Striving Beyond; Sermon for Sunday October 9th, 2016 by: Rev. Nicole A.M. Collins

Ok, the cat’s out of the bag as they say…  I have been praying upon and have finally decided to slowly but ever so slowly… begin writing a book taking a new perspective on Christian Existentialism. As some of you know, I was an existentialist before my conversion experience. This book that finally nagged me to DO; I am planning to call it: “A Theology Beyond The Self; A Christian Existential view of the New Nature.”  What jarred my thinking about planning and beginning my book was the important thesis to today’s scripture passages: In choosing to prayerfully live into the New Nature planted in the heart by Grace through faith—one must adopt and adhere to an “attitude of Gratitude.”

Being grateful is something in the Gospel that calls us to shed the bondage of the Old Nature and strive beyond the self to live and love God and neighbor.  It is a stewardship to the soul, that inner spiritual person, not earthly bound but spiritually and prayerfully bound to be expressed. The lepers in today’s Gospel were in bondage to their illness but what lies underneath, as an ongoing message to us all, is they needed to shed their attitudes. And as we saw, the one cured leper realizes what Christ gave him beyond what is physically apparent, but what Christ gave him spiritually, was what had him turn around to praise and thank Christ for, this was his newly found freedom!

We are human creatures this is so and that earthly, logical view we hold is as well, the Old Nature.  The Old Nature goes beyond being the remnant of Adam and Eve, our human wisdom and sense of “progress…”  The Old Nature is something Jesus takes on as the adversary to the Gospel of Grace he lived, gave and sacrificed for.  We are often led astray in thinking through the Old Nature, because it offers us the delusion of control and empty promises that feed the self or a better term yet, the ego. The ego is that sense of the self that wants to be the ultimate ruler of their own world.  Living into that all-consuming world of the self is creating an isolating spiritual death.  If it can’t be my way, what relevance is it to even do or become? What does anything matter outside of my world, my needs?

You could go so as far to say that this attitude could become destructive. It could become destructive enough to become something that tries and succeeds in destroying faith.  It is like being that motionless, empty eye of the hurricane we’ve been hearing about all week; Hurricane Matthew. We could metaphorically see the tentacles of the winds and rains, destroying and scarring the landscape of what could truly become the Kingdom of God in the here-and-now. This is what Christ Jesus has been trying to teach us in His Living, Life-Giving Word! He has been trying to teach us to live into truly being the children of Grace and Promise.

The fruits of the Kingdom of God are to naturally flow once we tear away those human-made chains we have placed upon ourselves to truthfully live into our faith.  Boldly living into our faith not as self-righteous zealots, mind you, but selfless, empowered servants to the beautiful Gospel of Grace that DOES set us free!  We are in a culture however that has acted more or less like marshal law against faith.  Faith has become the enemy by the ways and means of our intellectual divisiveness or “politics.”  The Old Nature, our “Old Adams and Eves” aspects of the self, want to control and suppress the freedom that the Gospel of Christ is truly trying to reveal and instruct us to incorporate.

Trying is a funny verb because in one sense to try is to be hopeful in applying one’s self to something that matters—a goal, purpose.  Trying could also be seen or felt in the context of our complex lives, as suffering to accomplish a goal or purpose. Straining one’s self beyond the self.  It isn’t natural, we are human creatures. We are more than easily swayed by the empty promises from the ruler of this world, our true spiritual adversary, Satan himself. 

The other night, Phil and I watched another episode from the new Exorcist series.  What was wild to see and think about was one scene in particular where the young teenage girl, the priest suspects has been compromised by a demonic force, actually acts out!  This scene was both intriguing as a person of faith as well as horrific.  While she was being harassed and physically groped by a young hoodlum on an el train, the demon comes to her, embraces her and enters in.  Upon entering her she is instantly endowed with super human strength and throws the would-be assaulter nearly across the train car floor.  She then races and looms over him proceeding to tear away his flesh, in order to tear out his heart and eventually his eyes from their sockets!  What I saw ironically from this gruesome scene is what the devil does seek to destroy within us spiritually.

