Readings
for Advent 2C:
Baruch 5:1-9; Phil 1:1-11; Luke 3:1-6
December 10, 2006
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and his shall be made low...and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” [Luke 3]
While in Italy, the Women Touched by Grace visited the town of Norcia, the birthplace of St. Benedict and his sister, Scholastica. In the town square is a monastery built over the place where Benedict and his twin sister were believed to have been born. A simple monk, with a simple faith, gave us a tour of the church. During the tour, he stopped his commentary and offered us some profound advice about our preaching. He said: “Some churches preach a lot about salvation and the need to repent and return to the Lord. Other churches preach a lot about damnation and the need to straighten up and follow the rules. But what Christians need most is to learn how to become intimate with God. Because when one becomes intimate with God, salvation will naturally follow. True intimacy with God transforms the whole person and that is what this world really needs!” What I would like to talk about today is intimacy with God as the foundation of hope for our transformation and the salvation of the world.
To be saved means to be made whole and holy. There are many different ideas on what salvation looks like. From a political point of view, salvation might include democracy, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It will be a time when nations no longer fight with one another but rather join together in a global partnership for the good of the whole human race. From an environmental point of view, salvation means environmental sustainability; a time when each of us leaves only a light foot print on mother earth, thus ensuring clean air, water, and land. From a medical point of view, salvation means that all people will have access to health care. It will be a time when people treat their bodies with respect as the temple of God; a time when the medical establishment triumphs over AIDs, malaria, cancer, epidemics, and childhood mortality. From a sociological point of view, salvation would mean the eradication of poverty and hunger, gender equality, and access to education for all people. These ideas about salvation are summed up in the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. [www.un.org/millenniumgoals]
When I look at these Millennium Development Goals, I am struck by how ambitious they are. For me, they are ambitious not so much because of their magnitude, but because I do not think they are achievable on a permanent basis unless the human race becomes spiritually healthier. How can we expect people who are so fearful, wounded, ignorant, and selfish, to rise to a higher level of consciousness and self-sacrifice unless there is some significant healing of the human heart and soul? How can we expect people to give up their power, prestige, and possessions for the good of the whole human family unless they begin to see themselves as children of God whose primary purpose in life is to be agents of God’s love? For Christians, salvation is not limited to a political, economical, or sociological solution. For Christians, salvation means the transformation of the whole creation, working in harmony to reflect the divine light of the Creator.
Thomas Keating once said: “We are living in a world that rejects love and that affirms selfishness as the ultimate value. The pressure from society is constantly insinuating itself through our upbringing, education, and culture. Society as a whole is saturated with the non-God.” It is into this context (devoid of the holy) that the human soul craves for intimacy with God. It is a craving that is buried under layers of misdirection, misunderstanding, and denial. And unless we address this spiritual craving, we will continue to be a people who are very needy; a people who turn to alcohol, drugs, consumerism, shallow relationships, busyness, and frantic activity to fill the hole. I believe that true intimacy with God is the path to salvation. For “our souls are restless until they rest in thee O Lord.” [Augustine]
To be intimate with someone means to be open, vulnerable, truthful, and real. It means being able to share your whole range of thoughts, feelings, and experiences as a human being. It involves a level of trust, letting down your guard, and showing someone else how you feel and what your hopes and dreams are. Discovering intimacy with someone you love can be one of the most rewarding aspects of a relationship. Unfortunately, many people are fearful of developing intimacy in relationships and settle for a semi-communicative, sexual relationship. It is no wonder that one out of every two marriages end in divorce and true friendships are hard to find.
For the past two generations, “the requisites for intimacy have been turned around backwards. Intimacy is sought by many, first at the physical level, then at the emotional level, and last of all in the realm of the spirit. This is the reverse of what it should be. Since most of us have been disappointed by our parents, let down by our society, ripped off by our friends and burned by our lovers, the tendency is to either settle for superficial friendships or avoid commitments altogether. The result is loneliness, emptiness, and despair.” [Lambert Dolphin]
Intimacy in human relationships begins with an intimacy with God. Being intimate with God is wanting to know God at the deepest level. Intimacy with God means a full, fresh, moment by moment dependency upon God’s grace and mercy. And it grows deeper with time. Too often Christians are satisfied with simply learning things about God without ever developing a relationship with God. The early Christians, (such as those in Philippi whom we read about in today’s epistle) experienced God in a real and profound way. Their personal relationship with God in Christ enabled them to become wise, good, just, and happy, reaching out to those in need. What happened to that total confidence in God’s grace and mercy over the years?
As the age of enlightenment and the rise of experimental science intensified, the movement of theology changed from an intimate relationship with God to a rationally ordered belief system. Notice how many Christians now spend their time worrying about the “authentic words of Jesus”, the historical context of the creeds, and the biological perspective of the virginal conception. This rational approach to God lacks the power to transform the human heart. We need to recover our intimacy with God.
So how do we become intimate with God? Intimacy with God is a four fold path; the same path that is required in becoming intimate with a person. Intimacy is based on knowing, trusting, loving, and serving.
1. How can we know God? We can know God through the biblical witness, through the study of our Christian tradition, and through prayer. Prayer is the most intimate way. Prayer is responding to God by thought and by deeds, with or without words. As we enter more deeply into the mystery of God, our preconceived notions about God begin to fade away, leaving us in silence to experience the divine light. As we are awakened to this divine presence, our relationship to ourselves and to everyone else begins to change. We begin to see the world as God sees it, thus responding to the human condition with love rather than fear. Our perception of reality becomes more accurate and we can make better decisions.
2. How can we trust in God? Like any relationship, trust takes time. Take a look at the lives of those who have placed their trust in God and how they have not been disappointed. It always amazes me that we are so willing to put our trust in money and yet time and time again, Wall Street has disappointed us. Trusting in God means having the confidence that in the final analysis, “all will be well.” During his imprisonment, Paul wrote a letter to the church in Philippi in which he expressed his deep trust in the spirit of God working among the people. He says: “I am confident that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”
3. How can we develop our love for God? The more we know and trust God, the more we grow to love God. When Jesus was asked which was the most important commandment, he answered: “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And then love your neighbor as yourself.” To love God with “all” is to love God with the totality of our being. We are to bring an intensity to loving God. St. Augustine saw this act of loving as so foundational that he said: “Love God and do what you want.” He knew that those who truly loved God would function in this world with compassion towards others.
4. How do we serve God? Once we know, trust, and love God, we respond by using our gifts for the building up of God’s kingdom. There is nothing more natural than serving the one we know, trust, and love. Christ becomes the blueprint for Christian response which means we care for the poor, the sick, the suffering.
True intimacy with God has nothing to do with a co-dependent, self-serving piety, that focuses only on our own psychological needs. True intimacy with God moves us to participate in the groanings of the Spirit for all the needs and intentions of the human family.
So as we prepare the way of the Lord on this second Sunday of Advent and celebrate the anniversary of Human Rights Day, this is my prayer for you. “That your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best so that in the day of Christ, you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.” [Philippians 1:9-11]
| Updated 12/11/06 |
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