Royal Narcissist - Rev Dr Kelly Sprinkle 7-27-25

Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:8-13 - Linda Boesl 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Our second reading comes from the nineteenth chapter of Luke.
As the crowd was listening to Jesus, he added a
parable to relay because he was near Jerusalem and because
they thought the reign of God was about to appear immediately.

(00:21):
Thus Jesus said, a high born person went to a
distant country to receive their royal authorization, and then returned.
This person summoned ten of their overseers and gave them
ten gold mina coins and said to them ten to

(00:43):
business until I come back. But the citizens of their
country hated this person and sent an envoy following, saying,
we do not want this person to rule over us.
And it was as in returning having received royal authority,

(01:05):
this person ordered these overseers to whom had been given
the money, to be summoned in order to find out
what profit they had made. The first came forward and said, Highness,
your gold coin has made ten more gold coins. Then

(01:26):
this person said to the overseer, well done, because in
little you have been trustworthy. Take over ten cities. And
the second overseer came saying, Highness, your gold coin has
made five gold coins. Then this person said to the

(01:49):
overseer and you be over five cities. Then another overseer came, saying, Highness,
this is your gold coin. I wrapped and stored it
in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you because
you are a harsh person. You take what you did

(02:11):
not deposit, and you reap what you did not sew.
This person said to the overseer, I will judge you
by your own words. You wicked lout. You knew that
I was a harsh person, taking what I did not
deposit and reaping what I did not sew. Why then

(02:32):
did you not put my money on the banker's table,
so I, when I returned, could have collected it with interest.
And then this person said to the bystanders, take that
gold coin and give it to the one who has
ten gold coins. And the citizen said to this person, Highness,

(02:56):
that overseer has ten. I tell you to all those
who have more will be given, but from those who
have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
But as for these enemies of mine who did not
want me to reign over them, bring them here and

(03:20):
slaughter them in my presence.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
And I promise you that's not about stewardship. The royal
I sense from the time of birth believed they were special.

(03:55):
Everyone doted around the child, everyone did everything. This one
was special and growing up special Sometimes so I get
it an elevated sense of ego. Well I'm a little
better than you, that I'm going to be something someday.

(04:16):
Even if I don't meet the marks of the world,
I am still going to be special and I will
prove it. Perhaps the parents had sort of instilled that
within them because there was a little bit of royal
blood running through them. And who doesn't like to be
king or queen a noble Now Americans and I, or

(04:40):
at least this American here, I have a fascination with royalty.
I have a fascination with the English monarchy. Now I
don't want to king or a queen, but it's just
some of the pomp and circumstance, sort of the beauty
of core I know, the trumpets blaring. But this kid

(05:07):
really liked all that. And with time, with age, the
one who had been sitting as ruler passed on and
it was time for the special kid, now grown up

(05:29):
to be king or queen if you will. But here's
the thing, there was just a little bit of royalty
not a whole lot of royal blood. And so off
they trotted, with aunt garage own to higher powers, so

(05:52):
they could diplomatically ask can I be king or queen?
For you see, there was really no freedom in that
area in which the special one had been born and
grew up. It was just occupied with a larger power
in charge. And so you just couldn't go off and

(06:13):
say I am now the king or queen of this area.
You had to go ask for permission. And so they went,
and while there diplomacy worked and this person became the
ruler of the smaller area, but only with permission, that is.

(06:36):
And so this one claims power. But the interesting thing
is no one wanted this kid to ever be ruler
or king or queen or monarch or president. This one

(06:57):
would make things so much harder, or continue with ways
that were not the ways of God, and with coronation
perhaps on the scene to how would coronation be special
when there are those who say we don't want you,

(07:19):
stay away, we're glad you left. No, it's not just
ego here. It's a little bit of like how dare you?
And plans were already boiling in their mind. I will

(07:41):
get even with you no matter what. Don't cross me,
don't speak bad about me, just do as I say.
Now before the entourage hat ever left. This is where
we get into the story. Really, it's so where we
start passing around gold corn. And the story sounds familiar,

