This is not the kind of message I like to get and give in Meeting for worship (Quaker Sunday service). In fact, if I had to characterize my mission in life as currently understood, it would be "to proclaim God's love in all times and in all places". However, this is sometimes how I can tell that a message is truly from the Divine Mystery and not from me, when it feel uncomfortable, or not 'like' me.
Yesterday I wrestled with this message for a good part of the hour and almost got up to speak it several times, but each time I was about to, someone else began speaking. It was an unusually verbal worship. In the branch of Quakers that I am a member of, worship is based in silent waiting, waiting for a sense of the Presence and perhaps a message or two. In our large urban (large by Quaker standards) church, or meetinghouse, as we would say, there are often "too many" messages and not enough silence. At many other meetinghouses there is too much silence and not enough messages, even though the presence of God can often be felt in a service that is completely silent.
Anyway, I finally stopped wrestling and felt a sense of peace and inspiration by listening to what others were saying and going deeper into the silence between messages. However, I did not feel released from hearing and "preaching' this particular message. Perhaps there will come a time, another time when I will be requited to share this, or a similar message in worship, but for now I share it here.
EVERY DAY IS JUDGMENT DAY! This is one of the important things Jesus has been saying to us, and that we have continued not to hear. Each day we have a choice. We can live in the hell that we have created here on earth (despite the beauty and holiness of God's creation), or we can choose to live the eternal kind of life, NOW. The hell we have created, may need no explanation, but that doesn't usually stop me. Our societies, even the best of them continue to be full of pain, injustice, exploitation and abuse for most of its members or of people colonized, or not recognized as fully human, or all of the above. And now we are seeing that we have don't all of the above to the earth, our home. Though each one of us individually cannot be judged responsible for all the ills of our own society and culture, we do our part, consciously or not to keep it going in one way or another.
Currently, there is another kind of hell we create or choose, especially those of us living in this OZ, the so called Wonderland of modern 'Western' technological, consumer democracies. Many of us live via the internet, are addicted to watching hour after hour of TV programs and movies on our computers, cannot go anywhere without those tings in our ears blasting our very own 10,000 songs- but I am beginning to get going on a rant... We are lonely and disconnected from each other and from anything larger than ourselves or a small group of friends, anything that could give our lives meaning, vision or hope, real hope not packaged fantasies.
Instead, even those of us, in pain, in prison or poverty, can choose to have heaven; the eternal kind of life, now, we do not have to wait until we die, in fact we must not wait. But, we can't do it by ourselves, or even, really for ourselves, alone. One brilliant step toward that eternal kind of life, now, is, to begin seeing ourselves as a species among species, that is, recognize all other humans as our direct kin, our sisters and brothers, fathers, mothers, grandparents, and the others species, plant and animals as our cousins- then, act accordingly. And here is where we need the help, not only from our siblings and parents, but from that mysterious source/being we call God. Because to act lovingly, not only takes courage, perhaps even foolishness, but it takes not acting on all those un-loving impulses we get. Most of them are completely natural reactions, someone gets in our way, denies us something, threatens us or upsets us in any way, there is an instinctive response; fight, run, hit, remove ... And, of course, if you are in actual danger, you may well need to take action. However, most of the time, if we stopped, noticed how we are feeling or reacting, took a breath, asked for help from another person or from God, we could see that something very different is required, and that most often (or at least a lot more often than we can imagine) a loving response rather than a thoughtless reaction will do. This does take effort, it requires searching, asking questions, being teachable, being open to being changed by the love and by the people and other being you are attempting to be loving towards. It also will bring failure- BUT...
Living the eternal kind of life now, living heaven, now, being, and creating, co-creating the kingdom of heaven, or what many are now calling the reign of heaven or the republic of heaven, living it ,now, as best we can, helping to bring it about for others, this IS HEAVEN, this is the eternal kind of life, now. It brings you closer to that which we call God, it allows you to be grateful, to be happy- Oh, not all the time, of course not! Human life does actually require suffering, making mistakes, staring over, enduring... AND practicing does help: being grateful for what you have, rather than always looking for what you don't have, for instance. It is the oddest thing but the happiest people are the ones who feel happy doing for others- I don't mean being the kind of martyr that complains about martyrdom, or points it out. In fact, another odd thing is that we humans can't actually do any of the above for selfish reasons- and yet it is also true as Lincoln said, "that people are about as happy as they choose to be".
So, what will be folks? Since every day is judgment day, will you choose hell or heaven? I want the eternal kind of life, now- so I pray for help, listen to what Jesus says (Buddha also has some good advice, as do many other prophets of God) and try to figure out what a loving response would be to everyone and everything I encounter each day. Of, course, I know this means, I will fail, and fail again tomorrow, but with assistance and nothing in my 'ear' to keep me from hearing God's will and encouragement, I will fail better each day.
