BRINGING HEAVEN TO EARTH, EARTH TO HEAVEN
Matthew 6:9-10; John 1:1-5
Rev. Paul Wrightman 11/27/22
RATHER THAN BREAK OUR STUDY
OF JESUS’ SERMON ON THE MOUNT
WITH FOUR SERMONS ON THE THEME OF ADVENT,
I THINK THE BEST WAY TO HONOR ADVENT THIS YEAR
WOULD BE TO CONTINUE OUR STUDY
OF JESUS’ MOST SUBSTANTIVE SERMON.
ADVENT HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN UNDERSTOOD
AS THE SEASON OF THE CHURCH YEAR
WHEN WE PATIENTLY WAIT IN THE DARKNESS
FOR THE IN-BREAKING OF GOD INTO OUR LIVES
AND OUR WORLD.
IT IS THE SEASON WHEN WE ARE ASKED TO PREPARE
FOR CHRISTMAS, JUST AS LENT IS THE SEASON WHEN
WE ARE ASKED TO PREPARE FOR EASTER.
THE CHURCH THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES HAS TAUGHT
THAT THE BEST WAY TO PREPARE FOR GOD’S COMING
IS TO DIVE DEEPER INTO OUR SEARCH FOR GOD,
AND THAT THE MOST INTENSE DISCLOSURE OF GOD’S CHARACTER
OCCURS IN JESUS’ SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
THIS SERMON IS SO POWERFUL AND POWERFULLY MOVING
BECAUSE IT NOT ONLY GIVES US MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GOD,
BUT DISCLOSES THE WAY OF LIFE THAT WILL ENABLE US
TO ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE GOD.
ULTIMATELY THE BEST WAY OF CONFIRMING THE TRUTH
OF A CHURCH TEACHING LIKE “INCARNATION” – THE CLAIM
THAT GOD BECAME A PERSON IN THE PERSON OF JESUS –
IS TO COME TO KNOW JESUS IN PERSON.
ONE OF THE FAVORITE SLOGANS OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
IS THAT “GOD IS STILL SPEAKING.”
THE CLAIM IS THAT GOD IN JESUS IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE
AND THAT JESUS IS STILL SPEAKING.
THIS IS A CLAIM THAT EACH OF US CAN CHECK-OUT FOR OURSELVES.
JESUS PROMISES THAT IF WE SINCERELY SEEK, WE SHALL FIND.
I KNOW PERSONALLY THAT THE THING THAT HAS EMPOWERED ME
TO REMAIN A CHRISTIAN AND TO GROW AS A CHRSTIAN
OVER THE YEARS HAS NOT BEEN MY HEAD-KNOWLEDGE OF GOD,
BUT MY HEART-KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS.
AND IT’S NOT HARD OR COMPLICATED.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY CERTAIN MAGIC WORDS
OR UTTER CERTAIN PRAYERS.
ALL IT TAKES IS A YEARNING FOR WHOLENESS
AND THE SHARING OF THIS YEARNING WITH GOD.
# # #
IF ADVENT IS WAITING FOR THE LIGHT OF GOD
TO APPEAR IN THE DARKNESS,
ADVENT IS NOT LIMITED TO A SEASON OF THE CHURCH YEAR.
THE LIGHT OF CHRIST CAN BREAK THROUGH
ANY TIME OF DARKNESS IN OUR LIVES.
GOD’S LIGHT OFTEN BREAKS INTO OUR LIVES
THROUGH THE SIMPLE PROCESS OF TALKING TO GOD,
WHICH WE KNOW AS PRAYER.
WE CAN SEE GOD’S LIGHT BREAKING THROUGH
IN THE PRAYER-POEM, POEM-PRAYER OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS,
WHICH WE READ AT THE BEGINNING OF OUR SERVICE TODAY.
ST. THOMAS WAS LIVING DURING A DARK TIME,
THE TIME OF THE INQUISITION,
A TIME IN MANY WAYS SIMILAR TO OUR OWN
IN TERMS OF THE DEMOTION OF TRUTH
AND THE PROMOTION OF LIES TO TAKE ITS PLACE.
THE READING FROM AQUINAS
IN THE “AS WE GATHER” SECTION OF TODAY’S BULLETIN
CALLS OUT FOR CLOSER INSPECTION.
IT CAN GIVE US SOME TIPS ON HOW TO NAVIGATE
THE LONG ADVENT PERIOD OF WAITING IN THE DARKNESS
THAT OUR COUNTRY AND OUR WORLD ARE GOING THROUGH TODAY.
