A truth to tell

 In John's gospel Christ states that "I am the way, the truth and the life" and yet we often deny this as Christians in our lives. We often have very little compunction about telling things to people that will benefit ourselves and our friends rather than the truth. This is one of the most difficult things for us to undertake as our whole society is based on the telling of lies. If you do not believe me than listen to this story of an ethics class where telling lies was discussed. A student told the lecturer that she never told lies. The lecturer asked her a couple of questions: do you ever wear shoes that have increased your height in any way? the student replied , "Of course, I wear heels to go out to dinner" The lecturer then asked "Do you ever wear any form of make up?" The answer given was "yes most of the time". The lecturer than asked "how can you say you do not lie? You have said you lie about your height when you go out and each day you lie about who you are when you disguise your features with makeup".  These are minor social lies that we undertake each and every day in some form or another (gentlemen we are the same; just think aftershave, cologne, hair gel, shoes with a higher heel, etc). It becomes increasingly so when we begin to talk about advertising and politics in all of its forms. Our society is built on lies often hidden, often socially accepted and often blindly ignored even when we know the truth.

Accepted lies hide the truth that needs to be told

Christ in Marks's gospel suggests various body parts to be cut out and put out if they commit sin (Mk 9:43-47) perhaps indicating how we can tell an untruth through our bodies but most importantly not to allow ourselves to become tasteless without the truth salting our body (Mk. 9:49-50). In James' epistle the author is clear about how we must habituate our speech pattern around the truth (James 5:12). In answering questions and delivering our opinions we are often guilty of  waffling our way towards the endpoint rather than stating our feelings or what we wish done. This again is something that society has suggested is the better way as then we will not upset or disrupt relationship. Yet, if we do not truth tell we will eventually cause the same disruption of relationship. Yes, we needs must take care in how we speak the truth but this is about wisdom and understanding rather than not stating the truth. Truth telling is not always about words and how we inform each other. Truth telling goes beyond this to how we actually live our lives tot he fullest. In the book of Esther there is a clear understanding of what the cost of truth is not only for those telling it but those who have perpetuated a lie (Esther 7-8).

Just think about our own lives for a moment. The majority of us for whatever reason have a reluctance to share our lives with others, even with our family and friends. Even when we have things like RUOK day and other such ventures the understanding of privacy is so in built into our lives that we are reluctant to divulge and open our hearts. This is about truth telling of our hearts and minds and opening up to the presence of God. In James the writer goes on to speak about praising God if we are cheerful and praying if we are down, informing others of illness, etc (James 5:13-). This is about honesty in our own understanding of ourselves. This is telling the truth of our lives to others. It is not about divulging the secrets of secrets. It is about being honest about ourselves. This takes many of us a long time to understand and often we never come to this understanding of ourselves. We prevaricate and do not let others know our true feelings and were we are at in terms of our own health, spiritual, mental or physical. This has gradually become part of our lives over time and in some sense enshrined in the law of the land regarding privacy. We are reluctant to invite others into our hearts and life simply because we can shut them all out. In doing so we lessen our ties to each other and to the formation of community. It does not matter that we may dislike someone God asks us to love them irrespective of who or what they portray or are.

In order to be honest and pick up the cross to follow Christ we must pick up the burden of truth telling in our lives. It is no use for us to say yes we are OK when we are not for we then do not receive the support that the community can give us in prayer and comfort. As a result of this loss of respect and truth telling we have lost our ability to be empathetic. We no longer have the understanding of another's pain and circumstances since we have privatised our own pain and despair. Only when we can share in truth can we really begin to understand and empathise with others who are equally burdened and in pain.

Tongue in check

 The human race's most problematic issue is that more often than not we have no control over our verbalisations. We tend to speak before we think and in doing so we create more issues than solving them even when that is what we are about. The writer of James is quite correct in pointing this out (James 3:8). It is an ongoing issue and we only have to look at our current crop of politicians to gain insight into this. A few weeks ago I posted regarding our ability to listen, or not (https://faithindaba.blogspot.com/2021/08/words-and-action.html) and this comes in to play once more here. We fail to listen and in failing to listen we often open our mouths to say things that we should not be saying or are detrimental to ourselves and our neighbours.

