“When Spirit Is Added To The Mix”

Sermon Delivered By Rev. Richard E. Stetler, March 13, 2005

Psalm 1300; Romans 8:6-11

     A statement by the Apostle Paul that easily invites our curiosity and intrigue is the first sentence in our lesson today.  Paul wrote, “To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace.”  Since all of us would prefer the abundant life and a spirit that has discovered how to be at peace, what is the problem? What prevents so many people from experiencing what everyone apparently wants?

     As we near the end of our Lenten journey, this one verse puts into prospective something that Jesus wanted to communicate to the world.  He wanted people to learn about the powerful spiritual dimension of life.  This was a fairly vague concept for the ancients to comprehend.  The idea of spirit was as abstract for them as it is for many of us today. 

     Jesus tried to educate his listeners with such teachings as, “Where your treasure is, there will your hearts be also.”  “Anyone who looks at another person with lust in his or her heart, has already committed adultery with them.”  How can this be?  Can a thought communicate the same thing about us as the deed itself?

     Perhaps the granddaddy of all such teachings is this one, “You will enter the Kingdom of God only if you are more faithful than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees in doing what God requires.”  How could anyone achieve the levels of consciousness to which Jesus pointed if his or her life had to reflect life-patterns that were greater than those of the Pharisees?

     People in the classical world knew what comprised their life experience.  They knew about vocational skills. They knew they had a certain control over their financial resources.  They knew that if they had the opportunity to learn how to read and write their status in society would dramatically improve.  If they had mastered numbers, they might find themselves employed by Greek or Roman authorities for designing buildings like the Parthenon, or overseeing projects like the extensive system of aqueducts that carried the water into their cities.

     The Greeks and Romans, however, had a tradition of understanding abstract thought.  The Hebrews were not as interested.  Think of the issues faced by Jesus and Paul as they tried to teach a level of consciousness that no one could perceive with their senses.   While many of us claim to know about the Kingdom of God, our lives still reflect the values of the material world.  Internalizing abstract thinking is most difficult.

     For example, if you would like to test your abilities with abstract thinking, how do you process a concept like infinity?  Our Hubble telescope has revealed tens of thousands of galaxies in the universe, but the fact that space never ends does not resonate with our thinking.  How can something have no end?  Yet everyday we experience something that is very similar to this and we take it for granted.

     Those of us, who have traveled through countless airports or into numerous department stores and shopping malls, have seen thousands of people.  Imagine, since the beginning of time, no one has ever had your face. When you add to our faces the infinite combination of talents and predispositions, no one since the dawn of civilization has ever been like you. Think of the vast number of people who have lived on this planet before we were born.  Each person has brought a mix of energy, personality, skills and desires that has never before entered the world’s stage.  That is an example of infinity.  We experience highly unique people everyday. 

     I attended an art show that was held at Capital Plaza many years ago.  Among the oil paintings, there were several memorable renderings by a neurosurgeon who lived in New Carrollton.  A person who knew the artist indicated that he also was an expert cabinet-maker.

     A friend of mine is one of the deans at a college that is located two hours drive from here.  She has also become very active in local and national politics, in historical preservation and finds time as a parent to become involved in the local theater in her community.  These and many other talents belong to her mix.  I have never met anyone who is even remotely like her.

     As we examine our lives, just like those who have lived before us, we all appear to have predispositions toward the helping professions, the trades or the arts. As we access our numerous loves and hone the skills associated with them we find more than enough potential not only to earn a living but also to make a contribution to the world.

     The area that continues to remain beyond the grasp of most, however, is the infinite universe of spirit.  Paul knew that “to be controlled by the spirit results in life and peace.”  He continued, “To be controlled by human nature results in death.”  He was not referring to physical death or even eternal damnation.  Paul was referring to being dead while remaining physically alive.  In almost every area of human experience, we see the result in the lives of people who do not recognize the realm of spirit.  

     Think about what our society has experienced recently in the area of sporting events.  The coach of Temple University, John Chaney, recently sent a basketball player into a game with the sole purpose of injuring the players of the other team. John’s player succeeded in breaking the arm of the top scorer of their opponent.  Without the services of their star athlete, St. Joseph’s lost the tournament last night.

     We find multi-million dollar athletes dashing into the stands to attack the fans.  We find Congress getting ready to investigate the use of steroids by baseball players.  If all of this drama is taking place in the arena of our athletic contests, what might it suggest about what is happening in other areas of life?  We find people with enormous financial assets having difficulty with eating disorders, with social problems that place them in front of judges and juries and with broken marriages.

     We cannot point the finger at high profile people without also examining our own lives.  The failures among well-known personalities represent a very powerful witness to what life looks like “to have it all” while missing the depth provided by the spiritual dimension that originates within us.  Today we face the same issue that Jesus and Paul faced, i.e., teaching people about what is missing from their lives. 