THIS READING IS NOTHING LESS THAN A POWERFUL PROTEST
AGAINST AN INSIDIOUS FORM OF VIOLENCE THAT WAS BECOMING
AN ACCEPTED PART OF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH.
ALREADY IN HIS OWN DAY AQUINAS WAS CONSIDERED TO BE
THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE THEOLOGICAL SKY
OF THE WESTERN CHURCH, AND HIS REPUTATION ONLY GREW
IN THE FOLLOWING CENTURIES.
HE IS STILL CONSIDERED BY ROMAN CATHOLICISM
TO BE THE GREATEST THEOLOGIAN WHO EVER LIVED.
IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE DEPTH OF THE PROTEST
THAT THOMAS IS MAKING, WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT ALREADY
IN THOMAS’ DAY THE INQUISITION WAS WELL UNDER WAY.
THE INQUISITION, FINALLY REPUDIATED BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
IN THE 1800’S, WAS A DEEPLY MISGUIDED INSTITUTION
THAT SOUGHT TO KEEP THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH “PURE”
BY IMPRISONING OR ELIMINATING THOSE WHO REFUSED
TO AFFIRM THE ENTIRETY OF CATHOLIC DOCTRINE.
ITS VIOLENCE WAS RATIONALIZED BY A FUNDAMENTALIST READING
OF JOHN 15:6, WHICH READS:
“WHOEVER DOES NOT ABIDE IN ME IS THROWN AWAY
LIKE A BRANCH AND WITHERS; SUCH BRANCHES ARE GATHERED,
THROWN INTO THE FIRE, AND BURNED.”
TRAGICALLY, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED
TO MANY THOUSANDS OF JEWISH PERSONS
AND TO MANY CHRISTIANS WHO WOULD NOT TOW THE PARTY LINE.
THEY LITERALLY WERE GATHERED,
THROWN INTO THE FIRE, AND BURNED.
IT SHOULD BE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT AFTER
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION, WHEN PROTESTANTS
BECAME ASCENDANT IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES,
THEY TOO INSTITUTED THEIR OWN VERSIONS
OF THE INQUISITION, COMPLETE WITH DEATH BY BURNING.
THE ONLY CHRISTIAN GROUP WHICH DID NOT INDULGE
IN THE VIOLENT ELIMINATION OF THOSE WHOSE DOCTRINE
WAS CONSIDERED TO BE INADEQUATE WAS THE NUCLEUS
OF WHAT WERE TO BECOME HISTORIC PEACE CHURCHES,
CHURCHES WHICH INSISTED ON TAKING JESUS’
NONVIOLENCE SERIOUSLY.
THIS WAS A TINY GROUP WHICH WAS HUNTED DOWN
BY BOTH CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS.
THERE WERE VERY FEW PROTESTS AGAINST THE INQUISITION,
BECAUSE TO PROTEST WAS CONSIDERED, BY DEFINITION,
AN ACT OF HERESY, AND HERESY WAS PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.
AQUINAS CORRECTLY UNDERSTOOD THE KINGDOM OF GOD
TO BE A KINGDOM OF JUSTICE, FORGIVENESS,
COMPASSION, AND LOVE.
HE SAW THE HORRIFIC DISCONNECT BETWEEN PRAYING
FOR GOD’S KINGDOM TO COME ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
AND THE CHURCH MAKING A MOCKERY OF JUSTICE, FORGIVENESS,
COMPASSION, AND LOVE IN THE ACTIONS OF THE INQUISITION.
SENSING THE USELESSNESS OF MAKING HIMSELF A MARTYR
BY OFFICIALLY PROTESTING, AQUINAS NEVERTHELESS VOICES
A NOT-SO-SUBTLE PROTEST IN THE FORM OF THE POEM-PRAYER
THAT WE HAVE BEFORE US TODAY.
PLEASE TURN TO THE READING FROM ST. THOMAS
AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MORNING’S BULLETIN.
HE BEGINS WITH A STATEMENT THAT COULD HAVE
GOT HIM BURNED AT THE STAKE:
“EVERY TRUTH WITHOUT EXCEPTION –
NO MATTER WHO MAKES IT – IS FROM GOD.”
BUT RATHER THAN TURNING POLITICAL AFTER MAKING
THIS DARING STATEMENT, AQUINAS INSTEAD BECOMES PLAYFUL,
APPROACHING THE EVIL OF THE INQUISITION
THROUGH THE METAPHORS OF BIRD AND LUTE:
“IF A BIRD GOT ACCUSED OF SINGING TOO EARLY IN THE MORNING,
IF A LUTE BEGAN TO MAGICALLY PLAY ON ITS OWN IN THE SQUARE,
IF THIS LUTE AND BIRD THEN GOT CALLED BEFORE THE INQUISITION
AND THEIR LIVES WERE LITERALLY AT STAKE. . .”
