Proper 15A Hypocrites are Growing

I am a hypocrite.

Not all the time, but sometimes it happens.

A hypocrite is a person who acts in contradiction to their stated beliefs or feelings.

Sometimes I am accidentally a hypocrite. I do things in situations I never thought I would encounter that are different than I thought I would do. 

Sometimes I am simply a hypocrite because I do things even though I wish I could do something else. I believe in banning Styrofoam from the face of the earth, yet sometimes I end up buying things that have Styrofoam in it. 

Or sometimes I learn new things and thus change my actions from previously stated feelings.

Its not always a terrible thing to be a hypocrite.

There are times being a hypocrite really means that you have learned and grown and now are doing things differently than you have stated before.

In the Gospel passage from Matthew today, Jesus is a hypocrite.

For all his telling off of the Pharisees for being a hypocrite, 

it is such a human condition, that Jesus finds himself being one too.

Despite saying that he has only come to save the lost sheep of Israel, 

he saves a Canaanite girl on the enduring faith of her mother.

The real situation is, 

Jesus learns something new and changes how he acts in light of this new learning.

I recently saw a comic on Twitter about learning something new when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The comic is twelve blocks. In the first, there is a man holding up a Black Lives Matter poster. In the second another man joins him. In the third, the second man says, "Umm actually? All lives matter." In the fourth block, the man holding the sign, puts his hand on his face and sighs. In the fifth he says, "Of course "all lives matter" dude. The point of the phrase is that black lives are being treated as expendable by the police and the government that employs them." He goes on to say, "If someone says "save the rainforest" you don't respond, "actually, save ALL forests" do you?" The second man responds, 'uh..' In the seventh block, the first man continues, "Just because we need to save the rainforest doesn't mean other forests have no value. It's just one needs our focus right now because the situation has gotten out of control." In the eighth block the two men stare at each other. In the ninth, the second man says, "I guess I never really thought of it that way before." In the tenth, the second man asks the crucial question: "But if I change my mind now, doesn't that make me a hypocrite?" The first man answers, "Nope. It means you're growing as a person." The men stare at each other again. In the last block the first man holds his sign up and the second man holds up a sign saying "Yeah".

Sometimes being a hypocrite means you're growing as a person.

Being a disciple of Jesus requires us to grow as people.

Every day in the United States ten thousand (10,000) people learn something new.

Learning something new might make us look like a hypocrite,

however, it really means we are growing as people.

Even Jesus grew as a person, as we see in this story about his interaction with the Canaanite woman. She pushes back on what he thought were his boundaries and allows him to see wider horizons.

Throughout the Bible, God continues to widen the boundaries, widen the horizons, expand our knowledge and our heart for others.

God starts with the Israelites in Exodus, and along the way, pushes the people to see beyond the divisions between us, gradually including the Canaanites, the Samaritans, the Greeks, even all Gentiles. Everyone is a part of God's love.

Throughout the Bible are stories of people learning and growing, as people and as communities.

This is one area we all need to be working on right now. 

There are so many people who have been alienated and discriminated against.

God is calling us to wider boundaries.

To care for our black, Hispanic, Asian, indigenous brothers and sisters,

to care for our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and all sorts of other folks. 

God is calling us to recognize our own limitations and start growing. 

Christians unfortunately do have a reputation for being hypocrites. Most unfortunately, it is for the wrong direction. They repeat the Good News of the Gospel, yet do mean things. Would that we had a reputation for being hypocrites in the other direction, not saying good things, and yet, doing much good for those around us! Jesus wants his disciples, including us, to learn and grow more fully on the path of God. We are given grace, especially when we are learning, to do something new and different and better for our neighbors. Beastie Boy's rapper Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz said, "I'd rather be a hypocrite than the same person forever." God does not want us to get stuck being the same person forever, God wants us to learn and grow in relationship with Christ. 

Being a disciple of Jesus means we are going to learn and grow. Which means sometimes we are going to be hypocrites. Being a disciple of Jesus means our hearts and minds and actions are going to change as we are opened up to wider horizons. This is God's trajectory throughout the last five thousand years. This is the arc of history and loving inclusivity. Jesus is an example for us today on our journeys as disciples. Jesus learns and grows and has his boundaries widened to include more of God's people. We are called to learn and grown as well, to widen our boundaries to include more of God's people in our hearts and at our tables. 

Perhaps you'll be one of the lucky 10,000 today. 

Perhaps you'll get to be a hypocrite, because God has shown you something new.

Perhaps your actions will show God's amazing love for all people today. 

Amen.