In World War II there was a saying "loose lips sink ships", which is mirroring what is happening here. In not listening and in not understanding what God is saying to us we misinterpret and become bigoted and closed rather than open hearted and accepting. The author of James is very specific and detailing out the power of the tongue comparing it to the rudder of a boat that steers the ship (James 3:4). A small part of the overall which abused can land the ship in major difficulties. In our lack of discernment around the concepts that are interpreted for us we often allow ourselves to speak out in error thus creating tension and discriminatory practices within our communities and lives. Our outburst becomes a spark which lights the tinder of dissatisfied people this then causes a fire to burn. We just need to look at the anti vaxxers and other groups who for one reason or another believe the false information they are fed to see the harm being created in the community.

Control of our tongues comes from the control of our heart

Even the disciples are prone to a looseness of tongues as they think about themselves being the greatest (Mk. 9:34). They have not listened well to God's call upon their lives and must needs take time to listen to Christ reinforcing the need to be humble in approach rather than to speak out without understanding. Even the writer of Proverbs understands the need to keep a steadfast hold on what one says in public (Prov. 31:24). If we are unwise with what we say then we are going to be unwise in what we do for it is out of our mouths that we enunciate our plans. If, we are not careful with what we state then we will not be careful in our planning. The disciples were all gung ho with regards who was going to lord it over the others. Their plans were about themselves and not about those around them. So often in our lives our decisions are often based on what we think is best not necessarily what God thinks is best.

In our desires to become more prominent in society or increase our popularity we will do and say things which will "win over" the majority. In other words we do not necessarily tell the truth but only what our constituents wish to hear so that we can attain our goal rather than the goals of the community. Our desires overrun and manipulate our tongue, which guides our speech and our attitude. We have no control as we cannot control our desires and so we let our tongue run away with a multitude of promises with little truth. However, we need to control our tongues which means we need to control our desires so that they conform with the desires of God rather than human desires. The tongue is the symptom rather than the causal root of the problem. Yes, like any good programme we do need to eradicate the symptoms but the better way is remove the causative agent.

Everything that we do must be focused on the one thing that we profess as Christians. Our profession of belief in Christ and followers of Christ suggest that we should place before us the one single goal of love of God and neighbour. The singularity in this duality is the one word love. No matter what our thoughts, our deeds or our words may be they should be centred on this singular thing called love. The wife held up at in the last chapter of Proverbs displays this wisdom. Christ attempts to pass this understanding on to the disciples by his words and actions. Yet we still fail because our desires are not aligned with Christ or with the wisdom that is imparted. We still look to the symptoms of our loose tongues to remind ourselves of the control that is required rather than looking at our hearts which are the root of the issue.

How hard is it?

 We continue the discussion around faith and works with a question that arises following on from last week. The question that comes to mind is the one in the title: How hard is it? How hard is it to bring faith and works together as one rather than to go one way or the other? By all accounts the answer to that is an easy one: extremely hard. We know that this, of course, is not impossible but, yes, for us living in a society that is based solely and almost irrevocably on the selfishness inherent in the human condition, the answer is extremely difficult. We have been conditioned over years to take the most selfish view of our world by advertising, big corporates and governments throughout the world. Of course, that seems a very cynical but perhaps accurate description of the reality in which we live. Being present in the world as followers of Christ there is a constant need to remind ourselves that there is a different way, the way that the first disciples and Christ himself proposes, the way of self sacrifice or sacrifice for the other. 

In Mark's gospel Christ clearly states that as followers we need to sacrifice ourselves and pick up the cross before we begin to follow Christ (8:34). This is more and more a thing of the past. Self sacrifice seems to have left the psyche of the Australian people as a whole during our struggles with COVID and our new environment. One would think that the memories of the ANZAC are things of the past that are only celebrated as part of a national day and that is all it means. Yet, as Christians we are specifically called into all situations in terms of sacrifice. We are asked to make things holy and sacred through our actions and our total belief in Christ. Few today would even consider that this is a viable option moving forward in a world that is shattered by viral overload and violence. Most would persevere in the preserving of oneself rather than offering a true sacrifice to assist the other. In doing so, we do not lay down that which Christ calls us to leave behind but rather we embrace our selfishness as a life belt rather than the anchor that it truly is. In writing this I am reminded of being told of a person who after strict orders to remain in his car while his medication was put in to the boot, on arrival entered the pharmacy and harangued the staff. He basically said that if he was infected with COVID Albury was anyway as he had already entered two other stores.

