May 16, 2010 Sermon
Saint Paul’s Cambria
Father Fred Heard
Let me share something very personal with you this morning. Math was never my bag, and I am still surprised that I actually married a math teacher! But even I know a strange addition formula when I see it. It isn’t complicated…just strange. It is worthy of reflection for it has implications for our lives together. The formula, an equation, really is: 1 + 1 + 1 = One.
This is God’s math. It comes from the gospel text for today. For the last period of weeks during this Easter season, our gospel readings have come from the section of John known as the Final Discourse of Jesus. The last speech, Jesus makes to his disciples concludes with these verses from the 17th chapter. It is a prayer of Jesus to his Father in heaven and has often been called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. It could be considered Jesus' last will and testament. This parting shot represents his last effort to teach, to exhort, to encourage, to empower his disciples.
Now for some math. Listen carefully to Jesus’ words: "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." There it is: 1 + 1 + 1 = One. It's not too difficult, once we understand the parts of the equation. But let us unravel the mystery slowly.
Start with the first two parts of the equation: 1 + 1. Remember Jesus' words: "You, Father, are in me and I am in you" and later he comments as he prays to his father, "We are one." 1 + 1--the Father and the Son are united. They are united in every way. They are united in will, in power, in loving intent for humankind, in commitment to salvation, in a mercy that endures forever. That's what Jesus is saying in his prayer. Jesus came that we might know God--his will, his intent, his love, his grace, his forgiveness, his power, his peace. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. This is truly a case of "like father, like son" carried to the ultimate. To see and to know one is to see and know the other. In God's strange, new math, 1 + 1 is truly one.
God has reached down to this earth in his Son. He poured Himself out in Jesus. 1 + 1 became One, because "God so loved the world ..."
But there is more to this mystery. There is something else to consider. Jesus also said: I pray "that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one." Who is "they"? You and me.
Using the image of the cross again, picture the horizontal beam. Imagine it growing and growing and extending its arms. Watch how those arms grow and stretch and bend until they curve in upon themselves and form this huge circle that includes you, and you, and you, and me, and our friends across the street, and over across the country, and up in Oregon, and in Hawaii, and England, and South Africa and Asia and ... just let those arms go and join hands.
There is really no magic to God's math--we are simply one in God! It sounds complicated only because our self-centeredness is offended by being lost in the oneness of others. We have been inundated with the 20th century philosophy of "I”-ness," so that the concept of 1 + 1 + 1 equaling One is somehow foreign to our sense of personhood. Somehow it violates our individuality. But it's God's math, not reasoned calculus. It's God's math, not pop psychology. It's God's math, and it works.
And it works because of the heretofore unmentioned third divine partner linked to the first two--namely, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit accomplishes what God has ordained. The Spirit completes the work of God in Christ by calling us together, enlightening us with his Word, filling us with power through the sacraments, sending us out to gather others in His name and around the table with us. By His power, we are one -- not by our own initiatives, not by our own creativities, not by our own inventions. We are God's people, claimed in the waters of baptism, joined together in his body, the Church, and empowered for living as a community of faith -- through his Spirit.
And this has some broad and far-reaching implications for us as a people and as a church. Let me just mention four briefly.
First, with 1 +1 + 1 = One, we are stronger together than we are apart. Think about that for a moment. We are stronger together than we are apart. Our ones equal one--a whole. The gifts that God has given each of us individually are to be joined together to benefit the whole. This is our strength at Saint Paul’s. Folks wonder why we are growing and how we can offer new services during Holy Week and see them all well attended. We are a living organism, a body that works together in ways we cannot work apart. This means we need to share our gifts with one another. And this is the fact that Saint Paul’s has recognized. In fact, in the New Testament, whenever gifts are mentioned, they are always viewed in the light and the context of the community. Only as God's gifts build up this community of faith are they being used as they were intended to be used.
