Sand castles we build and destroy!

A man who was walking across a bridge and came upon another man standing right on the edge, about to plunge to his death. The first man shouted "Stop! Are you a Christian?" "Yes, as a matter of fact I am." "Well so am I. Are you Catholic or Protestant?" "I'm Protestant," "Well so am I. Are you Episcopal or Baptist?" "I'm Episcopal." "Wow... I am too. Are you a United Episcopal church of America or The Episcopal Church? "I'm in The Episcopal Church," "Me too, that's amazing! Do you use 1949 or 1979 BCP?" "I use 1979 "I can't believe it, so do I." But tell me do you ordain women?" He answered, "Yes we do." To which the first man said, "Die you heretic," and pushed him off the bridge.

Here is another one. "Jesus, we just saw someone who is secretly preaching in your name. He seems to do a lot of miracles in your name including healing a lot of people. They seem to bring the people to the kingdom of God without permission. What do you think of it? We told him to stop as he does not have permission from you or us for that matter. He did not listen to us. What do you want us to do to him?

Don't you think that is what happened to all Christian Churches in history? Someone did spread the kingdom of God without the permission of the other who considered themselves better than the other?

They were too much worried about their own fellowmen not following the rule while the Satan, the evil power gained momentum on them. So, Christ uses this occasion to teach them to wage a battle against evil rather than one another.

Christ tells his disciples that the first enemy in our world is territorial ism that makes us arrogant. He calls the apostles to see the big picture in the plan of Salvation that empowers human beings who are willing to take risks to bring the kingdom to those who seek it.

Yesterday in the UN one of the world leaders proposed that Switzerland be divided up and given to France, Italy and Germany. Another guy had been talking about eradicating Israel. And then there is another man who said, he does not smell sulfur at the foot of the UN seat. Of the 3600 years of written history of the world there had been 280 years of peace and 8000 peace treaties broken.

Men do not mirror themselves in running water--they mirror themselves in still water.  Only what is still can still the stillness of other things.

                     -     Taoism.  Chuang Tzu 5

 

Be still and know that I am God.

To know God and God's purpose we have to be still both internally and externally.

We all have to calm down and allow the other to be still. Let the course of the action takes its time to see the lasting result. 

Here is a beautiful story.

Some children were playing beside a river.  They made castles of sand, and each child defended his castle and said, "This one is mine."  They kept their castles separate and would not allow any mistakes about which was whose.  When the castles were all finished, one child kicked over someone else's castle and completely destroyed it.  The owner of the castle flew into a rage, pulled the other child's hair, struck him with his fist and bawled out, "He has spoiled my castle!  Come along all of you and help me to punish him as he deserves." The others all came to his help.  They beat the child with a stick and then stamped on him as he lay on the ground.... Then they went on playing in their sand castles, each saying, "This is mine; no one else may have it.  Keep away! Don't touch my castle!"  But evening came, it was getting dark and they all thought they ought to be going home.  No one now cared what became of his castle.  One child stamped on his, another pushed his over with both hands. Then they turned away and went back, each to his home.

-          Buddhism  Yogacara Bhumi Sutra 4

Store up treasures for yourself in the kingdom of God. All that we build here are sand castles and all that we fight about are sand castles. We ourselves destroy them at the end of life. Along the way of building those sand castles we have destroyed lives and hopes.

This is what Jesus is warning against today in the scriptures. Beware of the sand castles we build and the lives we destroy for our own territorial-ism.

Is it the hand that causes us to destroy the other? Hand is the extension of God's creative power. Turn your hands into the hand of God. If not for creation what is it for? If our hand cannot any more create, then it is not worth it.

Are our feet that cause us to destroy the other? Our feet are the extension of God's sustaining power. If our feet are not for preservation and prevention what are they for? If we cannot walk the mile like Christ did with those who are lost and unloved, what are they for?

Are our eyes what cause the destruction of the other? Our eyes are the eternal sight of God that protects and watches over the weak and poor, the sick and the lonely.

Why is Christ focusing on the hands, the feet and the eyes here? Because as St. Theresa of Avila says:  

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet, on earth but yours.
Your are the eyes through which He looks with Compassion on this world
your are the feet
with which He walks to do good.
Your are the hands
with which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet.
Yours are the eyes, you are His body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes, through which He Looks 
compassion on the world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Peace happens only when Christ happens in the other. Peace happens only when God loses the boundary.

Fr. Jos Tharakan

What are you talking about?

Mark 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

Sometimes during the service I hear some people talk. It may be a comment about something or the a response to something I said during my sermon or the confusion I create from time to time. Then I have a temptation to ask "what are you talking about there by the way?". Can you imagine the embarrassment it would cause to the person who was talking during the service?