Only by using both do we go straight

The reading from Proverbs encapsulates this in such a brilliant fashion when the writer speaking for Wisdom declares that "Evil men (sic)" reject wisdom as they hate this and are told that they will only come to a poor end (Prov. 1:31-33). The wisdom that comes from God, in this case, is not that of humanity at the present time. It is a wisdom that is timeless and is honoured by more than just Christian believers. We just need to look at some of the writings of indigenous peoples from across the world who proclaim the same sense of understanding and compassion for the other as being the true path that a wise person travels. It is only when we begin to chase after faith or works on its own that we are tempted by the selfishness that is at the heart of our species make-up and fail to recognise their two sided nature. The author of James is succinct and correct when they state that "faith without works is dead" (James 2: 26), just as you cannot have a single sided coin of any worth. We treat the two as being individual rather than a singularity which is why we do not pick up the cross and follow Christ.

Christ did not just stay on the mountain top but he went down to Jerusalem. Christ did not just walk among the community but also went to the desolate places. Both needs to be done and if we neglect the one we do not feed the other. In this time of lockdowns and other issues, when it comes to how we interact with each other, there is a sense of loss and grief. Only when we put that to the side and pick up those things that are given to us to undertake will we have a real sense of Christ's presence in ourselves. Only when we put aside our own wants and griefs and stand in the shoes of those in greater need then ourselves will we be able to truly experience the love of God flowing into the community through our actions and our contemplations. We abide in Christ in the eucharistic presence so that we can show Christ in the works that we undertake sheltering the community and opening their eyes to God's redeeming love.

Love works

Continuing on from previous weeks and the problem of faith and works or Luther's conundrum which appears to do away with works. Last week we saw the need to listen carefully and fully, rather than just hear the words, so that we are led to do what God requires.  The letter of James makes clear that faith and works are two sides of the same coin and work in tandem, the one cannot exist to its fullest without the other (James 2:14-17).  There is a danger here from both sides of the equation or coin. the one danger is the one that Luther pointed out and that is that works on their own cannot achieve anything. The second danger is the opposite that faith on its own whilst good will also not achieve anything in the end. Let me explain this a bit more.

Everyone will be up in arms about faith not achieving everything on its own. This path is the path of the mystic or the path of the spiritualist. All their energy goes into showing their piety and their faith in worship and prayer. The ascetic is a good example of this as they bring all their thought and energy into the exercise of achieving oneness with God and Christ. In doing so the person forgets that first and foremost Christ was as human as you who reads and I who writes. The Gospel passages are full of the deeds of Christ. They are not full of his withdrawal from the world into a spiritual paradise of praise and worship. In fact, he sometimes criticised the leaders of society for their improper worship and rules without understanding the practice. If we are to become the body of Christ in the world then we must be incarnate in this world and not patting ourselves on our backs for our piety and the way we worship. All that Christ did in the world were works, healing, doing, feeding, etc. Only after doing and working did Christ try to get away and pray, commune and understand what God wanted.

The other, which most people agree with, is the over abundance of works. Christ did not do his working outside of the presence of God. We have a tendency to do only that which we think is right and "looks good" to others in the community. Unless we actively participate in bringing God into what we do we are only doing what we think is best. This is what Luther railed against and it is what is easily done by all of us. We jump on the bandwagon of doing good works thinking that this is all that God wants. We are after all doing those things which are good but the old proverb that giving something only feeds the poor for a day is right. We are only alleviating the misery by a day we are no seeking to instil God's love and justice but to alleviate it to fill our own minds with the thought that we are doing good. At some point it becomes obvious that what we are doing is no more than an appeasement effort on our own part to relieve our consciences and feel good.

