Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Pentecost 5

Pentecost 5 (Mark 5:21-43) “Do not fear, only believe.”

Jesus frequently contrasted fear with faith.

Faith is not magic. Magic is based in the false belief that by discovering some secret knowledge we can use that knowledge to acquire power over nature, other people, even God. Magical thinking is grounded in the distorted belief that the universe revolves around me. Many children have this belief. One developmental task we all share is to grow beyond this radical and impossible individualism.

Faith is not irrational. Modern people, both secular and religious, speak of faith in terms of individual opinion and irrational belief. Many people confuse wishful thinking or fanciful thinking with faith. We sometimes hear religious people say: you can’t explain it; you just have to believe it. Others react to this approach and equate superstition with religious faith.

Faith is not a blind leap into the dark. The invitation to faith comes from particular human beings such as Moses, the prophets, the apostles. The invitation is grounded in their observation of the world and their own personal experience of God at work in the world. Faith is a response to the world, other people and our own observations and experiences.

Faith is not individual. It is not solely and exclusively about me. It is personal and it is corporate. It exists in the context of a larger community and produces a result in the context of a larger community.
Moses and the prophets teach that God created us as particular members of a unified community. The poet priest John Donne commented on this aspect of humanity when he wrote: “no man is an island.” We are all interconnected, interdependent and interrelated.

The Bible is very clear: it does matter what you believe. It also matters how you believe. Belief produces an attitude about life that forms the choices we make.
Atheists sometimes compare faith in God with belief in leprechauns, Santa Claus and the Easter bunny. Faith is not the same as belief. People believe all sorts of things, some of which are irrational and have no basis in the world as we experience it. Belief is often a reaction to fear. Faith is relational. Faith is a response to love.

The individuals in the two stories in today’s gospel readings had many beliefs about themselves, other people and God. The woman experienced the failure of medicine to heal her. She had come to believe she was defined by her illness. She had lost hope and so she could not embrace faith.

The family of the dead girl believed dead was dead. Once you are dead there is no hope. Without hope there can be no faith.
The Real Presence of the love of God in Jesus challenged these beliefs. By his own actions Jesus offered a new set of possibilities. That new set of possibilities offered a glimmer of hope.

For the woman, hope produced faith. It was not an abstract intellectual faith. It was not an irrational superstition. It certainly was not some secret knowledge that would produce power. It was Jesus.

The woman heard of Jesus. She observed his actions. She heard his words. She concluded that the physical evidence was overwhelming. Jesus healed people. In fact, Jesus healed everyone who came to him.

She still lived with many false beliefs. Those false beliefs shaped her view of God, other people and herself. Those false beliefs produced fear. She feared offending the dignity and majesty of Divine Perfection with her problem. She feared offending the social conventions of the time that prohibited a woman from approaching a man, speaking to him, touching him. She feared the religious law that defined her as being ritually unclean because her illness involved bleeding. She feared that she was too lost in sin to merit healing.

Jesus inspired hope that despite these fear based beliefs she could be healed. The woman overcame her beliefs as she looked at Jesus. She moved beyond belief and surrendered her fear as she embraced faith.

She placed her faith, her abiding trust, in a person not a program, a law or an institution. It was still a faith mixed with the distortions of false belief and fear of punishment. But, it was enough. She secretly touched the hem of Jesus’ robe and she was instantly healed.

She had reached out in faith and entered into the Real Presence of Faith. The Real Presence of faith is Jesus himself.

Jesus completes the healing when he publically proclaims she is well. This is a vital step forward in faith. Faith is not just individual or private. Belief can be individual and private. Faith is public. It is corporate. It is a new life and a new way of living in a set of three primary relationships.

The woman entered into that new life as she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. She began the new way of living as Jesus said to her publically for all the crowd to hear: Go in peace. Walk in peace. Live in peace.

What beliefs undermine your faith? What beliefs have you grown up with and chosen to accept into your mind and heart and will that result in fear? Where do you confuse individual private belief with a personal and public faith in the Living Lord Jesus Christ?

It does matter what you believe. Jesus invites us to make a real choice to embrace faith. Jesus himself is the subject of faith. As the subject of faith Jesus meets us in our deepest need and darkest fear. It is there that Jesus reminds us: Do not fear, only believe.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Pentecost 4

Pentecost 4 (Mark 4:35-41) Why are you afraid?

