First Principle and Foundation (2)

Last week I wrote about the principle of Ignatian Spirituality which is to develop the first principle and foundation of your spiritual life.  The first principle and foundation of Ignatian Spirituality is:

God created human beings to praise, reverence, and serve God, and by doing this, to save their souls. God created all other things on the face of the earth to help fulfill this purpose. From this it follows that we are to use the things of this world only to the extent that they help us to this end, and we ought to rid ourselves of the things of this world to the extent that they get in the way of this end.

The question which came to mind when considering this is, how do we know if the first principle and foundation is true to who we are created to be?  What if someone has determined that their first principle and foundation is to gain as much money, or material goods, or power that they can, and heaven help anyone who stands in their way.  There does not seem to be anything that will determine, in and of itself, that a first principle and foundation is what will be good for the world or for the individual who professes this.  Christians can, of course, base their first principle and foundation on the Great Commandment of Jesus i.e., to love others as he loves us and to love our neighbours as ourselves.  This seems to be, what you could say, is what lies beneath the first principle and foundation of Ignatian Spirituality.

I was reminded recently, when considering this question, of a traditional aboriginal teaching to help us further unpack this question:

A wise elder is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old man simply replied, “The one you feed.”

This states the quandary quite clearly.  It is possible to have a first principle and foundation that feeds either of the wolves which are inside each of us.  We have the free will which God has given us to decide which wolf we feed. 

Another way of looking at this issue, which is not directly a religious one, is to examine it from the perspective of unity and division.  Does a principle and foundation work for unity or does it promote division in our lives and in the community?  Northrop Frye, the great literary critic and author of the Great Code, addressed this in his preface to The Bush Garden, subtitled, Essays on the Canadian Imagination:

Real unity tolerates dissent and rejoices in variety of outlook and tradition, recognizes that it is man’s destiny to unite and not divide, and understands that creating proletariat and scapegoats and second-class citizens is a mean and contemptible activity. 

That was written circa 1970 and is ever so true today where the mean and contemptible activity which strives for disunity seems to fill the news. 

Which wolf will you feed on your journey?  May you be blessed to feed the one which brings love and unity.

Sermon July 26, 2015 Eighth Sunday after Trinity

There is an Old Aboriginal teaching:

An elder was teaching his grandson about life.  He said to him, “Grandson, a fight is going on inside you and me.  It is a terrible fight between two wolves”.  “How come there are two wolves grandfather?” the boy asked.  His grandfather answered, “One wolf is evil – he is anger, envy, regret, greed, conceit, self-pity, guilt, lies resentment, false pride, superiority and ego.  The other wolf is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.  The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person.”  His grandson thought about this for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The elder replied, “The one you feed.” 

They come in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Last week Father David quoted someone I don’t hear quoted in church very often, Bob Dylan. 

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You’re gonna have to serve somebody; that is the basic message in both that Aboriginal teaching and the Bob Dylan song.  The Gospel tells us that false prophets are inwardly ravenous wolves.  We will know them by the fruit of their teachings. 

This was very important in Jesus’ time.  We know there were many false prophets who were doing miraculous things just as Jesus was.   Most of them have rightly faded into the mists of time.  However, one we know about is Simon Magus or Simon the Magician.  The apostle Peter is recorded in the Book of Acts to have had an encounter with Simon.  In some apocryphal books he is recorded to have been a formidable sorcerer with the ability to levitate and fly at will.  It is recorded in Acts that he tried to bribe the apostles—offering money to receive the power of the Holy Spirit which the Apostles were demonstrating.  The sin of Simony is named after Simon.   Simony is the sin of paying for position and influence in the church.

Jesus does not give his warning lightly—it is a matter of salvation.  The Apostles and first Christians knew that Jesus was a true prophet—the true messiah—by the fruit of who he was.  They were filled with the Holy Spirit just as Jesus was at his baptism in the Jordan River.  Christians throughout the millennia that followed have known that Jesus is the only begotten son of God because of the fruits of that belief.  They have known the fulfilling and full life which following Christ can bring.  That, of course, doesn’t mean that there haven’t been false prophets in the church and false prophets in the world.