We reach out to help the other not for ourselves but for the other

There must be a way around this dilemma if Christ points the way and he is out and about doing good. Yes, there is and that is doing it Christ's way not our way which is what the writer of James is attempting to point out. Only when we start doing the things that bring justice into the world, not for ourselves and not for our benefit, for those who are forsaken do we begin to do works to the glory and presence of God. We allow our faith to guide and direct us in our doing just as Christ allowed God's presence to guide and direct his doings. When he healed the deaf man who had trouble speaking and he healed him Christ deliberately tells them not to speak of the work (Mk 7:36) for he did this to the glory of God not for his own glory. Typically, of course, they spread the word to give him glory and not God (Mk. 7:37). In other places to Christ does not want his works publicised and often tells the receivers of his works to go and give praise to God. Christ puts his faith in God to lead him to do that which is needed in works within the community to bring the community to see truth and justice as the way forward, not just doing good deeds as was the norm then and today.

The wisdom contained in Proverbs tells the same thing especially in chapter 22 verse 8-9. The cheerful giver may be blessed but God ensures that his vanity about the giving is destroyed in the end whilst the person who gives without regard for reward has his own reward from God by not being left out in the cold. In verses 22-23 the writer of Proverbs just reinforces this by suggesting that when we imprint God's requirements on our hearts we will be blessed and act in accord with God not for ourselves but for the other. Let us then remind ourselves that it is both faith and works that are important not one or the other but both acting in accord with each other for the good of the other not just for ourselves and our own wants.

Words and action

 Luther is famous for stating that it is not by works alone but faith or sole fide. Indeed much of the biblical text from which Luther derives this saying is supportive of the notion by faith alone. The basis / foundation of saving grace is faith in Christ and God. This is supported time and time again. Yet, the writer of the epistle of James is correct, also, in suggesting the alternate (James 1:22). The writer is telling us here to be doers, however we must not be complacent here and accept this as "Oh, we just have to do" because it does not work like that. Indeed the writer is most pedantic in stating that we must be listeners who actually do something as a result (James 1:19-25). In much the same way Christ says the same thing in Mark's gospel when he reprimands the Pharisees with regards to eating (Mk. 7:8).  So how can we bring this seeming contrary scripture into our lives today.

Too often it seems to me that members of faith communities, throughout the world, are often just doing good things in the community. For most this is the thing to do and maybe attend church at least twice a year to be a good Christian. However, there is more to being a Christian then this and often we neglect the faith side in favour of the easier route of works that are good. The hard part is not doing but as James' author puts it "let every man (sic) be quick to hear". We allow this part of the instruction to wash over us and get on with the practical. Just like any form of education the hard part is listening attentively to the instruction / lesson / lecture / seminar, etc. Effort needs to be put in and time needs to be set aside but few allow themselves that time and energy. This deprives them of the essentials which more and more people lack as we move into newer and newer generations. It is often the case that when education is arranged for those who want to put the effort in to obtain what is freely given to enhance and deepen faith but most squander the opportunity believing that it does not concern them or we have not the time and will continue doing.

Are you listening or do you just hear the noise?

In doing and not listening we are much like the Pharisees (Mk. 7:6b) and it is incumbent on us to be ones who seek God through study and increasing our understanding of what God requires from us. A couple of times I have heard the rejection of possible fun ways to gather being rejected because either it was too high falutin or they just could not be bothered. We need to be like the bride looking for her lover and hearing his voice calling to us to rise and follow after listening to his voice constantly in our lives (Song 2:13b). It is this love that we are so lackadaisical  about when we hear the call but refrain from pursuing. We are drawn away by the raucous call of our secular lives rather than the gentle call of God's love. The promise of an instant prize or gratification rather than the long awaited gifts that come from God in surprising and often unusual ways. The insistent and persistent call of God is like that of a lover that comes quietly and unobtrusively in the early hours of the morning. We stand by the things that we do rather than taking an active listening role to endeavour to hear what God is actually calling us to and not what we think we are called to do.

