Friday, November 22, 2013

The Reign of Christ?

Proper 29, Year C

Jeremiah 23:1-6             
Luke 1:68-79                  or         Psalm 46
Colossians 1:11-20                                            
Luke 23:33-43   
 
The last Sunday of the three year liturgical cycle presents us with a rather surprising image – Jesus crucified on a cross between two other condemned men.  This Sunday is often referred to as "the Reign of Christ."  What we expect after three years of Gospel lessons about our King is someone sitting victoriously on a high throne, ruling the world in all glory and power. Instead, we see what appears to be a broken man, suspended between two others who can't agree about who this person between them is.
 
Why are we presented with this image from the Passion experience as the culminating lesson after three years? Perhaps the explanation can be found not on a throne in some far away kingdom, but at the core of every human heart.
 
Let's remember the key messages from many of the previous Gospel lessons: God is love itself; God dearly loves us; God came to earth through Christ to show us what God is like, and to teach us how to live; God wants us to be loving, too, and have a personal relationship with Him. 
 
But love has to be a choice, or it cannot be love.  And to have a choice, we had to be given free will to make that choice.  With that free will, however, also comes the possibility that we will make some bad choices.  So, a tension arises within us, a tug-of-war between doing the will of God and all the worldly forces that sometimes hold us hostage. 
 
Internally, we are pressured by our survival and procreation instincts; because we are contained within human flesh, we seek safety and comfort, we want security and power, and we want to experience the pleasures this world has to offer.  These things are not evil, because they are part of who we are as flesh and bones. 
 
It's how we manage them that can create or avoid problems, which is often greatly influenced by external forces.  We are shaped by the norms of our culture, marketing propaganda, peer pressure, social illusions, and past personal experience – all of which may press against our spiritual values, morals, and the conscience of our God-given soul.
 
The soul part of us often struggles with the worldly part of us.  This is a battle we fight all of our lives.  It's what makes us human, and what helps us to grow as children of God, especially when we deal with this tension in a proper way. 
 
The two condemned men hanging on the opposite sides of Jesus represent the two sides of this battle.  One of them joined in what the crowd was saying: "If you are the Messiah, save yourself!  If you are the King, save yourself!" And they mocked and scoffed at Jesus.  Our false self can easily accuse, reject, deny and disconnect from the truth. It's our worldly side getting the better of us, covering up our true self and our true identity – creating a world of darkness.
 
The other man represents our soul side. This man could see deeply, he could see the truth, and he was humble.  Full of openness, understanding, and compassion, he surrendered himself to Jesus: "Remember me when you come into your kingdom."  As St. Paul wrote in Colossians 1, "He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us in to the kingdom of His beloved Son..."
 
And there, in the middle of this personal struggle inside each of us, is Christ.  Arms outstretched to bring the two sides together, he is always present between the tension of our worldly self and our true soul.  He is the mediator that knows and understands what we face as humans. He is the instrument of God to heal us, to bring us peace, to make us whole.  Not there to accuse, condemn or punish, but ever-present to unite, redeem, and refresh.
 
The Reign of Christ is not on some throne in a far away kingdom, but rules within our very heart.  He stands in the midst of our troubles and personal sorrows, mending and resting, healing and soothing.
 
The psalmist writes, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth itself should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea...The Lord of Hosts is with us...Be still and know that I am God."

Thursday, November 14, 2013

When Kingdoms Collide

Proper 28, Year C

Isaiah 65:17-25              or         Malachi 4:1-2a
Isaiah 12:1-6                  or         Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13                                      
Luke 21:5-19     
 
The presence of God’s love and wisdom in this world has always created a tension at some level.  Even Jesus said that his arrival here would bring trouble: “Don’t think that peace follows me to earth; it’s not peace that comes, but a sword.”  (Matthew 10:34)   This is not what one normally imagines would happen upon the arrival of the Lamb of God, the Great Shepherd. But even for him, this tension resulted in his execution on the cross.

So, why is there such tension in the world at the presence of God in Jesus, even today?  We find the core of the answer in Isaiah, when he writes, “And God said, ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”  (Isaiah 55:8-9)

God is love, and God creates out of love.  God wants us to be loving, too.  But love can only exist when it’s a choice, and that means there must be free will to make that choice.  With free will, however, comes the possibility that bad choices will be made – choices that stem from things that cloud the soul, such as avarice, arrogance, power, wealth, prejudice, fear, and illusions.  These ways are not God’s ways.

Historically, and even in today’s world, many of mankind’s social, economic, political, and religious systems are based on these bad choices.  As a result, we end up with poverty, famine, diseases, unfair discrimination, economic inequality, waste, wars, and pollution.  Some people benefit greatly at the expense of others by creating the power to nurture these lop-sided conditions. But these systems are sustained only when those controlling them maintain the power to do so.  Change begins to happen when those who are oppressed are empowered to act. 

This is where the tension emerges.  Those in power (who do not want change to happen) strongly oppose those that do want the change.  Current power structures are threatened; those in power could lose prestige, wealth, power, and visibility (all things of the dysfunctional ego).  So they fight back, not realizing what the truths in life really are.  It turns into a battle between egos versus hearts. 

