Love in Action: Forgiveness and Hospitality

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer.  Many schools are already in session, and most colleges and universities begin the fall semester this week.  I will be teaching a course in Philosophy at Rhode Island College, and as I look forward to meeting a new class of students I am concerned about how little attention students pay to all that is happening in our state, the nation and the world.

Many students seem to ignore politics and government.  Instead they turn inward because there is more than enough to attend to in their own lives and among families and close friends.  What news they receive is mostly from twitter, tumbler, and Facebook.  Apart from photos and headlines what is happening throughout the world seems

overwhelming.

The same is true for religion.  A minority of students attend worship services in any religious tradition, and most of them do not know very much about their own family’s background, let alone the faith traditions of others.  Many students say they are spiritual but not religious.  For them religion means institutional authority which they find either objectionable or hypocritical.

What we learn by reading the Bible and by worshiping in the Christian community is a different way of viewing the world and  what it means to be religious.  Last Sunday, for example, our reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans discussed our spiritual worship and what it means to be “members one of another.”  In today’s reading Paul talks about genuine love.  He does not mean emotional or erotic love, or even filial or brotherly love.  The genuine love Paul discusses is about caring for others, it is about forgiveness and hospitality.  Paul continues to say we are to hate what is evil and hold fast to what is good.

This passage is like a code of Christian conduct.  We are familiar with codes of conduct; we have them in the military, and we have them in boy and girl scouts.  Schools and colleges have codes of conduct that promote honesty and scholarly inquiry.  Paul’s code of Christian conduct describes what love in action is like: have mutual affection, show honor, do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord, rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

While this list may be too abstract Paul continues by offering practical advice.  Contribute to the needs of the saints, extend hospitality to strangers, bless those who persecute you, do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought of what is noble in the sight of all.  His code of conduct concludes by stating, “Never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God.  if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink. Overcome evil with good.”

We know too well the evil deeds that abound in our communities and throughout the world.  The killing of innocent people, the absurd level of gun violence, the political and economic greed by the wealthiest corporations and governments at the expense of the poorest who are hungry and homeless, -- these are familiar to all of us.  When bad and evil things happen our leaders generally respond by calling for justice, by which they mean punishment for identified perpetrators.

Is this the way for showing love to our world?  If we demonstrate love to others as Christ acted in his life and ministry we would practice hospitality.  We would feed and clothe the hungry, nurture and educate children and adults, and practice forgiveness.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in a series produced by The Huffington Post states what he and Mpho Tutu elaborate in their book, The Book of Forgiveness: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World.  Here is an excerpt:

“The invitation to forgive is an invitation to find healing and peace. Forgiveness opens the door to peace between people and opens the space for peace within each person. The victim cannot have peace without forgiving.  The perpetrator will not have genuine peace while unforgiven. The invitation to forgive is an invitation to search out the perpetrator's humanity.  When we forgive we recognize the reality that there, but for the grace of God go I.

“We are called to forgive each other time and time again; it is the nature of being in a relationship. Yes, it can be very hard to forgive others, but often it can be harder still to forgive ourselves.

Bishop Tutu continues, “I invite you to look within your own heart, within your own family, and within your own community, and consider the relationships that are in need of a forgiving heart.  We each have the capacity to write a new story, and to experience the healing and freedom that comes when we let go of our grievances -- when we forgive.”

Both St. Paul and Bishop Tutu give us the kind of advice that, if practiced, would change the world.  It is the way that Christ lived and taught; it is the way of forgiveness.  By acting in this way we break the cycle of enmity and demonstrate the forgiveness of our Lord.

The hospitality we offer shifts the focus away from ourselves as we are hosts to the needs of those we seek to serve. We overcome evil not by responding in kind, but with the redeeming power of God’s love, a love that is forgiveness and hospitality.  Amen.

Our Spiritual Worship

As most of you know, I spent a major portion of my years in ordained ministry as a college chaplain.  Many of us who ministered on college and university campuses during the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are now more-or-less retired but we still keep in touch whenever someone has a birthday.  This past week I received some emails in response to birthday wishes extended to some former colleagues.  Here is what two of them had to say:

“Ah, Yes --- the eighties.  At 84 I seemed to have begun a new ‘path’: left hip replacement, rehab unit, a troublesome toe operation, slightly elevated blood pressure, a creeping arthritis, and a total disruption of what ‘used to be’.  I guess the basic issue for us all is not what we USED to be but who and what we now are.  Doors to things past are shut, or are almost closed. I don't think I will own another car than the one I now have, and my working in my yard is more quickly tiring than before.  My eyesight is still o.k. and so is my basic sense of balance. Otherwise I am fit as a fiddle -- with a couple of broken strings.  My deep thanks to all of you who have been part of my life and work.  It has been a wonderful ride.”

Another writer said, “Yes, it has been quite a ride! I've had three hip replacements and a titanium plate in my leg.  I now have so much metal in me that I suspect I set off security alarms at the airport whenever I pull up to a terminal to unload.  But, like you, I still have my eye-sight, sense of balance (ably assisted by my cane), and my Aleve, which coaxes me out of bed every morning…. Life is very good --- even now!”

I share these stories because they are reminders about how we are related to one another and how we are interdependent persons.  St. Paul, in writing in his letter to the Romans says we are “to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.  This is our spiritual worship.”  A problem with Paul’s appeal is that it goes against and is in opposition to what our culture teaches us.  The focus of our culture is primarily on individualism and individual rights.

