: This year the movie Blast from the Past was released, a film full of traditional values. It tells the story of a boy raised in a bomb shelter for 35 years, then released into a modern world that is unambiguously filthy, rude and decadent. Where did this come from? From the heart of "bleeding-heart" Hollywood. Then there's the swing boom, another candle burning brightly in the night. In the last year, partner dancing has come back with staggering force, to the point where young people are lining up to get into ballrooms all over the country. "The culture is shifting," concludes Mark Judge. "Young people are burned out on grunge and drugs and irony and free sex. They -- [and] we -- want order, modesty, romance, rules." One way to take a stand for decency is to be a fan of good pop culture, to be a supporter of the bright lights that cut through the darkness and to be humble enough to see others as better than yourself (Mark Gauvreau Judge, "Pop Culture, Conservative Values," The Washington Post, March 27, 1999, A17). There's also a need for Christian action as we fine-tune our VROD and VROC. "Let each of you look not to your own interests," advises the apostle Paul, "but to the interests of others" (v. 4). Look after the affairs of others first, and discover that if you do this, your own needs will be met. The Golden Rule is not "do one" to others before they "do one" to you -- despite what has been reported in The Bible According to Kids! When we "do unto others" -- with grace, generosity and good humor -- we find our own lives enhanced: ? Tutors of low-income schoolchildren find that they are energized by the enthusiasm of their students; ? Those who went with me to South Africa have showered others with their stories of being graced by the experience; ? Our Home Communion Visitors to the sick and shut-in discover that they are inspired -- not depressed -- by their time with our members. ? Teenagers who paint the houses of the poor during summer work camps find that they LOVE their work -- although don't expect them to bring that same spirit to chores at home! ? Our Soup Makers know that their money is going a long way toward easing the pain and grief of families at the hospice center and no one has ever said that they wished they had spent time on something for themselves! Perhaps the greatest benefit of such concern for the interests of others is that it builds community: between adults and children, the well and the sick, the rich and the poor, the First World and the Third World. Paul wants us to be in community with one another, "of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind" (v. 2). In short, he wants us to be friends: people who look after the affairs of others first, who keep in mind the interests of their companions, who do unto others as they would have others do unto them. Paul calls us to a heavenly quality of life that can be found only in earthly friendships. Not that this insight is apostolic in origin. According to the writer Vigen Guroian, another great mind of the ancient world, Aristotle, said, "'Without friends no one would choose to live.' Friendships bring a goodness and grace into our lives whose value transcends material measure. What worth are wealth or possessions, Aristotle challenges us to consider, without companions with whom to share them? And friendships also can make us better persons by prompting us to think of others besides ourselves" (Vigen Guroian, "Friends and mentors: The message of children's stories," The Christian Century, June 3-10, 1998, 574). We may swoop down to earth when we share our wealth and possessions, but in that dive we find ourselves gaining momentum for a breathtaking ascent to the heavens. We discover that all our resources are meant to be shared, and it is in that sharing that our time and talent and treasure gain their true value. So can we improve our VROD -- our vertical rate of descent? Anything we do to humble ourselves and help others is an act of obedience to the Lord, who emptied himself. "Let the same mind be in you," counsels Paul, "that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but ... humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death" (vv. 5-8). It is only after his humble VROD that Christ begins his glorious VROC -- his vertical rate of climb into the highest heaven. We fly best when we are empty.
AMEN