Gospel text for Sunday 12 November 2017

Matthew 25:1-13        Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” 

Reflection       Jesus wants us to understand what the kingdom of heaven is like. Apparently his words are not crystal clear as for two thousand years theologians have never agreed regarding the definition of the kingdom of heaven; from the early church expectation that the kingdom would manifest any day to the purely eschatological or wait until the apocalyptic end of time theory, some have identified the kingdom with the visible church and others have insisted it is purely in the realm of grace. Some claim the kingdom is the ideal society characterized by freedom, justice and truth and, in the face of conflict, war and economic crisis others maintain the kingdom is on hold for a happily ever after death experience. 

I wonder if the kingdom of heaven is a state of consciousness paired with readiness to act? Jesus’ first reference to the kingdom of heaven is, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mat 3.2) Repent means turn around, change our mind and change the way we live to reveal the truth that the kingdom of heaven is actually here, right now, “at hand.” When we accept Jesus’ statement as true, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” we are awakened to see what we could not see before, the eyes of our hearts are opened and hopefully we are compelled to act accordingly. 

The kingdom of heaven has always been “at hand,” hiding in plain sight. It is not something outside ourselves that we can find, purchase or borrow from others. It is not delayed payment for a life of obedience. The kingdom of heaven is the light that shines from the center of each one of us.  As we turn around and direct our attention inward the light of our self awareness and our God awareness grows, each igniting the other. Which brings us to the issue of lamp oil.

Many of us really do not like the part of Jesus parable where “the foolish (bridesmaids) said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No!” We recoil, accuse Jesus of encouraging self-interest and greed. But what if Jesus is using lamp oil as a metaphor for human consciousness? 

Each one of us is responsible for turning around (repenting), looking inside and cultivating our own consciousness. We cannot borrow or draw upon someone else’s consciousness. Each of us must listen to Jesus’ teaching, choose to believe it, allow it to transform our minds and behavior, and in so doing the oil for our lamps, our consciousness, becomes a deep reservoir from which we draw light even in the midst of our darkest night.

The kingdom of heaven is fulfilled when each us remembers that we do not take a single breath but that God is drawing that breath through us, that we live every minute of every day as the revelation of God with us. When our oil lamps are full all people see God’s light glowing through us. They see it as we put our faith in God's generosity rather than our own. They see it in our calm assurance that all is well regardless of the fickle tides of time or circumstance.  They see it as we stretch to give away our blessings in thanksgiving to God from whom all blessings come. We are the kingdom of heaven, either bridesmaids in waiting or bridesmaids in fact. 

If you found this post meaningful please share by clicking on icons below. Thank you.

Gospel text for Sunday 13 November 2016

Luke 21:5-19

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, `I am he!' and, `The time is near!' Do not go after them.

"When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

Reflection        Surely we are in no less a time of apocalyptic expectation than were the people listening to Jesus predict the decimation of the temple. Some of us are calling for a radical end of the way things have been. Others fear seismic doom and gloom borne of change. Within families, communities, cities , the Church, relationships are strained if not fatally fractured.

As people of God we are intended to be in loving relationship with God and one another. Most of us have been distracted and like our ancient Jewish ancestors forgotten our covenant with God. We are worried about “when (these terrible things) will be, and what will be the sign that it is about to take place.” Then and now we are asking the wrong questions.

The question is not “How shall we prepare ourselves for disaster;  ‘famine, plague and dreadful portents and great signs from heaven?’” The question is “How shall we live to fulfill our covenant agreement with God? How shall we repent, turn away from our selfishness, entitlement, pride and isolation to follow the way of Jesus by dignifying, caring for and giving ourselves away for the good of all people?” 

If we did live to fulfill our covenant with God there would indeed be an apocalyptic transformation of the world as we know it. And, if we choose to do this, like Jesus and his disciples, we can expect to be misunderstood and suffer along the way.

The good news is, God is with us and we do not have to prepare. We can have confidence because Jesus counseled, we need not be “terrified.” This moment in which we find ourselves is an opportunity to live and reveal the good news that God is with and for all people. “So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.” We may be hated and betrayed by many folk but we are assured of God’s presence with us… always. 

If you found this post meaningful please share by clicking on icons below. Thank you.

Gospel text for Sunday 1 June 2014

John 17:1-11        Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. “

Reflection         Eternal life is now. That is what Jesus tells us in the Gospel according to John; “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5.24)

Hears, believes, has… this is all present tense. According to John’s gospel eternal life is not about delayed gratification. It is not about post mortem reward. Right here, right now, hearing the Word of God, believing the Word of God, and acting in accord with the Word of God, we have already “passed from death to life.” This new life is understood as eternal life. 

In the customary interpretation of Mark, Matthew and Luke’s gospels we might envision eternal life as an enormous circle (which of course it is not because it could not possibly have edges). In any case, at some location far below the circle of eternal life is the tiniest of circles. That would be me. Or you. In our relationship to the enormous circle our understanding of eternal life is as something far above and beyond us, and, given my track record, probably inaccessible to me. 

Imagine again the enormous circle of eternal life but this time put our tiny circles inside the circle of eternal life. Our relationship with eternal life is utterly transformed. We are not outside eternal life, bouncing up and down trying to break in. We are always and everywhere intimately part of eternal life. Any sense of separation we may experience is because we are not hearing the Word of God, believing the Word of God or acting in accord with the Word of God. 

When we do hear, believe and act in accord with the Word of God it is as if the thin membrane that seems to distinguish our individual tiny circles from the enormous circle of eternal life dissolves. For an instant we experience the unborn, undying, always and everywhere Presence of Divinity. We know that we know that we know we are not free-lancing bubbles of being vying for a ticket to paradise. 

When we act in accord with the Word of God we realize that the work of our life is to unentangle ourselves from worldly concerns that block the flows of Divine Presence. Actions driven to accumulate power, comfort, wealth or any other selfish motive create a false sense of separation between us and God and one another. When we choose to “sell everything” that contributes to the oppression of another and choose to surrender our natural inclination toward selfishness and acquisition, the insubstantial membrane that seems to separate us from one another dissolves and we experience our lives as the unified whole that they are.  This is the answer to Jesus’ prayer, “….as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one…” (John 17.23)

If you found this post to be meaningful, please share with friends by clicking on an icon below. Thank you.