In the Epistle reading for today
faith is called “the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.” The reading then presents
us with a list of people who lived in faith, and
although they were very different one from another they
all shared in common the fact that they understood
themselves to be pilgrims on this earth; that here they
found no final or permanent home. The great men and
women of faith were those who knew they were pilgrims
and who looked for a city “which hath foundations whose
builder and maker is God.” They lived in faith, and we
are called to do so as well. We might begin by realizing
that we exercise the virtue of faith every day. We all
make good faith transactions with each other every day
even though we might not think of it in those terms.
Just living as a productive member of society requires
living in good faith with other people. Then, there are
other times when faith resembles trust. One example of
this occurs on road-trips where you’re sharing the
driving. Even though you know that the other driver is
safe and responsible it still requires an act of faith,
of turning things over to someone else’s hands before
you can fall asleep. (I am at this point reminded of a
song title, Jesus take the Wheel, made famous by
an Oklahoma musician. I’m sure it’s a fine song, but my
first question upon hearing the title was: “What were
you doing driving in the first place?” You see, I myself
happen to be under the influence of numerous sins and I
really shouldn’t be driving. I want our Lord and Savior
to take over that role. And while I’m at it, I also
should mention that I want our Lord Jesus as my pilot,
not my co-pilot. Trust me; you do not want me flying the
plane.)
We are called to walk in faith and
we are also pilgrims who have here no permanent home.
The pilgrimage we’re on is not one which can be measured
geographically because the direction we move is inward
towards a loving communion with God in Jesus Christ our
Lord. This pilgrimage is transformative; this journey
changes us. We all need to grow, but I’ll be the first
to admit that I am a big fan of growth only as long as
it doesn’t involve change. It’s so often the
change that is painful. Had I been with
Moses when he led the people out of Egypt, I’d have
crossed the Red Sea and promptly announced, “That’s it;
we’re here. We’ve arrived.” And, when Moses told me we
still had forty years to go before we could settle down,
I would have told him, “No, that’s OK, I’m good. You
carry on and I’ll stay right here.” (You may laugh but
at least I might have struck oil.) But of course, my
attitude won’t do precisely because we need those forty
years and we need that change. We need the
transformative journey. We all need to grow … together.
Let me be clear that when I say we
need to grow I’m not talking about building anything. We
cannot build the Kingdom of God, we can only receive it.
Jesus said: Fear not little flock, for it is your
Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
What a remarkable verse! “Fear not little flock” says
Jesus, “for it is your Father’s (notice that it says
YOUR Father’s) GOOD PLEASURE to GIVE you the Kingdom. We
cannot produce a right relationship with God, or
righteousness, by our own efforts. We cannot make that
happen any more than we can earn the love of God. But we
may receive all the love and all the righteousness God
pours upon us, and we can grow in that love and in that
righteousness.
Growing as Christians and being
transformed by God Himself into the pure and perfect
image of His Son is not optional. We are on a pilgrimage
to Heavenly union and communion with God and that
changes us, and we must welcome that change. Let me be
brutally frank and honest. If your emotional program for
happiness is invested chiefly in satisfying your primal,
instinctual needs for security, affection, and control;
if you over-identify with your peer group for
self-esteem, and if when it comes to protecting yourself
you take what is bothering you and project it on to
another person, none of this sounds much like Heaven to
me. It sounds like there is some growing to be done, and
since that is exactly what we are supposed to be helping
each other do here, we might as well get started now. As
for me, I’m considering getting a tattoo across my
forehead right where my brain is allegedly rumored to be
which reads: “some assembly required.” Every single one
of us is a work in progress. And so, listen and hear
again those wonderful words of Jesus: “Fear not little
flock, for it is your father’s good pleasure to give you
the kingdom.” The good news is that God’s Kingdom and
your transformation in that Kingdom is not simply
something which God merely allows happen – as if
grudgingly – but is rather “your Father’s good
pleasure.” After all, you are being changed into your
real and true likeness which happens to be the very
image and likeness of God. Why is it our Father’s “good
pleasure” that we be transformed into His image? The
answer to that is at once simple and profound. You are
his child. That is who you really and truly are. Your
secret identity has been revealed. You are God’s own
beloved child, and for that very reason, nothing and no
one can ever satisfy you but God. Only God will do for
you.