The second implication for God's math comes from the text itself. Why are we all to be one? Jesus answers: "So that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." God's purpose is fulfilled in that math, you see. Our oneness is a witness to the world of who Jesus is. People look to us to understand Jesus. Why? Because we claim to be His body. And further, the only way the world will know about His love for them is through us. We are the arms of the cross outstretched and growing, every time we join hands with others in love. Joined to Jesus Christ in baptism, we are joined with one another in His body, and we have the responsibility to reach out to others in that love and forgiveness and grace we have come to know and experience in this place.
Maybe we need to ask how often will we do that? When was the last time we invited someone to worship with us? Have you ever invited someone to a party or dinner or some other social event and hoped the person you invited will enjoy the occasion? Truly, an invitation to church, and particularly this church, is one of the high ticket invitations you will receive because where else in this world do you hear about a love so great that it keeps on accepting us each and every time we come, no matter where we have been or what we have done? Where else in this world do we find acceptance and peace that is not earned? Where else in this world do we hear good news that can literally change peoples' lives? So why, then, are we so reluctant to make that simple invitation? Be an inviter--it may change someone's life. The story of the Christian faith is filled with such lives. Yours and mine included.
The third implication of the truth of God's math has to do with our stance in this world. To believe, to really believe, that we are joined to Christ and to one another and can find wholeness and oneness in that union, puts us in direct opposition to the preaching of the world around us. I saw a poignant example of that in a mail advertisement recently. It was titled "The Black Book of Executive Politics" and was written anonymously by "Z." It was published in 1990 by the National Institute of Business Management in New York. This is actually what the advertisement said about this book. Written by a world-class corporate infighter who prefers to remain anonymous, this volume contains 87 street-smart hints, tips, short-cuts, ploys, strategies and approaches for surviving -- and making it big in the company political arena ... People call company politics a "game." But it's a game you have to play, like it or not, if you want to survive and succeed. Listen to the contents of this book that is going to put me at the top of the corporate ladder: Why style -- rather than performance -- is the key factor in determining who makes the boardroom. When teamwork isn't the answer. How to make points with the boss without being obvious. How to learn needed inside information without being unethical. And it goes on and on. The letter inside the ad states: "I'm talking about truly Machiavellian stuff here. I know it all sounds a bit paranoid. But there are times when a little paranoia can give you the backside protection you need. You'll get the latest and most diabolical thinking on these political skills." And then he ends with two seemingly contradictory thoughts. First, he plants the seed about the opposition: "How many people in your company are sending away for their copies of the Black Book?" And then he said, that if I act right away, I'll get a free copy of "Creating a Loyal Staff." A loyal staff? After I've learned this, you want me to beat them up in the corporate arena and I'm not sure who is reading the same Black Book I am? Not a chance! But there it is. No wonder the corporate world is in such a mess!! What do you think "Z" would say about God's math?
A word about what this text does not mean. I've heard a lot of well-meaning people use this text on oneness as a pitch for a global church of some sort. There's no question that Christ's prayer calls for oneness, but it's hard to imagine that Jesus, in his last moments, was making a pitch for one international church or one world-wide mission board, or one universal hymnal…or one Prayer Book that magically meets the needs of everyone. Those may be important human dreams, but Jesus was more concerned in the unity of spirit that would be about the Father's business. And what is that business? To a world of people, we have a word of forgiveness. To a world that can't distinguish between right and wrong, we have truth in our proclamations. To a world that practices war, we announce a peace that goes beyond human understanding or engineering. What is the Father's business? It's about love and grace and justice that are more than words and slogans.
A closing story about what happens when the math doesn't work -- when we don't allow it to work. It is reported that Mahatma Gandhi, in his younger days, was impressed with Christianity. One Sunday in South Africa he went to a church, planning to ask the minister afterwards for instructions in the faith. But as he entered the building, the ushers refused to seat him. "Why don't you visit the colored peoples' church?" he was asked. Gandhi never became a Christian. "If Christians also have differences, I might as well remain a Hindu," he explained.
Yes, we have differences -- but in God's math 1 + 1 + 1 = One. For those who believe that, their eyes look upon their neighbor in a whole new way. For those who believe that, their arms cannot help but reach out to join those who know the same math. For those who believe, God touches and blesses and makes us one with him and with one another. Amen.
