Readings
for Epiphany 4A:
Micah 6:1-8; 1Cor. 1:18-31; Mt. 5:1-12
January 30, 2005
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
"St. Jude's is a spiritual oasis where lives are transformed." How do we come together as a community of faith to make this vision a reality? How do we shape our religious life here at St. Jude's in a way that is pleasing to God? How can we repaint our picture of reality in a way that matches God's wisdom and priorities for creation? On this day of our annual meeting, my sermon will address these questions. I will use all of the assigned biblical readings as my text.
During the 50's and 60's, I grew up in the inner city of Boston. Within a stone's throw from my apartment building, there was a "five and dime" store which sold toys and all sorts of small household goods. At the front of the store, was a large display of candy- everything from chocolate bars, to "lickamade," to pistachio nuts colored with red dye. Each piece of candy cost a nickel and if you were lucky enough to have a nickel in your pocket, you too could choose just the right candy bar.
On those days when neither I nor my friends had a nickel (and we really wanted a candy bar), we would search the area for discarded, recycled glass bottles. Once we found enough, we would cash them in, and then run to the "five and dime" to purchase some candy. We were usually met at the door by Mr. G. (the owner) or one of his formidable sales clerks. They would treat us like little bandits, waiting to steal their precious merchandise. They would follow us around the store or stand right beside us at the candy display, watching every move that was made. These security measures would always make me feel bad and uncomfortable because I never had the intention of stealing anything from that store. Being repeatedly treated like a potential thief left an imprint on my psyche, such that today, I will actually leave a store if a sales clerk follows me around.
Our upbringing, education, genetics, environment, and experiences have all left their imprint on us. Some of these imprints determine who we are and what we might become. Some of these imprints are minor (such as my experience at the candy counter) while other imprints are major (such as 'a life of privilege' or a life of repeated abuse).
Perhaps the most important imprint in our lives is being marked as Christ's own forever. It is this imprint that has the power to transform lives, to make all creation new. For most people (especially Episcopalians), this imprint begins at baptism, when we or our parents promise to follow Christ, to resist evil, to repent of our hurtful ways, to love and respect all people, and to strive for justice and peace. As we open up our hearts and minds to God's grace through the practice of the spiritual disciplines, the Spirit of God begins to refine our character, purify our distorted and self-centered thinking, and empowers us to do good works in the world. These spiritual disciplines include: Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Study, Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, Service, Confession, Worship, Guidance, Celebration. The purpose of these disciplines, of the sacraments, of the coming together to worship God each week, of hearing and studying the Holy Scriptures year after year, of joining together as a community of faith and being a light to the greater world, is to imprint on each one of us, the mind of Christ. As this imprint becomes deeper and begins to direct our lives, a new nucleus of humanity emerges. This new nucleus of human beings is made up of transformed people who have the gifts to transform the world. "Behold, I am making all things new." [Rev. 21]
Week after week, year after year, as we gather together in worship, we read the same cycle of biblical readings from the Holy Scriptures. This is called the Sunday Lectionary. The purpose of this repeated cycle of readings, is to imprint on us, God's vision for this world; a vision which is much different from conventional human wisdom. In each of the readings today, people are being asked to come to grips with a different vision of reality; a reality that challenges them and pushes them beyond the limits of their current understanding. It is a difficult task for us, to put aside or reshape our understanding of what is important in the world. So, we rehearse over and over again, reading after reading, sermon after sermon, prayer after prayer, try after try, year after year, to imprint on ourselves, God's love and vision for humanity.
The first reading from the prophet Micah (which we did not read today) challenges a self-satisfied people (some 450 years before the birth of Jesus). The main issue that being is challenged is their overvalued, well-established practice of placating God with external sacrifices of animals, incense, and in some cases, a first born child. Instead of practicing animal sacrifice, God wants them to practice personal sacrifice. "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" [Micah 6:8]
In our second biblical reading, Paul tells the Corinthians that Jesus is not a head trip that would appeal to the rational Greek mind. Jesus is not a power trip that would appeal to a Jewish longing for a powerful messiah to change the political climate. Instead, Paul preaches Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks. Through a life of personal sacrifice and humility, the power of God was made manifest in the person of Jesus, through his life, death, and resurrection. While Silicon Valley chooses the best, the brightest, the most energetic, the workaholic, to bring forth a profitable vision, God chooses the foolish, the weak, the lowly, the despised, to bring forth a different vision. In human terms, this makes no sense. However, this vision is not about rational thought or profit. It is about conversion of the human heart. It is a vision that includes compassion, mercy, justice, forgiveness, inclusivity, forgiveness, peace, and generosity. How many systems of rational thought and philosophies have missed the mark when it comes to these principles? Perhaps it is time for us to become more comfortable with embracing the mystery of God's wisdom rather than waiting for our rational mind to figure everything out, before we decide to make a commitment to a life in Christ.
Finally, in our last reading [i.e. Mt. 5], Jesus paints a new portrait of reality in his Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is perhaps the greatest utterance of moral and spiritual truths. Because our human comprehension is limited, we struggle with these words and try to make them more palatable for human consumption. Sentence by sentence, Jesus peels away the canvas we have painted and shows us the 'canvas of God' underneath. In our canvas, those who are poor in spirit are not blessed but are labeled as ineffective. In our canvas, those who mourn are often ignored or given scraps from our excesses, rather than comforted. In our canvas, the meek do not inherit the earth. They are eliminated! In our canvas, those who show mercy are often dismissed as weak and those who are pure in heart are labeled as naïve, unsophisticated, or soft. In God's canvas however, all of these people are blessed!
Our logic and God's logic do not always coincide. But over time, these biblical readings begin to imprint on our mind and soul, a new kind of wisdom. As this imprint becomes deeper, God's canvas shines through ours, and we are reminded of a better way of life, an abundant life which Matthew refers to as the Kingdom of Heaven.
How do we come together as a community of faith to make a vision of transformation a reality? How do we shape our religious life here at St. Jude's in a way that is pleasing to God? How can we repaint our picture of reality in a way that matches God's wisdom and priorities for creation? We do this by spending our primary time and energy imprinting on ourselves and on our children, the mind of Christ.
Instead of spending so much of our energy on externals such as the color of paint or the arrangement of chairs, we need to focus our attention on learning scripture, praying without ceasing, purifying our characters, and reaching out with compassion for those in need. Instead of worrying about and getting stuck on the doctrines of the Creed, or about the miracles attributed to Jesus, or about Jesus' exact relationship to God, we need to focus on the imprint of being marked as Christ's own forever. We need to arrange our communal life so that we and our children focus on being formed in the likeness of Christ. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." [Mt. 5]
| Updated 1/29/05 |
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