(08:05):
doesn't it. For Matthew tells a similar story with a
little bit more gentle ending, but not really much better.
And sometimes that's where we come up with stewardship sermons
about talents, but still those who have everything they're given

(08:27):
more and those who have been struggling the rug is
pulled out from under them. And both stories, this one
goes an extra step out of anger and out of
ego busting, if you will. This one declares everyone who
doesn't like me, you're treason us. You have done this,

(08:51):
get out of my sight, and the powers roll over
them and clears the way to make the one with
all the ego not have to feel there's any descent.
And then there are the three overseers. But I like

(09:16):
the third one the best. For the third one, perhaps
it's the most loyal to the ideas of what God
and God's around me be like. It's not one where
the power of the world gets its way. But sometimes

(09:39):
the subversive gospel, if you will, is lived out. Well,
you might give me this coin, but I am going
to wrap it up and put it to the side,
because I know how you are. If I invest it
and do well, i'll get more and you'll give me power.

(10:00):
But it's not the power I would want. So in
the subversive act, the narcissism of this royal is pushed
to the side, saying, I am not going to participate
in a system that puts all of God's creation under

(10:23):
your foot. Sometimes the Gospel, the Bible, we two are
called at times to be subversive. Now it comes in
different ways, my friends. Sometimes it's just standing up and
say I will go no further. If the world goes

(10:45):
this way, I'm going to go this way, for I
can see that the power of money, the power of politics,
isn't about having your way, but it's the power to
uplift those who are burdened. When I first read today's

(11:11):
reading from the Gospels, I wondered, or I thought, thank goodness,
we are not a church here where we end the
reading saying this is the word of God, and everyone
respond Thanks be to God, for I sort of rubbed
me a little the wrong way here, for this is

(11:32):
not what we usually preach and teach that if you
have more good for you, you're going to get more.
And if you are struggling, well, the struggle is going
to get harder. We believe in sort of balancing where
all God's people are involved. Yet here we are, and

(11:55):
I believe that Jesus is not quite in today's parable.
Jesus is not the one that goes off and asks
for power and comes back. Jesus is not the one
who invests. Jesus tells a story. For if we remember

(12:16):
from what we heard, Jesus moves out in his own
his way to Jerusalem. Now folks were expecting, with Palm
Sunday on the scene, that Jesus would be the royal
that would finally change the world. That Jesus tells them

(12:39):
his story to remind them that God's reign is not
like the human one, that Jesus will not be a
part of human schemes. And also I can almost feel

(13:02):
a bit of parody and sarcasm. And if you really
want sarcasm, if we put the reading from First Corinthians
in context, Paul is not praising the Corinthians. He's being
really sarcastic. Well, haven't you done really good? You're such

(13:28):
great supporters, but here we are in prison. You have
done so well, you've become so wise. Yet the ones
of living out the Gospel truth are suffering, my friends.

(13:53):
Cole Arthur Reiley, in her book Black Liturgies, Prayers, Poems
and Meditation for Staying Human, writes the following quote, You
are the descendant of a mystical force, subversive power. You
who are still breathing, dreaming. Do not exhaust yourself trying

(14:18):
to prove your humanity to those who have no interest
in remaining human themselves. Do not petition what's written in
your bones. Claimant an interior and creative power. As we
wave for the tyrants of this world to be cast
out at last, as we waive for compassion and care
to take her seat and push the world back on

(14:41):
its axis. Sometimes the cost of discipleship is really a cost.
Sometimes for some it has meant they have lost their lives.
Martin Luther, King, j Junior, Oscar Romero, women unnamed, people

(15:05):
who have stood there and dared go away. That would
not be God's will for humanity, My friends, What's the
cost for you. How far will you go? Well, you'd

(15:27):
be the one that might have some of the inheritance
of powers grasp, but you set it aside and you
give it back, for it's not of this world. And
my friends, you are not of the world as we
know it. You are the change agents.