Saint Paul’s Cambria
Father Fred Heard
Let me share something very personal with you this morning. Math was never my bag, and I am still surprised that I actually married a math teacher! But even I know a strange addition formula when I see it. It isn’t complicated…just strange. It is worthy of reflection for it has implications for our lives together. The formula, an equation, really is: 1 + 1 + 1 = One.
This is God’s math. It comes from the gospel text for today. For the last period of weeks during this Easter season, our gospel readings have come from the section of John known as the Final Discourse of Jesus. The last speech, Jesus makes to his disciples concludes with these verses from the 17th chapter. It is a prayer of Jesus to his Father in heaven and has often been called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. It could be considered Jesus' last will and testament. This parting shot represents his last effort to teach, to exhort, to encourage, to empower his disciples.
Now for some math. Listen carefully to Jesus’ words: "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." There it is: 1 + 1 + 1 = One. It's not too difficult, once we understand the parts of the equation. But let us unravel the mystery slowly.
Start with the first two parts of the equation: 1 + 1. Remember Jesus' words: "You, Father, are in me and I am in you" and later he comments as he prays to his father, "We are one." 1 + 1--the Father and the Son are united. They are united in every way. They are united in will, in power, in loving intent for humankind, in commitment to salvation, in a mercy that endures forever. That's what Jesus is saying in his prayer. Jesus came that we might know God--his will, his intent, his love, his grace, his forgiveness, his power, his peace. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. This is truly a case of "like father, like son" carried to the ultimate. To see and to know one is to see and know the other. In God's strange, new math, 1 + 1 is truly one.
God has reached down to this earth in his Son. He poured Himself out in Jesus. 1 + 1 became One, because "God so loved the world ..."
But there is more to this mystery. There is something else to consider. Jesus also said: I pray "that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one." Who is "they"? You and me.
Using the image of the cross again, picture the horizontal beam. Imagine it growing and growing and extending its arms. Watch how those arms grow and stretch and bend until they curve in upon themselves and form this huge circle that includes you, and you, and you, and me, and our friends across the street, and over across the country, and up in Oregon, and in Hawaii, and England, and South Africa and Asia and ... just let those arms go and join hands.
There is really no magic to God's math--we are simply one in God! It sounds complicated only because our self-centeredness is offended by being lost in the oneness of others. We have been inundated with the 20th century philosophy of "I”-ness," so that the concept of 1 + 1 + 1 equaling One is somehow foreign to our sense of personhood. Somehow it violates our individuality. But it's God's math, not reasoned calculus. It's God's math, not pop psychology. It's God's math, and it works.
And it works because of the heretofore unmentioned third divine partner linked to the first two--namely, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit accomplishes what God has ordained. The Spirit completes the work of God in Christ by calling us together, enlightening us with his Word, filling us with power through the sacraments, sending us out to gather others in His name and around the table with us. By His power, we are one -- not by our own initiatives, not by our own creativities, not by our own inventions. We are God's people, claimed in the waters of baptism, joined together in his body, the Church, and empowered for living as a community of faith -- through his Spirit.
And this has some broad and far-reaching implications for us as a people and as a church. Let me just mention four briefly.
First, with 1 +1 + 1 = One, we are stronger together than we are apart. Think about that for a moment. We are stronger together than we are apart. Our ones equal one--a whole. The gifts that God has given each of us individually are to be joined together to benefit the whole. This is our strength at Saint Paul’s. Folks wonder why we are growing and how we can offer new services during Holy Week and see them all well attended. We are a living organism, a body that works together in ways we cannot work apart. This means we need to share our gifts with one another. And this is the fact that Saint Paul’s has recognized. In fact, in the New Testament, whenever gifts are mentioned, they are always viewed in the light and the context of the community. Only as God's gifts build up this community of faith are they being used as they were intended to be used.
