“If Only….”
July 7, 2013
Pray
Here, in this space
where we gather,
My hope is that each is touched by the Sacred — Not by my words,
But through the compassion shared.
May the Light of Life be yours.
FIRST READING: FIRST READING: An Excerpt from Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Lilian Cheung
“At its most essential, the apple you hold is a manifestation of the wonderful presence of life. It is interconnected with all that is. It contains the whole universe; it is an ambassador of the cosmos coming to nourish our existence. It feeds our body, and if we eat it mindfully, it also feeds our soul and recharges our spirit.
Eating an apple consciously is to have a new awareness of the apple, of our world, and of our own life. It celebrates nature, honoring what Mother Earth and the cosmos have offered us. Eating an apple with mindfulness is a meditation, and can be deeply spiritual. With this awareness and insight, you begin to have a greater feeling of gratitude for and appreciation of the food you eat, and your connection to nature and all others in our world. As the apple becomes more real and vibrant, your life becomes more real and vibrant. Savoring the apple is mindfulness at work.”
SECOND READING: Galatians 6:7 – 16 (from The Message by Eugene Peterson)
“What a person plants, he will harvest. …. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. Now, in these last sentences, I want to emphasize in the bold scrawls of my personal handwriting the immense importance of what I have written to you. These people who are attempting to force the ways of circumcision on you have only one motive: They want an easy way to look good before others, lacking the courage to live by a faith that shares Christ’s suffering and death. All their talk about the law is hot air. They themselves don’t keep the law! And they are highly selective in the laws they do observe. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast of their success in recruiting you to their side. That is contemptible! … I have been set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do – submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God – his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!”
I read, over the winter, that tomatoes will grow well on a deck or patio if they are placed up against a brick wall. The wall, absorbing heat from the sun all day, will continue to radiate that heat outward well into the night, and tomatoes like the warmth, so they’ll do better. We are trying it – I’ll let you know. I do have a few blossoms, and even a little green tomato or two, each about an inch in diameter. Meanwhile, my brother is harvesting tomatoes by the bucketful and making dozens of quarts of salsa. He doesn’t have to worry about warmth radiating off of walls – he’s lucky if the outside temperature dips below 75 degrees overnight. He planted his tomatoes the last week of February while our ground was still quite frozen.
If only I could get tomatoes like that!
Well I could… if I lived in Texas. I had to give up having tomatoes in my garden in early June when making the choice to live here rather than there. The difference is in understanding the choices we’ve made and the consequences of those choices. The difference is in knowing what the real issue is, and what question we are trying to answer. Personally, I would rather have Lilacs and Rhubarb outdoors in June than tomatoes, because I am mindful of the full impact of what that short statement means.
If the most important question for my life is whether I want tomatoes growing in the backyard in early June or not, I clearly have to assess life differently than I have. I have to consider the more important question. Where am I likely to enjoy the climate? Where do I enjoy the political atmosphere? Where should I be if I like cold winters with plenty of snow? Or, where do I feel most called to serve? Any one of those factors might play a role, or all of them, but we have to bring ourselves to an awareness of life. Where we are – and – Where are we going? We must be looking forward rather than back, as we consider our options in life.
The phrase “if only” harbors regrets when looking back, and it shows if we have not been carefully aware of the direction we are headed. Looking back rather than forward also (often) ties us to doing things the same way and not looking at life with new insight. We are really only offered freedom over the future, and so, must carefully and mindfully think about the freedom offered through the sacred.
We can either look at life the same way we have been looking at life, and make decisions based on the doing things the same way – or – we can be mindful of the present and plan for the future! There are situations today that call for a faithful, discerning look forward based on lessons learned from the past. Paul, in the text read (part of his letter to the church in the province of Galatia), is addressing a “hot-button” issue for the people. I think it’s important to see those concerns and apply the thought processes of today. There are many so-called “hot-button” issues today that divide and isolate people, and bring people to arguing about the direction we should go as a nation – and as communities of faith. There are laws about gun control and immigration; questions in many churches about the ordination of lesbian and gay individuals; recent Supreme Court action on marriage equality; questions of ecclesial authority and the role of women in the Roman Catholic Church. All these issues are concerns and questions that have the potential to divide and isolate people when, as communities of faith, I feel our call is to be building avenues toward a more cohesive community.
While I may never get the quantity of tomatoes my brother harvests (the conditions here being so different), I will harvest tomatoes, because that is what I planted! Even if it is seeds of hope, or seeds of calm, one thing we can be certain of – we will harvest what we plant and when the conditions are right the harvest flourishes!
Paul had a problem. The people in the Roman province of Galatia were experiencing exciting growth after Paul introduced them to this new faith, which brought such hope to the people. Paul started churches and moved on, only to find that people would, after his dynamic leadership, start to have problems when he left. Other leaders would come in and were determined to control the new church, rather than allow the freedom of this new faith to take hold. All too often then (as now) religious leaders used the power of their position to control and coerce and restrict with rules and decrees, and before he knew it, Paul had problems with his new churches. The new leaders were “old school”, and they were demanding that all new male members of the congregations be circumcised. But Paul essentially says, “NO, take a look at the real issues.” Listen to what Paul actually writes:
“They only want you to and here you can fill in your issue of the day, your concern de jour whatever that might be this particular rule so they can boast of their success in recruiting you to their side. That is contemptible! … I (Paul) have been set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do – submit to the rule of the day, reject the rule of the day. It is what God, or the Sacred Essence is doing, and the Sacred One is creating something totally new, a free life!”
Here, especially at Hope, but also at many progressive churches across the country, people are becoming more and more aware of the freedom that is given in Christianity. We are the ones who have been set free from the stifling atmosphere of following religious rules, as we become more aware of how the Sacred works through all of us to create a new free life.
There are, I know, some that are reluctant even to use the word Christian, because there is a stigma attached to it. It is not a religion of rules however, it is a faith practice that offers the freedom to love one another and let compassion and love be the guides. THAT is what we are planting and THAT is what we will harvest! Our message is getting out. We are planting hope. We are making a witness statement – by the love here and the action taken by the United Church of Christ at the national level.
The conditions are turning to our favor!
Thanks be to God for the work you do, and for the United Church of Christ!