We have false prophets who follow false gods all around us today.  I don’t know if there are more than in other times but it certainly seems that way.  Perhaps it seems this way because there are more opportunities for us to be exposed to them and tempted by them through modern communication which started with radio and TV and has expanded exponentially with the internet and social media.  There is no shortage of people willing to lead us astray offering instant cures for all ills. There are princes in Nigeria willing to share their fortunes with us if we only send them some seed money.  We have no shortage of financial gurus who are going to give us fantastic returns on our investments.  We have false prophets of government who are giving us simplistic solutions to all the world’s problems.  Just say no to drugs; just get tough on crime and increase the mandatory minimum sentences and lock them up and throw away the keys—don’t waste money on rehabilitation; waste it on building more prisons to hold more prisoners of which there will be an ever increasing supply.    The false prophets are everywhere.  We have to be aware and beware of them as Jesus says and judge them by their fruit.  Do they bring forth evil fruit or good fruit?  It can be hard to tell the difference—at least initially.

Which prophet will you serve; which wolf will you feed?  The Gospel tells us that inwardly the false prophets are ravening wolves.  The false prophets are, of course, not only in the outer world.  The inner wolves take the form of devices and desires of our inner lives.  The demand of the hunger of alcoholism can only be described as a ravenous evil wolf.  It will eventually devour those who are attacked by it and who respond by feeding it.  One way of describing alcoholism is a need to find the Spirit of God in a person’s life. The alcoholic tries to have the Spirit through the spirits of alcohol. 

A key—I don’t know if it is the key—to the 12 step program of AA—is to acknowledge that you can’t do it yourself; you have to give your life to a higher power, in effect give up the illusion that you are in control and give that control to God.  This is true for everyone—not just alcoholics.

There are many other—perhaps numberless—forms of the evil wolf; from the desire for power to the desire for material possessions.  There is the desire for love which people hope can be found in the fairy tale romance of happily ever after in the arms of Prince Charming or Sleeping beauty. 

What is it that you are feeding in your life?  Many of the wolves are easy to see in others.  We can see the devastation of alcoholism or materialism.  But what about those that have the appearance of being harmless and perhaps even fruit that appear to be good. Are you someone who must keep busy to believe that you are worth being loved?  Do you think if I don’t keep active doing I am not worthy of being loved by God?  How are you filling your life because you don’t want to recognize who you are a beloved child of God?  These too can be subtle evil wolves that are disguised as good wolves.  These wolves can seem to offer the answer to all our problems.  They seem to provide easy answers.  But they are not; the answers they provide are not easy; they are false.  We can try to ignore them.  However, they will not be ignored. We can try to feed them but they are ravenous and always hungry.  That is another sign that the fruit is bad.  The only answer is to face them and engage them to find out what they are truly offering—what need they are filling and determine that the fruit they offer is false. 

The answer is to discover the truth of salvation and grace in the saving power of Jesus Christ offered to us through the forgiveness of the cross.  The grace of God is offered to each of us because we are God’s Children and not because of the wolf that we try and feed.  The true fruit of Jesus Christ is the possibility of salvation through the forgiveness offered in seeking and following Jesus Christ.    The fruit of that journey is the forgiveness that is given to us when we miss the mark and feed the evil wolf.  Jesus knows that is going to happen and welcomes us back when we turn again to him.  Thanks be to God.  

You're Gonna Have to Serve Somebody

Yesterday was the Eight Sunday after Trinity if you follow the Book of Common Prayer as we do in our Parish in P.E.I.  I was presiding at the services at St. Alban’s, Souris and St. George’s, Montague.  The Gospel appointed was Matt. 7: 15-21.  The opening verse is: ¹⁵“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will know them by their fruits.” (NRSV) 

I opened my sermon with the aboriginal teaching of the two wolves:

An elder was teaching his grandson about life.  He said to him, “Grandson, a fight is going on inside you and me.  It is a terrible fight between two wolves”.  “How come there are two wolves grandfather?” the boy asked.  His grandfather answered, “One wolf is evil – he is anger, envy, regret, greed, conceit, self-pity, guilt, lies resentment, false pride, superiority and ego.  The other wolf is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.  The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person.”  His grandson thought about this for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The elder replied, “The one you feed.” 

To quote Bob Dylan (which I did):

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

The question for each of us is which wolf are we going to feed; which prophet are we going to serve?

Later yesterday afternoon I came across a wonderful video on Huffington blog by James Gerkin.  In the video an African American evangelical preacher who gave a wonderful exposition of this: Georgia Pastor Has No Time For Anti-LGBT Hypocrites http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/georgia-pastor-gay-equality_55b50b09e4b0074ba5a4d6e2.  The video ends by the pastor saying, “We all need to look at ourselves” and condemning Christians for being hypocrites in their attitudes to the LGBT community. 

An excerpt from the post follows.

 

Georgia pastor E. Dewey Smith said in a videotaped sermon that was posted Thursday. Smith, who is pastor of the House of Hope Atlanta in Decatur, Georgia, and the House of Hope Macon, chastised his congregation and others who "demonize and dehumanize" artists and even members of their own choir who are gay while enjoying and benefitting from their work.

