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“Being More Than Good
Students”
Sermon Written By Rev. Dick Stetler – June 7, 2020
On the occasion of church’s closure due to COVID-19 Virus
Centenary United Methodist Church Psalm 8;
Matthew 28:16-20 Our Gospel lesson this morning begins with Jesus'
final instructions to the disciples before he transitioned to the
land of our origin. According
to what is written in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus' final words were
these: "Teach others to
follow obediently everything that I have taught you. My presence
will be with you until the end of the world." As we discussed last Sunday, the most important
aspect of life is not teaching people the dos and don'ts that Jesus
taught, but to teach the spirit in which the disciples were to do their
teaching. Jesus did not
create another ethical legal system like the Pharisees had developed.
Rather Jesus wanted his followers to be a presence that
embodied the Golden Rule of treating others the same way that
they wanted to be treated.
Historically, the majority of people have either become indifferent or
simply do not know what Jesus taught. Recently, the United States has experienced protest
marches due to the treatment by a police officer that caused the death
of a black man. Video
footage of his death featured the police officer kneeling on the neck of
this man who was already handcuffed and lying on the street.
With the assistance of social media outlets, the flood gates
of protest were wide open for people to express their outrage. Eventually another group of people descended on
cities to take advantage of an opportunity to smash windows and loot
stores. Hundreds of people
loaded their vehicles with valuable clothing, cases of alcohol, and most
of the merchandise in stores like Target, Macy's, and mom and pop
specialty stores. Then they
set fire and many businesses were destroyed.
As could easily have been predicted, the teachings of the Master
were only made visible by a tiny minority.
The news media not only featured these riots
relentlessly day after day but also what every conceivable authority
had to say about them.
Every network was trying to present breaking news of the latest
outrageous behavior of people. It seemed as though COVID-19 no longer
mattered or existed in the world. Protesters were more interested in
making a statement with their actions than they were of practicing
social distancing from each other. What can we learn from watching a tiny
number of people that went beyond the peaceful social protests, as they
deliberately chose to bow down at the altar of anarchy?
Very few television viewers were reminded that the United States
has a population of 328.2 million people who remained well-behaved.
Those who were peacefully demonstrating felt that no justice had
been served. The looting of merchandize and the destruction of
businesses resulted from the behavior of an even smaller number of
people who came with that intention. Our experience of these activities reminds
us why the world is perfect for
what it was designed to do.
As we have discussed before, the movie that is currently
playing has played throughout history. The movie now playing of a
killer virus or anarchy is once again giving people an opportunity to
make a statement of where they are on the learning curve of spiritual
maturity. The same movie played in Jesus' world. We may
remember that during the years of 167-160 BC, a Greek king of the
Seleucid Empire looted the Temple in Jerusalem of its gold. King
Antiochus IV Epiphanes intentionally defiled the Temple of the Jews with
the blood of pigs. A
priest, Judas Maccabeus, led a rebellion to repel the Greeks. After
liberating the Jews, Judas came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.
He fought fire with fire and was declared a hero.
Jesus used the same symbolism that Judas
Maccabeus used on the first Palm Sunday to illustrate that
earthly power is
not the way to set people
free. Yes, the Greeks were defeated, but the freedom of the
Jews was temporary. Next it
was Rome who dominated the Hebrew society with yet another movie. Around 885 CE, the Vikings burned and looted city
after city as they conquered England, France, and Ireland.
Everyone involved throughout history who have engaged in this
behavior were demonstrating their spiritual identity. Such choices would
be impossible to make without a movie playing that provides
people an opportunity to make choices that reveal their inner world.
This is why our world is the perfect classroom to
reveal our known identity. Jesus never taught his followers to ignore what was
happening around them. What
he did teach was the kind of presence that people were capable of
bringing into that world. The focus of most people throughout history
has been to react emotionally to the various movies that were
playing during their lifetime. The faithful are often seduced by the
movies and eventually felt the need to fight fire with fire.
