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 October 2021

Mark 10:2-16        Some Pharisees came, and to test Jesus they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.ca

Some Pharisees came, and to test Jesus they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Reflection          Having been divorced, remarried, and divorced again I want to shout, “Hay God, Jesus’ words cannot be right. Furthermore, the Church has used them to do much harm. Do you know how many broken hearted Roman Catholics turn away from You because once divorced their priest refuses to give them communion?  Do You know how many men and women want nothing to do with a Church that refuses to affirm their love? Jesus’ words have caused too much harm.”

Although presuming to know Jesus’ intention when instructing the disciples and us is rather bold, considering his first century honor shame society and his overarching message of compassion and inclusion, I find it impossible to interpret Jesus’ words as merciless and prohibitive. What then? By reading this text out of context and making a direct leap from the first century to current time, not only do we miss the radically liberating message that Jesus is delivering for women and children, we also create another group of outcasts deemed unworthy to participate in the Church. 

What if instead of using Jesus’ words as warrant to essentially dishonor people by excluding them from Rites at God’s Table the Church heard Jesus’ words as instruction to elevate the value of women and children?

In the first century only men could be honored or dishonored. Women had no voice, no vote, essentially no value. Therefore a man could not commit adultery against his wife because she had no position of honor to be offended.  When Jesus says, “whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her…” he elevates the value of a woman to be equal to that of a man. This is revolutionary. This is good.

Here is another point. The Pharisees are interested in the issue of legality, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Jesus is interested in relationship.

“Man shall leave father and mother and be joined to wife….” This is another seditious departure from the culture in which marriage as we know did not exist.  In Jesus’ context families offer their daughter and son to consolidate honorable relationships between the families. The man did not leave father and mother, rather he was a negotiating chip enhancing the family’s honor in a brokered deal, a business transaction that joined two families with an eye toward enhancing honor. 

In his not so subtle and subversive way our inveterate troublemaker Jesus elevates the relationship of a man and woman from a legalistic business arrangement to a union mediated by God. “What God has joined together let no one separate.”  Jesus is not interested in dividing, he is all about unifying. Twice he says, “They are no longer two but one…”

“From the beginning of creation” humanity, all of us, are called to unifying consciousness but because of our ‘hardness of heart’ we set our minds on matters that divide rather than unify. We turn away from one another and  from God. We could call this divorce consciousness. Its signature is discord, division and disunity. Dare I suggest this is the prevailing form of consciousness in our country today?

From the beginning of creation we are meant to live in concord and community. No one is less than or more than. No one is to be left out, which brings us to Jesus’ reproach of the disciples who are trying to prevent the children from bothering him. “Let the children come to me.” 

Once again our rebel Jesus is stirring the pot. In his culture children have no value but much as he does with women, Jesus elevates the status of children as he takes “them up in his arms, lays his hands on them, and blesses them.”

Without pointing fingers or assigning blame Jesus makes it crystal clear, the way things are is not good enough and I believe the difficult words of this text invite us to do the same. Look carefully for divorce consciousness in the written and unwritten laws in our community, our country and our hearts. Notice where we set our minds on matters that foster discord and divide us. Confess that we have turned away from God’s unifying consciousness. Amend our lives to be in communion with each other and creation. Which do you choose; divorce consciousness or unifying consciousness?

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