The second implication for God's math comes from the text itself. Why are we all to be one? Jesus answers: "So that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." God's purpose is fulfilled in that math, you see. Our oneness is a witness to the world of who Jesus is. People look to us to understand Jesus. Why? Because we claim to be His body. And further, the only way the world will know about His love for them is through us. We are the arms of the cross outstretched and growing, every time we join hands with others in love. Joined to Jesus Christ in baptism, we are joined with one another in His body, and we have the responsibility to reach out to others in that love and forgiveness and grace we have come to know and experience in this place.
Maybe we need to ask how often will we do that? When was the last time we invited someone to worship with us? Have you ever invited someone to a party or dinner or some other social event and hoped the person you invited will enjoy the occasion? Truly, an invitation to church, and particularly this church, is one of the high ticket invitations you will receive because where else in this world do you hear about a love so great that it keeps on accepting us each and every time we come, no matter where we have been or what we have done? Where else in this world do we find acceptance and peace that is not earned? Where else in this world do we hear good news that can literally change peoples' lives? So why, then, are we so reluctant to make that simple invitation? Be an inviter--it may change someone's life. The story of the Christian faith is filled with such lives. Yours and mine included.
The third implication of the truth of God's math has to do with our stance in this world. To believe, to really believe, that we are joined to Christ and to one another and can find wholeness and oneness in that union, puts us in direct opposition to the preaching of the world around us. I saw a poignant example of that in a mail advertisement recently. It was titled "The Black Book of Executive Politics" and was written anonymously by "Z." It was published in 1990 by the National Institute of Business Management in New York. This is actually what the advertisement said about this book. Written by a world-class corporate infighter who prefers to remain anonymous, this volume contains 87 street-smart hints, tips, short-cuts, ploys, strategies and approaches for surviving -- and making it big in the company political arena ... People call company politics a "game." But it's a game you have to play, like it or not, if you want to survive and succeed. Listen to the contents of this book that is going to put me at the top of the corporate ladder: Why style -- rather than performance -- is the key factor in determining who makes the boardroom. When teamwork isn't the answer. How to make points with the boss without being obvious. How to learn needed inside information without being unethical. And it goes on and on. The letter inside the ad states: "I'm talking about truly Machiavellian stuff here. I know it all sounds a bit paranoid. But there are times when a little paranoia can give you the backside protection you need. You'll get the latest and most diabolical thinking on these political skills." And then he ends with two seemingly contradictory thoughts. First, he plants the seed about the opposition: "How many people in your company are sending away for their copies of the Black Book?" And then he said, that if I act right away, I'll get a free copy of "Creating a Loyal Staff." A loyal staff? After I've learned this, you want me to beat them up in the corporate arena and I'm not sure who is reading the same Black Book I am? Not a chance! But there it is. No wonder the corporate world is in such a mess!! What do you think "Z" would say about God's math?
A word about what this text does not mean. I've heard a lot of well-meaning people use this text on oneness as a pitch for a global church of some sort. There's no question that Christ's prayer calls for oneness, but it's hard to imagine that Jesus, in his last moments, was making a pitch for one international church or one world-wide mission board, or one universal hymnal…or one Prayer Book that magically meets the needs of everyone. Those may be important human dreams, but Jesus was more concerned in the unity of spirit that would be about the Father's business. And what is that business? To a world of people, we have a word of forgiveness. To a world that can't distinguish between right and wrong, we have truth in our proclamations. To a world that practices war, we announce a peace that goes beyond human understanding or engineering. What is the Father's business? It's about love and grace and justice that are more than words and slogans.
A closing story about what happens when the math doesn't work -- when we don't allow it to work. It is reported that Mahatma Gandhi, in his younger days, was impressed with Christianity. One Sunday in South Africa he went to a church, planning to ask the minister afterwards for instructions in the faith. But as he entered the building, the ushers refused to seat him. "Why don't you visit the colored peoples' church?" he was asked. Gandhi never became a Christian. "If Christians also have differences, I might as well remain a Hindu," he explained.
Yes, we have differences -- but in God's math 1 + 1 + 1 = One. For those who believe that, their eyes look upon their neighbor in a whole new way. For those who believe that, their arms cannot help but reach out to join those who know the same math. For those who believe, God touches and blesses and makes us one with him and with one another. Amen.