Circumcision of the Heart part 2

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the idea of the circumcision of the heart, the sign of the new covenant which Paul addressed in his letter to the Romans:

Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God. (Romans 2:29)

In the Old Testament reading from last Sunday, the fifth Sunday of Lent, Jeremiah speaks of a new covenant which God promises for the Jewish people, “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”  Jeremiah goes on to identify the sign of the new covenant as one that will be written in the heart, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”  

It is quite likely that Paul had this in mind when he spoke of the new covenant.  As a good Jew and a good Pharisee, he would have been very aware of Jeremiah’s prophetic declarations.  It is unfortunate that this has not become a more prevalent symbol in Christianity today.  It is spoken of in some parts of our religion but it is not as prevalent as many symbols.  The heart if a very powerful symbol which does resonate as a symbol of love even in our scientific materialistic world today. 

The heart traditionally represented the feeling world of human existence at the deepest level and going back to ancient times.  Indeed, as noted by theologian Marcus Borg:

the heart in biblical tradition is an image of the self at its deepest level.  For the ancient Hebrews, the heart was not simply associated with feelings or courage or courage or love, as in common usage.  Rather, the heart was associated with the totality of the human psyche: not only emotion but also intellect, volition, and even perception.

What does it mean then to have this new covenant written on the heart?  I propose that this means that Paul is calling Christians to have heart that are not written in stone, as the old covenant was written on those stone tablets.  Rather we are called to be open hearted to and with others.  That is easier said than done as I can attest from my experience.  When you are interacting with someone who has caused you pain or is even difficult and annoying the natural reaction seems to be to have a heart of stone which sets up protective barriers around the soft core of the heart we were born with.

The key to relating to someone who does not act in a loving way to you is not react in kind.  It is to turn the other cheek and to go the second mile as we are told elsewhere.  For me the only way that this has the possibility of working is to recognize that the other person is not “the other”.  They are someone who is a flawed, imperfect child of God just as you are a flawed, imperfect child of God.  Perhaps their flaws are more obvious to you but it may be that your inner vision is not 20/20.  What you have in common is that we are all sinful and in need of redemption. 

Unfortunately, it is very easy and seems to satisfy us on a deep level when we can feel righteous indignation or even good old-fashioned revenge and hope the other person will get what they deserve in this world rather than the next.  However, the new covenant we have as Christians calls us to be open hearted.  Jesus told us that his yoke is easy.  Hmm, why then does this seem so difficult?  Perhaps it gets easier with practice.  I guess all we sinful children of God can do is keep trying.

Blessing on you journey to Easter.

Meeting the "Other"

My sermon on July 31st yesterday focused on what it means to be fully human.  For me it means that we are not perfect; we are going to make mistakes; we are going to fall into sin.  I started out by calling everyone losers.  I think that got their attention and it may not have made them as receptive to my message but I think I redeemed myself and made the point that as Christians we are followers of someone who the world viewed as a loser.  Jesus was by the world standards a loser who died a horrible death on the cross with his closest followers betraying him, denying him and abandoning him. 

I won’t repeat much of my sermon here—a copy is posted if you would like to read it.  However, I want to repeat a quote from Jean Vanier the founder of the L’Arche communities: 

I will tell you a true story, he said.  “A young man with disabilities wanted to win the 100-metre race. And he got to the finals.  And he was running like crazy to get that gold medal, and somebody in the next lane tripped and fell.  And he stopped, picked this guy up, and they ran together, and both of them were last”.

“That’s a true story,” Mr. Vanier confirmed.  It’s the deepest lesson the disabled have to teach.  “It’s not that they can become like us—but how can we become like them and have fun together.  And lift up the chap who has fallen on the other lane, and come in last.  There’s in us all an ego we have to conquer.  You kill the ego so that the real person may rise up.  And the real person is the one who’s learning to love.”

I want to reflect further on the on the “other” in our society—those people who are inconvenient and embarrassing and who many if not most people believe society would be better off without.  A Facts and Argument column in last Friday’s Globe and Mail written by Ann Auld,  the mother of a Down’s syndrome child spoke eloquently about the joys and challenges she had experienced.  She expressed the fear that in the future science will make her experience and people like her children extinct, “Of the numerous lessons I have learned the one I never figured out is that I would be raising an endangered species.”  She ended the article eloquently with the poignant expression of the joys and challenges, “Within a few moments, she will break my heart and patch it back up again.”

Lorna and I also watched on our antiquated VHS player and 20” portable TV, I Am Sam starring Sean Penn.  It is a poignant and moving story of a mentally challenged man who fights to raise his “normal” intelligent daughter.  It is not idealistic or sentimental or fantasy like Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks.  It does not sugar coat the realities of the disabled in this world.  It does have a Hollywood happy ending but it is definitely worthwhile watching.

These experiences encouraged me to reflect on the reality of the “other” in God’s world.  I do not know what I would have done if I had been faced with the choice of bringing a disabled child into the world.  Ann Auld notes that she does not know what she would have done if amniocentesis had been available to her, “would I have continued the pregnancy knowing what was to come.”  She believes that she also, “contributed to the notion that being different is somehow wrong, not okay, not acceptable.”

How then do I react and respond and relate to the “others” in this world—those who are different and do not fit the idea and ideal of being normal or above normal?  How do I keep aware of my prejudices towards many “others” in this world?  There are many more questions than answers about who the “others” are and what God’s plan is.  However, the bottom line is “It’s not that they can become like us, but how can we become like them and have fun together” and live as God intends us to—in relationship.   Blessings