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It was Saint Augustine of Hippo who said: "What is here
required is not a bodily action, but an inward disposition. The sacred seat
virtue is the heart." What he actually said this for was in regard to what
became known as a “Just War Theory” which has its origins with the philosopher
Aristotle, of all people. This is truly though the Christian understanding of a
“Just War.” Why did this come into my frame of thoughts when I began reflecting
on All Saints Day? Is it the fact that the church's history is one built on the
blood and bones of thousands of Martyrs? Or is it more or less the spiritual
war that is really being brought out with Jesus commandments of agape love to His
disciples…
I must confess every year that the scriptures come around on
this particular day I love preaching on His Beatitudes or pretty much anything from
The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus thoughts are truly what one would consider to be
beautiful. We are to look upon our Lord as truly a beautiful and perfect
example that we are to model our lives after. Well its been two thousand something
years later and look where we're at? Yes, and that is kind of bringing in some
of the bad news… but there is always that great four-letter word that comes
right after that and that's called HOPE!
I thought of that wonderful and terrible movie that came out
as a very dark comedy in 1989 featuring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas in
the ‘War of the Roses.’ It's a really ugly comedy of disturbing violence, nasty
words, “creative anger” and everything basically as nasty as you can get as a
bitter expression of a love gone stale and rotten. I daresay I was tempted to
spend $3.99 on YouTube to watch the nearly 2-hour movie but then I remembered
enough that I chose not to see it. I chose not to see the people creatively
trying to kill one another to keep their house, to keep the little item which
is an ironic element of what a marriage is to create: the home.
What's ironic here is where we think of God's turf war in
our heart. We naturally rebel against God and that rebellion happens where it's
not necessarily a physical Rebellion mind you, it's truly a spiritual one it is
in the heart. We are battling our Old Nature or evil’s influence upon us versus
our New Nature potential—which is Heavenly divine Perfection and so on and so
forth. Here's the earth-shattering reality: if you're not aware of it yet
but we are certainly nowhere near perfection. In fact, probably the mold has
been broken on us more than by Adam and Eve but by our own laundry list of evil
things that we have thought, done, belched or “let loose” in the world that we
should have kept to ourselves.
We are never alone though. This is something that faith
teaches us in a very beautiful way. When you start to really conscientiously
become aware of God working in your life, you begin to know that the Holy Spirit
is most certainly and profoundly alive and well in your very heart, in your
very soul. Who is also in there, though stirring up the muck and mire of our
willfulness versus being willing to be obedient, is evil. Some of the most
self-righteous people I've ever encountered in my life turn out to be profoundly
evil. This evil is stirred up when they don't allow God to work in their heart
and they don't want to admit it, keeping it bottled up inside what's wrong.
I've never seen an actual “War of the Roses” in my
experiences of counseling others… The
movie is obviously a very dark satire on a bitter, failed, broken and dead love
between two former professionals. The home meant nothing more than their acquired
place that they feel they have earned. You get the impression that it wasn't coming
from a “New Nature place” there it was coming from a material place: “This is
my castle, get out!” Basically, that's what the character of Michael Douglas
and Kathleen Turner would be doing to one another. They just weren't successful
in getting rid of each other. They both suffered the consequences in the end.
Perhaps we could say that our human condition is a no-win
situation. Perhaps people out there in different faiths that preach a health
wealth gospel in some senses think Christians are nuts. We have to live in
hopefulness by suffering, by living through our valleys and by continuing to
fight the good fight of faith. Our human nature wants to see this as an actual war
but the first and most important battle is the one that takes place in the
heart and that's really what Jesus’ Beatitudes are all about. Are we children
of God— children of Grace and promise or are we willful “Children of the Corn?”
If you haven't seen ‘Children of the Corn’ those are the spawn of Satan. The
adversary, the evil one gambles with our wantonness and all other evil things
that we have coating the walls of our heart. The Holy Spirit, all the while continues
to be the perfect Felix Unger and continues clearing our thoughts to think
about what we have done and left undone.
It's a very hard call to live towards what the Holy Spirit’s
expectations are for us. The holy Spirit is not only our Shepherd and our wet
nurse to a degree to be responsible citizens of the kingdom of God, but the
Holy Spirit expects a lot from us. He expects us in some senses to go against
the grain. This is everything that seems to be comfortable and natural and
harbor that “Staples’ easy button” for us. I know that some of you have seen
this print out before, but I've kept this in my little daily planner. It's a
wonderful reminder of things that perhaps I can spontaneously adhere to(?) it's
up to me. This is number one on the list: “An increased tendency to let things
happen rather than to make them happen.” That's a wonderful thought right there.
I love to be planned and organized to the point of being nearly OCD about it. Number
two is “frequent attacks of smiling.” When we are aware of the joy of the Lord
in our hearts, we can understand that blessedness that is in the Beatitudes and
live into a flourishing that does produce smiles, I know it does for me! Anyway,
sharing the third one is feeling of being connected with others and with
nature. I've enjoyed praying as much as I can. I pray for dead creatures I see
hit on the side of the road. I pray for churches I've passed. I pray for
homeless people I have seen at street corners. You name it, I've just naturally
been inclined to do that. Now, there's lots more on this list of “symptoms of a
Spiritual Awakening,” but you can also think of the Beatitudes as a list. Jesus
is meaning for us to sincerely think about what unconditional love in the world
looks like, period.