Fear is one of three consequences of separation.

Fear, self-will and pride are three ways a separated soul reacts to the world of cause and effect. Pride is the attitude that claims perfect knowledge of the world, other people and God. Pride creates rigid, inflexible and uncompromising ways of thinking.

Pride creates a demand that finds expression in self-will. Self-will is the will to power. It is grounded in the willful false belief in perfect knowledge. Only a soul in separation from God could make such a foolish assertion. Only a soul in separation from God would attempt to live from the place of demand. Only the soul in separation from God chooses to cultivate the individual will to power.

The voice of the will to power is: do it my way. Do it my way – or else.
It should be obvious that human beings cannot possibly have perfect knowledge. St. Paul states: now we know in part. We can only know in part. Only God can fully and completely and perfectly know.

Since no human being can actually have perfect knowledge, the assertion of the individual will to power through pride always leads to fear. The Bible records how this process manifests in human history and in the lives of individuals, families and nations.

The fear that Jesus addresses in this passage is the fear that is generated from the place of original separation from God.

There are two other fears human beings experience in the world as it is now. In this world, the world of duality and the world of cause and effect, there is also the fear of death and the fear of God.

The fear of death is the recognition of mortality. It is part of the instinct for self-preservation in the face of a threat. And, it is a distortion of the delight in life. As the emotional force behind self-preservation, this kind of fear has a value in the world as it is now. In its positive aspect it is the respect for our own limitations in the world of cause and effect.

None of us has perfect knowledge. None of us is all powerful. All of us are subject to natural law and spiritual law.

The recognition of and respect for natural law and spiritual law is helpful in understanding the third form of fear. That form is reverence. It is what the Biblical writers refer to as “the fear of the Lord.” As a concept it is almost absent in modern culture. It remains only as a negative pleasure in the term: irreverent. As respect is the proper response to the universal laws of cause and effect so reverence is the proper response to the real presence of God in the universe.

The fear the disciples experienced was a distortion of both respect for natural law and reverence for God. This fear was not a response but a reaction. A response is always grounded in faith, hope and love. A reaction is always grounded in fear, self-will and pride.

The disciples had chosen to follow Jesus. They had listened to his teaching in amazement. But they had not heard his words, believed his words, or accepted his words.

They had witnessed Jesus performing amazing miracles. They also missed the meaning in the miracles. They saw power. They were attracted to the power. They wanted Jesus to use his power to destroy their enemies and reward them and their friends.

They walked with Jesus, spoke with him, shared meals with him, camped out at night with him. They were so close to Jesus. And they were so far away from him. They still missed the reality that they were lost in separation. They still functioned from the assumptions of separation. They still assumed that right knowledge produced divine rewards. Those rewards involved the ability to impose their will on other people, nature and even God.

Most of the disciples were fisherman. They had witnessed many storms. They had experienced many storms. As with so many other religious people of their time, they interpreted the damage and loss of life from a storm as Divine wrath.

What was different about this storm was the presence of Jesus. They believed Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed of God. Anointed with power to reward his friends and punish his enemies. The storm challenged this belief. Suddenly, natural law intruded on their individual fantasy of knowledge and power. Suddenly, Jesus was not manipulating the law of cause and effect to protect them.

They feared. It was a fear rooted in the pride that led them to believe they were immune to natural law. It was a fear rooted in their own will to power that placed a demand on God to protect and prosper them in exchange for their choice to follow the Messiah.

Jesus identifies the root of their fear. He asks them: “ Have you still no faith?” Have you heard my words, observed my actions, enjoyed my friendship and still lack trust? Do you really think the world revolves around you? Do you really think our Heavenly Father will suspend the laws of cause and effect for your individual benefit? And, do you really think that in the world of duality, of pleasure and pain, of joy and sorrow, of life and death- that I am not with you always?

Jesus stilled the storm that day with a word: Peace. Shalom. Be still.
In an instant the storm ceased. The disciples were more than happy. They were more than impressed. They were in awe. They were amazed. What Jesus had done was unprecedented. For the moment, the disciples simply sat in his presence and wondered. Who is he?

It is a good question.

One honest question will lead to one universal truth. Jesus is the personal real presence of God.

Jesus did not wield divine power. He did not have perfect knowledge. He embodied steadfast holy unconditional love.

