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Heard a funny dialogue on the radio this past week in regards to teaching children. They were talking about initial instruction on ethics with young children. Ethics in today’s day and age is both very secular as well as limited to political correctness. The radio host went on to say what a blessing it was to teach the concept of liking someone or something to her young impressionable daughter.
In that same train of thought I was wondering if she
would then be teaching her to be “tolerant” in the same breath. Now don’t get
me wrong, the concept of “like” as well as the concept of “tolerance” is ok but
they both only go so far don’t they? What about love and acceptance? Sounding like St. Paul here but—“What then
are we to say?” To add to his train of thought—what then are we to BE and DO if
we can’t go there? What do I mean by that—that we can’t or wouldn’t broach the
subject essentially with a ten foot pole!
The New Nature is a great threat to the ego as well as to
the established culture and gospel of the un-holy trinity of I, Me & Mine!
But if we can’t go there in truly loving God and neighbor… are we not then failing
the Gospel? The Gospel given as a gift
of redemption to God’s children of Grace and Promise in hopes that we live
into, put on, and step boldly into that New Nature and its future!
Living into truthfully that is, the New Nature, is going
to be violent. What do I mean in saying
that? Violent in the sense of, or to speak in cultural terms, something I
believe in: Political correctness must die!
Violent in the other sense that we are being compelled with anticipation
by the Gospel of Christ to lay down the ego as a sacrifice—a humble and willing
propitiation to the Sovereign Lord who gave His life on that mercy seat to save
us from the unquenchable fires….
The season or times of contemplation that Epiphany brings
us is not only beginning to see the true nature of ministry for all of us as
the priesthood of all believers, but to see God’s ministry on our behalf to
enact inner transformation. To change
inwardly threatens the ruler of this world’s hold upon us that is all about
us! How can we love God and neighbor
truly and truthfully if we limit and control how much or how far we are willing
to give? Isn’t this the nature of faith,
discipleship in the first place?
The voice of God is still speaking… however, whether we choose
to listen is the battle ground. Some
listen but hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest—sound familiar? That last sentence reminded me of the old
Simon and Garfunkel song—“The Boxer.” It’s
funny how a lot of ‘60’s songs inadvertently have Christian motifs to them such
as this one.
The song begins to paint the story of the boxer’s life
like our daily battle between the ego and God’s will: “I have squandered my
resistance… For a pocketful of mumbles. Such are promises—All lies and jest—still,
a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.”
Another excerpt from the song take us into the violence
of the inward battle itself: Now the years are rolling by me
They are rocking evenly—And I am older than I once was, and
younger than I'll be… but that's not unusual…
No, it isn't strange, after changes upon changes—We are
more or less the same…” What this is
saying in essence confesses that we are not perfect, we are both saint and
sinner—we can however, aspire beyond ourselves… This is really scary and truly
sacrificial!
We find ourselves at times struggling in our faith,
through this life as disciples of Jesus a lot like the Boxer in this song for
we struggle to stand firm for the Gospel, for Christ: “In the clearing stands a
boxer—And a fighter by his trade, and he carries the reminders of every glove
that laid him down, and cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame: "I
am leaving, I am leaving" But the fighter still remains…”
The Old Nature wants you to surrender… not to Christ mind
you, but for the sake of the self since once again echoing St. Paul’s haunting
words: “1What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order
that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to
sin go on living in it?” When we can’t
stretch beyond ourselves yet alone for the love and mercy of the God of Grace—we
justify ourselves and all that we do and say for a graceless gospel written for
the world & its ruler--Satan!
We’re no longer hearing the voice of God ascribe to our
hearts a faithful calling towards inward change and kingdom thinking… We’ve
started a ministry with no purpose, in fact a new nothin’ that’s what we’ve
started—the beginning to the end.
Jesus Gospel is simple in some senses here: Why not a New beginning where the end results
are the spiritual gifts from this New Nature?
Why not teach your child something far greater to aspire towards? What about loving your neighbor? What about loving a stranger with kindness,
compassion, mercy, meekness? Or an even greater uncontrollable, threatening
concept: What about accepting over tolerance?
Harboring a “hermeneutic of faith” (which hermeneutic is
just a fancy 12 dollar word for perspectives of understanding…) does stir up
violence because it goes against the comfort and control the world according to
ourselves desires to fester within.
Religious extremists such as ISIS, have distorted this into another
direction justifying their evil acts against neighbor in the guise of the “will
of God…” Those harboring a hermeneutic or perspective of understanding grounded
to culture and the world justify their accomplishments and ego over and above
the will of God where His genuine Gospel becomes a side note to their agenda
and self-righteousness.
How then can we understand Christ and His gift to us if
we are tempted to fall into these categories? Just what have we baptized our
lives into? A commitment to only going
so far, to being “politically correct” or being graceless and violent for a
cause unto itself. We are on that
thrashing floor, people! Are we to gather or scatter & perish!?
Ministry can’t be done self-contained as an island unto
ourselves! Christ Jesus Gospel’ the ministry He has commissioned us to isn’t
about institution or buildings… It is
building the Kingdom of God first through inward transformation then outwardly
as sharing—loving neighbor with His Word for the sake of Him who died for us!
That voice of John the Baptist crying out into the
wilderness of our lives to prepare the Way of the Lord did not do that in
vain. He did that as commissioned by God
to herald and teach others of the coming of something, someone wonderful into
our world we still have yet to fully, spiritually realize: Jesus Christ, the
Messiah! And even then, Christ Jesus greatest gift was yet to be truly revealed
through Grace—the New Nature.
It took a man’s conversion to see clearly and live
clearly into that perspective of faith to reveal that our battle is very real
spiritually… St. Paul understood this as
the battle between the Old and the New Nature.
By the time of Luther, when the church had solidified into an
institution hardened to the truth of the Gospel yet alone working towards a
goal beyond itself… Luther had to reflect on what his heart saw in St. Paul’s
poignant words to realize what we must DO and BE. We must freely be, become
servants responsible to the Gospel—dead to the law and alive into a New law—Love.
Just like the radio host mother beginning to teach her
child a sense of “how to respond,” we need to truthfully, intentionally respond
but with the Gospel according to, centered in, grounded by and for Christ
Jesus, the Lord—period! No matter where the world places you in their eyes…
whether you feel like that battered boxer in the middle of a deserted field
still keeping on, moving forward even when you heart is weary and breaking… It MUST go on!
For that little cross you hold centered and above your
heart is the fuel and mystery of life—passion for something far greater than
what the world could ever offer!
Something more precious than any trivia, and trinket the ego can or
could inflate… Truth be told if the
ruler of the world had his way—we’d all be living a lie—in the throws of
delusions of grandeur for an empty gospel and a life of purely “being” and
nothingness.
Let us Pray,
God of Grace, mercy and compassion
You took that seat of mercy for our behalf
Help our hearts to realize the greatest gift given
Help our hearts to truly reap the New Nature
For the Love and Glory of Your Gospel
And for the Love of our neighbors
May we build up a foundation steeped in Hope
Lived intentionally for a greater goal, a far greater
purpose
For Your most Holy and Precious Name’s sake—
AMEN
January 10th,
2016; Baptism of Our Lord; Year C; SOLA Lectionary
Sermon by
Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins, pos FODM
Psalm 29;
Isaiah 43:1-7; Romans 6:1-11 & Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
The link below is from the sermon being delivered at the Grace Hub's house church service at 8am:
https://youtu.be/IdOYRW7Mxik
https://youtu.be/IdOYRW7Mxik
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