We were created to know God
eternally in His infinite and unbounded love, and
nothing else will do. It is in this context that Jesus
tells us not to be overly attached to the things of this
world – to our possessions. Do not for a second think
that anything or anyone can take the place of the only
one who can make you happy forever. There is no
situation or circumstance that is just so perfect that
it can satisfy us forever and there is no one … other
than God. Always remember that the love you feel for
someone, as intense as it may be, is what you bring to
them from inside you. They are not producing that love
in you. It may feel that way to you especially at first
because they love you and you are receiving their love
and it’s really great. However, they do not produce love
in you, instead, they are the keys which unlock it and
let it out. The love with which you love your loved ones
is the same love in which you were created and the same
love with which you love God. Love made you in love’s
own image. Wherever you go you are being drawn by the
love within you.
You are God’s child created in the
image and likeness of God. You have been created for
eternity in loving communion with God. Given all this,
the moment you make someone more important than God or
as important as God you immediately condemn that person
to failure. They must fail you because they cannot
possibly be God. Our Lord Jesus tells us that if we love
our parents more than we love him we are not worthy of
him. This sounds so hard and harsh until you think it
through. What would happen if we actually loved our
parents more than we love Jesus … more than we love God?
Doing that immediately condemns them to failure. We
immediately condemn them to disappointing us because we
have insisted on satisfying our own needs by requiring
them to be something and someone they cannot possibly
be. Loving anyone more than we love God ultimately is
selfish of us; supremely selfish. For the same reasons,
don’t ever tell someone you can’t live without them or
that you cannot be happy without them. Please don’t ever
say that. Remember, they do not produce your love; you
bring it to them, so do not make them responsible for
your happiness because they do not produce that either.
And yet, this is exactly what you’re doing when you
tell someone you can’t be happy without them and you
cannot live without them. You are telling them that you
abdicate and renounce responsibility for your own
happiness and you are dumping all that on the one you
love. (What’s the response to that? Thank you?)
Instead, know that you are the beloved child of God
made in God’s own image. Love God and love your loved
ones in God and for God’s sake and you’ll be a watchful
servant, and your joy will be where your heart is and
your heart will be in Heaven.
Our Lord Jesus tells us not to
fear. He says, “Fear not, little flock.” The Bible tells
us this over and over again. It was the angelic message
to the Christmas shepherds and it was the good news
proclaimed by angels at the empty Easter tomb. Be not
afraid. Living in fear is not real living. Fear produces
anger and hate. Wherever you see anger or hate, chances
are fear is lurking somewhere in the background. Where
you have fear, anger and hate are not far behind. (They
serve as each other’s default settings.) The very first
thing that happened when the first man sinned in
paradise; the immediate result of self-will and discord
was fear. Guilt (or shame) and fear are sin’s constant
companions. With this in mind, consider what Jesus tells
us happens when the Lord returns and finds his faithful
servants watching. He says that the Lord shall gird his
loins and serve his servants as their servant. Does this
sound familiar? Maundy Thursday was a foretaste. We are
being called to a loving communion with God.
At the end of every day we should
ask ourselves if we have grown in loving communion …
loving communion with God and with one another in God.
Did you build up that loving communion today or did you
break it down? Did you do your bit to restore and repair
that loving communion or did you leave a path of
destruction in your wake? We should ask: What
opportunities were presented to me today to grown in
virtue? Did I have a chance to exercise my patience? How
did I do with that? Was I given an opportunity today to
guard my tongue and say only things which were helpful
and constructive? How did that work out for me? You
see, we’re all growing in this together, so let us work
together and help each other in a spirit of forgiveness,
patience, understanding, and charity. Let us live with
the mind of Christ and a spirit of service, and let us
be watchful – always mindful of the presence of our
Lord. Let us keep the lamp of hope burning as we stand
ever ready by the door of faithful diligence, our table
set, well supplied and furnished by virtue, and our home
within warm in the glow of God’s love.
