[Propertalk] Proper 13 c - part 2

Sat Jul 30 16:39:18 EDT 2016

Part 2
Bob

	 It’s strange how we talk about this – this is the second time
I’ve mentioned this this morning! – about body and 

	soul being sustained as a way of describing what it is to have
clothes and nourishment, at the very least. It seems that such a
description shows a parting from the Hebrew thought that both body and
soul were given to us by God, therefore for someone to suffer in the
body us for them to suffer in their souls also. 

	 This may be why Jesus was so devoted to those whose physical needs
were being ignored or trodden on. We saw that damage was being
inflicted on their souls also. 

	 Not just that, though. The man who came to Jesus looking for a way
to get the better of his brother – HIS soul was being challenged
too. In danger of contracting infection which would pervade his entire
life. He couldn’t simply switch off his attitude, his beliefs, his
goals when he walked into his home, or any other place. It’s not
possible to think oneself righteous on a Sunday, like the teacher in
that appalling Scottish rhyme, and become the exact opposite of it any
other time. 

	 Jesus saw that to act out of dividing and conquering, rather than by
reconciling, was to act out of fear. The man, apparently, couldn’t
trust his brother to care for him. In fact, there may have been an
even greater number of people whom he didn’t trust. Worse yet, there
was, despite the ay the man came to Jesus so obsequiously, worse yet,
there was such strong evidence that he didn’t trust God in the
least.  

	 If the man didn’t get the split of the inheritance he wanted, he
may well have ended up like the farmer in the parable. He may have had
to watch day and night just to make sure that no one – not even a
starving woman, child or man – that no one would take as much as a
cup or an armful of the crop he felt was his and his alone. 

	 This is what happens when fear is allowed to live within us. Our
whole being becomes me-centred. We can’t begin to think of how
others are living except to treat them as an enemy to be herded up and
kept as far away from us as possible. 

	 But Jesus came to break the control of fear. Jesus came to help us
set aside fear so that we might learn to be empathetic towards others,
so that our souls and theirs might be drawn closer to what God wishes,
and our bodies and minds become mirrors to reflect the blinding joy
that God has for us. 

	 Indeed, our souls are not created to be solid, like iron, as Mary
Oliver’s first question asks. They’re to be impressionable.
They’re to be responsive. They, like all of creation, even grass,
are to be sharing and loving, no matter how we perceive another soul
to be. 

	 About two weeks ago, Bishop Steven Charleston wrote:   

	 “In light of the events in Baton Rouge, another in a string of
tragedies tearing the fabric of our nation, I simply invite all of us
to reflect deeply on what we can do, individually and corporately, to
end the cycles of violence. Here is a short list that may help us
focus. We must organize faith communities to be effective voices of
reason. We must have a united front for reconciliation. We must
support all levels of leadership that are actively working for
constructive change. And finally, we must begin to see a national
process of healing begin between people of all walks of life. I know
it will not be easy. I know there are no quick fixes. But I also know
that enough is enough. The sorrow on all sides must cease.” 7  

	 Our souls have to be tender and breakable, moth-winged, perfectly
capable of sustaining us in flight, yet vulnerable to those who choose
to be predatory, who try to make us afraid, who try to draw us from
the love of God. There’s so much in the world, there are so many
people, who would even call on Jesus as a means to frighten us into
giving up. And, if fear rule, then all kinds of violence, all kinds of
greed, all kinds of power struggles will dominate our waking and
sleeping hours, and we may be extraordinarily hard-pressed to find
ways to address even some of the issues Bishop Charleston suggested. 

	 If our personal lives revolve around insatiable desires, if
everything is turned inward instead of outward, then there is a
breeding ground for fear. But if we are turned towards concrete hope,
to everyone within our communities, then our souls may be able to
resist the peril that focusing only on the self brings. It is this
peril which Jesus is trying to help us defeat. It is this peril which
Jesus is trying to cure. 

	 St Augustine made a remarkably obvious comment in one of his sermons
fifteen hundred years ago. At least, it seems obvious now. He wrote
that the rich man “did not realize that the bellies of the poor were
much safer storerooms than his barns.” 8 

	 Greed takes so many forms, but it seems to hinge on the idea of
power. Who has the power? How is it distributed? How does it affect
everyone? Is there equity in its administration? 

	 How much does it consume me, consume you, to finagle, to cheat, in
order to gain this power, especially when we pray to “Our Father”
every – every what? Day? Hour? – we pray: “for YOURS is the
power.” 

	 All that we have is ours – to steward for God, for the benefit of
all in creation. And the souls which are an inseparable part of us,
MAY be imperiled if we do not take care. 

	 I began by saying there was bad news. But there is good news. Jesus
never tires of speaking to us. Jesus is the forever lover of our
souls, who will walk with us always. We simply need to pay attention. 

	 There’s a saying attributed to John Wesley. 9 Whether or not he
did, it sums up what is important. “Do all the good you can. By all
the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can.
At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever
you can.” 

	NOTES: 

	[1] _“Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes”_ by Kenneth E. Bailey.
InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois. © 2008. Page 298. 

	2 Bailey, Op. cit., page 298. 

	3 Bailey, Op. cit., page 300.  

	4 _“Some Questions You Might Ask” _by Mary Oliver, f_rom "House
of Light" _Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts. Page 1. ©1990, Mary
Oliver. Also contained in _“New and Selected Poems, Volume One”,_
Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts. © 1992. Page 65.  

	5 Bailey, Op. cit., page 300 

	6 _“Away in a manger”_, traditional carol. The Hymnal 1982,
Church Penson Fund, New York. © 1985. Number 101. 

7 BP. STEVEN CHARLESTON 17TH JULY, 2016, 2:18 P.M. STEVEN CHARLESTON -
TIMELINE | FACEBOOK [1]

	https://www.facebook.com/bishopstevencharleston/photos/a.../1072864989465039/
[2]?. 

	8 _Sermon 36.9_ by Augustine, quoted in _Luke_, Ancient Christian
Commentary on Scripture, ed. Arthur J. Just. InterVarsity Press,
Downers Grove, Ill. © 2003. Quoted in Bailey, Op. cit., page 304 

	9 Wesley Didn't Say It: Do all the good you can, by all the means you
... [3]
https://vitalpiety.com/.../wesley-didnt-say-it-do-all-the-good-you-can-by-all-the-mean
[4]... 

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[2]
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[3]
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