SERMON
St. Simon’s on the Sound
October 22, 2017
Matthew 22:15-22
I want to begin with some thoughts about Benedict
of Nursia, perhaps better known to us as St. Benedict, the patron saint of
Europe, the founder of the Order of St. Benedict and the author of St.
Benedict’s Rule of Life.
Benedict was born in Rome, where he lived the
life of a well-to-do Roman citizen for many years. However, by the time he was
20, the power-hungry political turmoil and the steep decline in social and
religious values that permeated Roman society in fifth-century Rome drove
Benedict, a deeply religious man, into self-imposed exile in Subiaco about 10
miles from Rome. There Benedict entered a life of prayer and ascetism. He lived
for several years as a hermit in small cave. However, as time went on Benedict
emerged from the cave and began life in the outside world, first as a monk and
then as an Abbott, in a monastery not far from his cave.
After several years of monastic life Benedict
found himself deeply disillusioned by the decadence that had invaded even the
monasteries of the time. He, once again, withdrew to his cave where he wrote
his Rule of Life – a roadmap that provided a daily guide to a lifestyle that he
believed to be foundational to a truly spiritual life.
Ultimately, Benedict moved from his cave in
Subiaco to the town of Cassino, Italy. It is in Cassino that Benedict formed
the Order of St. Benedict - an alliance
of twelve communities for monks. The Rule of St. Benedict became the way of
life for all monks living within the Order. Perhaps, more importantly, it has
become a way of life for thousands of people, both clergy and laity, and is
still incredibly relevant as a guide to a spiritual life in our own world these
1500 years later.
The intent of Benedict’s Rule was, and is, to
provide clear rules - ways of daily living - that support us in a life that is
completely God-centered. The Rule is direct; it is clear; and, it is a
relatively uncomplicated. It is a brief text that uses simple language to explain
a way of life that has great meaning for us even now.
The Rule of St. Benedict is concerned with living
a life that is completely God-centered: what that life is all about, what it
demands of us, and how we are to live it.Benedict teaches us
that if we want to live a spiritual life, a truly God-centered life, in this
chaotic world of distractions, we must be deliberate in doing so. We must be
aware of the distractions going on around us, allow ourselves to experience
their impact on us and the world, and then understanding their impact, we must
move beyond them.
Obedience to the
Rule - the willingness to listen and respond to God in life - God always the
center of our activities, no matter what else tugs at us - that is the way,
writes Benedict - if we are to live a truly spiritual life.
In today’s
Epistle, we read the opening verses of Paul’s first letter to his congregation
in Thessalonica, where he had recently established a church. The letter
expresses loving support to this, perhaps his most beloved community, is filled
with praise for the way in which this fledgling church in Macedonia was both
welcoming to visiting apostolic missionaries and proclaiming the Good News in
their community, despite pressure to revert to their pagan ways.
“We always
give thanks to God for all of you…remembering before our God and Father your
work in faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ,” says Paul.
Later in the same
letter, Paul writes,
Rejoice
always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise
the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain
from every form of evil. Thess
5:12-22
Paul
preceded St. Benedict by almost 400 years, but their messages are essentially
one and the same: maintain a peaceful community, love and respect each other,
work to propagate the common good, and continue regularly in prayer and the
reading of scripture, to refresh and re-focus your life. These intentional
behaviors focused on the sacred are both central and essential to leading a
God-centered life.
I
begin with Benedict and Paul because I believe that their sound advice on the
ways in which we can, all of us, live out our baptismal covenant to seek and
serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves and striving for
justice and peace among all people is of critical importance in today’s world.
I
can assure you that in recent days their teachings have been of critical
importance to my own personal reaction to and ways of coping with events of the
past several months. And, as I thought about writing today’s sermon, I was
wondering if you also were struggling with similar feelings and, like me, in
search of ways to refresh your spirit - your faith – in the face of daily
distractions that pull at our emotions, as well as our faith.
Our
political world has become a minefield of strong and unyielding opinions that
seem always to focus on the negative. This side versus that side, he said – she
said, polarization of the most dangerous sort. Divisiveness that leads not to
unity, but to hate, violence and terrorism.