The less and less we pay attention to God the less and less that we do in terms of what God calls us to. For in attending less to God we attend less to our role as listeners and doers and become simple minded doers for the sake of doing. It may seem strange to us in the modern era to seek God through the study of the scriptures and /or general study and discussion. The unfortunate thing is that in the modern era we have allowed the academy to become divorced from the reality of our lives. We also allow ourselves to choose which part of the academy we listen to and become followers of Peter or followers of Paul rather than followers of God. In other words we allow ourselves to be lured by one source over another when we should be listening to all sources so that we may find God amidst the multitude. In not undertaking the requirement to listen to God and then coming in to praise God  we are becoming even more like the Pharisee. Our lips proclaim God's glory but we do not uphold even a small part of what God calls us to do. In listening to God's call we can actively participate in what God is wanting us to do rather than just doing what we think is best.

Walking away

In the last few weeks we have been focussing our attention on Christ's sayings around the bread of life. As intimated last week the concept of eating flesh and blood was an abhorrent one to the Jewish faith. It is therefore no surprise in the context that is portrayed in the gospel that his disciples decided to give up or at least some of them did (Jn. 6:66). These are the ones that did not get what Christ was saying but here is the thing even today we have the same issue of people giving up or turning away. It is to be expected in this day and age, particularly as religion and religious belief has taken a backseat in the lives of people. We can point to a number of causes that have resulted in the situation we find ourselves in today, in terms of faith communities, but that is not really very helpful at the end of the day. Yet, we can also say that when we take up the cross that Christ demands of us the going becomes tough and irrespective of whether we want to blame other mechanisms this is the actual issue when we get down to the basics.

Simon Peter's answer to Christ is perhaps the most basic answer that we have for those who are wont to give up "You have the words of eternal life" (Jn. 6:68). For those that are on the path of faith this must be the greatest statement ever. It is in following Christ's words and actions that bring us to that point where we can grasp the eternal life that is offered. However, the greatest issue we have is in doing precisely that. Last week, I spoke of conforming to God's will and emulating Christ as we seek to ensure justice for the other and not just for ourselves. The walk that Christ demands of us as we partake of the bread and blood in the eucharistic setting is the walk of truth and justice. Above all else as we have seen in the politics of this nation, this is the hardest walk of life and the one that creates the conditions for us to take the easy road. The temptation is to skirt around the truth to your benefit rather than stating the truth for the benefit of the other. We follow along with the majority whether they are subscribing to the truth or to a convenient misdirection.

Walking away is often easier than facing the truth

In our local communities the concept of truth is even more important particularly when it comes to our faith communities. We so often understand our truths by the past and how we ourselves received an understanding of truth. For some the truth that there is a lack of people in church on Sunday is the truth that is of utmost importance. However, the actual truth of God's presence and our understanding that Christ needs to be emulated in thought, word, and deed is the truth that matters most. We pursue that which is most gainful for ourselves not that which is of importance to the other. The burdens that we bear need to be lifted before we can act for the other. Yet, when we walk in truth and justice we immediately forget about our burdens and confront the real burdens borne by others. In this we have to act with boldness and not be bound by the chains that we place upon ourselves (our burdens) but speak out in truth and peace to the community that we serve (Eph. 6:20). This for us is a constant conflict that we must struggle with on a daily basis. Paul's description of the armour of God in Ephesians takes from the military of his day (Eph. 6:14-17) and is often seen as being militaristically burdensome for a mission of peace centred in love.

Yet, if we are to walk this way then there is a certain amount of preparation that has to be undertaken. Both mental and spiritual, so in some ways the advice regarding armour is as accurate today as it was before. We could analogize this again by thinking along virus protection in a COVID world or computer tech but the essentials are the same. Truth keeps us on the right road, keeps the pants on so to speak, just like a good belt. Few people would think of going out without a shirt and when we talk about faith that shirt (no matter whether it is a Gucci or a T-shirt) should be our display of righteousness in the world. We cannot go anywhere without thongs or at least boots in the country and for a good walk we need wisdom and understanding that comes from knowledge of how to ensure peace in the community. A good Akubra hat and a short staff to assist our walk and protect us in need completes our adventuring outfit into the temptations of the world. The only other accessory that is a must, I do admit I have difficulty finding an adequate clothing analogy (handbags do not really work), so I suppose our best is that are electronic equipment best have the anti-virus shield of faith. Who can go without their phone so I suppose faith can be considered as our shield for electronic communication or rather any communication that is about God's presence in our lives, Yet, if difficulties arise these are no guarantees that we will not refuse the challenge and walk away from the path that leads us to God's presence. It is always the harder path that those who have faith must tread that is why it is so easy, like the disciples, to turn away from the path of truth and accept the path of the world.

