Sermons from St Faith's
Separation
Paula O'Shaughnessey 31st
August, 2014
'Man is the pie that bakes and eats
himself and the recipe is separation'
That nightmarish pronouncement is a mantra from
the dark, visionary novel of the modern Scottish
writer, Alasdair Gray. He portrays a society
of selfish self-interest, corruption and
de-humanisation. Set in the archetypal city
of 'Unthank', the care and kindness of citizen,
neighbour and friend is totally absent. The
horror of this society causes the main character
to lose his memory and sense of identity. He
doesn't even remember his name.
This place of darkness – is it real? What of
Jesus' time? What of today?
In Jesus' time, life was extremely harsh.
The society was a rigid hierarchy. At the
top were the rulers and below them the governing
class, the merchants and below them the retainers
and priests. The retainers and priests were
key – they acted as a shock-absorber, keeping the
people in their place, imposing the hierarchy and
maintaining the status quo. The tax
collectors were part of this, keeping some money
back for themselves – creaming off a bit.
By contrast, there are the people at the lower end
of society who are exploited or excluded.
There is the poor widow who gives the most to the
temple, in terms of what she has. She has so
little, yet she continues to give when the
authorities at the temple ask for more. It
should be remembered that in the society of the
time the widows would lose any rights to property
and would have few means.
Corruption is the thread which is found throughout
the whole rotten structure, like a disease that
can't be taken out cleanly, without damaging the
healthy parts.
Jesus knew this and taught people that if they
wanted to follow him they had to be
incorruptible. 'Get behind me Satan', he
says to Peter. Jesus knows the danger that
threatens the very souls of his disciples.
The 'Catch 22' of the times is a vicious
circle.
This is what the hospitality issue is about, which
Paul talks about. The extension of
hospitality to others could actually mean
starvation to the peasant. To us, the giving
of hospitality sounds easy. But the economy
of the subsistence peasant was so fragile – always
close to the brink of destitution and
starvation. The ruling elite sent their
retainers to gather in the surplus with great
efficiency. There wasn't much left over for
the peasant and his family. This left much
uncertainty for the peasant farmer, who could not
always rely on the harvest either.
It is vital for the growth of the kingdom of God
for there to be generosity of spirit and the
offering of hospitality. This would, of
course, always be under threat, as the temptation
to guard one's own self-interest would gnaw away
at the generosity of spirit.
To be close to God, it is vital to be ever
vigilant against the tendency to forsake others
for one's own needs and wants. In our
society today, there are different
pressures. In this country there is
comparative wealth. We don't face the choice
of 'offer a meal to someone and then
starve'. In the developing countries,
though, this is not the case. The lack of
human dignity in countries where there is little
sanitation or access to clean water and where
people go hungry, is a sad truth. There
needs to be a change of heart in the people with
privileges, to share and to not join in with the
corruption and exploitation of the vulnerable.
In our own society, our moral choices are
real. We should address our consciences, in
asking whether or not we show enough generosity of
spirit to others in our actions. Doe we also
forgive past hurts and misdemeanours? Do we
assume the worst or give the benefit of the
doubt? Sometimes the other person may not
have actually hurt us intentionally. For
instance, we may assume that someone saw us and
chose to ignore us. But stop and think –
maybe they didn't see us, or maybe they had had
something on their mind, felt ill, or just
couldn't cope with a conversation at that moment.
Paul's message today is – let it go. Let God
judge it. Offer it to him instead. Our
role is to be committed to the cause of
Christianity. To be Christ's advocates and
spokes people.
In Alasdair Gray's dystopian world of 'Unthank',
the needs of others, even the identity of the
people are not even a thought, a consideration at
all.
Isaiah's vision of God offers us hope:
'I will not forget you. I have carried you
in the palm of my hand.’
This should be our mantra, our ever present
thought and hope for our world. That we will
care for the world and the people we encounter or
have influence with.
Jesus' words in today's Gospel, that those who
want to save their life will lose it and those who
lose their life for my sake will save it, is an
invitation, a challenge and a warning. We
must be ever watchful, for the self-deception and
the selfish choices which we need to guard
against.
We can do our bit by making ethical decisions, on
how we spend our money, what causes we support and
how we spend our time:
* Water Aid;
* Christian Aid;
* Foodbanks;
* Make time for others;
* Listen to others;
* Avoid being too focused on material good.
Our spiritual life will surely blossom and grow,
in the love and nourishment of our Christian
faith.
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