Gospel text for the Feast of All Saints 30 October 2022

Luke 6:20-31

Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:

"Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

"Blessed are you who are hungry now,

for you will be filled.

"Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

"But woe to you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.

"Woe to you who are full now,

for you will be hungry.

"Woe to you who are laughing now,

for you will mourn and weep.

"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Reflection        We are all saints, or at least we can be because saints are ordinary people who refuse to experience the world divided in two buckets; visible - invisible, divine - human, sacred - secular, physical - spiritual, blessing - woe. Saints are ordinary people who seek unity rather than duality. 

Here is the thing. Our lives depend on both; visible and invisible, divine and human, sacred and secular, physical and spiritual, blessing and woe. We begin our lives seeing only black and white. Two months pass before newborns can distinguish red and green and a few more weeks before they can tell apart blues and yellows. It takes time for the cells of the eye to mature and the brain to make sense of subtle signals, like the countless shades of grey. Much as mature vision proceeds through developmental steps so too does our capacity to experience life in shades of grey rather than in competing buckets of black or white, blessing or woe. But unlike our eyes which for most of us mature by autopilot, it is through choice and deliberate practice that we mature to experience the unifying consciousness of ‘this and that’ rather than dualistic consciousness of ‘this or that.’  

Which begs the question, what constitutes deliberate practice that fosters the development of unifying consciousness?  I believe it is as simple as seven words and as ungraspable as mercury. The deliberate practice intended to develop unifying consciousness is simply following Jesus’ example and praying, “Not my will, your will be done.” Seven simple words!

In his essay, “The Meaning of Holiness” the French philosopher Louis Lavelle insists that we all have the potential to be saints, which is to say, to experience the presence and action of God with us, to live in the tension of the seen and unseen, the material and the spiritual. Saints are ordinary people who live extraordinary lives because of their disciplined intention to live praying, “Not my will, your will be done.”  When we live in accord with the will of God ours are lives of holiness and we thrive in right relationship with all people and creation. 

Much like accomplished baseball pitchers, pianists, professors, construction workers, teachers or firefighters who persist in disciplined study and practice in their respective fields, if we aspire to holiness of life we must exercise our spiritual muscles through disciplined prayer, worship, study and the diligent practice of living, “Not my will, your will be done.”

And, when the insufferable nay sayer that hides behind our heart stages a protest insisting, “How can I know the will of God?’  Jesus  answers.  "But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.”  And if that is not clear, how about Jesus’ summary? “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Do to others as you would have them do to you. Others. All others. Jesus offers no exceptions. It sounds like that means when someone cuts us off while driving on Interstate 10, we bless rather than curse them. When someone is wrestling with their candy wrapper during a heart stopping scene at the theatre or shuffling pages during contemplative prayer, we choose to hear their sounds as divine music rather than personal affronts. When someone is citing their social, political or religious position quite contrary to ours, rather than attacking, defending or beating a quick retreat, we open our hearts and minds to listen with respect. When face to face with the one person who always rubs us the wrong way, we make ourselves smile and see them as holy because we are ordinary saints and so are they. 

We are ordinary saints because we choose to exercise our spiritual muscles through disciplined prayer, worship, study and diligent practice of living in accord with seven simple words. “Not my will, your will be done.” Are we perfect? No. And that is what makes ordinary saints both divine and human. 

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 Lavelle Louis. The Meaning of Holiness, London, Burns & Oates, 1953.

Gospel text for Sunday 3 November 2019

Luke 6:20-31        Jesus looked up at his disciples and said: 

“Blessed are you who are poor, 

for yours is the kingdom of God.

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, 

for you will be filled.

“Blessed are you who weep now, 

for you will laugh.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets."

"But woe to you who are rich,   

for you have received your consolation.

"Woe to you who are full now,

for you will be hungry.

"Woe to you who are laughing now,

for you will mourn and weep.

"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Reflection        The life that most of us live looks nothing like the life that Jesus lives. Not just the fact that we have internet and drones, refrigeration and indoor plumbing. But much as some seventy four percent of the world population today lives in multidimensional poverty,* Jesus has no pillow on which to lay his head, depends on the generosity of others for supper, is scorned and roundly reviled by religious as well as political folks in high places. 

Today we find ourselves immersed in a culture obcessed with pleasure, power and privilege yet Jesus tells the disciples and us that the poor, the powerless and the underprivileged are blessed. How can this be? I believe the answer is hidden in plain sight. All we have to do is look at Jesus, the exemplar that stands at the center of our faith.

