josephholubsermons


 

September 4, 2011 -   Pent 12
Ezekiel 36:24-27
Matthew 5:21-24

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Authentic Worship Entails Sacrifice 

“So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”  (Matthew 5:23-24)

Mohandes Gandhi was the pre-eminent political-ideological-spiritual leader of India during the Indian Independence movement.   Gandhi was a pioneer of satyagraha, the resistance to tyranny through mass non-violent civil disobedience.  Satyagraha had a powerful influence on other noted historical figures including Nelson Mandela in South Africa under apartheid and Martin Luther King in the United States in the Civil Rights Movement.

Gandhi was born a Hindu and practiced Hinduism all of his life.  He was a learned man who studied all major religions extensively, and  he advocated the equality and value of all major religions.  This is profoundly reflected when later in life he was asked if he was a Hindu.  He answered , “Yes I am.  I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew.”     

The many sayings and quotes of Gandhi are well known across various spectrums of humanity and are valued by millions.   One of his poignant quotes about Christianity is, “I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.”  A distinct connection with Jesus and his teachings is evident in many of Gandhi’s teachings. 

Gandhi believed the core of every religion was compassion, nonviolence and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (the Golden Rule) He also questioned the integrity any religion, beginning with his own,  when he saw religion used to justify hypocrisy and legitimate violence and marginalization of people.

He was a prolific writer, and in 1925 he wrote something he called the “Seven Deadly Social Sins” -   reminiscent of Christianity’s classic “Seven Deadly Sins.”  Gandhi’s list of seven are specifically social and political ills that contribute to inequality and injustice in the fabric of society and culture.  He concluded that each one has profound destructive social implications.  In fact, when Theo-Talk reconvenes on October 2^nd, we are going to take a closer look at Gandhi’s list of seven; see what they are; what they might mean for us in our time.  For today, I will mention only one, the seventh and last on his list.  Gandhi called it  “Worship Without Sacrifice.”

Worship Without Sacrifice.  He sounds a lot like Jesus, “If you are offering your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”

In the 1930’s many Christian and Muslim missionaries flocked to India to convert the millions who were excluded and oppressed as “untouchables”; designated as such by a rigid caste system and orthodox Hinduism.   In the Indian society people who worked in, what were considered, humiliating and unclean occupations were seen as polluted peoples and were therefore considered as “untouchables.”   The “untouchables” had almost no rights in the society, and contact with an “untouchable” meant you were defiled and had to go through a ritual washing.   

The Christian missionaries stood on the street corners preaching and loudly denouncing Hinduism and proclaiming the virtues of Christianity especially to the “untouchables.”  A great span of time went by (months and years) with few “untouchables” accepting the offer.   Frustrated, one day one of the missionaries asked Gandhi  why, after all the oppression and discrimination that the “untouchables” had suffered under Hinduism and the caste system, why they did not flock to the prospect of a better life under Christianity?   Gandhi answered, “When you stop standing on the street corners and merely talking about how good Christianity is and start living it among the “untouchables”, you will have more converts that you can cope with.”   

Gandhi’s response makes me think of Jesus and the many times when  he crossed numerous forbidden religious, racial, ethnic, social and cultural barriers to confer dignity on those whom religion and culture had deemed to be less than human.  The parallel to the lepers of biblical times is striking, and Jesus’ willingness to to touch and embrace them thereby defiling himself according to religious law.     

We could tweak Gandhi’s seventh “social sin”, worship without sacrifice, and state it in a more positive way: Authentic worship entails sacrifice.   Authentic worship, in a Christian context,  is not merely about how many times a day we say our prayers or read our bibles or sing our songs in the sanctuary, but in how we integrate the life of Jesus into our own and live out his life on the streets, and in our homes, and in our workplaces, in our classrooms, in board rooms, and in our daily interaction with others. 

