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Sermon May 15, 2022
The Rev. Canon Robert Schiesler
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C
http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Easter/CEaster5_RCL.html
Audio: /documents/Eucharist__May_15__2022
Video: https://youtu.be/fR9VdQ57ECM
As the 16th century opened, the notion of the "blood libel" was being expounded upon in the streets of Prague; this "blood libel" was a false theology centered on accusing Jews of using the blood of Christians in their Sabbath rituals, a falsehood founded in blaming Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus. The Jews of Prague were under attack and their Chief Rabbi, Judah Loew ben Bezalel, was determined to protect his people from such wanton, destructive behavior by their very neighbors. He walked down to the banks of the Vltava River and pulling up lumps of clay, he fashioned this clay into the image of a man, a protector stronger than any human. He prayed over this creature of clay and breathed upon him and the creature lept to life. The ghetto would be protected, according to legend, by this Golem, this image of goodness as envisioned by the Hebrew Scriptures as God had breathed life, pure and holy, into humanity. The Golem carried out his protective duties and even it was said, swept the streets and split the firewood in the depth of the night. All remained harmonious until the day that the Rabbi forgot to put the Golem to sleep for the Sabbath rest. Anger, blame, resentment had built up in Golem and that night he embarked on a murderous rampage. The Rabbi had inscribed the word Emet, Truth, on his forehead at creation and now, he erased the e to change the inscription to Met, death, and life slipped from the Golem and he crumbled into dust...dust to dust. In the Scriptures today, we hear two complementary phases for us to contemplate. From John's Book of Revelation, we read that "death will be no more...I am making all things new" and from John's Gospel, "You should love one another, just as I have loved you." Here is an invitation to turn from our basic instincts of protection, security and personal well being to embrace life in its purest form and to turn from our fear of death to our hope for new life in the Lord Jesus Christ, the font of love that assures us that we will not be abandoned, even at the harshest of times and experience. Our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, reminds us that the way of life is indeed the way of love and that this phrase should permeate our thinking and our doing on our life journey. We too often go the way, however, of death, looking for the worse in people, using snide remarks and humiliating words to denigrate others and keep them in society. Rather than seeking a death to such thinking and actions, we respond to our insecurities by ignoring some and denying others their rightful and just place in the world. Rather than protect and guide with loving behavior and sharing, we reject the love of God for everyone, regardless of station and position, to ensure that we keep what we have and insulate ourselves from the ills and just grievances that exist. For solid evidence, we can point to the "blood libel" placed upon Jews; the stigma of "less than" placed even by law, on persons of color; the atrocities of genocide committed between peoples such as the Rohinga people in exile in Bangladesh and even groups who call themselves Christian such as leaders of Hungry and Poland who call for the maintenance of their "Christian" nations, rejecting the faith traditions of others unlike themselves, along with hate-filled white nationalists in this country.
The theologian, Henri Nouwen, wrote: "As fearful people we are inclined to develop a mindset that says to us: "there's not enough food for everyone, so I better be sure to save enough for myself in case of an emergency" or "there's not enough knowledge for everyone to enjoy, so I'd better keep my knowledge to myself, so no one else will use it" or "there's not enough love to give to everybody, so I had better keep my friends for myself to prevent others from taking them away from me." This is scarcity mentality. It involves hoarding whatever we have, fearful that we won't have enough to survive. The tragedy, however, is that what you cling to ends up rotting in your hands. The opposite of a scarcity mentality is one of abundance when we say: there is enough for everyone, more than enough: food, knowledge, love...everything. With this mindset, we give away whatever we have, to whomever we meet. When we see hungry people we give them food. When we meet ignorant people we share our knowledge; when we encounter people in need of love, we offer friendship, affection, hospitality and love.
Following Jesus means remaining attuned to the needs of this world and not our own alone; following Jesus is to die to selfishness and fear, to blame, humiliating infliction, superior attitudes, demeaning actions, destructive, hard-hearted behavior. Following Jesus is to hear that precious word from his lips, Love, and inscribe that word upon our forehead and in our hearts that we will know the courage to counter the hate, the division, the indifference and greed of those who would seek to thwart it.
"See I am making all things new...love one another as I have loved you."