The reason is that violence is the only language that people who
have gone rogue might understand. Even during the Crusades, the armies of Christians
and the armies of Muslims were clashing. After the Christian and
Muslim standards had fallen in battle, no one could distinguish
the righteous from the evil doers because both armies were
killing each other. What presence
did Jesus want his disciples to know and display?
How could his message be so completely misunderstood by
people that were living on another level of awareness?
We must remember that the world is perfect for what it
was designed to do. Are we
busy reacting to a movie or bringing the skills of an angel
to shine through our lives? This question is quite easy to answer once we see
clearly the difference between those who have learned from Jesus and
those who are being tutored by the values of the current movie
that is playing. The minuscule number of people who follow
Jesus are like servants invisibly working in the world without the need
for any recognition.
These are the people who know something about Creation that
the others do not recognize.
These nameless people that were never interviewed by the news
media could be seen with rakes and brooms as they were doing what they
could to clean up the streets and sidewalks of their cities. I was in the Bulk store in Devil's Hole last week
and I heard someone speaking to another person when he blurted out, "I
hate Donald Trump!" That
comment told me how vulnerable he was to being emotionally controlled by
events and personalities in our world. Many people make such a statement
of who they are as they respond to the movie they have
personalized. Every time the Royal Gazette prints a
disparaging political cartoon or prints an editorial berating the United
States and its President, our newspaper is demonstrating how influential
the current movie has been for the editorial staff. Few people exist who understand how Jesus wanted
people to teach one another from a consciousness that comes from their
presence. The contrast is quite clear.
Jesus never condemned Rome. He never criticized the oppressive
taxes that were levied by Rome.
He never verbally attacked the Roman military for raping the
women in his culture. What
can we understand from Jesus' silence?
If Jesus had uncomfortable feelings about anyone,
his attitudes were opposed to the Pharisees who were the more obedient
to the Laws of Moses than anyone else.
Knowing the dos and don'ts of Jesus' teachings are not enough. He
wanted us to be more than good students. Practicing a loving
presence in the midst of chaos is what he was asking from his followers.
That translates into remaining blind and deaf to the movies
that have played continuously during the evolution of our societies. Can we imagine what we would think of Jesus today
if he had repeatedly exclaimed, "I hate Caesar! I despise Pontius
Pilate! Roman rapists should be castrated."
Such pronouncements would have told us that Jesus' attitudes and
behavior were being formed by the movie playing and not by his
knowledge and understanding of what it looks like to make visible
God's presence. Jesus was not moved or motivated by events in the
world. His energy was totally devoted to teaching people how to live
with compassionate attitudes every day. He knew that our perfect
world had been created with the duality of good or evil,
right or wrong, compassion or hatred, and
justice or injustice giving us a clear choice to make.
However, Jesus taught, "It is not a matter of making a correct choice,
but rather to be a consistent loving presence that will affect
his followers' health, spirit, thoughts, emotions, and the way others
will respond to them. Such people are the vehicles that will
bring meaningful and very different expressions of love into the
material world of physical forms. Jesus was giving expression
to God's presence.
What do our attitudes and understanding express to those around us? Are
we opinionated about the politics of Bermudians, the Chinese, the
Russians, or the Americans?
Good luck with that! If the current movie is all that we pay
attention to, how is that working out for us? Jesus brought a different dimension to
life, one that is not recognized by the masses or even the leadership of
the Church. Think of
the spirit that Jesus modeled. He befriended a prostitute, a woman
caught in adultery, nine men who took for granted that they had been
healed of their leprosy, an unjust trial that found Jesus guilty of
blasphemy, and a crowd of people shouting "Release Barabbas!
Crucify this man," and forgiving two men, who had been thieves,
hanging on crosses on either side of him. Do we find ourselves among the few who wear
the garments of God's presence?
These are people who pay little or no attention to the
endless dramas occurring in the physical world. These few people possess
enormous power but choose not to use it in a way that the physical world
understands. They use their
powers from another dimension of life that knows just how temporary the
movies are that have played non-stop during the slow evolution of
human consciousness. I enjoy the Pardon My Planet cartoons in
Saturday's Gazette.