The kingdom of God begins as the transformation, change of hearts
which I have preached on this before as that $20 word called “metanoia.” Metanoia
means literally to transform the guts, the heart. “We will never change” could
be the battle cry and war flag of not only our “set in our ways” human nature
of self, but also what we do as church. When I think of the ‘War of the Roses’
film, I think of people who are struggling in their marriages. This is when war
seems to be the only option. It is a physical war yelling, of throwing fits,
etc. It's a physical war of “my way or the highway.” Tears don't matter anymore
as well as the pain inflicted doesn't matter because the person has to let out
all the ugliness and one side has to win. Welcome to being painfully human.
Kathleen Turner's character really, really could not abide her husband's set in
his ways smugness and infidelity and other things that he was basically
throwing in her face daily. Enough was enough! Michael Douglas’ character still
felt this as victim too. It had to be his way or the highway. He felt that he
sacrificed enough. He dotted his I's and crossed his T's and that house, that
place they made together was his alone.
Instead of going to a marriage counselor, they went to a
lawyer. This was somebody who was only going to help them see victory, one side
or the other only. When you think of the spiritual warfare battle we have in
our hearts between Satan and God willfulness or willingness it's always one
side or the other and we always fall off that tight rope of being disciplined
spiritually to follow our Lord and to live a life in Grace to love our
neighbors as best we can. I love the notion of a faith that can move mountains,
it's beyond beautiful. Why it is beyond beautiful is that we can develop a
faith that can move mountains! It is a gift of realizing God active in your
life. It is a gift of looking at the scriptures and seeing them alive having
them come to life and doing and being in our very selves true children of God.
Jesus incarnate, fully human in our world as well as fully
Divine gave us the perfect example of truly being, living and doing as children
of God. Some have called the Beatitudes of Jesus, the ordination address to the
12 disciples. They're ready to get out into the world and cause trouble,
welcome to being Christians. Getting out into the world and causing trouble… a
part of me really likes that idea. Seeing that in the right light of course, means
what do you feel is important to stand up for? Now remember it has to not come
from that wonderful little planet of “I, Me, Mine,” the world of the self, but
it has to be something that operates in consideration of others. Living and
being beyond ourselves— being attitude of gratitude, living into what would
Jesus do, is a double-edged sword. It can be an actual physical battle in the
world or it can truly just remain as a spiritual battle: which side are you
going to let win?
As much as you try to be the best at counseling other people
where your listening presence, where you try to love both sides sometimes
counseling has its challenges. These challenges are especially if what you say
kind of goes in one ear and out the other. I can keep saying “welcome to being human,”
but I can also say on that same breath: why aren't we doing more than trying?
Why aren't we working towards resolving our conflicts with one another? Why
does it have to be “my way or the highway” and I'm always right? It's a nice
little pedestal to live on but it's delusions of grandeur that Satan builds up.
Returning to those ‘12 symptoms of a Spiritual Awakening,’ one of the ones that
I repeat often to myself is number 8, number 9 and number 10. Number 8 is
basically “a loss of interest in Conflict,” good luck trying that one. Number 9
is “a loss of interest in interpreting the action of others,” that's another
good luck one because we're always thinking too much and we always hurt ourselves
with our over thinking (this is where the pun is intended by the way.) Number
10 is “a loss of interest in judging others.” The whole world likes to judge
one another. We love brandishing the ‘Scarlet Letter,’ when the opportunity
presents itself. We love of categories. We love stamps on the head. We could
probably even joyfully misinterpret The Book of Revelations saying the mark on
the Christians head or the mark on the child of God is something exclusive, not
inclusive.
That's another false comfort of “welcome to being human,”
that we need to stop doing. We love to be judge, jury and executioner. As
my mentor would say, one of my many mentors: “we have to stop doing the don'ts
and we got to start doing the do's.” Beatitudes represent a new kind of
law for us. They are pure gospel. It is the end of law—unconditional love. This
law has us look at our hearts. The law of agape love is the end of law. It is a
discipline to training the human spirit to live into a great faith that truly
loves God and truly loves neighbor. It's by “walking the talk.” It is by living
and giving. It is walking that fine tightrope between willfulness and a
willingness to change.
When we think of all the Saints, they were merely extra-ordinary
people. They went out of the way to add the extra in front of their ordinary
lives. They put God above their ordinary lives and did something greater. When
we think of the whole story and tapestry of our lives’ work; a lot of those
threads may not connect the right way or may not be the right color, or may not
be the right size… They have this or that amiss with them. When it does become
one is when we realize whether we have lived a life worthy of the Gospel, or
one that we have not. I know with my whole self that God has spent a
lifetime of training me to reconcile myself to His will… and I want to, I am
willing to change. I'm not going to just “try” anymore I'm going to do it. I'm
ready to fight the good fight of Faith, how about you?
Let us pray,
Loving and Gracious God
We thank You for the blessing of Your wonderful Beatitudes
They offer so much to teach and inspire us to grow, do and
be.
May we realize that you are the Great Shepherd on the throne
of our hearts
And that agape love is at the center of our hearts
It is that New Nature, we pray to continue believing and
receiving incorporating and sharing
Everything that You give us, in Your name we pray. Amen
Sunday, November 3rd,
2019; All Saints Day; Year C; SOLA Lectionary
Sermon by: Reverend Nicole A.M.
Collins
Psalm 149; Revelation 7:2-17; 1
John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12
The link below is a variation to this blogs sermon delivered at the Grace Hub on Saturday November 2nd 2019:
"'We fight the Good fight of faith for the cause of unconditional Love."
https://youtu.be/rDhb9LM2VB4
https://youtu.be/rDhb9LM2VB4
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