Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26
I the Lord test the mind and search the heart!
One of the joys of working with young children, or being a parent, is watching them grow and develop into little people. As they pick up from those around them – the responsible adults – how to be a person, what it means to be part of society, the world. Both good and bad! Who hasn’t had to smile as their infant gives their first lie – so blatant that they might as well have a flashing light on their heads. The mouth and hands covered in chocolate: no, I didn’t eat it, it was my invisible friend, my brother/sister, them. All wide-eyed. But the interesting thing is, they know it’s wrong. Did you watch the programme on childhood development based in a nursery? They tested the honesty and understanding of right and wrong at different pre-school ages. There’s a cake with chocolate, icing and sweets and other goodies, and they are told it is for all of them later on but they are to leave it alone now. Oh, the wonderful discussions, and the tempting, the encouraging each other to take a sweet, or a piece of chocolate or icing. And the lying afterwards. They knew what was wrong, they knew that sharing would be good. But! And of course, we know how to behave, what is wrong. So why are there so many evil deeds in the world? Why do we find it hard to do the right thing?
I the Lord test the mind and search the heart! Our readings today remind us that we know how to behave, we know right from wrong, how to live morally, according to good ethical practice. Jesus preached on the message of the prophets, the message from God which pervades the Old Testament and is taken further by Jesus in the New – the message that God cares, God cares how we behave towards each other, how we behave towards the planet. God cares for the poor: they are blessed by God, they are held in esteem by God, their lives and what affects them, damages them, is important to God. Actions which make them, and others, suffer are cursed: those who take but don’t give, those who hoard and don’t share God’s good gifts, those who trample on the rights and lives of others –those who, like the children, want the whole chocolate cake for themselves. All these actions are condemned by God. God asks us to live lives of fulfilment, building up communities and people, uniting them, breaking down barriers of wealth, power, pride, fear, so that all can live in peace and hope. Woe to you who are rich, you have received consolation: woe to you who are self-sufficient, who think you can survive without God’s grace and love, without care for others, who deny life and life-enhancing gifts to others. The message in the Gospel is a call to overturn inequality, to see all people as human, as made in God’s image. Jesus speaks to those who are suffering from the actions of those who trust only in themselves, only in what mortals can do, and turn away from the Lord, from what is good and right. And he speaks consolation: you are blessed! You who are suffering, who are abused, it is you who are held in God’s love and protection. You will thrive, filled with the living water of God’s love and hope.
These are readings about our hearts and minds and lives. We are told, in no uncertain terms, what it means to be a disciple. It means taking God’s command to our hearts, letting it become fully part of us, our lives. It means living out God’s command, God’s love and compassion, to our neighbour. And who is our neighbour? Well, it’s not just the person living next door. From the Good Samaritan we see that our neighbour is any who are in need, trouble or distress. And their neighbour is us. Our neighbour includes those less fortunate than ourselves, those whose lives are messed up, who are outcast, rejected, marginalised. Our neighbour is the person seeking safety and sanctuary from persecution, situations of violence, of threats against them because of who they are; where they come from; how they worship. It is these people we are called to love and serve: brother, sister, let me serve you, let me be as Christ to you. To be as the Christ who lay down his life for our sins – Christ who was raised to give us the promise of life eternal, and the forgiveness of sins, as Paul tells us.
I the Lord test the mind and search the heart! God knows us. God knows our innermost feelings. Just as we can tell when a two-year-old tries to lie, we see through their words, so God sees through ours, and looks into our hearts, sees through our motives: as we say each Sunday: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hidden. God knows our innermost thoughts and desires, and our fears and weaknesses. God knows what we need, and what our neighbours need, even if we do not always know or recognise our need of God. We try to trust only in ourselves, in earthly things: we trust in mere mortals, mortals who also are tempted, led astray by the desire for power, wealth, revenge. It seems very sad that in our world it is words of hate and division that generate popular responses, whilst love, compassion and empathy are seen as weakness. It seems so very sad that the world sees bluster and bravado more compelling than sacrifice and humility.
So where does this leave us? What are we to do in response to the message of God? I think it starts with ourselves: we have to acknowledge our manifold sins and wickednesses, as evensong tells us, but also to acknowledge that in Christ we have forgiveness: through his resurrection our sins are forgiven, we have new life in him, with him. But if we are to live this new life we have to follow God’s gaze, to look with God’s eyes at those around us, at the world around us, and seek to bring blessing and blessedness into that world and to those whom we meet, to our neighbours, all of them. We have to recognise, as Moltmann puts it, God’s bias in favour of the poor and oppressed, that serving others brings more reward than being self-serving, that through service we get to live, we who are gifted God’s grace and blessing ourselves, and we live this grace and blessing out in our forgiven lives. We are to work towards establishing God’s kingdom here and now, bringing blessings to all. And this means standing up for our neighbours, for what we know is right and just and fair, standing up for peace, love, an end to hatred and prejudice; it means seeking a just and fair sharing of all God’s world provides. It means living the commandments of Christ: loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving our neighbour as ourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. If we live by these then we will be blessed, we will be aware of the significance of God’s ways and live lives of blessing to God and neighbour. “Father, hear the prayer we offer, not for ease that prayer shall be, but for strength that we may ever live our lives courageously.” Courageously for God and courageously for our neighbour. Amen.