Passion

 Today is Passion Sunday. We all are enamoured by the waving of palms and the welcome that Christ has upon entering the city. It is also the Sunday that we hear the reading of the given gospel's story of Christ's passion. A long apparently non-ending reading from the passages of the synoptic gospels depending on the year. After such a reading is there much point in giving a sermon, isn't the reading sufficient for the sermon. In many ways yes, I can totally agree with that sentiment and for convenience there is a tendency to skip the sermon or at least respond with a shortened one. In terms of modern sensitivities and often in terms of constraints on time in some parishes this is a reasonable response. Yet, if our focus is on the Palm waving do we misunderstand the purpose of today.

Through out the country in modern times there has been a response in major cities to the plight of refugees on this particular Sunday. The Palm Sunday march for refugees is now an established "tradition" that brings attention to the refugee situation. This was started with passion by a number of people and has been responded to with passion over a number of years. It is a cause that is worth being passionate about in terms of justice and the understanding of God's peace throughout the world means an acceptance of the other. It is thus an important response for society to give with passion for the plight of the other especially in a society that is primarily based on the influx of people from around the world. To be part of this country is to acknowledge that the roots of its people are not based purely in Australia but also from across the globe. Such a response is right but it is also correct to say that in basing the country's roots from across the globe the striving for justice in God's world means the striving for justice for everyone.

Re-ignite our passion for love and life in community and the other

Whilst it is right and proper to bring attention to the plight of those who are refugees it is equally right to draw attention to those who are also part of the complex tapestry of life in this country but who are in much the same situation despite being an integral part of the countries heritage. The plight of the indigenous populations of countries throughout the world and in this country where we march for the rights of the other requires the same passion of love that is expended on others who look to come into the culture that is this countries matrix. Such marches have focussed on colour rather than culture and perhaps our passion needs to focus on culture rather than colour as focussing on an either or situation that appears to be black and white we lose our understanding of the blends of culture that underlie the debates. In focussing on the one thing we unintentionally divert our gaze from what matters in the community that is life.

We can focus on colour, gender or any other thing we like but it all boils down to the same; a passion for God's justice, peace and love. Archbishop Tutu reminds us often that it is not a debate around colour or any other duo (male/female, haves / have nots, etc) but rather a debate around how we see each individual not as being made by God but being made in our own image. If we focus on one thing we forget that the diversity that is present around us is a diversity filled with passion. Passion for life and for love. If we are to take anything away from the passage of Christ into Jerusalem it is this: that Christ represents the passion of life and love not hatred not individualism not our own opinions but life being fulfilled to its end and love being fulfilled in community. In our journey to the cross we need to be fully reminded that all that we do must be done with the realisation of passion for love and life. If what we do does not confirm life with passion then we are doing something wrong; if our actions are not confirming our love for the other then we are doing something wrong. We all have our pet peeves and our pet understanding of what is right and what is wrong but in all we do we must understand that if what we do not like brings the other down or disrupts the lives of the other than we are the ones that are in the wrong. It is only in the acceptance of the passion for live and love that we can understand the sacrifice that is made at the end of a passionate week for all not just those who are present.

The question of a new heart

 I am sure that many of you have referred to people as being cold hearted or even at some point maybe stone hearted or similar derogatory phrases. In referring to people like this it is more often the case than not that the person being so referred to has an attitude that is selfish. In other words the person has only a concern for themselves. In the New Testament, Christ refers to such a person as being lost (John 20:25) rather than safe and in comfort. The feeling of lostness seems to indicate here a bereftness of community and out on their own in a wilderness or desert. It is a feeling of coldness and hardness brought about by the circumstances of their lives and perhaps more to the point the decisions that they have made with the resulting consequences.

A cold heart shatters and breaks easily under the stress of life

In some ways when we become cold-hearted it is as much about what we are taught as about anything else. Often people are taught by those around them as to how to act and how to behave. This can perhaps be seen most clearly in the recent highlighting of sexual abuse within the workplace and the ongoing consequences of such abuse in all of our lives. In a recent article this attitudinal teaching was highlighted as to how we perceive ourselves and others particularly when it revolves around the question of sex. What is interesting about this article is that it highlights to a certain extent our own attitudes towards life not just sex. We, to a certain extent, play with life in general. Our growing up and attitudes to our children come round the corner and bite us in later years. Our play or lack thereof or improperly setting boundaries at an early stage and in an appropriate manner often lead to later issues with regards respect of community or the other. In many ways we play out our childhood life through adulthood and into the senility of old age, especially if such childhood has enabled the denigration of others without appropriate parental and community guidance.