"We have done what the slave master did to us," he said. "Dehumanize us, degrade us, demonize us, but then use them for our advantage."

Vocal opponents of homosexuality will cite Leviticus, Smith went on to say, but the same book of the Bible also prohibits eating shellfish, wearing mixed fabrics and sharing a bed with a woman while she's menstruating.

"Here’s my point. We pick and choose the scriptures that we want to use to beat folk up with, rather than look at our own lives." 

"Look at your neighbor and tell your neighbor, ‘I don’t condemn you. I don’t judge you. I will preach Christ to you,'" he said. "You can’t evangelize and antagonize at the same time." 

Sermon July 14, 2013: WHich Wolf Will We Feed

There is a story from North American native Indians – I guess you could call it a proverb. 

An old Cherokee told his grandson: “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth.”

The boy thought about it, and asked: “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”

The old man quietly replied: “The one you feed.”

That story is applicable to both the epistle and the Gospel for today.  In the Epistle from Romans, Paul is telling is that we have a war within us about which side we will serve – will we be slaves to sin or will we be servants to righteousness?  The Gospel tells of one of the well-known events in the ministry of Jesus when he feeds the multitude with five loaves and two fishes.  The multitude is satisfied abundantly with more than enough left over – more than they started with.  In effect which side in the battle will we serve – which wolf will we feed?  How will we feed our souls with material food or spiritual food?

The epistle (Romans 6:17) tells us that if we feed the evil wolf we are slaves to sin.  However, if we feed the good wolf we will be servants to God.  One interesting thing about this comparison is the Greek work for servant and slave.  The New Testament - when it was finally written down - was originally written in Greek. 

One of the things I remember from my course in Greek at seminary was that the Greek word Doulos means both slave and servant.  We have the same word being used differently – the translators used slave in one place – slave to sin.  The other is servant to God.  I’m sure they used the two different words in translation because of the context in which they are used.  There is a definite difference for the context of a slave and the context of a servant. 

When you are a slave to something you have little or no choice in the matter.  We don’t consider slavery much these days.  After all, slavery was defeated in the 18^th and 19^th century for the most part.  There was the great civil war in our neighbours to the south a hundred and fifty years ago that emancipated the slaves.  Unfortunately the United States is still dealing with many of the consequences in their relations between blacks and whites.  There are still two wolves fighting in many ways in that land.  Of course we Anglicans can be proud of the role of William Wilberforce an Anglican reformer who was the force behind the abolition of slavery in Britain in the 18^th Century.  He was inspired in part by John Newton the author of Amazing Grace and a reformed slave ship captain.  However, slavery was an integral part of the world in Jesus’ time.  The first Christians including Paul accepted slavery as normal part of society. 

So today, how do we relate to slavery that Paul talks about?  Well even though physical slavery has been abolished in the Western world we have many other kinds of slavery.  We have many things in society that we can be enslaved by.  We can be enslaved to money or drugs or material possession or even power.  When we become enslaved to something like alcohol or anything else we lose our choices.  Someone who is addicted has lost control of his life. 

The addict may believe that that they are in control – I can give up x any time I want to - but in truth the thing they are addicted to is controlling them.  They have becomes slaves to sin.

When we think of sin we often mistakenly believe we are taking strictly about moral behavior – committing adultery or stealing or any of the ‘nots’ in the Ten Commandments.  However, I find that the best way of thinking of sin is ‘something – anything that separates us from the love of God and from leading the life that God intends for us. 

This brings us to the Gospel and the image of being fed by Jesus.  We have the wonderful account of Jesus feeding the multitude with a few loaves of bread and even fewer small fish.  The account presents Jesus feeding the bodies of those that gathered to hear him.  Their bodies were indeed fed by the bread and the fish but they were fed in another way.  Their souls and spirits were undoubtedly fed by Jesus.  That is why they were gathered to be with him.  They recognized that their spirit was not being fed by their present lives – by the religious leaders of their community.  The Gospel tells us that many had come from distances to experience Jesus.  They knew on some level that their spirits were hungering for the bread of heaven.   Just as we are fed by the body and blood of Jesus when we receive the Eucharist they ate and were filled in their bodies and their souls.

So the question remains which wolf are we going to feed in our lives?  The one that is Evil – the one that is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies and ego.  Or are we going to feed the one that is Good – the one that is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth.” 

The boy thought about it, and asked: “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”

The old man quietly replied: “The one you feed.”

Amen.