November 26 2006 At Saint Mark Norman, OK

Daniel 7:13-14 – Revelation 1:5-8 + John 18:33-37

“What have you done?” asks Pilot, the judge. “What have you done?” says the Roman to the Jew? Pilot is power. Jesus is servant. Pilot has heard the word “Kingdom”, and he’s interested, but he is a political man who wants to clarify this word, “Kingdom.” Jesus is a spiritual man. For him, “King” is Pilot’s word. Pilot is the one using it. The Spiritual man has a different view. He is a witness to the truth. He lives within and by his life reveals the ultimate relationship to God and creation. Those fixated on power cannot open this spiritual depth. Those aware of and seeking the spiritual will hear the voice of Jesus.The truth they know will draw them to the truth he is.

What it all boils down to is foregoing force. It is an awesome decision. The contrast between Pilot and Jesus is not the only one in this larger scene. There is also the contrast between Peter and Jesus. The preemptive strike of Peter in the garden seizing a sword and cutting off an ear provokes a response from Jesus: “No more of this.” Jesus who has spent his entire ministry getting people to hear his word restores the man’s ear. What he teaches is that the beginning of violence is the end of dialogue. Combatants can no longer hear one another: not just national, racial, or religious combatants. It works in our homes as well.

The other night while on vacation, I was awakened by a violent, vicious argument

in a condo somewhere in the building. A man and a woman were screaming at one another and throwing things. They could not hear one another, but I could. I wasn’t in the fight, and suddenly as I listened and prayed for them, I got the point: ears have to be restored for violence to end. Foregoing force includes not making threats. If we do not get the revelation of divine love and are not attracted to it, there will be no threats of terror or punishment. If you do not get the revelation of divine love and are not attracted to it, you will not be judged slow or inadequate or dismissed as unloved or unwanted. There are no winners and losers in the spiritual realm or in the eyes of God.

Foregoing force is an awesome decision. It did not work with Pilot who could not hear the voice of Jesus and dismissed it briskly: “What is Truth?” he sneers. At that moment the conversation ends. Every time the conversation ends, there is darkness and sadness. We must learn the very real difference between discussion and conversation. There is too much similarity between discussion and percussion or concussion. In a discussion, ideas and sometimes people are batted around, and some are accepted some are dismissed. However, with conversation there is a free flowing of meaning shared by all involved. People come to a revelation of truth together. Conversation which leads to conversion was preferred by Jesus who set aside force for the sake of truth.

This is the mystery of God revealed. A God who does not force, threaten, exclude, nor punish. The God revealed in Jesus the Word Made Flesh is God who wants to continue the conversation planned at the beginning. Human freedom is essential to that plan and to that conversation. When that human freedom is not capable of responding affirmatively, divine love continues the conversation. Christ is not king because he can bend human will with his might or force us by power to submit to the Father’s will. Christ is king because out of love he foregoes force and continues to talk. Peter may cut off ears. Jesus restores them. Near his death, Jesus has a royal robe of power stripped away, and the more I ponder that crucifix before which we gather again and again, I see him in his finest robe: a towel which he himself chose and wrapped around himself refusing power and force choosing instead service and sacrifice.

Those who hope to rise from the dead and live forever shall certainly do the same, because they know that the day will come when the question will be asked of us all:  “What have you done?”

November 5, 2006 At Saint Mark Norman, OK

Deuteronomy 6:2-6 + Hebrews 7:23-28 + Mark 12:28-34

Behind these verses, a very fundamental issue is raised by the dialogue between Jesus and this sincere scribe. “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” says Jesus to the man. Why didn’t he say: “You’ve got it right. That is a perfect answer. You’re in.”? Instead, the man is simply declared “close” to the Kingdom of God. There is something missing. There is something more needed than the ability to quote chapter and verse. So often these days people take pride in what they know or don’t know; what others know or don’t know. As a result, religion sometimes begins to sound like trivial pursuit, We too easily place a premium on knowledge, doctrine, and correct citations of theological works or chapter and verses of the Bible as though they were a barometer of faith and understanding rather than pay attention to the more serious and meaningful matters of life.

Whether he is not far, very close, or not even close to the Kingdom of God, that man who quotes and knows the scriptures so well has no faith! That is the issue here. It is not doctrinal, theological, or biblical precision that gets us and others into the kingdom of heaven. If it were, we’d all be in trouble! The scribe had it right. He knew what to do, but his pursuit stopped there. Knowing about love is not the same thing as loving. Knowing about faith is not the same as being faithful. Reciting or knowing the ten commandments will only get your close. While living in an exclusive faithful relationship with God and a respectful loving relationship with everyone else will do more than you get you close.

We have to decide whether or not being “close” is good enough, and once we decide that it is not good enough, things change. It is about faith first and then about love. There is something we must come to believe – not hope for or wish for but firmly believe. The root of Christian love is not the will to love, but the faith that one is loved by God whether or not we are worthy. We know what happens to people who are not loved, who do not experience love, or who never know love. Their lives are violent, empty, and tragic. Their relationships are all fractured and sick. The homes in which they live are filled with distrust, deceit, and hopelessness. The cure for this is the experience of being loved, accepted, treasured, and desired.

