A Matter of Philosophy

PROPERS:          PROPER 8, YEAR C    

TEXT:                GALATIANS 5:1, 13-25

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, ON SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2022.

 

ONE SENTENCE:        A challenge for us is to listen to “our better angels.”

 

            Many of us, I suspect, have had the idea that Christianity arose ex nihilo – out of nothing – from the nations of Judea and Israel.  In terms of bread baking, there was no starter.

 

            But there was. The world of religion and philosophy was a rich gumbo that produced – and birthed – the roots of the faith we practice today.  Jesus and his followers were deeply influenced by the world around them.

 

            First and foremost is the Jewish faith.  Jesus lived and died a Jew. Christianity, as such, did not exist. That would only come decades later.  Jesus’ quarrels were not with Judaism, but with the religious authorities of that era.  He saw that the Law, which had been given as a gift to order life, had been bent and shaped to become a burden to common people. Hence, his verbal battles with the Sadducees, Pharisees, and scribes.

 

            Like muscles are built by the resistance of weight, Christianity emerged from Jesus’ resistance to the religious authorities.  It sharpened and clarified his message.

 

            But there was more.  It came later and influenced early church leaders.

 

            The Western World at that time was formed by the Greeks.  More so than the Romans, who dominated the military world at that time, the residual influence of Alexander the Great molded thought and scholarship.

 

            This was known as Hellenistic Thought – as exemplified by the philosophical schools of thought that were more than 300 years old. Their age had allowed them to permeate the thought of the day.

 

            Chief among these were Platonism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism.  They each had their followers, and they did not agree.  But we can see their impact on Christian thought – especially after the worldly ministry of Jesus – in those who followed him.

 

            Paul is an excellent example.  He was a Hellenistic Jew.  He was well-educated.  He was bright and articulate.  You may not want him as a guest at your party, but he managed to express his views well.

 

            Paul was greatly influenced by Stoicism. Our understanding of stoicism these days is a thin gruel of what that philosophy was to Paul.  Instead of just bucking up and acting like nothing has happened – which is our modern understanding – true stoicism had to do with the rejection of passions and their unhealthy actions. Behaviors such as fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, and carousing were frowned upon.

 

            Paul listed those precise behaviors in the first lesson today – as works of the flesh. As an aside, I would note that Paul would likely not be a good guest at Mardi Gras.  But I suspect that we could all agree that his list of works of the flesh is pretty accurate.

 

            In contrast, Paul gives voice to stoic philosophy.  He counters those acts of passion with those that are not rooted in passion. Hear his words: “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.”

 

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What is my point in all this?

 

I guess I could raise the question about political discourse these days. Are debates today motivated by passion or reason? Which is a more animating force in Facebook?

 

This is more to the point: Do you listen to the voices of your better angels? Are you motivated by resentment, bigotry, fear, or suspicion? Or by the higher motivations of empathy, care, understanding, compassion, and of course, love?

 

I think that is the message for us today: Our words and actions should be moved by calm reason rather than by passions from our shadow sides.

 

If we can do that more frequently, we and others can live in more Christian harmony. 

 

  

A Perspective of Gratitude

 

PROPERS:          PENTECOST, YEAR C         

TEXT:                PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7 (Not the lectionary lesson)

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, ON SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2022.

 

ONE SENTENCE:        Life may throw us curves, but if we look, we can see the blessings.       

 

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.^[c] 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

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            I am doing something very different today.  I am not preaching on the lessons for today, but on a different passage – the one I just read.  And I do it for an important reason – and a timely reason.

 

            The passage I just read is from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.  Biblical scholars have said that the letter (as we now have it) is a combination of letters Paul sent to the church in Philippi – in modern-day Greece – over a 10-year period.

 

            The scholars believe that Paul, at his last writing, was imprisoned in Rome, and soon to be executed.  Yet, one element comes through:  Paul’s utter joy.

 

            His joy was not grounded in some trench of denial, but in a very profound faith – and a sense of God’s providence working through all things.

 

            His joy is an amazing witness.

 

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            Just nine days ago, I was sitting in Bo and Helen Soule’s home, visiting with them and Frank Martin – our long-time and beloved parishioner. Frank’s wife of nearly 57 years had died just an hour before.  It would have been a difficult time for anyone.

 

            Bereft of his wife’s death, one would have expected words of bitterness or profound questioning (not unlike Job’s). Yet, I heard something unexpected.

 

            “I have been so blessed,” said Frank.  “I have so much to be thankful for.”

 

            Even in loss, he was grateful.

 

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            Paul could certainly identify. The grief, the trial, were palpable. But there was something which went much deeper – for both Frank and Paul. It was knowledge of blessings.

 

            I like to believe that I have the same attitude.  Perhaps you do, too.

 

            The sense I have was hard-won.  I look back on my early years and see a great deal of difficulty.  I would no more go back to my high school years than fly to the moon.  My early adult years were painful, too, as I sorted through developmental issues that were intensely personal.

 

            There were many deep, dark nights of the soul.  Though at one stage I blamed others, I came to know it was my life.  Only I could move through it.

 

            Over a period of years, and with the help of Nora, two wonderful children, the grace and mercy of God, and a vocation that made my heart sing, I came to a different place.

 

            Now, I can see God’s hand in it all.  I see the blessings.  They form a rock on which I stand.  Every moment, every experience, even the painful ones, have led me to this day. “Rejoice in the Lord always: Again, I will say Rejoice.”

 

            Those blessings seem so appropriate today – Pentecost, the birthday of the Church.  Over the years… over two millennia of church history… the church has -- like a human life – had highs and lows.  Sometimes it has moved forward on its mission splendidly.  At other times, it has been a flawed, broken human institution.

 

            But throughout those years, the Holy Spirit has moved and guided us along the trajectory of hope.  Blessings abound.

 

            That is the reason we gather here.  Eucharist means thanksgiving.  It is the reason A General Thanksgivingwas included in our prayers this morning.

 

            Frank Martin reminded me. The General Thanksgiving we prayed this morning was written by the Reverend Charles Price, longtime professor at Virginia Seminary and priest of the church.  It expresses so well the bountiful gratitude we bring to this altar.

 

            Our faith teaches us to look over the horizon of life.  It is the reason we exclaim at the end of the Burial Office: “yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”