WELL, WHAT THEN? HUMANLY SPEAKING, THEIR CAUSES
ARE HOPELESS. SO AQUINAS CALLS IN GOD AS DEFENSE WITNESS
AND CONTINUES:
“COULD NOT GOD WALK UP AND SAY BEFORE THE COURT,
‘ALL ACTS OF BEAUTY ARE MINE; ALL HAPPEN ON BEHALF OF LOVE?’”
THERE FOLLOWS A COURTROON GIVE-AND-TAKE
BETWEEN THE JUDGE AND GOD, THE JUDGE FINALLY ASKING GOD
A VERY CLEVER QUESTION,
“IS THERE ANY FORCE IN EXISTENCE GREATER THAN THE POWER
OF YOUR ONMIPRESENT HAND?” –TO WHICH THE ANSWER
IS OBVIOUSLY “NO!”
BUT IF GOD ANSWERS “NO!” THE INQUISITION WINS,
BECAUSE IT DEFINES ITSELF AS THE POWER OF GOD ON EARTH.
BUT GOD DOESN’T BITE THE BAIT.
INSTEAD, GOD PLAYFULLY RESPONDS TO THE JUDGE:
“I LIKE THAT QUESTION. MAY I ASK YOU ONE AS WELL?”
NOT WAITING FOR THE JUDGES’ “YES,”
FOR, AFTER ALL, GOD IS GOD,
GOD GOES ON TO POSE GOD’S QUESTION:
“HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A CONVERSATION
WHEN CHILDREN ENTERED THE ROOM, AND YOU THEN
CEASED SPEAKING BECAUSE YOUR WISDOM KNEW THEY WERE
NOT OLD ENOUGH TO BENEFIT – TO UNDERSTAND?”
GOD HAS NOW PAINTED THE JUDGE INTO A CORNER,
A CORNER FROM WHICH HE HAS TO ANSWER GOD’S QUESTION
WITH A RESOUNDING “YES!”
GOD AS BRILLIANT DEFENSE ATTORNEY PROCEEDS TO COVER
ALL PEOPLE UNDER THE CATEGORY “CHILDREN” BY STATING:
“AS EXQUISITE IS YOUR WORLD,
MOST EVERYONE IN IT IS SPIRITUALLY YOUNG.”
GOD THEN GOES ON TO PREACH A SERMON ON NONVIOLENCE,
WHICH, OF COURSE, IS AQUINAS’ OWN PROTEST
AGAINST THE VIOLENCE OF THE INQUISITION.
IN SOME OF HIS MOST PROFOUND THEOLOGY,
AQUINAS HAS GOD SAY:
“SPIRITUALITY IS LOVE, AND LOVE NEVER WARS
WITH THE MINUTE, THE DAY, ONE’S SELF AND OTHERS.
LOVE WOULD RATHER DIE THAN MAIM A LIMB, A WING.
DEAR, ANYTHING THAT DIVIDES PERSON FROM PERSON,
EARTH FROM SKY, LIGHT AND DARK,
ONE RELIGION FROM ANOTHER. . .”
WE GET THE IMPRESSION THAT GOD IS JUST ABOUT
TO REALLY LET LOOSE, TO LET ‘ER RIP, SO TO SPEAK,
WHEN GOD (STILL SPEAKING THROUGH AQUINAS)
SUDDENLY PAUSES, AND SAYS TEASINGLY:
“O, I BEST KEEP SILENT,
I SEE A CHILD JUST ENTERED THE ROOM.”
I LOVE THIS POEM FROM ST. THOMAS, ESPECIALLY
IN THE DOUBLE CONTEXT OF ADVENT AND TODAY’S PETITION
FROM THE LORD’S PRAYER:
“YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE,
ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”
ADVENT IS A TIME OF WAITING IN THE DARKNESS
FOR THE LIGHT OF GOD TO COME,
JUST AS THOMAS WAITED IN THE DARKNESS OF THE INQUISITION
KNOWING THAT EVENTUALLY FURTHER LIGHT FROM GOD
WOULD COME AND SET THINGS RIGHT.