Was Jesus trying to embarrass the disciples asking this question to them as they were on their way somewhere?

Many times when Jesus said things it confused the disciples. Sometimes it angered some of his hearers. Jesus was not an easy to understand preacher sometimes. Today we find him doing something that is against cultural understanding and practice.

This is a heartwarming story as he makes a child an example. He respects, cares and admires the innocence of a child. That is such a sweet thing to do. Don't you think? He is such a caring person and it is easy for us to imagine such a God because we do the same. However at the time of Jesus, it was not so. Children are the least priority in the ancient world.

According to some Mediterranean writers, including St. Thomas Aquinas, if there is a fire in the house, a man is obliged to first save his father, then his mother and then his wife and only then his child!

Wow…. Aren't you glad that they were not born in modern America or didn't live in today's world? They won't be saints I can guarantee you. At this time of cultural understanding of what is and who is important what Jesus said was outrageously un-sweet. He picked up a little child and said, 'be like this child'. He broke all the rules. He was being un-cool when being cool was following the norms of the society.

Now speaking of children being devalued at that time I should say it is not just children who were devalued. According to Megan McKenna, who is a Theologian, story teller, lecturer and artist, the list of those devalued include peasants, farmers, shepherds, widows, slaves, the unemployed, aliens, immigrants, prisoners and homeless.

Does this sound familiar? Do we have people who are devalued amongst us? The poor and the powerless are devalued all over the world regardless of the nation they live – the first or the last world.

May be Jehovah's Witnesses have a point when they try to covert people, when we are changed we will live here on earth like we will live in heaven when all are of equal importance and value.

Rev. Peter W Marty is an Evangelical Lutheran Pastor, Theologian and thinker. Marty talks about what happens to people who shifts the focus like Jesus did.  For Jesus it was God for sure who was the priority but on earth the list was rearranged and the children, the powerless and poor gained importance. And Jesus therefore was "scheduled for death".

When we reverse expectations and assumptions, be sure to get ready for execution.

So today, what are you talking about? You can ask me the same question Jesus asked his disciples. And I will say, I am talking about who is important among us?

I think when Jesus took Peter, James, and John a few times by themselves to the mountaintop and shared stuff with them, they did think they are more important than the rest of the bunch. So, I wouldn't blame them for such a conversation on their way to Jerusalem.

All are equal in our churches today and should be every day. And then someone said, Yes, "All are equal and some are more equal".  We sometimes behave in our claim of the kingdom of God that some of us are more equal to the grace of God and God's love than others. Some of us in this world think that we are greater than somebody else from the list given by Megan McKenna, the peasants, farmers, shepherds, widows, slaves, unemployed, aliens, immigrants, prisoners, homeless.

We live in a culture and a time when winning is all that matters. Getting to be the first in the world, in the games, in the life and in money is all that matters. We could easily plunge into a world of chaos as a result of this winning attitude that degrades people and dehumanizes mankind.

I read this story recently of Joe Jacobi of the Washington Redskins. He once said, "I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." Hearing Jacob's boast, Matt Millen of the Oakland Raiders said, "To win, I'l run over Joe's Mom, too."

See the world we live in.

We all want to be first. That is what the talk is about. Who will be the first. We have examples after examples. President Johnson was one of the most ambitious guys in history. He wanted to win in all what he did. Where did he get it from? From early morning hours of toe pulling by his father who said to him, "Get up, Lyndon. Every other boy in town has a head start on you".

We live in a world of ambition and achievement. Examples after examples I can show you including the story of the current president and the previous one, and a list of others in power and politics, spirituality and religion.

But ultimately all the race we do and all the games we play has to end with the names and lives of those who were lost and are powerless.

The kingdom of God is for those who have the courage and readiness to reverse the expectations and assumptions. It is for those who have the courage to rise to the top of the pyramid from the bottom of the world through their innocence and truthful life.

Get involved in the lives of people and let not anyone pass by who is not cared for.

A comedian said he was once mugged. He was beaten up, his face blackened and bruised. Someone asked him, "why didn't you fight back?". Then he answered, "I started to but I decided not to get involved".

My dear brothers and sisters, get involved in this world today. Do not be afraid of being involved with the innocence of a child and the prudence of Christ.

Welcome someone into your lives and into the life of All Saints. Devalued human beings are all over and amongst us. Let us be servants in a world of masters. Christ was one and so shall we be. Let us shake up the world around us, and be assured we will be scheduled for execution. But the secret is resurrection is around the corner.

So do not be afraid. Truth will always win. Innocence will always rise to the top. Let us be like the children amongst us.  Amen.

Fr. Jos Tharakan

Where is true happiness?

Mark 8:27-38

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
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The Bible texts of the Gospel lesson is taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.


