Integrating our emotions and our expressions
08/30/2017
Matthew 23:27-32 Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear
beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every
kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are
filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of
the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we
would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.' Thus you bear
witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the
prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!"
Do you know what a “poker face” is? How many of you have
ever played poker? Good, I’m glad not many of your raised your hands! In this
card game you have 5 cards, and you have to guess what the other players may
have while you disguise your face and your emotions so others cannot tell what
you have in your hand. I don’t play poker but I love to watch a T.V. show called
“World Series of Poker,” where thousands of people try to win a million dollars
playing poker. You see characters like Doyle Brunson with his cowboy hat, and
Phil Helmuth cracking jokes, and the legendary Johnny Chan who no one wants to
mess with, and a guy called “the Unibomber” with a hoodie covering his head the
whole time. Scary dude. Do you know who always walks away with the million
dollar prize? It’s the person with the best poker face, the person who can hide
not only his or her cards well, but also hide their emotions well. You don’t
let your face reveal what’s in your heart or in your head. For instance, if you
get four Aces – a great hand – you don’t jump up and down doing your happy
dance. That means you don’t have a very good poker face, and you lose.
Now the look on your face is important not only in playing
poker but in real life. One day President Abraham Lincoln was interviewing
candidates for a cabinet position. One fellow had a great resume and seemed
eminently qualified for the position. When he left, Lincoln said to his aide:
“We won’t be hiring him.” The aide was surprised and asked, “Why not? He was
perfect!” Lincoln answered, “I didn’t like the look on his face.” He went on to
explain: “Every man over 40 years old is responsible for the look on his face.”
That man apparently did not have a very good poker face. In other words, the
look on our face can speak a lot louder than our lips. Abraham Lincoln was a
genius at reading people’s faces and therefore their hearts. The 16th president
would have been a great poker player.
In the gospel today, Jesus tells the Pharisees not to use
their poker faces with God. He criticizes them severely saying: “Woe to you
scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. On the outside you appear righteous, but
inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.” In other words, Jesus was
even better than Abraham Lincoln at reading faces and reading feelings. They
could not hide their hypocrisy from Jesus no matter how pretty they smiled,
even though they could fool everyone else with their poker face. Lincoln would
not have hired them for a cabinet position, and Jesus would not invite them to
be disciples.
Boys and girls, today I want you to think about the look on
your face, and the look on other people’s faces. There’s nothing more
fascinating than a human face. Do you know what expression your face wears
right now? For instance, A’Sence Farmer is falling asleep, Lauren Redding is
rolling her eyes right now, and Noah Ottman is picking his nose. No, I’m just
kidding, no one is doing those things. But teachers notice the look on your
face right away, and often know exactly how you’re feeling. Even though you try
to have a poker face, we can tell what’s in your heart by the look on your
face, just like Lincoln could and Jesus could.
Haven’t you also read the looks on other people’s faces,
even though you’ve never played poker? Has you mom or dad ever given you “the
look” when you knew you were in trouble. That look that said, “Son, I’m going
to rip your head off, jump down your throat and do a tap dance on your lungs!”
Mom or dad didn’t have to say a word; their face said it all. You know, they
tell us teachers this rule of thumb: “Never smile before Thanksgiving.” Why? So
your students know how serious you are. Teachers and students are reading each
other’s faces all the time.
Boys and girls, my point today is that we should integrate
our face with our feelings. What does that mean? Well, we need to avoid just
being pretty on the outside but being ugly on the inside. That’s the hypocrisy
that Jesus didn’t tolerate. On other hand, we should feel genuine love in our
hearts and then express that emotion on our faces. Have you watched all the
tragic flooding in Houston? Doesn’t that break your heart? We should show shock
and sadness on our faces; integrate your face and your feelings. When someone
you love is sick, like Mrs. Marsh, or someone dies, it’s okay to cry and
express your emotions, like anger and sadness. That’s not the time to play
poker and hide your feelings. When our volleyball team or football team wins,
when Emily Forsgren kicks a field goal, you should cheer loudly and not hide
your joy and excitement. Your face should show your feelings because the two
are well integrated.
Boys and girls, part of the education you receive at Trinity
is an education of your emotions. We teach you how to integrate your face and
your feelings so you don’t walk around like a zombie all the time. Sometimes
you need a good “poker face,” and sometimes you just need a good “human face” that
reflects the feelings in your heart. The hard part is knowing which face to
wear when.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
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