So, in a manner of speaking we need a heart transplant. Something that removes the toxic hearts that we have inherited over the years as a result of tolerating the degeneration of cultural norms towards selfishness rather than community. In Jeremiah (31:11-34) tells precisely this story towards a new heart within the community. Perhaps what it takes is not as easy as it seems for this day and age. I say this because we can see the lack of sympathy and repentance that is generated in our leadership, not only recently in politics but also over the years in the Church Universal. It takes the concerted effort of returning and turning towards God's love to generate an understanding of our own unwillingness to allow ourselves to drop our ingrained prejudices against the other, no matter who they maybe. It is in the Lenten journey that we see the fullness of our unwitting foolishness and seek the covenant of God's love which comes through the events of the cross.

In love God creates the transplant that we are awaiting in our hearts. We begin again by turning away from our selves and softening the hardness that has rejected the other within the community or communities to which we belong. God asks the appropriate question "How long will you waiver, my wayward child?" (Jer 31:22). Indeed, perhaps shockingly for some, God goes on to commend the woman to do what the world struggles with, through the manifestation of its patriarchal call, to "play the man's part" (Jer. 31:22). God created in partnership and yet we have devolved into thinking that we can undertake our promises to God by going it alone without God and without the other. God's covenant is to make our hearts the container within which God's laws are written. In placing the law within our hearts God creates a binding that is greater than a simple commandment. The covenant that we have in place is the one that Christ follows which is a vessel of love not of coldness. We need to let our cold hearts die so that the warmth of God's love can live.  A warmth that honours all and welcomes the other as part of ourselves. 

Wisdom or sin

 The snake is a fascinating concept both as a symbol and as an actual entity within the pages of religion throughout the world. No matter where in the world we land up the snake or a snake-like being is associated with the mythopoetic world of the area. It can be seen to represent both good an evil, wisdom and foolishness, death and life. In the Judaeo-Christian realm the snake is associated with the darker side of humanity, either as a rather cheap trickster in Genesis or the full blown incarnation of evil in the personification of Satan. So whilst the obvious symbology of the conquest of evil can be seen in the bronze serpent of Moses  (Num 21:9) and Christ being similarly lifted high it would perhaps be foolish if we were not to pay heed to some of the alternative possibilities.

In the story from Numbers the bronze snake acts not as something that is evil in the traditional Judaeo-Christian sense but rather as a means of healing and thus for good. So, if we become stuck on the imagery of evil then we miss something in the story of the serpent. Interestingly there is an entwining of meanings in the serpent especially as we dig into some of the early Christian writings particularly Ambrose. Worldly wisdom is often represented by the serpent and a derivative formation, sapienta, and so the bronze serpent is seen as the personification of wisdom in its most ancient of forms. Worldly wisdom often leads to our own downfall as we are bitten by the snake of greed and avarice but seeking the wisdom of God we see this as being raised up beyond our understanding. In looking towards God's wisdom we come to our senses and are 'healed' so as to be able to follow God in the larger sense.

The healing staff is full of God's wisdom and not the wisdom of the world

Those afflicted with the wisdom of the world do not necessarily see the truth that God holds up but are rather discombobulated by the truth. One could say that Nicodemus was wise in the world's wisdom and to a certain extent within the wisdom of God. However, the wisdom of the world was clearly the favoured wisdom as he struggled with what God was doing. Christ in explaining God's message to Nicodemus expects him to know what he is talking about and is disappointed with his response (Jn 3.1-21). In particular Christ points out that God's presence in the world brings the light of truth but in its wisdom the world does not seek the truth but avoids the truth as it exposes wrongful deeds (Jn. 3.19-21). 

