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 27 November 2021

 Luke 21:25-36        Jesus said, "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

     

Reflection        While attending a meeting last week a man I will call Harold described a situation that deeply disturbed him. When Harold mentioned a good thing that former president Trump had accomplished a switch was flipped in his previously peaceful friend whose face turned red as Maude yelled, “The man is evil,” provoking a painful rift between them.   Here is the thing. Harold and Maude are operating from entirely different levels of consciousness; nondualistic and dualistic respectively.  

Maude insists that people or reality fit into one of two mutually exclusive categories. Right or wrong. Good or evil. No grey zone.  Harold is operating from a nondualistic perspective that tolerates ambiguity. For him life appears in fifty shades of grey. I believe much of the conflict we experience in our families, country and world is a consequence of people operating from different levels of consciousness much as Harold and Maude.

Luke's text reads like a graphic novel version of nondualistic consciousness. Jesus insists that when we are “faint(ing) from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world,…” we are supposed to “stand up and raise (our) heads, because (our) redemption is drawing near!” In other words, news of covid variants circling the globe, holiday parade horrors, essential supplies and Christmas gifts afloat in a traffic jam of cargo ships, sexual violence, misinformation, banning of books and backsliding of democracy not to mention rising tides and temperatures…… all this tells us that grace is near? Jesus, really? How do we hold this paradox together?

This is Jesus’ counsel. Despite rampant troubles in our families, country and the world Jesus is concerned with the condition of our hearts. “Be on guard… protect your hearts.” Regardless of the whims and wiles of the world our hearts must remain open and alert. But how?

Have you ever wondered how Jesus seems to know exactly what to say to resist temptation, diffuse an attacking attorney,  humble an arrogant seeker,  forgive a sinner, preach great sermons, tell amazing wisdom tales and not complain?  With not an ounce of arrogance Jesus admits, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father… “ (Luke10.22)  “All that I say and all that I do is given to me.”  Every morning and evening when Jesus steps away from the disciples to pray I believe he is “putting his head in his heart”**  by aligning his will in the will of God. 

Observing Jesus we witness the evolution of consciousness from which wisdom is born because wisdom is the child of intimate relationship between humble humanity, as exemplified by Jesus, and benevolent divinity, the Father. Wisdom is born when our heads are seated in our hearts.  

When we are absorbed in dualistic, this or that thinking it is as if we are wearing blinders and cannot see a full spectrum of possibilities. We are locked in a two chambered box with a narrow door between sides and forced go this way or that. Feeling stuck and stifled by the forced choice naturally our hearts are ‘weighed down.” We become anxious, angry or fearful.

Jesus shows us a way of living beyond the two chambered box. By never straying from his relationship with God, Jesus “puts his head in his heart” which is to say, he chooses to align his will with something greater than himself. As a result, wisdom, the child of nondualistic consciousness, is born. 

Knowing with our heads is necessary and good because reason is required to bring language and context to our hearts. But knowing with our heads alone does not engender wisdom. By putting our heads in our hearts we experience subtleties, nuance and mystery not available to our heads alone. This frees us from the prison of the two-chambered box. No longer forced to choose between this or that, good or evil, human or divine,  we begin to see all things are possible because nothing is impossible from the nondualistic "with God" perspective.

The way, the truth and the life revealed to us in Jesus insists that we rise above our dualistic thinking minds by putting our heads in our hearts and allowing wisdom to be born through us so that like Jesus  we will be free to resist temptation, diffuse  attacks,  be kind, forgiving, humble, speak wise words and not complain. 

** language I have borrowed from Cynthia Bourgeault’s The Heart of Centering Prayer

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