AND IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH IMAGINATION TO SEE THOMAS
SAYING THE “OUR FATHER” AND FOCUSING ON THE PETITION
WE HAVE BEFORE US TODAY:
“YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE,
ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”
THE ASPECT OF THOMAS’ POEM THAT I LOVE THE MOST, HOWEVER,
IS THAT THOMAS REMINDS US THAT EVEN IN THE MOST
DISHEARTENING OF CIRCUMSTANCES
WE ALWAYS HAVE THE CHOICE TO BE PLAYFUL.
WE CAN SUBVERT THE FORCES ARRAYED AGAINST GOD’S KINGDOM –
LINED UP AGAINST GOD’S WILL BEING DONE ON EARTH
AS IT IS IN HEAVEN – THROUGH THE POWER OF IRONY AND PLAY,
THROUGH THE STRENGTH OF SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER,
BUT IN A LIGHTHEARTED AND PLAYFUL WAY.
# # #
TODAY WE ARE LOOKING AT THE THIRD PETITION
OF THE LORD’S PRAYER, THE PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION:
“YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE,
ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”
PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION IS OFTEN USED IN THE PSALMS,
AND IS THE TYPICALLY HEBREW WAY
OF SAYING ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THING TWICE,
BUT IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE TWO SLIGHTLY
DIFFERENT STATEMENTS REVERBERATE WITH ONE ANOTHER,
PRODUCING A COMBINED MEANING
WHICH IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS.
GIVEN JESUS’ INTENSELY PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD,
WHOM HE CALLED “FATHER,” OR, BETTER YET, “ABBA,”
MEANING “DAD,” OR “DADDY,”
IT IS FASCINATING TO HEAR HIM PRAY THE WORDS
“YOUR KINGDOM COME,”
AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW THEM WITH THE ECHOING WORDS,
“YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”
THE EMPHASIS IS ON THE WORD “YOUR,”
WHICH I BELIEVE JESUS UTTERED PASSIONATELY:
“YOUR KINGDFOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE,
ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”
I GET THE DISTINCT IMPRESSION THAT –
UNLIKE US, WHEN WE PRAY THIS PRAYER –
JESUS KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS ASKING FOR
WHEN HE PRAYED THIS PRAYER.
HE WAS PRAYING THAT THE TRANSFORMATIVE CONTENT
OF THE BEATITUDES – THOSE ASTONISHING ASSERTIONS
WITH WHICH HE BEGAN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT –
WOULD NOT JUST REMAIN IN THE REALM OF POETIC REALITY –
BEAUTIFUL DISCLOSURES OF THE VERY HEART OF GOD –
BUT WOULD BECOME TANGIBLE, EVERYDAY REALITIES
IN THE HEARTS AND ACTIONS OF HIS FOLLOWERS:
“THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”
WHAT IS GOD’S WILL ACCORDING TO THE BEATITUDES?
THAT WE HUNBGER AND THIRST FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE;
THAT INJUSTICE AND INEQUALITY SADDEN US TO THE POINT OF ACTION;
THAT WE EMBODY COMPASSION;
THAT WE MAKE PEACE, NOT WAR.
AND JESUS CONTINUES TO FILL IN THE CONTENT OF GOD’S KINGDOM
IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT AFTER GIING US THE BEATITUDES
AND THE LORD’S PRAYER.
HE CHALLENGES US TO ACCEPT THE FACT
THAT GOD LOVES ALL PEOPLE;
HE CHALLENGES US TO LOVE EVEN OUR ENEMIES;
HE CHALLENGES US TO BE AS INCLUSIVE IN OUR LOVE
AS GOD IS INCLUSIVE IN GOD’S LOVE.
THERE IS NO BETTER WAY TO PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF CHRIST
THIS ADVENT SEASON THAN FOR US TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT
LIVING OUT JESUS’ TEACHINGS IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
EVERY TIME WE PRAY THE LORD’S PRAYER,
EVERY TIME WE PRAY THE LORD’S PRAYER AND MEAN IT,
WE ARE TELLING GOD THAT WE WANT TO BE
PART OF THAT KINGDOM,
THAT WE WANT OUR DEEPEST HEARTS
TO RESONATE WITH GOD’S DEEPEST HEART.
WE KNOW THE CONTENT OF GOD’S WILL BECAUSE JESUS
HAS SHARED THAT CONTENT WITH US IN MANY PLACES
IN THE GOSPELS, AND SUPREMELY IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
OFTEN I FIND MYSELF WISHING THAT KNOWING
WAS THE SAME AS DOING.
RATHER FREQUENTLY I FIND IN MYSELF A DISCONNECT
BETWEEN WHAT I KNOW AND HOW I LIVE.
IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, JOHN CALVIN REMARKED:
“EVERYONE CARRIES A KINGDOM IN HIS HEART.”
I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I OFTEN FIND
MY LITTLE KINGDOM COMPETING WITH GOD’S KINGDOM.
TO WRITE THIS DOWN AND THEN SAY IT OUT LOUD:
“I OFTEN FIND MY OWN LITTLE KINGDOM
COMPETING WITH GOD’S KINGDOM” –
UNDERLINES ITS UTTER ABSURDITY:
MY KINGDOM COMPETING WITH GOD’S?
BUT THERE IT IS.
I KNOW THAT MY DEEPEST HAPPINESS AND THE FULFILLMENT
OF MY DEEPEST VALUES LIE IN MY EMBRACING OF
AND PARTICIPATING IN GOD’S KINGDOM –
YET MORE OFTEN THAN NOT
I STUBBORNLY CHOOSE MY OWN KINGDOM.
SO THIS PARTICULAR PETITION OF THE LORD’S PRAYER:
“THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE. . .”
IS A MAJOR CHALLENGE TO ME PERSONALLY.
I AM TRYING TO BECOME MORE CONSCIOUS, MORE PRESENT
TO WHAT I’M ASKING FOR, WHEN I PRAY THE LORD’S PRAYER.
THUS, WHEN I PRAY “THY KINGDOM COME,”
I TRY TO INVITE GOD’S KINGDOM TO TAKE PRIORITY OVER MY OWN.
WHEN I PRAY “THY WILL BE DONE,”
I FIND MYSELF VOICING AN UNSPOKEN PRAYER
THAT GOD WOULD TAKE MY WILLFULNESS
AND TURN IT INTO WILLINGNESS,
WILLINGNESS TO LET GOD’S WILL BE DONE
IN EVERY AREA OF MY LIFE,
NOT JUST THOSE AREAS WHERE GOD’S WILL
AND MY WILL HAPPEN TO COINCIDE ANYWAY.
BRENNAN MANNING, IN HIS BOOK, “RUTHLESS TRUST,”
TELLS THE STORY OF THE BRILLIANT ETHICIST JOHN KAVANAUGH,
WHO WENT TO WORK FOR THREE MONTHS AT MOTHER TERESA’S
“HOUSE OF THE DYING” IN CALCUTTA.
HE WANTED TO FIND OUT HOW BEST TO SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
ON HIS FIRST MORNING, HE MET MOTHER TERESA,
AND SHE ASKED “WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?”
KAVANAUGH ASKED HER TO PRAY FOR HIM.
“AND WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO PRAY FOR?” SHE ASKED.
HE EXPRESSED WHAT HE THOUGHT
WAS THE DEEPEST DESIRE OF HIS HEART:
“PRAY THAT I HAVE CLARITY.”
SHE SAID FIRMLY, “NO, I WILL NOT DO THAT.”
KAVANAUGH WAS TAKEN ABACK.
MOTHER TERESA CONTINUED, “CLARITY IS THE LAST THING
YOU ARE CLINGING TO, AND MUST LET GO OF.”
WHEN KAVANAUGH COMMENTED THAT SHE ALWAYS SEEMED
TO HAVE THE CLARITY HE LONGED FOR,
SHE LAUGHED AND SAID,
“I HAVE NEVER HAD CLARITY; WHAT I HAVE IS TRUST.
SO I WILL PRAY THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TRUST GOD.
(End Quote)
WE CAN EASILY COME TO IDOLIZE CLARITY.
WE THINK IT WILL RESOLVE OUR ANXIETY
AND GUARANTEE OUR SUCCESS.
LIKE INSIDE TRADERS ON THE STOCK MARKET,
WE WANT SECRET INFORMATION
THAT WILL PROTECT US FROM LOSS.
IN THE MIDST OF IT ALL,
JESUS CALLS US TO SIMPLY TRUST GOD,
AS MANNING PUTS IT, TO TRUST GOD WITH A RUTHLESS TRUST.
AS WE PRAY “THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE,”
WE SURRENDER OUR NEED FOR CLARITY.
WE DON’T NEED TO KNOW THE DETAILS OF THE FUTURE.
WE ENTRUST THEM TO GOD.
WE GIVE UP HANGING ON TO THE FALSE NOTION
THAT IF WE CAN SEE TOMORROW
WE’LL BE ABLE TO STEER BETTER TODAY.
THE LORD’S PRAYER CHALLENGES US TO LET GO
AND LET GOD DO THE STEERING.
AMEN.