As you know, I have preached many a sermon about the heart. The heart is the first church that the Holy Spirit does His work within us to transform, and spiritually grow in our faith, to realize the Kingdom of God in the here-and-now.  The heart needs vision, in order to see in more ways than one.  We need to see through the eyes of Christ to live faithfully into Grace as loving, serving, being—through that New Natured freedom Christ planted within us to reap!  The New Nature is that mustard seed planted within us to be reaped and grown into a mighty faith.  A mighty faith that branches out, limbs stretched in giving, living—beyond the self. 

Both of the metaphors I have used in this message could be seen as a part of that spiritual battle we daily deal with.  Do we choose to live and die unto our Old Natured ways, or do we choose Christ and that New Nature?  Do we choose real life?  Remember now, Jesus was a realist and an idealist in some senses.  For what is real life does include things we don’t understand or can control.  These things do cause suffering if we are unwilling to endure with a trusting and hopeful heart.  How we are in this earthly life can, could be destructive, if we allow ourselves to lose the battle.

Losing the battle is when we feel we can control not only ourselves but others. Examples from this past century saw the rise of socialism, atheism and consumerism. Losing the battle is losing sight on what really matters—loving God and neighbor through a giving, open faith. The eye of that hurricane, cannot see beyond those lashing walls of wind and rain that are spewing most destructively away from this isolated core.  This isolated core in relation to the self or ego is truly, spiritually blind.  The young teenage girl seeking comfort and rescue from her internal battles, centered around herself, seeks and invites the devil to embrace her pain and uses it to truly kill!

The Gospel, the Good News of Christ Jesus, whom we’ve been following for over 2,000 something years is neither cut and dry nor a cake-walk for the disciple to faithfully, intentionally adhere to, grow from.  This is the unpopular, radical, counter-cultural aspect of just what is the Christian faith!  It is certainly no health-wealth movement neither is it a justification movement for self-righteousness and the false “liberties” we feel entitled to. As Martin Luther once said in one form or another, we are not entitled to anything! St. Paul even said something greater: We all fall short of the glory of God. We were given the greatest gift and yet we are still even more ungrateful for it.  To fully live is living a life as a freely responsible servant of Christ.  Being and becoming that New Natured person planted within your heart to be reaped as a faith that strives beyond the self.

The people all along the eastern coast from Florida up to the Carolinas, are going to be dealing with horrible challenges as they come back to rebuild and renew.  Nature can be a destructive force but nothing that can’t be reckoned with as long as you have hope and trust in God. Let’s hear another statement of faith St. Paul wrote in Philippians (4:3):  “I can do all things through Christ Jesus, who indeed has strengthened me!”  My favorite Old Testament verse of hope, (Psalm 69:32) as well, finishes this thought: Let the oppressed (those in bondage to the world of the self) see it (your faith that is), and be glad; you who seek God—let your hearts revive!  Revive is to survive as we turn our hearts and eyes upon that cross and follow, breaking open those chains imprisoning a New freedom we have yet to fully realize!

Let us Pray—

Gracious and loving Lord Jesus,

Help us to strive beyond ourselves

For Your will and purposes

They are to give us the ways and means

To reveal Your Kingdom in the here-and-now

Help us from ourselves when our will becomes a destructive force

Against You and against our neighbor to our own death

May we truly reap that New Nature within us

It is Your Gospel, Your example above everything else

We need to faithfully, intentionally model

AMEN

October 9th, 2016; Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 23; Year C; SOLA Lectionary

Sermon By Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins

Psalm 111; Ruth 1:1-19a; 2 Timothy 2:1-13; Luke 17:11-19

 Below is a link to this sermon's delivery at the Grace Hub's House church service at 8am.
https://youtu.be/Y1LaSETd2Kw



Below is the link to the delivery at the Gathering North Church at 7pm
https://youtu.be/7-eydH-3dV8