The great social prophets of the Old Testament knew this and they articulated it clearly, boldly and in no uncertain terms.  Micah said, “With what shall I come before the Lord? (a clear reference to temple worship: In other words, “What is an appropriate offering?”)   Shall I bring burnt offerings… a thousand rams… rivers of oil… my first-born?

(Micah responds to the question he poses)  “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love mercy and to walk in a spirit of humility.”

Micah was not alone.  Other Old Testament social prophets picked up on the exact same theme including Amos, Isaiah and Hosea.  In a poignant pronouncement, Amos declared on behalf of the Divine, “I hate your festivals… I take no delight in your reverent assemblies… I will not accept your offerings… I reject the noise of your songs… but let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” 

The apostle Paul gets into the same drama when he said that authentic spiritual worship is a “presentation of our bodies as a living sacrifice to God.”   What he meant was that true worship is the dedication of our whole beings and our very lives to the love that was made evident in the life of Jesus. 

Authentic worship entails the sacrifice of love, says Jesus; and Paul; and Amos, Isaiah, Hosea and Micah; and Gandhi - a venerated and credible crowd indeed!     

A woman told me some years ago, someone I knew only vaguely through a colleague, that she had abandoned her Christianity for Buddhism.  When I asked her why, she said that her new found religious experience in Buddhism was much more about a way of life, a path to follow that fulfilled her humanity more than her Christian experience had provided her.  Her Christian experience, she said, had emphasized merely believing the right things; emphasizing "head matters" as opposed to "heart matters."   

I remember the ambivalence I felt after she told me that.  On the one hand, I was happy she had found a spirituality that encompassed her whole being and provided a meaningful way and path for her to walk in all the circumstances of her life that realized in her being a greater humanity.  On the other hand, I was saddened that her experience of Christianity  had been so narrow and not provided  her with a more holistic paradigm that included  her whole being, a way to engage everyday life, a path to follow.

How tragic and sad it is that the religion that is built around Jesus and in the name of Jesus is  perceived and experienced by so many as unyielding, intolerant, judgmental and dogmatic.

In our reading from Ezekiel this morning, speaking for the Divine, Ezekiel says to his people, “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put with you.”   There are few words, if any, that appear in the scripture more times than the word “heart.”  (over 1000x)   In our culture “heart” often gets defined as exclusively associated with emotions or feelings, separate from rational thinking.  But in biblical times “heart” was a metaphor for the self at a deep and comprehensive level.  “Heart” means our whole being.  “Heart” includes the intellect, emotions, perceptions, decision-making processes, value building and the will – our total being. 

It was during and after the Renaissance that faith began to be more narrowly defined as mainly  beliefs in the head rather than matters of the heart; assenting to a right set of claims more than walking a path.    Salvation began to be more narrowly defined as the afterlife reward for assenting to a correct set of beliefs rather than the deeper biblical meaning of "being made whole" that comes as a result of following a path.

In the first Christian communities that sprung up around Jesus in the 1st century, faith was defined and lived as a matter of the heart; involving the whole self.   Jesus’ invitation to “follow” was experienced as a life-path to follow – a life to enter into and live.  Faith was a matter of the heart; something deeper than the head that involved one's whole being.  Salvation was understood more holistically, more according to the broader definition of "being made whole" not just in the next life, but in this life right now!

Authentic worship entails the sacrifice of love. 

What would you say is the greatest distance in the universe?  In my mind, the greatest distance in the universe is not the incomprehensible distance of infinity.   For me, metaphorically speaking, the greatest distance in the universe can sometimes be the distance between the head and the heart. 

Jesus closes the gap between the two when he invites us into his life – into his way – into the path he traveled – the path of self-giving love.  Authentic worship entails the sacrifice of love!  “Follow me,” he invited and challenged.   It involves our whole being reconciling our heads with our hearts so much so that “when you are offering your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, you leave your gift there before the altar and go; and first are reconciled to your brother or sister, and then you come and offer your gift.”  

Amen.