I heard this story of a man who considered himself to be very important. One day he went to the doctor's office and found himself behind several others waiting for the doctor. He then approached the receptionist and told her, "I had been waiting here for a long time. Don't you know who I am?". The lady with a smile picked up the intercom microphone and announced, "I have a man here who does not know who he is. Can someone help please?".

I wonder if that was the response Jesus got when he said, do you know who I am? I am sure it is not.
Who are the truly happy people?

Truly happy people are people who don't save too much of what they have now for a later time. They spend their time and energy while alive with those around them. They don't wait for the best moment of life to find happiness. They find it at the spur of the moment.

Dr. W. Beran Wolfe, once wrote, "If you observe a really happy [person] you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his [children], growing double dahlias in his garden, or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert . . . To find happiness we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves."

That is what self denial is all about. Self denial is our willingness to go outside of ourselves to find happiness. It is finding a focus in life that is more than yourself. Yes, happiness is a byproduct of self-denial.

Discipleship is not easy. It is a process through which we make the other more important than ourselves. That costs. It is the philosophy of John the Baptist, who said, I shall be small so that He can be big.

In our daily life we can find it in good parenting. It is about giving yourself for your child and your family. There are more disciples here than anywhere else. For a child it is living to the full potential to make a difference in the world they live in. Living here among the different types of children with kindness and compassion, giving up selfish interests for the sake of others is what discipleship is.

I see parents take their children for all kinds of stuff in their schools, basketball and baseball coaching, dances, music, cheerleading practice. Aren't you trying to show to the world what a beautiful child you have and what a gifted person your son or daughter is. I hope you are empowering your children to be great people in this world.
A work of art becomes only a work of art when someone who knows about art can enjoy it. For example when Bach or Beethoven composed all those beautiful symphonies and kept it to themselves they would not have become a work of art. When it left them and others began enjoying them, it became a work of art. When Michael Angelo or Picasso shared their painting it became a work of art. Centuries after they have been created people still admire their works because they shared them with a world that did not know about it but came to enjoy it.

We are the works of art by God. Christ was a Work of Art for God. So are we. When we are shared we become meaningful. Or else we will be like bonds and stocks, closed up in a safe room afraid of being stolen. It is not worth it if we are locked up in safe deposit boxes to gain value. Value for human life comes from being spent now and not later unlike money.

We are the work of art created by God with one purpose. The purpose is simply to share it with people who can see the beauty in us. It also calls us at the same time to see the beauty in others as much as it in us. True happiness comes from sharing the art that we are.

The concept of self denial is not good news, no wonder Peter didn't like the idea. Especially it is true when you are an oppressed minority, when you are an abused individual or society, self denial will not sound spiritually appealing. For a woman who is kept under subjection it is no good news. Was self denial right for the young girl who was under subjection for 18 years in the sub-human living conditions in the backyard?
Truly happy people are those who live their lives with one purpose that is to make life easier for someone else. It is not living a life with the hope of the rewards that awaits at the end of the day or ages to come.

True self denial is when one empowers the other to shine in the world about them and not be intimidated by it. True self denial is saying to the world that you are secure in yourself and there is something beautiful about you that the world needs to see. Self denial only becomes meaningful and beautiful when one's worth is recognized and celebrated by oneself first.

This is the premise where Christ said to Peter, Peter, it is not the flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but the Holy Spirit. Christ was secure in himself and was happy that someone else saw His greatness.

My dear brothers and sisters, today I invite you to empower the grace and beauty of your child and yourself to emerge from places that are hidden and start living.

Do not hoard up the treasurers you have within yourself. Human beings lose their worth when it is hoarded up. We lose our worth by the minute we hoard our worth under a bushel.

Teach yourself and your child to claim Christ now and live Christ today. They won't have a chance to learn it tomorrow.

Peter spoke up given a chance to express what he knew by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Your child and yourself need to speak up what the Holy Spirit tells you here and now and claim Christ for your family.

Self-denial is all about what John The Baptist said earlier, "He must increase and I must decrease".

Bring into your life the affection of Christ and the effect of it will be longer than your life.
Bring into your child the power of God and effect of it will be a lifetime.

What you do to your child today is what they will hold onto tomorrow. I can guarantee you one thing, if your child knows something about God in his or her life in the future, it is not from me but from you.

Dear Pastor, I liked your sermon on Sunday. Especially when it was finished, is what kids are going to tell me.

Today I call upon all of you, Children, Youth, Parents, Teachers, Ministers, Members of this community, give God to your child and help us do the same.

Decrease in yourself so that God will increase around you. That is what Self-denial is all about. Peter did so.

(C) Fr. Jos Tharakan