SERMON - "What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary" (Rabbi Hillel)

There once was a Rabbi, Rabbi Hillel, who lived about a hundred years or so before Jesus’ time.  He was originally from Babylonia, and as a young man made his way to Israel to study the Torah.  He worked as a woodcutter and did not make much money, and at times could not pay the admission fee at the synagogue to study the Torah.  It is said, because of him, this fee was abolished.   

But he just did not study.   He was also known for his kindness, gentleness and concern for humanity.  Eventually Hillel became a leading rabbi and religious scholar of his day.  

Most certainly Jesus and his contemporaries read or studied the teachings of Rabbi Hillel.  

And from Rabbi Hillel, there is a story of a gentile who wanted to convert to Judaism.  After being chased away by another rabbi, the would-be convert approached Rabbi Hillel and asked him what he needed to know in a nutshell.  Rabbi Hillel told him, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary."

If you thought this sounded a lot like the Golden Rule, you are correct.  The Golden Rule however is just worded a little differently, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".
 
What is the root of these teachings?  Love!

So let’s talk about love!

Love is the basis of just about all world religions.  And more songs, poems & stories have been written about love than any other topic in the world! 

And who does not want love?  

What gives you love?  How do you feel it?  How do you give love?  What is it that you love?

You know, you all have such a wonderful look on your faces right now...for you all are thinking about love and how it feels.

When I think of love and feel it, it is so closely related to the feeling of peace.  And joy, and happiness.  All these are intertwined.

I heard from someone, who heard it from someone, who told someone, who heard it from someone else, that if I talked about my doggies one more time in a sermon they would explode!  Well, here goes.  So if we have any explosions here, you will know why...

Yes my three doggies bring much joy, happiness and love to my household.  And when they sit next to me in the morning as I drink my coffee and emerge into consciousness, how peaceful and wonderful it is!

Of course, having three little dogs does make for extra housework & cleaning.  But, it is a labor of love.

So, what more can I say about love that has not already been said before? 

The Buddha’s Flower Sermon pops into my mind here.  Are you familiar with it?   In Buddhism, this is a very famous sermon.  It goes like this…  

[SILENCE.  Pick up a flower and smile.]    

Lotus flower

And that’s the sermon!  I will explain…

The Buddha was with his followers.  They sat quietly.  He picked up a flower, and smiled!  It is a sermon not of words, but an act.  

So what is the message?  

It is an act of love, appreciating the beauty of the flower, its “suchness” as it is called in Buddhism, and imparting this wisdom to others by the action of holding up a flower and smiling. 

For you see in Buddhism, direct experience is way more important than doctrines, creeds and intellectual analysis.

I thought of the wordless Flower Sermon because when it comes to love, no matter what we say about it, nothing in words is entirely adequate. 

Perhaps that is why we sing about it so much.  For music helps us open a door to feel that love.

In the Hebrew Bible there are 613 mitzvahs.  A mitzvah is a law, a commandment.  When a Jewish young boy or girl have their Bar or Bat Mitzvah, they become a son or daughter of the commandment.  As full fledged Jews, they now must follow the Torah, the law.

This is why in our Gospel story for today, Jesus is asked, ‘Teacher, what is the most important commandment?’

And how does Jesus answer?   

He quotes the Shema from the book of Deuteronomy:  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind…”  
 
Jesus then goes on to say there is a second commandment – “to love your neighbor as you love yourself”. 

This second commandment is also is from the Hebrew Bible.  It’s in the book of Leviticus:   “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord your God.”

How easy and wonderful it would be if we could just do this!  But oh so hard it is sometimes, for some people are just, well as we know, just more difficult to love than others!

So I ask you, do you love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul?       

And, do you love your neighbor as yourself?    I mean, really?

But wait!   Don’t answer with words!    Let us answer by how we live.  

Let us answer by how we treat people…and animals.    Let us answer by how we talk to people… or about them.    Let us answer by our actions, by what we do, and what we do not do.    Even by what we think.   

For 'God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God'.  (1Jn 4:16)

'Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…' (1Cor.13)

Let us pray...
Oh loving God,  help us to live and walk in your love.

Amen. 


[Sermon by The Rev. Laura Adelia, given Oct 26, 2014]

SERMON "Divide and Conquer - Win the Battle, Lose the War" Pent 18. Oct 12, 2014

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you,  O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”   Amen.

Good morning everyone!  How many of you remember that movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?   It came out in the ‘80s, and was about a high school boy who, well, decides to take a day off of school.  He had a really excruciatingly boring, American history teacher who spoke in a very dry monotone way, like this, (in very slow monotone) “Turn your textbooks to page xxx.. today we are going to study the Transcontinental Railroad…”

In fact, that teacher reminded me of the history teacher I had for American History class in high school!    (Tortured look)

However, I do enjoy history.  Especially those history shows on PBS like “American Experience” and the Ken Burns films.  How many of you watched the Ken Burns series on The Roosevelts the other week?  Wasn’t that interesting?

There is also another show on PBS that I really like, a history – mystery show called (say in heavy, mysterious voice) “Secrets of the Dead”.    A real head turner with that title I know!    

These shows are very, very good at drawing you in as they tell the story.  They are very well done, wonderfully researched and creatively dramatized and filmed.  One thing they teach us is that there is always more to the story than we previously thought.   Many perspectives!

