Perspective

Sometimes I think that Jesus is just plain unreasonable.

Love your enemies, he tells us. Pray for those who persecute you. When someone slaps you, turn and offer your other cheek.

Love the IRS man? Love the guy who cuts you off on the highway and doesn’t seem to care at all but speeds on past with loud music playing? Love the lady at the bank who puts you on perma-hold with terrible musac playing and can’t seem to answer a simple question? Love the health insurance executive who refuses to cover a surgery because of a pre-existing condition? Love the bully who makes your child suffer at school?

This is so hard to do that I often don’t even mention it. When a young woman came to me years ago to tell me that her uncle raped her repeatedly I did not say that she was supposed to love him. How could I have done that? All I could do was listen and assure her that God still loved her, even when she cut herself and wanted to die. All I could do was hear her pain. And when she finally got mad at the man who hurt her so badly, I was grateful. Get Mad! I felt like saying. It’s when a victim appears depressed instead of angry that I really begin to worry. Isn’t it RIGHT and JUST to be angry at someone who hurts you?

Who is Jesus kidding? How in the WORLD can we love our enemies?

What about the President of Iran who hates everything American or the men who flew planes into skyscrapers? Or the man in the city of Kansas where I came from who routinely murdered women and men for a decade in their homes? What about them? What could it possibly mean to love them?

Jesus couldn’t have meant what he was saying. Or could he?

Just when I think that he must have been asking too much, asking what no human being could possibly do, the image of Jesus hanging on the cross comes to me and I remember his words…They came out during the height of his pain, not after years of therapy or processing.  Right when he was experiencing pain beyond anything that we can imagine, he said,

Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.

When I remember these words, I begin to believe, once more, that Jesus knew exactly what he was talking about when he told us to love our enemies. And that God knows we can do it.

So what was it that Jesus had that we don’t have? (I mean, other than the fact that he was GOD!) What was he able to do on that cross that we cannot seem to do? How could he love so much and so unconditionally?

And then it came to me. It has to do with perspective. It’s all about perspective.

If you and I were to believe in the Resurrection without hesitation, if we were to really trust that there is NOTHING that can separate us from the love of God and that our souls are destined to live with Christ in a life which far exceeds this one, well, if this is the case, then everything changes.

The reason that we hate or run away or abhor or want to destroy is because we are afraid. We are afraid of what has happened to us, that it has ruined us. We are afraid that we will never be the same.

But if you knew that NO ONE could separate you from God’s love, and that even if they killed your body, that you yourself would be fine, better than fine, then everything would change. You could stop worrying about yourself.  And you can begin to think of the soul of the other. You can begin to see that other person as human, even if all that appears before you is evil.  You can treat that person as if there is something still buried inside that can be redeemed. Some sliver of the light of Christ just might be still dimly lit in even the worst human being. It might be there. And it is your job to honor that possibility.

Deacon Ben Clance stood before a cell for 30 minutes waiting for the gaurds to open the door this past week. They kept having other things to do, inventory, people to count. “What do you want to see HIM for?” they asked. Ben just stood waiting, because he had promised the man in solitary that he would bring him communion. He promised a murderer and he planned on keeping his promise.

I met with the new Imam at the Muslim Center here in Jacksonville. He is American but studied Islam in Saudi Arabia. We met with other religious leaders to see if there is anything, anything that we can communicate about. The Imam told me a story that I had not heard about in the news.

During the height of the riots in Egypt, on a day when the military had fired on the crowds and many had been killed or wounded, it was evening. The Muslims in the crowd heard the call from the mosque indicating that it was one of the five times a day that they were instructed to roll out their prayer mats and kneel, bowing towards Mecca and chanting the Koran. So the Muslims began to say their prayers. They put away their sticks and rocks and began to prostrate themselves towards Mecca. Some had prayer rugs and some did not. As the soldiers advanced, the Coptic Christians saw them from afar, and the Christians joined hands and formed a circle around the Muslims, using their bodies as shields against the oncoming soldiers.

They used their bodies as shields.

