The theologian Rene Girard's book on theology of non-violence is entitled: I Saw Satan Fall Like Lightning. It's a fitting title since Love, the essence of non-violence is the perfect antidote to hate and intolerance, the essence of violence.
Nothing makes the harbingers of hate more nervous than communities of Love. Communities like the 70 in today's Gospel and communities like this one.
This past Sunday, the New York Times published an op/ed piece entitled The Gospel of Me. It was a fairly heady piece about the decrease in attendance at mainline Judeao- Christian Houses of Worship and the increase of home grown spirituality that, instead of revolving around a deity of some distance, revolves around one’s own inner being. This inner being is best engaged, apparently, when
we embrace our “authentic self.” Whatever that is. ;-)
The upshot of the commentary was this: the Gospel of Me, the spirituality of the authentic self, is in the end, lonely--leaving people empty.
This shouldn't be news to us, people who gather weekly, in community, to be filled, fed and fortified.
Filled with the Spirit,
Fed by the Eucharist
And fortified through fellowship to go out into the world, doing the work of Christ.
A lot of people view this Gospel of Me movement as cutting edge, the latest thing, completely different.
Ha, I’ve got news for them. Each and every week we gather to engage in one of the most spirit-filled, subversive and cutting edge encounters known to humankind. It was
counter-cultural 2000 years ago and is counter cultural now.
It really is. Going out into the world loving one another as we've been loved is not culturally NORMAL.
That's because our American culture is of this world. And this world is ruled by a me- first ethic.
Our life in the church is not of this world, it is not of humanity. It is of the greater world, it's of the Divine.
The world of me is fleeting.
The world of God is enduring.
So when we gather to celebrate the world of Love, the world of God we drive the Gospel of Me-ers, nuts.
Our collective love makes what the gospel calls Satan and we call evil-fall from it's throne of intolerant hate fueled violence with a deafening thud of defeat.
You see, hatred falls from its throne of intolerance when we live as God intended--- out of and back into Love.
Hatred falls from its throne of intolerance when teachers gather terrified children in their arms to show them love in the face of evil and horror in Newtown Connecticut.
Hatred falls from its throne of intolerance when the entire city of Boston refuses to be held hostage by the violent acts of a few and rises from the ashes of terror in a glorious stance of Boston Strong, Boston Love.
Hatred falls from its throne of intolerance when 19 firefighters rush into harm’s way and are killed doing what they loved: protecting
innocent people from nature’s wrath in Prescott, AZ.
Hatred falls from its throne of intolerance each and every time we gather to share in the Love of God as given to us through Jesus Christ. It falls from its throne when we laugh together, when we cry together, when we sing together, when we pray together.
This living in Love is the work of the church, it's the work of our faith and it makes a lot of people really
uncomfortable. This Love thing is anti intolerant, it's anti hate and it's anti-me.
Which is what makes it so dangerous.
It's why Jesus sent his advance team out two by two.
As Jesus prepared for this final walk toward Jerusalem, he was setting, as Pete referenced last week, his retirement plan into motion. And
that retirement plan is the Church---you and me…loving each other and everyone else we encounter.
Back in the time of Jesus being the Church wasn’t easy --our liturgical calendar is chock full of martyrs, early followers of Christ who were killed simply because of their faith. And it’s not too easy now, what with the way the fundamentalists have hijacked the word Christian and in response to such public expressions of hate, many people, like those who make up the Gospel of Me, simply turn their backs, giving up on the whole of Christianity because of the intolerance of a few.
Jesus is right--being the church, being followers of God through Christ, loving others, isn’t easy.
It's why we gather every week here: For strength in numbers!!
And it's why the Gospel of Me simply doesn't work. The faith of One instead of the Faith in the One, isn't sustainable, because we aren’t built for One. We're built for many. We aren’t designed to be sole practitioners of life, we're designed to share and to learn, to collaborate and to partner. We, this community of faith, this diocese, this national church, this worldwide communion need one another to do the work we have been given to do. the work of loving our neighbor as we have been loved.
It’s the Gospel of Us: established by Christ and nurtured by the millions of Christians who've come since, this Gospel of Love, this Gospel of Inclusion, this Gospel of Us is their legacy...and our children's future.
Much like we reflect and offer thanks to the founders of our faith, on this Independence Day weekend it makes sense to pause and to thank
the founders of our country, people of great faith who determined to create one nation, indivisible, under God. A nation formed under the fundamental precept that all people are created equal, that all people are to be
treated justly, that every person be granted the same chance as the next guy.
We-- the church and this country---don't always get it right.
But we--the church and this country--- always try.
Because as long as we try, as long as we do our best to live lives of love and justice, the Gospel of Me will be supplanted by the Gospel of Us as Satan falls from the throne of hate and
intolerance, landing with that thud into the arms of Love and acceptance.
No comments:
Post a Comment