We can see that this process is played out on a daily basis within our own country and within the world even today. Any sense of truth portrayal is scorned as it highlights our own irresponsibility in the world and our own pettiness. We are so very easily led away from the truth and allow others to create the truths of the world for us. Christ's words discombobulate our own lives because they are so often the opposite of what we expect from our own reading of the world and our own interpretation of what we think God wants from us. In our lives we tend to rely on our own wisdom, the wisdom of the cunning snake. This enables us to bring sense to the world around us and thus enables us to live in a sense of false security. We are enabled to ignore God's voice within our lives a voice that pesters us to live in a manner that is contrary to the modern world. A wisdom that asks us to upset the general self satisfaction that is created by the wisdom of this world to open ourselves up to the ridicule of many for reaching out and enabling those who are ostracised in community.

The work that God enables us to undertake is the work that we do not receive reward for (Eph. 2.8-9) which is contrary to the world's wisdom. Our reward is not financial but rather the good grace of God that fills our lives with the knowledge of love. It is this knowledge that enables us to step forward in Godly wisdom to heed the concerns of the downtrodden and highlight the truth in the eyes of the world rather than masking the unwanted revelations which destroy the edifices of falsehood that we have built based on the foundations of irresponsibility. Christ encourages us to speak out in truth based on love and to build our lives around sincerity and honesty rather than hiding behind falsity.

Wisdom and folly

 Paul writing to the Corinthians speaks about the wisdom of Man and compares it to God stating that it is no more than folly (1 Cor. 1.18-25). "I think therefore I am" states the well known paradigm of modernity but Paul suggests that all this thinking and wisdom is but folly in the sight of God and perhaps he is right in some respects, or at least in  respect of how we live. Wisdom does not of course equate to knowledge which many presume. Modern humanity has a lot more knowledge then when Paul was writing but we have certainly not grown in wisdom over the same amount of time. If anything we constantly destroy the wisdom that we do have as a result of our well meaning friend Descartes and his "I think therefore I am".

We have operated in society and generally within the world since Descartes in the wisdom of his aphorism. We have definitely increased our knowledge base as a result but we have also decreased our wisdom quotient by even more. An understanding of society based on self and the individualism that it breeds has brought us to where we are in the world today. The epiphany of self has destroyed more lives then it has helped and has invaded wise cultures with its self esteem so as to bring everything into its own likeness. We worship this idol more than anything else in society and have placed more rules and boundaries (some of which are needed) to protect ourselves from our own greed and self. This is the folly that is our present wisdom that Paul speaks to the Corinthians about as much as he speaks to us today.

Wisdom and folly are always with us but Christ turns our meaning upside down

The Christian faith and its initiating spiritual history came from a group which would in today's world be label "indigenous". In keeping with the large majority of indigenous communities around the world, including our local indigenous communities, there was a greater understanding of their connection, not only to the land, but also to themselves not as individuals but as community. It is in this context that we really need to look at the social requirements laid down in for example the ten commandments (Ex. 20:1-17). These requirements that are given as "commandments" form the very necessity of community that is tied together by faith and faith alone. In the intervening space we have moved to a culture and a community that is perceived to be "more" than that which was in terms of recognition of the individual and in terms of our "civilisation" over that of the early "indigenous" cultures at the start of "civilisation".

Yet in our wisdom we have come to neglect that which our earlier ancestors revered and God blessed. We have rorted the system in much the same way the merchants in the temple plaza did that made Christ angry (Jn. 2:14-16). The merchants had turned away from community and sought only for themselves. They became pariahs on society turning what should have been a good into an extortionary experience for the worshipper. We have neglected the greater truths that are embedded in the requirements of God and allowed ourselves to be side-tracked by the miniscule.  It often pertains when we come to set those in authority, we do not allow ourselves time to really think about the gifts that God has given to us and just go with who we think are popular or who will cater for our needs. Following God requires us to put aside the things we want and look to understand what God wants.

It is quite right for us to get angry and upset when we see those things that should be for the good of all being turned to political gain. It is equally right for us to get angry when in our clubs, societies, churches and voluntary associations we see people vying for position and authority without a concept of the good of all. In all that we do we need to think in terms of the commandments that have been given to us and are summed in the two Love God and Love neighbour. During our Lenten journey we need to get rid of the thoughts that promote the self and move towards Christ's requirements of treating others as our very own selves. Our wisdom is contrary to the current wisdom of the day and we should revel in the folly that people think they see knowing that it is true wisdom as we follow Christ in loving God and our neighbours no matter who they may be.