Do you really believe that everything will be OK? Do you trust that God has a place for you, a life for you that is everything that you have ever wanted and more? Do you believe this?

If you do, then you can love your enemies. You can begin to see them for who they are and even risk your life for them. But if you do not trust in the resurrection of our Lord, then how can you be expected to love those who mistreat you?

And let me be clear that by love, I do not mean that you should LIKE them or have WARM feelings for them. That may never happen and it is far beyond your control. What I mean is that when you are mistreated, that you do not retaliate, that you give the perpetrator kind and respectful treatment even in the face of their hatred. That you treat them with kindness, compassion, honesty. And you do this for GOD and for the very salvation of your soul.

Because in the end, you are not concerned about your car, or your taxes or even about your body. You want to come to God and God is love and that is all that motivates you. You want to see the face of God.

I woke up very early yesterday morning and saw the moon shining on my face. It was a full moon and beautiful. And I knew that it was shining on all of us, the homeless and the man who was wandering the streets drunk, the exhausted young mother and the man who beat his wife, man who stole and the murderer. That moon shone its light on all of us and in its light I was reminded that God invites all of us to the table. God wants all of us to come inside.

It is all about seeing things from God’s perspective.
From God’s perspective, we all fall short and we all deserve another chance again and again and again. From God’s perspective, life is short and it is a training ground for the life eternal. From God’s perspective, suffering is an opportunity to show forth the love and strength of Christ. And every time you love your enemies, God’s light shines through you.

So when that guy cuts you off or the lady at the bank won’t help you or when, God forbid, you get hurt or robbed or your children get hurt, remember that God’s light shines on all of us and that this is not the end of the story. This moment is by no means the last word. Remember that through the Resurrection, you have the power to pray for, to forgive, and yes, even to love those who would do evil to you.

Salt

"You are the salt of the earth..."
                                     Jesus


The images on television are frightening. Riots occurring in the streets. Video cameras and cell phones capture everything, the bloodied heads, the screams, a man beating another man with an iron bar. Fires and tanks in the streets. Egypt is erupting before our very eyes.


Our bishop received a letter from the Anglican bishop in Egypt. His name is Bishop Mouneer Anis. He thanked the churches of America for our concern. He said that he feels that the Lord is very present with them in this time. And thus far, none of the churches in Cairo have been destroyed.

The Bishop's letter was a great example of Anglicanism.  He expresses the complexity of the situation in Egypt and he talks about prayer. He writes about the fact that both Christians and Muslims are taking to the streets to protect buildings, but the Bishop is afraid that the escalation of violence will lead to radical Islamic groups taking over. It is a time of fear for them and they are praying for a peaceful transition.  He writes of how the Christians are gathering in the churches and, when they pray, a sense of God's presence and of peace overcomes them.

His letter is thought-provoking. It tells of a rare branch of Christianity called Anglicanism that embraces faith in Jesus Christ and also teaches that the same God who brought Jesus to us also gave us minds to think. The Bishop invites us to bring our thoughts and questions and struggles to Jesus. Don’t check your brain at the door. Bishop Anis speaks of young Muslims who are protecting the churches in the streets and other more radical Muslims who are escalating the violence. He lives in the ambiguity and uncertainty of the moment, without all the answers. He lives the questions.

We are entering an age of rising fundamentalism world-wide. Due in large part to the development of technology and the internet, our world is changing rapidly. Alongside this rapid change, there are those who would clamp down and hold their religious beliefs like they are weapons, demanding that God would have them convert everyone or kill them. This is a day of radical extremes. Few religious bodies embrace the Mystery of God the way that we do. Few religious bodies have the courage to admit that they do not have all the answers. The Anglican church is vital today, more vital than ever.

I like to call us the unfundamentalist church. We embrace the Mystery of God. We know that Jesus is our Lord, but we do not claim to understand God in all of the Divine majesty. We are a people who remain faithful in the midst of all this change, admitting that we do not have all the answers, but trusting the God will guide us. In this day of fast production and easy answers, we are a voice of patience and prayer, reminding the world that God is much bigger than we are. And that there is much that we do not know about God.