All our attempts to love God will be frustrated until we experience the simple fact that we are already loved by God. What begins to bring us to life, to joy, to trust is believing that we are loved by God. This is what is missing in the scribe’s experience and in his thinking. The will to love is not the root of holiness or goodness or salvation. It is having faith that even though unworthy, God loves us.

From that basic truth, goodness, morality, holiness, and salvation come forth.

When we finally surrender to and acknowledge this love that embraces us, then we shall no longer be “close”, but we shall truly be in the Kingdom of God.

November 1, 2006 At Saint Mark Norman, OK

Revelation 7:2-4,9-14 + 1 John 3:1-3 + Matthew 5:1-12

There is no point in observing and celebrating All Saints Day if that observance is all about the past and some holy people of long ago. In my own spirituality, I have ceased thinking of this day as though it was about “them” – saints of our past, heroes long gone. It is shallow and short sighted to think that this is a sort of “collective feast” that makes sure no one is left out. I prefer to think of this day as an annual checkup, an occasion to look within rather than look around or look back. Those who take their physical health seriously have annual checkups, It is suggested that we see our dentist for a check on teeth, and even our cars, get tune-ups and an occasional check of the fluids. ow should it be different for the spiritual side of our lives? The Gospel today reveals the qualifications for holiness. It sets the standards or the marks against which we check our lives.  There are standards for blood pressure and blood sugar that get checked. Here in this Gospel are the minimum standards for spiritual health.

Poor in spirit, meek, just, pure, and peaceful are the standards against which we measure our holiness. Being poor in spirit has to do with how we relate to material things. Gospel poverty does not mean that we own nothing, but rather that things do not own us. Those who mourn are blessed not because they mourn, but because they can mourn; meaning they loved someone enough to feel the sorrow of separation. That is a blessing! Being meek does not mean being passive. It means being honest. It means knowing who you are and what you are not. It is a virtue that puts an end to ambition and pride. Cultivating righteousness in the gospel sense means having a passion for justice not for one’s self (self-righteous) but for those who never experience justice. When mercy is found in one’s life, it is always about mercy given, not received. Purity is not necessarily about innocence as much as it is about being purified: it’s more like be5ng “refined” that is to say, cleansed by sacrifice and service. And the truly holy make peace everywhere they go because then never forget that we are all children of God, brothers and sisters in the human family that God has made in His own image and likeness. The peacemaking holy ones see the face of God in every one of God’s children.

So, this is the day, this is the season near the end of the year to check up on things in our souls, and Matthew gives us the check – list because tomorrow’s feast is the grim reminder that if we have not checked ourselves on these things, a judgment time is coming for us all when someone else will, and we know very well what God will be looking for in those called to the eternal banquet.

November 1, 2006 At Saint Mark Church Norman, OK

Revelation 7:2-4,9-14 + 1 John 3:1-3 + Matthew 5:1-12

There is no point in observing and celebrating All Saints Day if that observance is all about the past and some holy people of long ago. In my own spirituality, I have ceased thinking of this day as though it was about “them” – saints of our past, heroes long gone. It is shallow and short sighted to think that this is a sort of “collective feast” that makes sure no one is left out. I prefer to think of this day as an annual checkup, an occasion to look within rather than look around or look back. Those who take their physical health seriously have annual checkups, It is suggested that we see our dentist for a check on teeth, and even our cars, get tune-ups and an occasional check of the fluids. ow should it be different for the spiritual side of our lives? The Gospel today reveals the qualifications for holiness. It sets the standards or the marks against which we check our lives.  There are standards for blood pressure and blood sugar that get checked. Here in this Gospel are the minimum standards for spiritual health.

Poor in spirit, meek, just, pure, and peaceful are the standards against which we measure our holiness. Being poor in spirit has to do with how we relate to material things. Gospel poverty does not mean that we own nothing, but rather that things do not own us. Those who mourn are blessed not because they mourn, but because they can mourn; meaning they loved someone enough to feel the sorrow of separation. That is a blessing! Being meek does not mean being passive. It means being honest. It means knowing who you are and what you are not. It is a virtue that puts an end to ambition and pride. Cultivating righteousness in the gospel sense means having a passion for justice not for one’s self (self-righteous) but for those who never experience justice. When mercy is found in one’s life, it is always about mercy given, not received. Purity is not necessarily about innocence as much as it is about being purified: it’s more like be5ng “refined” that is to say, cleansed by sacrifice and service. And the truly holy make peace everywhere they go because then never forget that we are all children of God, brothers and sisters in the human family that God has made in His own image and likeness. The peacemaking holy ones see the face of God in every one of God’s children.

So, this is the day, this is the season near the end of the year to check up on things in our souls, and Matthew gives us the check – list because tomorrow’s feast is the grim reminder that if we have not checked ourselves on these things, a judgment time is coming for us all when someone else will, and we know very well what God will be looking for in those called to the eternal banquet.