Earlier this year I was asked to present a reflection paper to a group of faculty and area clergy at Brown University.  The paper was about my years in campus ministry.  One of the topics I addressed concerned issues of ethics in medicine and in higher education.  I noted that the principle of autonomy or individual rights has been the basis for decisions and for adjudicating issues of justice.

I suggested that the emphasis on individual rights is inadequate.  It is inadequate for promoting true compassion and justice.  It suggests that "anything goes" and reflects a failure of Christian morality.  The bottom line is not rights, self-determination or autonomy.  We live in communities, families, churches, and neighborhoods.  As members of communities we have a claim on others, and others have a claim on us.  We have been made to participate in the life of community, and in the life of God. 

Marcus Borg, Professor of Religious Studies at Oregon State University, has said, “God is not a supernatural being off in the distance somewhere.  God, or the sacred, or the spirit, is the encompassing spirit all around us and within us.”

“The central claim is that the Christian life is about the opening of the heart to the reality of God.  Spirituality is for the hatching of the heart, the opening of the self at its deepest level to the sacred.... Spirituality is about becoming conscious of and intentional about a relationship with the sacred,… acting compassionately toward others.  Conscious and intentional because we are already in relationship with God.”

Relationships matter.  St. Paul reminds us that “as in one body we are many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” 

The Dean of the Chapel at Duke University has commented, “One’s body, one’s whole self, is offered to God, which means this sacrifice is not just a mental exercise.  It involves the entire body of a community…. This is an indication of transformation – and of a lack of conformity to the world’s norm.  The one, holy, living body implies that people are inter-connected, forming a mutual web of loving sacrifice.  There is an ethical thrust embedded in this notion.”

St. Paul says, “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.”  Each of us possesses a gift, a talent or skill that contributes to the body of the community.  What you and I do in relation to our community here at All Saints’ matters greatly.  What we do is our offering to God, both as a single body and as a corporate body.  It has to do with our understanding of what it means to be “members one of another,” to be ministers of compassion and care for one another. And it has to do with our outreach and ministry to the wider community in Providence and beyond.

By the mercies of God may we always present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.  This is our spiritual worship; it leads to transformation, the renewing of our hearts and minds in discerning God’s will for us right here in this community.  Amen.

“Lord, Help Us”

We cannot ignore what has been happening during the past couple of weeks.  Thousands of people have been killed or displaced in Iraq, the Ukraine, and in Gaza, and at least one thousand people have died in West Africa because of the Ebola crisis.  Some people stricken with this disease are known to members of our community.  It is a tragic and fearful time for those who live in these countries, and it is not a good time for anyone who cares about what is happening in our world.

The World Health Organization has urged all nations where the Ebola disease is spreading to declare an emergency. They are asking that all people traveling through international airports, seaports and land crossings be screened, and to prevent travel by anyone suspected of having the Ebola virus.

Unlike previous outbreaks of the Ebola virus the West African epidemic erupted in areas with more traffic, trade and freedom of movement, facilitating transmission of the disease. In addition, the affected countries have extremely weak health infrastructures and lack the capacity to respond effectively.

Liberia, which saw what had happened in Guinea and Sierra Leone, responded more quickly than some other countries, but it lacked the capacity to contain the disease and is now fighting the spread of the virus in Monrovia. With a population of four million people, Liberia has only 250 physicians.  There is no licensed protocol of treatment or vaccine to halt the disease.

Next month we shall have an evening forum here at All Saints’ for anyone in the community and the Diocese who is concerned about travel to destinations in West Africa or about loved ones and friends who live there.  We shall have a physician who specializes in infectious disease and travel as well as a couple of our residents from West Africa to discuss necessary precautions and to alleviate some of the fears that people naturally feel.

Where is our faith in the midst of all this?  Where do we find hope in the midst of disaster?  What can we learn from the Canaanite woman we heard about in today’s Gospel?

Jesus had left the area of Gennesaret where he had been preaching to a large crowd and was on his way to the gentile area of Tyre and Sidon.  He was probably exhausted and wanted to find some rest and peace on a retreat with his disciples.

Along the way a Canaanite woman started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."  Jesus did not respond and his disciples urged him to send her away.  They did not want a screaming foreign woman, an outcast as far as Israel was concerned, to disrupt their travel.  Jesus acknowledged that he was sent “only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

The woman went up to him anyway and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."   Jesus was startled by the woman’s unexpected immediate retort.  A pagan woman agreed with what Jesus said about it not being fair to take food from children and giving it to the dogs.  She effectively turned the tables on Jesus and said that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.  What mattered was that her daughter was suffering and tormented by a demon.  Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Matthew doesn’t tell us how Jesus felt when he lost this argument with the Canaanite woman.  What is implied is that he recognized truth when he heard it.   The Canaanite woman’s persistence not only made her daughter whole; it also showed Jesus that there was a larger world beyond Iarael that he had come to listen to and to heal.

With all that is happening are we not like the Canaanite woman screaming to God for mercy and healing of our troubled world?  We are all members one of another, part of this great earthly gathering of the people of God.  It does not matter where we live or the circumstances of political conflict, war or disease from an untreatable virus or from starvation.  We are God’s people of every race and nation, and our faith calls us to pray and worship, to give thanks to God for his compassion and mercy, and to participate as ambassadors of reconciliation. 

We pray that wars may come to an end, that people may learn to live side by side in respect and dignity, and that all of us may work to heal those who are sick and suffering.  “Lord, help us.”  Help us to be faithful doers of your Word and pray for your compassionate care and relief of suffering wherever it occurs.  Amen.