 | The New England Church PulpitNew England Congregational Church UCC |
Keep This In Mind | Luke 12.22-34 | September 1, 2002 |
We will see pictures of those who perished, of those who were heroes, of those who were perpetrators, and we will hear from those children who are now orphans and those surviving spouses who are raising children alone. We will hear from survivors struggling with survivor guilt, and even in the news this week there is a story about seven people just found who have been missing since that day. We will hear stories about how we are justified as a nation in attacking those we suspect of the tragedy, and we will hear stories about how we need to turn back to God to avoid this sort of thing in the future. We will hear commentary on how we can be safer, we will hear people clamor for guarantees of safety, and we will see politicians promise a safety they cannot guarantee.
We will hear from those who want to analyze the tragedy and those who are asking ‘where is God in all of this?’ There will be all manner of people who will claim to know the mind of God and the reasons why God allowed this to happen and those who see this as God’s way of getting our attention. There will be all manner of manipulation of people’s vulnerable spirits to further religious causes; righteousness will be prostituted to justify prejudice against other nations and other religions, and righteous vindication will be preached as our divine right. There will be a myriad of emotional pleas for a patriotic spirit that hails God to be on our side, based on the false notion that our nation was founded on Christian principals, equating our national ideals with the Kingdom of God, precisely the opposite of what Jesus taught his disciples.
As we listen and as we ponder, keep this in mind: the kingdom of which Jesus calls us to serve is one not of this world. When we are tempted to make sense of all of this, keep this in mind...that there are things in this life we will never understand. When we are enticed by those who promise to keep us safe, keep this in mind,...that there are no guarantees in life, that life is a risk, and that no one can promise such safety. When the flag is being waved, keep this in mind....that we no more deserve to be protected than anyone else on this planet, and we have not been the totally innocent victim in some evil plot as the politicians would have us believe.
When we are wont to blame, and we are inclined to clamor for security, and we are easily persuaded to become blindly patriotic...keep this in mind: The Kingdom of God is about a peace that comes from inside, from some transcendent Force far beyond our knowing; it comes from feeding the poor and helping the neighbor. Jesus’s disciples were very confused and some of them angry that he did not provide for them a kingdom that assured their safety as they walked the dark alleys of the city. They were annoyed that he did not free them from the tyranny of the Romans. Judas, thinking he could force Jesus’s hand, turned him over to the authorities in the hopes that Jesus would finally say ‘enough!’ and subdue all the powers and establish a new kingdom with the chosen people at the top. Instead Jesus was silent, and was murdered by the same powers the disciples had hoped he would over power.
Only later did the followers begin to realize that the power was given from the inside, that the kingdom was not a kingdom of this world where personal, physical safety was guaranteed but a kingdom at the core of the soul that could not be destroyed by any power or authority.
Let us keep in mind that Jesus asked his followers to be disciples of love, not security guards. Remember that they, too, clamored after answers that were never given: when will God’s kingdom come to rescue us from this horrible plight we are in with the Romans? When will we be vindicated for being God’s chosen, and be asked to sit on the right and left of the throne in the new kingdom? When will we receive our reward for being righteous? When will we find security and freedom from all this madness on earth? Instead of answers, Jesus told them stories: a man was walking down the road when he was robbed, and beaten, and left for dead, and who should stop by to help him but the enemy; a son squandered his inheritance with prostitutes and living high on the hog until he ended up eating with the hogs, but when he came home, destitute, his father gave him the best clothes and threw a party.
And he told them about the raven and the lily, how they live without worry for tomorrow, how they are valued by God for what they are not what they do, how they are beautiful in their own right without having to don the clothing of correct theology or national aviary security or systems of botanical defense. Do not worry about what is outside, but seek the things of internal and eternal value: feed the poor, invest your riches in other people, create a portfolio that puts stock in the common good and thereby invest in things that can’t be stolen or eaten by moths.
Keep in mind that for Jesus, security is not found outside, but inside. The Kingdom of God will not rescue you or protect you from the enemy; it will give you strength to keep the enemy from destroying your spirit and your life. Paul caught the vision when he said that nothing will ever separate us from God’s love: not death, not the enemy, not disease, not imprisonment, not violence, not gangs, not extremists, not suicide bombers, not doubt, not the wrong religion, nada, nada, nada. Nothing, nothing, nothing can separate us from the love of the Holy.
When we hear that we’re the best and deserve the best, keep in mind the teachings of Jesus that the first will be last and the last first. God’s kingdom is a topsy-turvy, upside-down version of the one we usually want.
When we hear that we as Christians have the answers and are the only religion in the world that knows about Truth, keep in mind that Jesus flung the gates of parochialism off their hinges when he welcomed the Samaritans and Gentiles and the prostitutes and the swindlers into the kingdom. Keep in mind that the realm of God is not exclusive, and is not defined by labels, for here there is neither Jew nor Greek, Christian nor Muslim, slave nor free, male nor female, rich nor poor, gay nor straight but all are one in a common humanity.
When we hear the political spin doctors saying that we as a nation have the right to throw our weight around, and supply countries of our choosing with weapons of destruction against those not of our choosing, keep in mind that God is no respecter of persons; that God created a world, and everything in that world. That every person, plant, animal, cloud, rock, or solar system bears the thumb print of the divine.
When we hear that we should be frightened of terrorists, keep in mind that Jesus said: Do not be afraid, for God has been pleased to give you a kingdom deep in your soul and in your mind and your heart. When we hear that we should be afraid of people of other faiths, keep in mind the words of the Koran: eat of that which is wholesome and do good works. Your world is but one community. When we hear that we should invest in security with bigger guns and securities of a financial nature, keep this in mind: provide for yourself that which will not wear out, treasures that will benefit all humankind, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Amen.
–Gary L. McCann
Koran 23.1-5, 50-60
(translated by N J Dawood)
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful: Blessed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers; who avoid profane talk, and who give alms to the destitute; who restrain their carnal desires; who are true to their trusts and promises, and diligent in their prayers. These are the heirs of Paradise; they shall abide in it forever...We first created man from an essence of clay...then the water, and cattle...Then we sent Noah...and Moses and his brother Aaron with our signs and with clear authority. We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign to [humanity], and gave them a shelter on a peaceful hillside watered by a fresh spring.
Apostles, eat of that which is wholesome, and do good works; I have knowledge of all your actions. Your community is but one community, and I am your only Lord: therefore fear Me. Yet [people] have divided themselves into factions, each rejoicing in their own doctrines. Leave them in their error till a time appointed. Those who walk in fear of their Lord; who believe in the revelations of their Lord; who worship none besides their Lord; who give alms with hearts filled with awe, knowing that they will return to their Lord; these strive with each other for salvation, and shall be the first to attain it.
| Copyright © 2002 by Gary L. McCann. All rights reserved. |