In his divine nature Jesus is the pattern of this universe of cause and effect. Jesus is the uncaused cause of natural law and spiritual law. Jesus does not exercise power to suspend natural law. He is the very source of natural law. All things have existence form and function through him. And he is the center and ground of all things.

Faith in Jesus sets us free from our own pride that we are the center of the universe. Faith in Jesus sets us free from our own self-will that demands God to suspend natural law to reward us with power and the ability to impose our will on other people, nature and even our own souls.

Jesus is that perfect love that sets us free to live by faith in hope that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord. Love sets us free from fear. Love transforms pride into respect and self-will into reverence.

We are not the center of the universe. Jesus is. And, Jesus invites us into a personal relationship with God through a forever friendship with him.

Why do you fear? Who or what do you fear? How has separation distorted your expectations of God, other people and natural law? How does your fear produce a non-negotiable uncompromising demand of God and other people?

Jesus invites you to name that fear. As you name the fear offer your mind and heart and will to Jesus to be transformed by the Real Presence of Divine love.
Jesus says: why are you afraid? Peace. Be still. Know that I am God your forever friend. I am with you always.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Pentecost 6

Pentecost 6 (Mark 4:26-34) “With what can we compare the Kingdom of God?”

The Kingdom of God is like nothing any one ever expects.

Nobody expected the Messiah to follow the path Jesus followed. Nobody expects the Kingdom of God to be the Real Presence of Divine love and compassion.

Religious and secular people alike expect the Kingdom of God to manifest institutionally in programs and policies. We expect the Kingdom to be like the kingdoms we create. We want the Kingdom to manifest with divine knowledge and power to fix the problems and, if we are honest, to impose our will on other people, nature and our own frailty.

We expect and demand the Kingdom to be the perfection of our individual needs and desires in one pure political and economic system.

This is not the Kingdom of God. This is the kingdom of self will, fear and pride. Self-will that says: do it my way. Pride that says: I know what is best for me, for you and for everyone. Fear that somehow other people will subvert the perfect will of God in the perfect Kingdom of God. Fear that produces inflexible uncompromising demand backed by the threat of punishment.

One of my favorite bumper sticker quotes is: God so loved the world that he did not send a committee. One of my favorite seminary jokes is: any committee of four Episcopalians will issue a report with five different opinions.

The Kingdom of God is none of these things. Not only is the Kingdom of God not anything that we can imagine, it is not anything that we initially want.

The truth that humans reject the Kingdom of God when we actually experience it is in the observation of dozens of people recorded in the Bible. And, it is most vividly revealed in the condemnation, torture and execution of Jesus Christ.

The Kingdom of God can only be expressed in parables, stories drawn from human experience. It can only be expressed in this fashion because the Kingdom of God emerges from a personal relationship with the person God sent into the world to bring forth the Kingdom. That person is Jesus Christ.

In these parables, Jesus describes the organic quality of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is about life. It is about the humble beginning of all life. It is about the process of growth and maturation. It is so unassuming that it is easy to dismiss. It is so powerful in its gradual manifestation that we can draw back in confusion and fear.
Preeminently, the Kingdom of God is a personal relationship with the infinite and eternal God. It is God who initiates the relationship. It is God who seeks us and finds us. God seeks us and finds us by uniting our humanity with His Divinity in a single individual: Jesus Christ.

The categories of the Kingdom are principles of relationship. Among those principles are choice, response, time, attention, affection, loyalty, change, growth maturation.
The Kingdom of God is the transformation of human beings in the Real Presence of God manifesting in our world, among our species and within our own souls through the co-eternal Beloved of God, Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God is the gift of God to all people, in all places at all times.

The Kingdom of God is like the scattering of seed on the ground. It is an active dynamic process that is both universal and particular, both fundamental and personal. It is life giving and life transforming. It is slow, steady, incremental and filled with surprises and delights.

The Kingdom of God can be compared to the dynamic inter relationship of the Trinity who is the pattern for all human relationships.

The Kingdom of God can only be compared to the ordinary processes of life that God designed into the universe according to the pattern, plan and purpose of life. That pattern, plan and purpose is the logos, the co-eternal Word of God.

As with the Word Himself, the Kingdom of God is supple, adaptable, gentle and courageous. It is the infinite life of the co-eternal Beloved of the Infinite God manifesting in the particular life of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus offering to you His forever friendship.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Pentecost 2

Pentecost 2 (Mark 3:20-35) “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

The will of God is steadfast holy unconditional love.