Yesterday I wrestled with this message for a good part of the hour and almost got up to speak it several times, but each time I was about to, someone else began speaking. It was an unusually verbal worship. In the branch of Quakers that I am a member of, worship is based in silent waiting, waiting for a sense of the Presence and perhaps a message or two. In our large urban (large by Quaker standards) church, or meetinghouse, as we would say, there are often "too many" messages and not enough silence. At many other meetinghouses there is too much silence and not enough messages, even though the presence of God can often be felt in a service that is completely silent.
Anyway, I finally stopped wrestling and felt a sense of peace and inspiration by listening to what others were saying and going deeper into the silence between messages. However, I did not feel released from hearing and "preaching' this particular message. Perhaps there will come a time, another time when I will be requited to share this, or a similar message in worship, but for now I share it here.
EVERY DAY IS JUDGMENT DAY! This is one of the important things Jesus has been saying to us, and that we have continued not to hear. Each day we have a choice. We can live in the hell that we have created here on earth (despite the beauty and holiness of God's creation), or we can choose to live the eternal kind of life, NOW. The hell we have created, may need no explanation, but that doesn't usually stop me. Our societies, even the best of them continue to be full of pain, injustice, exploitation and abuse for most of its members or of people colonized, or not recognized as fully human, or all of the above. And now we are seeing that we have don't all of the above to the earth, our home. Though each one of us individually cannot be judged responsible for all the ills of our own society and culture, we do our part, consciously or not to keep it going in one way or another.
Currently, there is another kind of hell we create or choose, especially those of us living in this OZ, the so called Wonderland of modern 'Western' technological, consumer democracies. Many of us live via the internet, are addicted to watching hour after hour of TV programs and movies on our computers, cannot go anywhere without those tings in our ears blasting our very own 10,000 songs- but I am beginning to get going on a rant... We are lonely and disconnected from each other and from anything larger than ourselves or a small group of friends, anything that could give our lives meaning, vision or hope, real hope not packaged fantasies.
Instead, even those of us, in pain, in prison or poverty, can choose to have heaven; the eternal kind of life, now, we do not have to wait until we die, in fact we must not wait. But, we can't do it by ourselves, or even, really for ourselves, alone. One brilliant step toward that eternal kind of life, now, is, to begin seeing ourselves as a species among species, that is, recognize all other humans as our direct kin, our sisters and brothers, fathers, mothers, grandparents, and the others species, plant and animals as our cousins- then, act accordingly. And here is where we need the help, not only from our siblings and parents, but from that mysterious source/being we call God. Because to act lovingly, not only takes courage, perhaps even foolishness, but it takes not acting on all those un-loving impulses we get. Most of them are completely natural reactions, someone gets in our way, denies us something, threatens us or upsets us in any way, there is an instinctive response; fight, run, hit, remove ... And, of course, if you are in actual danger, you may well need to take action. However, most of the time, if we stopped, noticed how we are feeling or reacting, took a breath, asked for help from another person or from God, we could see that something very different is required, and that most often (or at least a lot more often than we can imagine) a loving response rather than a thoughtless reaction will do. This does take effort, it requires searching, asking questions, being teachable, being open to being changed by the love and by the people and other being you are attempting to be loving towards. It also will bring failure- BUT...
Living the eternal kind of life now, living heaven, now, being, and creating, co-creating the kingdom of heaven, or what many are now calling the reign of heaven or the republic of heaven, living it ,now, as best we can, helping to bring it about for others, this IS HEAVEN, this is the eternal kind of life, now. It brings you closer to that which we call God, it allows you to be grateful, to be happy- Oh, not all the time, of course not! Human life does actually require suffering, making mistakes, staring over, enduring... AND practicing does help: being grateful for what you have, rather than always looking for what you don't have, for instance. It is the oddest thing but the happiest people are the ones who feel happy doing for others- I don't mean being the kind of martyr that complains about martyrdom, or points it out. In fact, another odd thing is that we humans can't actually do any of the above for selfish reasons- and yet it is also true as Lincoln said, "that people are about as happy as they choose to be".
So, what will be folks? Since every day is judgment day, will you choose hell or heaven? I want the eternal kind of life, now- so I pray for help, listen to what Jesus says (Buddha also has some good advice, as do many other prophets of God) and try to figure out what a loving response would be to everyone and everything I encounter each day. Of, course, I know this means, I will fail, and fail again tomorrow, but with assistance and nothing in my 'ear' to keep me from hearing God's will and encouragement, I will fail better each day.