Rather than follow the road map provided for Jews in ancient Judea by their Roman occupiers, for example, taking a job as a tax collector which would involve fleecing his Jewish relatives but would stand him in good stead with the Romans, or just keeping his opinions to himself regarding the religious officials’ concern with purity laws at the expense of human suffering, Jesus chooses to be vulnerable, to follow God’s plan, act with integrity and be merciful to others even at his own expense. 

And Jesus is blessed. Blessed to do amazing things; healing, teaching and fearlessly facing the most dire circumstance. Blessed to be a prophet whose voice rings through the ages. Did you know there are more books written about Jesus than any other person in history? William Shakespeare comes in second.  Jesus is blessed to be a blessing and we can be too. 

When, like Jesus, our hearts are open, and we take the risk to step out of our comfort zone, get over our fear of change and submit ourselves to God’s plan rather than kow- tow to the status quo, we can expect to be surprised by God. 

My greatest “surprised by God” moment occurred when within  ten days of admitting I felt called to the priesthood three doors burst open and invited me in. I was living in Santa Fe, NM and the bishop of that diocese would not ordain women. Among other things, for about a decade I used that as an excuse not to acknowledge my call to holy orders. Frankly, the whole thing terrified me and seemed impossible. But literally the very moment I decided to walk through my fear of such a radical change, submit to God’s plan and admit to Catherine, my Episcopal priest friend, “I believe I am called to be a priest,” she laughed and said, “Well, it is about time. I can offer you a position here in San Gabriel, CA while you go through the process.” That was a Saturday. The following weekend I was in Ojai, California leading a Centering Prayer workshop. On Sunday morning following services the rector said to me, “Why don’t you come to St. Andrews?  I can give you a three quarter time job while you go through the process.” 

Upon returning to Santa Fe, back in the days of the relic “answering machine,” the little red light was blinking. I pressed listen and heard, “Hi Debra. The word is out that you have finally admitted your call to the priesthood. I think you should come to Arizona. It would be a great place for you to go through the process.” A little more than a week and three church doors were thrown wide open.  Was I ever surprised by God!

When our hearts are open, and we take the risk to step out of our comfort zone, walk through our fear of change and submit ourselves to God’s plan, we can expect to be surprised by God. We can even seek to do the impossible, because nothing is impossible with God.

Are you open to God’s surprises? Are you willing to walk through your fear of change and submit to God’s plan?

• United Nations Development Program

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Feast of All Saints & All Souls 30 October 2016

Luke 6:20-31        Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:

"Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

"Blessed are you who are hungry now,

for you will be filled.

"Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

"But woe to you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.

"Woe to you who are full now,

for you will be hungry.

"Woe to you who are laughing now,

for you will mourn and weep.

"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Reflection The French Philosopher Louis Lavelle lived the first half of the twentieth century and wrote, “Saints are those who teach us how to live in the visible world by seeing things invisible.” He taught that we live in both the world of nature and “the world of Spirit and through our experience in the natural world we may come to realize our spiritual powers.” Through choice and diligent practice some people come to experience nature and spirit in unity rather than duality. These are the people we recognize as saints.

In his essay, “The Meaning of Holiness”* Lavelle insists that we all have the potential to be saints, which is to say, to experience the presence and action of God with us. Saints are ordinary people who live extraordinary lives because of their disciplined intention to live aligned in the will of God and in right relationship with all people. 

As Christians we are all members of the Communion of Saints. Our selves, our souls and bodies are the means by which we participate in the Communion. Much like accomplished baseball pitchers, pianists, professors, construction workers, teachers or firefighters who persist in disciplined practice and study in their respective fields, if we aspire to holiness of life we must exercise our spiritual muscles through disciplined prayer, worship, study and diligent practice of generosity and loving-kindness. 

When we make choices for something, that means we leave some things behind. That is what the teenage peasant girl Mary did when the angel Gabriel informed her that she would be pregnant and give birth to the son of God, and she responded, “Let it be with me according to Your word.” (Luke 1.38) That is what Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew did when they put down their nets to follow Jesus near the sea of Galilee. (Matt 4.18) That is what each of us do every time we chose to live “with God” life and pray, “Not my will, God’s will be done.” The question is, what do we need to leave behind in order to continue God's generosity and loving-kindness in our world? 

Saints are ordinary people who persist, with God’s help, in aligning their will in the will of God and in so doing their ordinary lives are transformed into extraordinary expressions of God’s generosity and loving-kindness for the good of all people.

 *Lavelle,Louis. The Meaning of Holiness., London, Burns & Oates, 1953

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