Readings
for Lent 5B: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ps. 51; John 12:20-33
April 2, 2006
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” [Ps. 51]
True Christianity is a forward-looking and forward-moving religion, engaged in revolutionizing and transforming the present. People of faith are just not satisfied with the current state of affairs. Human life as we know it now, is a spoiled thing; not as it was created to be. Most people do not see the world as God sees it and do not treat one another as God would desire. So we look forward to a time of newness; a time when we will live in harmony with creation and God. Christian hope is having the trust and confidence that with God, all things can be healed and made new. When we pray “thy kingdom come”, we are hoping for the time when God’s purpose for creation is fully realized. Some people call this the second coming of Christ. Hope is the subject of this week’s Via Media presentation. Hope for a new future is also the theme of today’s sermon. Without hope, the human heart would break.
So, what is the hope that you are holding on to? Based on this hope, what authentic words of encouragement can you offer to the despairing, the desperate, the suffering, and the marginalized? Can you offer words of hope for a different future or do you resort to optimistic platitudes and temporary fixes? In today’s readings from the Holy Scriptures, the authors lay out a promise of hope based on the transformation of the human heart as well as the transformation of values. Let’s take a closer look at Jeremiah and Jesus.
Jeremiah was an important prophet in the life of the people of Israel. He lived during the 6th century BCE, when the city of Jerusalem was destroyed and its inhabitants were exiled to Babylon (the country we now call Iraq). The Jewish people and their prophets interpreted this historical event as punishment for being unfaithful; for not keeping to the original covenant that they had made with God. That covenant included the 10 commandments and other rules, which were meant to enhance the building up of community, strengthen the bonds of affection between people, and orient people’s lives toward God.
But rules, laws, and commandments, have never had the power to change people’s hearts. They can only set and control behavior as well as allot punishment when the rules are broken. A modern day example of “rules not being able to change people’s hearts” came to light after the breakup of the Soviet Union. During Soviet rule, people of different ethnicities were forced to live together in society. But during that time, their hearts were not changed. Civility remained only skin deep. Once Soviet rule was diminished, violence and hatred between the various ethnicities surfaced. This is what happened in the Balkans between the Bosnians, Croatians, and Serbians. It takes something more than the self-serving ego and external rules to bring about harmony within the created order. It takes a renewed spirit.
Jeremiah speaks a hopeful word to an exiled people regarding a new spirit; a new way of being. He points to a time when people will know and respond to God (not through a set of rules meant to keep them in order) but through a transformed heart: “The days are surely coming says the Lord when…I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” [Jeremiah 31]
In today’s reading from the gospel of John, Jesus is in the final days of his earthly ministry. His death is imminent. He has already entered into Jerusalem, being welcomed with branches of palms and cheers from the crowds. People from all over the Mediterranean have come to Jerusalem for the Passover festivities. Among them are some Greeks who say to the disciple Phillip: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” [Jn. 12] Do these men really know what they are asking for? I wonder.
Do they want to see the real Jesus or do they just want confirmation of some romantic notion they have of him? Do they really want to see the Jesus who demands a life of self-sacrifice; the one who unequivocally says: “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.” [Jn. 12]
Our yearnings and our fears have created a Jesus we desire, rather than the gospel Jesus we deserve. Over the years, our practice of Christianity has become so sanitized and domesticated, that it no longer has the power to transform or to offer hope. This must change! It is no wonder that Sunday school can be so boring. I think Jesus would be greatly disappointed with those who consider themselves “Christians” yet whose hearts are anything but compassionate, generous, merciful, inclusive, and full of grace.
What would Jesus say to the religious right who denounce abortion yet pass legislation to reduce or remove medical care and the safety net that allows low incomes mothers to bring their children up with dignity? What would Jesus say to the religious left, who while criticizing the policies of social institutions, have not taken their own personal inventory and cleaned up their own behavior? What would Jesus say to the Vatican hierarchy, who is intent on keeping women, gays, and the laity on the margins? What would Jesus say to the mega-churches, who seem to be more intent on selling a product to the masses than preaching the hard sayings of the gospel? Jesus turned the value system of his day up side down and called us to follow him; not just talk about him or make an idol out of him. The consumerist, competitive, hard driving, narcissistic society of America, has little to do with the self-sacrificial life that Jesus modeled for his followers. Jesus’ death is a sober reminder that any who like Jesus, steps over sacred boundaries and violates conventional wisdom will pay a price. And yet, that is where the hope is!
Last week, at a local grammar school in Cupertino, a young, developmentally disabled girl was playing tag in the schoolyard with her classmates. She was very slow, and because she was an easy target, she kept getting tagged. Struggling time after time to catch any of the other children, she became tired and gave up. One of her classmates came over to her on the bench and asked her why she wasn’t playing with the group. She responded: “I can’t run very fast. Everyone keeps tagging me and I can’t catch them. It is no fun.” Her classmate replied: “If you come and play with us, I will run very slowly, so that you can always tag me. Please come and play.”
“ Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” [Ps. 51]
When cooperation is valued more than winning, there is hope. When relationships are valued more than personal achievement, there is hope. When empathy is valued more than personal gratification, there is hope. When our value system is turned up side down to reflect Jesus’ value system, there is hope. “Hope does not function as an opiate that causes people to deny reality. In fact, hope provides the courage to face whatever chaos and trauma life throws at us…Hope assumes the future contains potentialities not visible in the present.” [Andrew Lester]
So, what is the hope that you are holding on to? What authentic words of encouragement can you offer to the despairing, the desperate, the suffering, and the marginalized? Do you want to see Jesus? “Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.” [BCP 219]
| Updated 4/9/06 |
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