Body and blood

 In reading the passage from John regarding Christ's saying that it is "my flesh and drinks my blood" (Jn. 6:54) creates problems not only for the disciples who follow him but in some ways for us. The issue that wells up in our minds is that initial reaction of "Yeuck, flesh and blood" and I am fairly certain that for the disciples this is the reaction in question. Yet, the Gospel was written long after the life of Christ and when we read it we read it with a long history of interpretive layering that festoons these words. It is not a simple thing to mine John's gospel in particular but all Gospels for something that has meaning for us today. Simple platitudes may work for some but at the end of the day there has to be something greater then the simplicity of "Oh this is just a symbolic gesture which is encompassed in the Eucharist". Firstly, we have to remember that these words are said prior to the institution of any form of symbolic supper. Secondly, they are spoken to some learned, but not that many, and more likely poor, humble people in the setting created by John. So what is the author attempting to convey? This is difficult and really open to the numerous interpretations that one can find but perhaps we need to think very simply in a complex sort of way.

After David's death Solomon takes the throne of Israel in his father's stead (1 Kings 2:12). Solomon interacts with God within a dream in chapter 3 (1 Kings 3:3-14) and it is this interaction that is the basis of Solomon's reign. What is of interest for us is the request that Solomon makes of God (1 Kings 3:8), the rest to a certain extent is superfluous. The ideal of good judgement in terms of justice is esteemed good by God and as such is the thing that we need to display. Again in Paul's letter to the Ephesians (Eph. 5:11-21) the crux of the passage is the notion of walking as wise people not foolish (Eph. 5: 15). If we think of this in terms of the previous passage it is walking in the wisdom and understanding of Solomon who walks in justice not in injustice. This then brings us back once more to the Gospel and Christ talking about flesh and blood. From the reading of the Gospels as we have them today one of the overarching understandings of Christ in scripture is that of a person who embodies the meaning of justice. The person who goes to the lowest of the low and ministers and ensures that they achieve justice within the community. The cured leper, who is outcast; the woman who haemorrhages, an outcast from community; the blindman who was ostracised and brought back into community; etc. All of these stories tell of a person who brings the outcast back into community simply by ensuring that they can once again be accepted.

An offering of blood for the justice of all not an offering of blood to God

So what does that mean for the words of John?  Up to and during Christ's earthly period sacrifice was common as part of the religious understanding of the time. Part and parcel of this understanding that what was being offered was the life i.e. the blood of the sacrifice along with the flesh to God. Hence the prohibitions against spilling (human) and drinking (animal) blood. Yet, Christ is offering himself, his blood and his bodily flesh, his wholeness and connection to God. In accepting this in faith and following by accepting the wholeness of Christ we are again accepted in wholeness with God. Not just earthly flesh and earthly blood but the whole being of Christ who has embodied righteousness and justice upon the earth. We cannot just pass this by with a flippant "Oh eucharistic" and forget that it implies much more than the symbolic flesh and blood of Christ. It is the actuality of the embodiment of Christ within ourselves that must become important in our faith.

The determinant for us today as we gather for the eucharistic feast is to understand that in reception we are faithfully fulfilling Christ's wish for us to embody Christ in our communities today. This means that all of our actions need to embody justice and love of the other. It is often the case that we neglect some part of our community in some form or another. Just sit back and think about those that you neglect in your daily life. It is a question of really being honest with yourself when answering this question because knowing myself there is a built in avoidance that says "Me! I do not neglect anyone." At the end of the day I am certain that all of us fail to answer this correctly, in some corner of our mind we can name at least one individual or section of the community that we have avoided. The reasons being simple, we dislike them, we had a bad relationship with them, we are prejudiced against them, we have heard stories etc. All of these are excuses for us not to reach out to the other, not to provide justice to the other, not to be as Christ and thus not to truly have eaten and partaken of Christ's body and blood. Is this what you feel happy about when you come into God's presence at the eucharist or should it be that I have given my all even to those who would not have me?