A Reflection for XIV Pentecost (Proper 18) All Saints Church,
Southern Shores, NC September 10, 2017 Thomas
E Wilson, Rector
Love of Neighbor,
Stewards of Community
From Paul's letter to the Romans; “any other
commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love
does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”
Paul did not always believe
that. Back when he was Saul of Tarsus he believed that fear was the fulfilling
of the law. For him the world was a fearful place. The fear began from within.
He looked at his body and his desires and was afraid that they might overwhelm
him so he needed to control himself, for if he did not, he thought, then God
would punish him. He saw God as the one in whom he lived in fear. The only way
to receive God's approval was the control himself and control of others. All
those other people were people to be feared and therefore needed control and if
they could not or would not control themselves, he would. He persecuted
Christians because he feared that they were a threat to the fabric of the
social order.
Saul then had an experience
with the risen Lord and was blinded by his fear. In his weakness he was placed
in the hands of one of those whom he felt he needed to control, a Christian
named Ananias of Damascus. Ananias was afraid of going to Saul, but when he
knew that the love of the Risen Christ was with him, he replaced his fear with
that love and the world changed for the both of them. Saul went on to become a
new person, Paul as he died to his fear and the need to control people, places
and things and was born again, but this time into love. Life does not become
easier for him; there will many threats to him, but he faces them boldly with
love instead of cowering and then reacting with fear. This is not a fairy tale
where people live happily ever after in a world of lollipops and rainbows, but
a world where people make a daily decision to love themselves and their
neighbor and live fully in that love. Life is short and we do not have much
time to waste in fear.
A couple days ago I was making
some breakfast and I pulled the milk out of the refrigerator. As I was
listening to the drumbeat of fear called the morning news - news of all the political fear-mongering by
people in or out of public office of threats and counter threats interspersed
with scary updates of warning of storms
present and storms yet to come on the weather front, - I poured out the milk
onto the cereal. Looking down, I saw the milk had gone past the pure liquid
state and the “Best buy date” marking had long passed bye - buy. I was tempted
to throw a pity party and serve up a big helping of fear inducing sentiments on
my lack of power and control; sing a variation of “Nobody knows the trouble I seed, Nobody
knows my sorrow.”
I had a choice to focus on
fear or love. If I would choose fear than everything I would face that day
would be one more nail into my coffin of fear, and I would be tempted to try to
something to show that I was not powerless despite all the evidence to the
contrary. The best ways my experience has taught me to do that is to pick a
fight to prove my power or to put someone else down so I could feel smarter and
brighter. The problem is that fear meets fear; nobody wins.
The other choice was to focus
on love. If there is a storm raging what can I lovingly do to help those in its
path? If there are attempts at division, how can listen to someone who is
fearful on the other side of the political divide and really listen to the fears
with the hope that they might know they someone cares enough to listen and
loves enough to care. We may disagree but we need not be enemies.
I looked at the first
responders to the storm in Texas and I saw signs of love in action, as perfect
love casts out fear. You see, love is not a feeling; it is a decision to commit
oneself to another person to help make it through and to share joy. Love does
not fix things so that it is like they never happened, but it does share
strength to begin to redeem all things. Love is not a spontaneous act but a
discipline where one works hard to rid oneself of ego so as to put the needs of
the other in the proper perspective. Most first responders I know put in lots
of long hours doing all sorts of non-fun, non-spontaneous things in order to
get ready for when the time comes. Manuals and procedures need to be read,
marked, learned and inwardly digested.
Especially, you have to know yourself for this discipline of love. The
body, mind and relationships need to be in shape - your body because you never
know what kind of situation you will face, your mind because there a lot of
things you need to remember to keep safe, and your relationships because you
need to trust the team that is with you and no one knows what kind of emotions
may accompany you and come to the surface when you get home. Reality needs to
be faced in that you will not be able to do it all and you must, for your own
and others’ safety, lose delusions of being Superman. If these sound familiar
it is because they are the similar kinds of things we go through when I do
pre-marital counseling with couples. Love means you know and love yourself
before you can ever hope to know and love another.
There are people in the first
responders categories that, by their actions call the faithful ones into
disrepute. They forget that love is the center of their calling, having lost
touch with themselves and being so wrapped up with their own ego that they want
to control people, places and things. These exceptions who do not prove the
rule are the ammunition used by penny wise but pound foolish who want to cut
budgets and benefits. I am lucky for I see first responders in action when I am
called to a scene of tragedy. On a regular basis, I see fire personnel, law enforcement
officers and emergency medical technicians, who deserve to be paid more when
they care about helping their neighbor.
I have been on the other side
as well for instance there have been times when in my arrogance, I thought I
was more important than I am and decide that I do not need to abide by mere
speed limit signs. I have been stopped and asked “helped support” Tyrell County
and to add points on to my license, but I was treated with respect as I was
reminded of my responsibility as a citizen not to have an inflated view of
myself. Yes, love does mean saying “Yes” to neighbors, but love also means the
duty to say “No” to irresponsible behavior. I see my community as being able to
say yes to people and no to actions that tear of the fabric of that community
by word or deed.
When I see what people are
doing in love, it invites me to join them in doing acts of love as part of my
rent for the use of the hall in my life. I am a Priest and my calling is not to
be more holy than anybody else, but to have the time to be able to point out
when I see something holy and call people's attention to it. When I do weddings
I tell the couple that I am not there to preside at a pageant about how pretty
they are, but to help them celebrate the holy ground between them, for Jesus says
that whenever love is there, God will be also in the space between them. The
space between people sharing love is holy ground.
The first lesson for today was
from the Book of Exodus when the Hebrew people remembered that God has been
present for them in the middle of a horrible event when they were slaves in
Egypt. Tomorrow we remember that there were four horrible events caused by hate
sixteen years ago and in the middle of those horrors, first responders gave
their time, energy and lives out of love. The space between people sharing hate
turns into a desert but the space between people sharing love is holy ground.
Today we chose to remember to give thanks for the love. Today we give thanks
that first responders are still giving time, energy and lives out of love.
“All commandments, are summed
up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a
neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”
Love of Neighbor, Stewards
of Community
Past sell by date milk
separates the moment
it hits the coffee; going to
be that kind of day.
But we breathe remembering
it’s a day to say
we live in this community,
holding the comment
in our heart that it is just
milk, not fire, crimes
or disaster. Which leads to
give thanks anew
for those who’re there in
times providing glue,
holding us together facing
those difficult times.
The first responders; people
at end of the line
who leave what they are doing
and jump into
action armed with calm
training for how to do
the restoring or resetting the
daily life’s spine.
Seeing us not at our best but
worst, in saying,
or doing thoughtless things.
They know of our
sins but still helping when
time comes to hour
of need when all we can do is
to keep praying.
Indeed we’re blessed to have
those who’ll give
as stewards so much energy to
arduous training,
boring maintenance, long tasks
of time draining,
then bravely stepping forward
so that we’d live.
They’d say proudly that it’s
only in a day’s job;
we thank their love for making
our hearts throb.
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