Our
media is saturated with talking heads who probe mercilessly for scandal and
controversy. Tweets scroll across our TV screens shouting out messages designed
to polarize those who hold differing views. Character assassination is common.
Fake news leads us down dangerous paths of misinformation and erroneous and
negative opinions.
And
then, of course, there is the onslaught of natural disasters that has befallen
the world - hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and fires. The destruction has
been unfathomable: entire areas - heavily populated areas - of our world now
uninhabitable, too many people have died - too many people are suffering.
And
then, we come to the massacre in Las Vegas. There are no words to express the
horror, the trauma, the scar on our corporate psyche that this event has
inflicted upon us all. A priest that I met recently shared that the Sunday
after this horrendous massacre she could not preach - instead she led her congregation
in an extended period of silent prayer. The horror of it all was too great for
her - she could find no words to express her grief.
What
are we do to with all of this - these feelings of grief, shock, horror, and
disbelief. The reality that so many things that were once sacred to us are no
longer sacred – no longer valued. So many values that we all once held no
longer exist.
In
today’s gospel Jesus commands us to serve God, giving to Caesar only what is
due a persona in authority over civil matters. We are to “Give to God the
things that are God’s.” God is the supreme and eternal being. His love for us
is unparalleled and unceasing. His faith in us unwavering. We are to love God
as He loves us, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, always - no matter who,
no matter when, no matter where.
Jesus’
command is easy to comprehend, and an easy one to give lip service to. However,
living into that command is far from easy. In fact, almost impossible if we are
numbed by the events of our lives and the world and distracted by other gods,
Caesar type gods.
That’s
where Benedict and Paul enter in. Benedict informs us of a way of life that
leads to God, no matter what is going on around us. A disciplined life that
pushes us into regular and prayerful readings of Scripture, well-defined love
and humility based ways of interacting with those around us, and a way of life
that forms beloved communities.
If
Benedict gives us the Rule, it is Paul who gives us a model to consider - the
church in Thessalonica. A church built and sustained by those living in a
community of prayer, love, and disciplined focus on serving God, despite the
pressures imposed by the Roman Empire of worshiping other gods.
That
leads me to St. Simon’s and what all this means for us sitting here, oh so many
years later. St. Simon’s is our beloved community. A place where we come each
week to gather in prayer and the reading and study of scripture. A place where
we gather each week to discern the work that God has given us to do. And,
perhaps most importantly, a place from which we are sent out, out into the
world to build beloved communities.
St
Simon’s is an important place. It is a place that offers us the abundant life
that God has in mind for us. It is a place that we treasure, a place where we
are loved and where we love others, a place that draws us to it not only on
Sundays, but also on many other days of the week, to seek and serve God,
through prayer, education and fellowship.
St
Simon’s is our oasis in the desert world of hunger, disaster, violence,
terrorism, personal grief and so many other feelings that can lead to both
personal and spiritual numbness.
St.
Simon’s is our spiritual oasis in the midst of the multiple tragedies that we
are witness to. Without St. Simon’s it would be so easy to succumb to a
numbness that dulls our faith and leaves us spiritually adrift. And, once
numbed to the world around us, it would be so easy to become numb to the love
of God. To lose sight of God’s plan for us - not only a plan of servant hood,
but also a plan of life filled with abundance and joy. Abundance and joy that,
both intentionally and unintentionally, spills over in the lives of our
families and all those whom we encounter.
Our
Gospel begins today with the phrase, “The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap
Jesus.” Of course, Jesus would have none of it. He wisely dealt with their
distractions without ever losing sight of God. In the end, it is the Pharisees
who are tricked into confusion and retreat. God reigns.
My
prayer for us all is that we will use the gift of St. Simon’s as the abundant,
joyful, and loving oasis in our lives that it truly is. I also pray, that as we
go forth into the world after each Sunday’s dismissal we will use the tools
offered by those such as St. Benedict to stay refreshed throughout the week,
and that we allow our sense of abundance, joy and love to spill over to others
as we go about our day to day business, at home and elsewhere.
