A homily from this morning…

When I work with people on writing…when I listen to people speaking… I am often thinking about coat hangers… the framework for the ideas or the story being presented.  Can I tell what it is?  Is there a foundation or a discernible structure…or, have the sentences all fallen to a heap on the metaphorical floor of the page and it’s a guess as to whether that belt goes with those pants or maybe the raincoat crumpled in the corner?  All to say, it is the underlying motivation/idea that shapes what gets draped upon it.  The sentences may be luxurious lines or simple utterance—it is the work of shaping first “the beneath” that lets them live and do the work they were written or spoken to do.

It isn’t just in writing or speaking, though, that people discern—consciously or unconsciously—the motivations/principles behind what is seen (action) and heard (word).  We see this in the reading from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.

~For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of reception we had among you, and how you turned from idols to serve the living and true God…~ Paul writes.

How were the people preaching received?  Obviously well, because people turned from idols to serve the living and true God.  There was clearly something about what was within their Words and Deeds that was palpable, discernible, and—appealing.  There is nothing about the specifics—just the effect.  And I think that is important.  

Jesus is very clear in the Gospel about the underpinning of a life given to God—When you get bare bones about it, what is the structure of such a life?  Loving God with every bit of what we have and Loving our neighbour as ourselves. What that will look like will be different—according to culture, means, personality, gifts, any number of things—but the call to live with this as what guides the particulars of our lives is the same.

It is up to us to make this manifest in our words and in our actions—As Richard Powers says in his Pulitzer Prize winning novel,Overstory, There are a hundred thousand species of love, separately invented, each more ingenious than the last, and every one of them keeps making things.

When we start to wonder whether we are living our lives in accord with this underpinning of love, we can ask— What are we making?  Are we making the world better by our words and actions?  How would someone know?Are we building up more than we are tearing down?  Are we reminders of hope, of joy, of strength and fidelity and resolve?  Would people change their own behaviour favourably if they followed our lead?  Are my choices signs of welcoming the stranger, of loving as God loves—wholly, completely, and without reservation?

Sometimes, as we all know, the world can twist this, though… And throughout the course of time, all kind of violence, prejudice, exclusion, has been exercised in the name of God’s love for creation and our love of God. Residential Schools, wars, attacks, slander, slavery, unholy righteousness…. This?  This is using love as a weapon to wield and not as a force of Good in this world. That is about subduing and restricting, not freeing others to become the fullness of who God created them to be.  

But then there’s the second part— And love your neighbour as yourself.  I love that counterbalance.  As is so often the case in the seemingly simple statements of Jesus, they are draped on structure that sneaks up with a Waaaaait a minute….. I think this half could also be known as “Where the rubber hits the road.”  Love God with every bit of who we are…and mean it.…reflect on what we are doing and how we are doing it.  Do we believe ourselves to be children of God, beloved and made in God’s image and likeness?  Then we need to believe it of our neighbour and act accordingly.  And the reverse… Do we cut others slack when they fall short of our expectations?  Then when we look into the mirror and start to question ourselves, maybe we can cut ourselves some slack too.  And love your neighbour as yourself.  Do we question the behaviours of others and neglect to wonder about our own motivations?  Do we offer care to those in need and neglect to care for ourselves?  Do we expect perfection in others because we can accept nothing less in ourselves?  And is the pursuit of perfection loving God?  Is the pursuit of revenge, retribution, and destruction?

The call is to love God with all that we have and love our neighbour as we love ourselves.  The call is to love God, love our neighbour, and love ourselves with the same love that God has for us.  

100,000 species of love…all of them making things.  Upon this foundation of love, let us drape environmental responsibility to make our common home one of greater health and well-being; Let us drape mercy and compassion both to bring about justice and reconciliation; let us drape welcome, inclusion, curiosity, and openness to build a table where everyone can sigh freely and find place and know that this, here and now, is a space where Love is made manifest in word and deed, in heart, mind, and soul.  Made to be shared with others as we live it ourselves, as we love God, and as we are loved in return.