Jesus brought us a message of love that was welcomed by many people, but despised by others.  Ultimately, his opponents arranged a mock trial and got him executed.  But, as we know, even that didn’t stop him from promoting God’s love.  And it shouldn’t stop us either!  As Jesus stated in Luke 21, “You may be hated by all because of my Name.  But not a hair of your head will perish.  By your endurance you will gain your souls.” 

Regardless of what happens to us, “all will be well,” as Julian of Norwich reminds us.  We may suffer some trials and tribulations, but in the end, God will bring us to complete restoration and refreshment in His kingdom. 

As Jesus and his disciples walked past the temple, “adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God,” Jesus predicted that not one of the stones will be left upon another – all would be thrown down.  This lead to a description of what we often think of as the “end times.”  Perhaps this is the final period of change, when Christ returns to establish what Isaiah calls “new heavens and a new earth.” (Isaiah 65:17)  The eternal tension between mankind and God comes to a final resolution, and a new world order is instituted for all our good for all time.

But we don’t know when these end times will be.  In the meantime, we have work to do here.  We must continue to fight the good fight of love.  And the best way to do this is to become the person you were truly meant to be, and to live your life to its fullest. 

Each of us has been given some special gifts, talents, interests, and skills.  Our main task is to find out what these are, and then use them to our fullest.  Each person contributes to the overall good of God’s plan, regardless of what he or she does, as long as it’s being who were truly were made to be.  We must learn to appreciate gifts not only in ourselves, but in others as well.  Just because we have differences does not mean some are better and some are worse.  They are all important to God!

Did you know that stopping to admire the beauty of a flower, or to appreciate its fragrance, is creating admiration and appreciation in this world?  This is a wonderful creative gift that some people have!

Did you know that offering someone a smile or a kind word strengthens the invisible connections we have between each other, thus creating a stronger family of God?  How powerful this talent of creation is!

Did you know that offering a prayer for someone else can actually create a new life in that person (or even in yourself)!  The Kingdom grows stronger through this gift!

Don't measure your gifts and skills based on mankind’s standards.  Remember that God’s ways are higher than our ways.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Are Marriages Made in Heaven?

Proper 27, Year C
 
Haggai 1:15b-2:9                                   or         Job 19:23-27a
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21     or Psalm 98     or         Psalm 17:1-9
2 Thess. 2:1-5, 13-17                                         
Luke 20:27-38   
 
The Sadducees were part of a Jewish religious group active during the time of Jesus' ministry.  They were associated with the upper social and economic classes of the time, and managed the Temple activities.  They generally didn't believe in the resurrection of the body, or even that a person had a soul, and therefore sometimes clashed with Jesus.
 
In Luke 20 we encounter another example of this.  They challenged Jesus again, this time pressing him with a somewhat sarcastic question about marriage in the afterlife.  They asked him about a woman who married seven times in her earthly life and, after her earthly death, "Whose wife shall she be in the resurrection?"
 
Jesus squashed their challenge with a simple response stating that marriage was a human institution, and not something that is needed in the time of resurrection.  It's something people do in this life, but not in the next.  Why?  Because in the next life we will all be considered as brothers and sisters – children of the one God – and won't be marrying anyone.  It just won't be necessary.
 
Marriage is indeed a human institution, and took many forms throughout history.  Even today there are many types of marriage.  Some cultures allow polygamous marriage, some allow inter-racial marriages, some allow same-sex marriages.  In some cultures, marriages are arranged by force.  Other marriages are created to simply designate who belongs to whom, as one would hold title to property.  Many cultures prohibit marriages between close relatives for genetic reasons.  Others simply arrange them for political reasons or for succession of property.
 
Jesus was in no way diminishing the value of a good marriage when he answered the Sadducees.  In fact, he knew that good marriages add much to a culture, and serve to strengthen a society, not to mention the value it can have for one's immediate family. 
 
But Jesus was trying to keep things in perspective.  There is a much larger marriage going on, a marriage between God and all His children, bringing them into a much larger family.  This is a marriage of our spirits – our souls – a blessed union that lasts forever.  By pointing this out to the Sadducees, he was also emphasizing that people do, indeed, have souls.  His exclamation point to the Sadducees was, "God is not God of the dead, but of the living; for to Him all of them are alive."
 
It would benefit all of us if we could start viewing ourselves in this life as the brothers and sisters we'll be in the next.  It has always been God's intent to bring His kingdom to earth, and that's what we pray for when we offer the Lord's Prayer: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
 
If a marriage here on earth can bring two people (any two people) closer to God, and helps these two people build a loving relationship with each other (which, in turn, helps them to learn how to love their neighbor), then we are stepping out of bounds if we stand in their way.  It is, after all, a small reflection of a much bigger family reunion that is coming soon!
 
From the inside out, we are all in the same family of God.  We are all interconnected as brothers and sisters. That's why we sometimes call each other "brother" or "sister".  When we call ourselves "Brother" or "Sister" it's a reminder for us to know our place in life – not above anyone else; not beneath anyone else.  It should be a humbling reminder. 
 
How much would this world change if we could greet the stranger as a family member?