Every week when I begin the arduous process of writing a sermon, the first thing I do is research the scripture passage’s, or the story’s background and history.  Context as it is called.  What was the setting?  The geography?  The history?   Who were the people in the story?   How did things change over time?

It helps me to imagine what was going on way back then.  It sets the stage.  Whether or not I include this information in the sermon is another thing, but having this information helps me to better understand…and “see” in my mind’s eye “the story”.

Notice every Sunday service we have four scripture readings;  an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a second reading, usually an epistle, and a Gospel passage.  Most sermons focus on the Gospel, sometimes the Old Testament reading.  The epistle usually gets overlooked.  So for today, let’s focus on the second reading, the epistle,  Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

What is going on in Philippians?  Who were the Philippians?   Why is this letter in the Bible?   What mysteries of history does it have for us today?  And what spiritual wisdom can we glean from this scripture passage?

This epistle, (Greek for ‘letter’), was written by Paul to the people of the church in the city of Philippi in about the year 61 or 62 AD, while he was in jail.   So, with the epistles, ancient letters, we are reading really, really old mail! 

But first, where was / is the city of Philippi?    

It is located in northern region of Greece, in Macedonia & Thrace, up near modern day Bulgaria, where the land arches around the sea towards what is modern day Turkey.   

Philippi is named after Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great.   The famous saying, “divide and conquer” is attributed to Philip II.  And as we know, his son Alexander certainly took that lesson to heart!

The church at Philippi is actually very important in history.  It was the first Christian church congregation started on the continent of Europe!          

So, here we have Paul writing to the church in Philippi from his jail cell.  And in his letter he mentions the names of two women, Euodia (pronounced EEOODA) and Syntyche  (SIHN-tih-chee). 

Euodia & Syntyche were church members, and they were having a squabble or disagreement of some sort. It was really affecting the church and not for the positive. 

Well, we know this NEVER happens in churches anymore!!!  Right?  (Smile!)  This is proof that tensions in church congregations are no modern problem!

Paul says, “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.”    In other words, he is telling them to refocus!  To focus on God. 

Be of one mind, in other words, stay as one!

I did find it ironic that the city of Philippi, named after the person who coined to phrase “divide and conquer”, and yet Paul’s letter to the Philippians is about unity!   

So many political and military leaders throughout history have employed “divide and conquer” in their pursuits.  And it does work, as far as taking over organizations, nations, fighting military battles and overpowering others.  

But as we know, with family, friends, co-workers and colleagues, this does not at all work.  That is unless you wish to split up the organization.  One may win an argument, but in the process alienate everyone. 

Win the battle, lose the war, so to speak.

And so, Paul encourages unity and focusing on God. 

Aside from encouraging unity, joy is a central concept in his letter.    Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!”   

I ask you, are you joyful?  Are you a joyful person?   

One can be joyful anytime, anywhere… even in the most difficult of circumstances.   Joy is a discipline of perception.  Think of a time when you felt God’s joy…in spite of being in a very difficult place in life. 

It is interesting to note, that Paul here is writing about joy as he sits in prison waiting his sentence, which he knows will probably be death.  And yet, he is expressing, teaching and living God’s joy!

Happiness?  We know that is a whole other thing, isn’t it?    Happiness, and the pursuit of it, is based on circumstances.  Joy is not.

And so, in his letter to the Philippians, Paul encourages the church to rejoice together, for joy is incomplete unless it is shared.

Joy, like love is subversive.  It overturns threatening situations and frustrates those with selfish plans.  Tyrants and dictators in every age have feared it, because they do not understand its origin. 

Paul then talks about prayer in his letter.  It comes naturally to Paul that prayer should be intimately associated with joy in the Lord.  Prayer here is not a technique, it is relationship with God. 

Like joy, prayer is not an escape but a practice of regarding some painful situation from another angle, open to multiple resolutions that God may want us to consider. 

Let me re-read to you the soothing passages in Paul’s letter:

‘Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.’

These words Paul writes are not just platitudes and feel good passages.  Keep in mind, Paul is writing this to a church that is having conflict. Opposition and struggle within and without the church form the context of this passage.

Many quit coming to church because of “drama”, the arguing, the disagreements, the games people play, and yes, the mean spirited comments.  It is not easy!  Believe me, I know!

But spiritual growth takes more than just being on a “spiritual journey” and doing it all alone.  We need others!  We humans are social animals!  We need community!  We learn from each other. We help one another. We share in each others joys and sorrows.

However, as we all know, when you have three people (or more) you have politics.  And this is true anywhere; for families, friends and every organization, not just churches.  And yes, sometimes (sigh) we have differences and disagreements. 

When this happens… and it always will… let us remember what Paul teaches.  Refocus!  Focus on God.  The church at Philippi may be a church in ancient history, of people that lived long ago and have long since been dead.  But the spiritual truths and the lessons are very much alive for us today.

In God’s kingdom, “divide and conquer” does not work.  You will win the battle, but lose the war. 

Let us focus on God.  Rejoice in the Lord always…and let your gentleness be known to everyone.  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will be with you.

Let the people hear what the Spirit is saying!

Amen.  

[Sermon by the Rev. Laura Adelia, given Sunday, Oct 12, 2014.]