My friend Sue is a long-time Southern girl. She loves grits. She would eat them morning, noon and night if need be. And, as a Southerner, she knows how to cook grits.

You have to put the salt in the grits when you are cooking them. If you add the salt later, as an after-thought at the dinner table, it does not taste as good. There is a world of difference. You must put the salt in the mix as the grits are cooking. There is no other option for true, Southern grits.

Sue has been to those restaurants where they tell you that their grits are heart-healthy. They cook with little or no salt. And the grits taste like cardboard. They are dead tasting. They aren’t even in the same vicinity as real Southern grits.

Jesus talks about salt this morning. He uses the most common, familiar things to teach us about our relationship with God. And what he says is rich. It is rich.

Jesus says that we are salt. We are the stuff that brings out the flavor in this world. We are an essential ingredient in the grits of God’s creation. Without us, the world just doesn’t taste right.

Salt is incredibly valuable. You know the phrase, he’s worth his salt. Where do you think that comes from? In the age before refrigeration, salt was what kept meat from going bad. Salt was essential for life. Salt was incredibly valuable in Jesus’ time, just as you are incredibly valuable.

Salt is also curative. People with sore throats need to gargle salt. You all know that swimming in the salt water of the sea has great results. Cuts and scrapes heal faster.

Salt has always been with us and we cannot imagine our world without it. We all have salt shakers on the table at home. Those little salt shakers are useless unless they are mixed in with our food. They are nothing if they just stand alone. And when they hit the food they seem to disappear, but they make all the difference in the world.

We cannot live without salt. It is a vital part of our bodies. When we get dehydrated, we don’t just need water, we need to replenish our salt. It is an essential ingredient of life.

I find that Episcopalians are shy about their faith. They are reticent to offend, or to explain that their Dean is a woman and they can have a beer. When people ask them if they go to church, they will say yes, but, on the whole, they will not shout about it for fear of offending. And I say, that has to end.

The world has a need for the unfundamentalist church. We love God and embrace the mystery that is God’s creation. We freely admit that we do not have all the answers but that Jesus gave us everything that we need to know. We must stand up and be the salt that God calls us to be. God needs us to show the world that you can be radically faithful while not being radically violent. That you can respect the dignity of every human being, love God and embrace the Mystery of God-all at the same time.

We are Christians. We are Anglicans. We are Episcopalians.

I know, the word Episcopalian is too long, too academic, too unwieldy. It’s almost like we knew that we wanted to stump the listener from the beginning. Our title almost says, I’m too smart for you. I have a name that you are going to need to spell, a name that you will not remember how to pronounce. Anglicans living in The United States came up with this name during the Revolution, because we were patriots and did not want to be known as the Church of England.  So we are Episcopalians and we are Anglicans.  It is complicated.  I can't tell you how many times I am asked to spell the word Episcopalian. But live with it. It is who we are.

This coming Tuesday morning, we will do something that is very Anglican. It is like salt for this city, light for us to see by. We will be hosting the second Leadership Breakfast here at the Cathedral. It is on the subject of education here in Jacksonville. We all know that with 40% of the children of this city not graduating from high school that we have a problem. The head of the KIP school will be with us. Tracey Tousey will be with us. And the superintendent of schools just called. He wants to be on the panel too.

We will be openly talking about why things aren’t working. And exploring if there may be some kind of answers out there for us all, for our children.

I think about our brothers and sisters in Egypt, praying and trying to stop the violence. I think about us here, trying to initiate a dialogue about the state of our children, and I am proud to be Anglican. I am proud to be Episcopalian. I want to be the salt that gets in the mix before the dish is done, when I can make the most difference, even if I get burned and broken in the process.

Yes, things are sometimes a mess in the Episcopal Church. Mess comes naturally when you allow people to think for themselves. You see, people who think for themselves are bound to disagree. But getting in the mix is all that Jesus asks us to do.

You are the salt of the earth, he says. Just get in the mix.

The world is rapidly changing. Radical Fundamentalism is on the rise.

Don’t be afraid to stand up and be who you are.