     In our generation there is enormous pressure for us to look our best.  Yet single people have learned what happens when we are physically attractive.  Good looks may get them to the front door of a relationship but no further.  After the initial connection is made with someone, the work of spirit begins. 

     As beautiful as some people are, have they developed the skills of spirit that allow them to communicate patience, forgiveness, empathy, sincerity, follow-through, perseverance and reverence for the sacred?   Can they authentically communicate, “You are the only pebble on my beach”?

     Jesus was quick to point out that the attractiveness of the shell does not tell anyone   about the spirit that dwells within it.  In perhaps Jesus’ most blistering verbal attack on those who considered themselves among the righteous, he made this point over and over again in Matthew 23.  While the faithful looked exquisite in their fine robes and with their articulate prayers, Jesus labeled them, “blind guides,” “hypocrites,” “snakes and children of snakes,” and “whitewashed tombs.”   These are not attractive references.  

     In one of last week’s Scripture lessons God said to Samuel, “I do not judge as people judge.  They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.”  (I Sam. 16:7)  When the qualities of spirit are not added to the mix of who we are, are we alive?   It could be that we are merely an energized blend of masks and pretenses connected to life goals inspired by blind and uninformed ambitions?   Again, all of us can learn from high profile, very successful people who appear to have missed the infinite possibilities that dwell in a realm they cannot see.  It is much easier to construct an excellent business plan for a new company than to bring order to our internal world. 

     Paul wanted his readers to learn two aspects of living.  The Pharisees had already mastered the first.  The Jews had plenty of visible role models who displayed ethical behavior.  If any group of people in the ancient world knew their boundaries, it was the Pharisees.  They observed the Law of Moses to the letter.

     They “walked the talk” and did not compromise for the sake of expediency.  They did not wink at “white lies” nor were they tempted to slight their tithe to God of everything from grain and olive oil to their income.  They would never miss their Sabbath experience at the Temple because it happened to be a great day to shoot 18 holes of golf.  They established boundaries and honored them. 

     The second aspect that Paul referenced in his letters is the one that has made every generation struggle. God does not suddenly enter our lives and equip us with what we believe we do not have.  Jesus did not do that for his disciples, nor does God do that for us.   We grow our skills of spirit because of a host of little choices we make, choices inspired by the one who said, “follow me.”  We grow more dynamic and energetic as we add the deepening power of spirit to our mix.  Spirit offers us a frame of reference for living that nothing else can provide.  Let me give you some examples.

     I met a woman some years ago that had broken through barriers that nearly sabotage the lives of a good number of people.  One day her husband informed her that he had become involved with another woman and he wanted a divorce.   She said, “I love my husband very much.  If this is the choice he wants to make, I am contented to let him pursue his dream with someone else.”  Never once did I detect hurt or bitterness in her spirit.  Her understanding of love would not permit her to play small because her husband had changed his mind about her.  

     Years ago I was going down an escalator in a Woodward & Lothrop store.  I came upon a scene that brought tears.  There was a woman in a wheelchair that was in the advanced stages of a debilitating disease.  Her husband was very handsome.  He was kneeling beside her as he feed her ice cream with a small spoon.  As I walked by them I heard him say, “You are as beautiful now as the moment I married you.”  What a frame of reference!  He knew who lived inside her form.

     There is a medical doctor who has a flourishing practice in a rural community of Kansas.  He dropped out of the medical mainstream to be helpful.  In his window he placed a large sign that read, “I no longer carry malpractice insurance.  Come to me at your own risk.  Besides, I am the only doctor for 100 miles.” A big happy face followed his words.  His love of people is legendary in the community.  He still makes house calls.  He does not have hospital privileges, of course, but he does not care.  It was his frame of reference that enabled him to take such a risk.

     While Paul ends our lesson with a brief discussion of the reward of eternal life, that kind of carrot should never inspire our motivation for choosing this path of spirit.  We were created by God to bloom in such a way that our world becomes more beautiful because our unique life is here.  We cannot bloom as we were created to do without the dimension of spirit. If we do not understand this lesson, one-day we will. 

     If there is anything we can learn from today’s dominant headlines it is this:  without skills of spirit communicating through our mix of emotions, intellect and personality, nothing works in life.   Paul’s message to his readers was this direct.  If we do not access the realm of spirit, we are dead!   His words are as true now as they were nearly 2,000 years ago.

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

     As we enter worship today, O God, we are conscious that we come from an over stimulated world, one that speaks to us through every medium known to humankind.  Too often we comply willingly to its values and opinions.  There are moments when our wisdom fails us.  We do not realize that we have become products of our world, marching to the drumbeat that others have set for us.  During these Lenten days, help us to remember that Jesus gave us a better road map for life and a much superior script.  May we not forsake the timeless values he brought for the symbols prized by our world.  Lead us to live with a greater faithfulness to your design so that we might live in community and in pace.  Amen.