Recently, a cartoon featured a man that was on a date.
He casually said to his lady friend, "Love is such an arbitrary
thing. I love you and I love wine.
I also love two-for-one dinner coupons."
Such an attitude is fine for this man.
This is where his level of awareness and responsiveness will
remain until he decides to choose differently.
What separates people is the choice of a few to live by the
values that come from their awareness of being an angel.
Such a presence has nothing to do with making choices
between the values present in the physical world.
It has to do with bringing to their earth-experience the
presence of God. They have no opinions about the theatrical drama
that is playing in their world because they know that such things do
not exist in the realm of their origin. Quite often we are not aware of such people because
being noticed is not one of their concerns. They just sow their seeds
as Jesus did and exit this world through whatever form of death that
comes their way. They are
confident that God will find fertile soil for their seeds.
We can work with them side by side and never know the source of
their inner strength. Their deeds reveal the source of their energy. The difference between their identity and the
identity of most people is that they know the truth of what Jesus meant
when he said to the woman at the well:
"Those who drink the water that I will give them will become a
spring which will provide life-giving water that will enable each one to
reflect a presence of living in eternity now." (John 4:13-14)
Once people learn to rise above the movie that is playing, they
will become the leaven for the entire batch of dough. Through
them, human history will continue its evolution. Few people recognize those who cast no
blame, hold no judgments, and are always expressing gratitude and
happiness every day.
We can only take responsibility for one world – the one
we display through our living. What others are doing with their lives is
up to them. When people are having a rough time with their
lives, generally it has to do with how they are responding to a movie
that is playing and not with what Jesus came here to teach.
However, they can easily be healed by choosing to allow their angel
to show up the moment they get out of bed in the morning.
These are our saviors who walk among us unrecognized.
The truth is that each of us has the potential to be one
of them. If we asked, "Where is Divine Justice?"
God might answer: One of the least understood lessons, even by your
religious purists, is that true justice has always been in
your hands, not mine. When
I gave you life, it was all yours to use to create whatever you dream.
True justice comes when you realize what you have created from
the tools that I have given you.
Each of you is my one-of-a-kind creation.
What makes you different is that each of you is on your own path
of self-discovery. As you
say, "You will never be on the same page as everyone else."
Be at peace with that understanding.
I will always love each of you.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
What a comfort it is,
O God, to know that you are always finding new ways to encourage our
growth. Yet we know that
our expressions of love are often spiced with personal needs. You have
given us our wonderful world and we complain when the weather spoils our
plans. Jesus taught us
forgiveness and we still justify why "an eye for an eye" makes sense. We
are humbled when we realize that Jesus saved the world without defending
anything. He loved and did
not count the cost. Teach
us how to be healers, reconcilers, and bridge-builders by realizing that
the truth of love never needs defending.
Amen.
THE PASTORAL PRAYER Loving God, it is such a refreshing experience
to enter this place of worship and to have alternatives placed before us
that are often different from the ones we might choose. So much is
required of us every day and it feels good to be still and reflect on
guidance that has the power to change our understanding and responses.
So often moments that
we did not anticipate have forced us onto the stage where we are faced
with circumstances that were not part of the storyline that we would
have preferred. We confess to our struggles with faith.
Sometimes we do not know when to control and when to let go. We do
not know which fears point to reasonable caution and which ones point to
our lack of trust. We frequently do not know how to respond when
faced with choices that represent change but appear to have equal value.
Lead us, O God, to
learn the value of being faithful to making visible your presence in our
world. Encourage us not to judge the worth of any experience until we
have the opportunity to surface the talents that you gave us in our
dealing with it. Lead us to become aware of how often we can
become instruments of your peace, the embodiment of your generosity, and
the bearers of your compassion. We pray these thoughts through the
spirit of Jesus, who taught us to say when we pray . . . |