The Rev. Robert Lundquist IIA after Pentecost 5/29/05 St Paul’s, Ft Collins

Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28 - Online Text -

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of God in heaven.” Let’s look at that word “Lord” for a moment. Simply saying it won’t get you into heaven, says Jesus. In our language the word “Lord” is associated with manors and castles – but the origin comes from the contraction of “Loaf Warden.” The Lord is the one with the food, the one from whom sustenance comes. In earthly terms it’s the boss. In terms of our faith language if fits when applied to the One who says, “Take, eat, drink: this is my body and my blood.” The Loaf-Warden is the Lord.

I’ve always wondered about the acclamation, “Jesus is Lord!” We find it in the Christian Epistles, and I’ve heard it spoken by believers. It always struck me as a tautology, a self-evident proposition. It suddenly made sense when I learned that there’s an unspoken part to the phrase – “Jesus is Lord (and Caesar is not)!” So the exclamation places Jesus at the forefront, the affirmation that no one else and no other thing do I accept as my loaf warden, the One who feeds me. “Jesus is Lord!” takes on a new meaning for me.

Back to Jesus: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of God in heaven.” The difference is in the doing. I’m put in mind of the well-known philosopher and teacher who tells his student, “Do or do not… There is no try.” Yes, that’s Yoda, from “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.” Without granting screenplay writer George Lucas too many credits for theology, I do suspect the little green Jedi master Yoda’s words echo those of Jesus in today’s Gospel reading. “Do or do not… There is no try.” To do God’s will on earth as in heaven – how are we to be about that directive? I have three suggestions for places to start:

Hold close to God.

The Jews are instructed by God through Moses in our reading from Deuteronomy to “put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead.” And so it is that observant Jewish males wear phylacteries during prayer. These are small boxes containing today’s Deuteronomy reading, which the petitioners bound to their foreheads and upper arms. Jesus warns against wearing broad and flashy phylacteries to draw attention to one’s piety, for their purpose was to permit the one praying to hold close to God.

Likewise is the Jewish custom of affixing mezuzahs to the entry of a home. “Write [these words of mine] on the doorposts of your homes and on your gates.” Mezuzahs are small containers of scripture, sometimes including the 10 commandments, which one touches coming in and going out. It’s a way of holding close to God. And you know that Muslims pray five times each day while facing Mecca, the cradle of their faith. Thus do they hold close to Allah.

How do we hold close to God? We don’t have universal acts of communal piety. But we hold close through prayer, through acts of mercy, through our Baptismal Covenant (which is really the job description for Christians http:/justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/baptism.doc). These are all things which we do or do not – there is no try.

Teach your children.

From Deuteronomy: “Teach [these words of mine] to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.” Teach them constantly about God. I heard a wonderful story on NPR the other day about a master of Indian music. He taught his children about his art by “playing something beautiful… and then whispering the name of the raga in the child’s ear.” http:/www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4665064 Thus the young one learned virtually from birth about the music so beloved by his or her father. This is the way to instruct our children on doing God’s will.

I must admit that I despair at times over the ways we as the Church often use in forming the faith of our children and grandchildren. Our Christian Education program for children here at St Paul’s is wonderful, many thanks to Director Judy Matthews and the teaching staff. I’m talking about the wider Church, and the ways in which we so often inoculate our children to the faith. We give them just a bit – a handout of Noah and the Ark to color, a simple song about Jesus – enough to let them (and us) think they’re really getting the real thing. Little wonder so many of our young people say, “Been there, done that” in their teens when it comes to the Christian Faith! Our children must be introduced to and formed in the Good News with enthusiasm, energy and passion. For the Good News of Jesus Christ is the life-changing story for us all. Studies show that some 90% of all Christians make their decision about a life of faith by the age of 15. Brothers and sisters, we must do or do not… there is no try.

Make it real

Jon Sobrino puts it this way: “One thing is perfectly clear; it is impossible to profess God without working for God’s reign… There is no spiritual life without actual, historical life. It is impossible to live with spirit unless the spirit becomes flesh.” (from Synthesis, 5/29/05 edition) Yet we live in a cultural that believes that spirit and flesh can be split apart. I hear it all the time, as I’m sure do you; I heard it said just this past week, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” How can these be compartmentalized so neatly? These folks have no community of faith with which to live and grow. I suppose they believe in God as opposed to not believing in God. But their lives somehow don’t seem to reflect the spirituality they claim. The tragedy comes when they find themselves in need – through illness, job loss, the death of a loved one – and their “spirituality” alone doesn’t seem to comfort them without the reality of a nurturing, praying Christian community.

How do we make it real? We need our community for support, for challenge, for love, and as a model of Christian life. These are qualities we offer to each other in community. We must do more than simply believe – we must do the will of God. There is no try.

William Sloane Coffin: “We can build a community out of seekers of truth, but not out of possessors of truth.” Openness, vulnerability, honesty and humility – all qualities taught by Jesus – are essential for community, for the doers of God’s will. Now by this I don’t mean “works righteousness,” a quid pro quo with God, or an “earning” of God’s favor and salvation. I believe that Jesus’ words on doing are cast in the framework of faith: God’s faith in us, and our faith in God.

There’s an ancient saying, so old that its original form is in Latin: “Lex orandi, lex credendi.” “As we pray, so we believe.” It’s not the other way around! “I’ll start praying when I have enough faith…” No, pray to grow in faith. “But I don’t know how to pray, how to even begin!”, I hear. And my response is, “Then pray for God to lead you in prayer, pray to God to give you the words.” And for what do we pray? As Jesus taught us, we pray for our daily bread; for forgiveness and the strength to forgive; and for protection. “Do or do not… there is no try.”

Amen.

A Parish For All People!