The will of God is that simple. The will of God is that difficult.
Since the will of God is love the reality of Divine Will emerges in relationships. The One God Himself is a relationship of three distinct and co-eternal persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In this passage we hear from three sets of individuals. We see how they react to the Will of God revealed and made flesh in Jesus Christ.

The first group of individuals is the crowd. They press hard on Jesus. They insist he be present to them at all times and in all ways to meet their needs and their demands. They react to Jesus in the context of a bargain. They offer their submission to him in exchange for his submission to them.\

The second group is the extended family of Jesus. This includes his mother and his brethren: nephews, nieces, cousins, and according to tradition the adult children of Joseph by Joseph’s first wife. According to tradition, Joseph was a widower with young children when his family contracted with Mary’s family for them to marry.

It is important to remember and to ponder that in Biblical times and in most times until very recently, the basic unit of society was the extended family. Jesus’ family hears how the crowds press on Jesus and make incessant demands on Jesus such that he cannot eat or sleep. Mary and the extended family come to offer Jesus a way out. The way out is an escape from the crowds. The way out is to withdraw from the responsibility of being the Messiah.

The third group is a section of the religious leadership. They are the scribes. They hold the scriptures and interpret the scriptures. They react to Jesus with fear that produces aggression. They view the scene with the crowd as a threat to their position and power. They accuse Jesus of being in league with Satan.

The crowds react with a bargain of submission to get what they want. The family reacts with the promise of withdrawal back into the safety of obscurity. The religious leadership reacts from fear with aggression.

What are they reacting to? Why are they engaged in such melodrama?
The answer is very simple: Jesus healed people.

Jesus healed everyone who came to him. He healed men and women. He healed adults and children. He healed Jews and Gentiles. He healed rich and poor, slave and free, notorious sinners and the well-respected righteous. He healed everyone who came to him and his success rate was 100%

At a time when only the very rich who lived in the big cities of the Roman Empire could afford healthcare, Jesus healed everyone. And, everyone who experienced the healing, saw the healing or heard of the healing came to the same conclusion. He’s got the power.

The crowds wanted Jesus to use the power to meet their needs and fulfill their demands. The family wanted Jesus to give up the power and come home. The religious authorities feared the power and wanted to kill him so they falsely accused him of being a Satanist.

Jesus did not heal by power, or knowledge. Jesus healed by love.

This may seem strange for us to hear. In our culture love is associated with self-indulgent sentiment. Even in Jesus’ day people paid lip service the insights of Moses and the Prophets who taught about the reality of steadfast holy unconditional love.

Pagan philosophers had accurately described four basic levels of love. Most people then, as now, were stuck in the first level: infatuation.

The love Jesus brought into the world is the very nature of the infinite and eternal God. That love is the essence of the One God who is three persons. Jesus just doesn’t speak of Divine Love or demonstrate Divine love, He is that love. Jesus is the co-eternal Beloved of the Eternal Love of God made flesh in a particular person at a particular time and place in human history.

Jesus offers us the invitation to respond to that love. He came and he continues to come with his arms wide open and the single word: “Come”

Jesus does not seek our submission to Law. He does not ask us to withdraw from this sinful and broken world. He absolutely does not authorize aggression through fear and anger to impose an inflexible and uncompromising religious or secular ideology on people. Jesus is the co-eternal Beloved who invites us to surrender to the joyful embrace of Eternal love.

In that embrace we experience reunification with God. In that embrace we recognize that God has been seeking for us all of our lives. In that embrace we discover that God finds us in Jesus. God finds us by love, through love and for love.

That love is personal. That love expresses himself in three primary relationships: the relationship with God through worship, the relationship with other people through compassion, kindness and civility, and the relationship with our true identity in Christ as the beloved of the co-eternal Beloved.

The crowds, the family, and the religious leaders missed the message. They saw only power. In that vision of power they reacted from the place of fear that produced submission, withdrawal and aggression.

Jesus himself is the message. Jesus himself is the Divine Will and the Divine word made flesh. The message is the relationship. So it is that Jesus invites all people into a new life and a new way of living by entering into a new relationship.
The Will of God is for all of us and each of us to be the forever friend, brother and sister of the living Lord of Love, Jesus Christ.