October 6, 2002
"Lord, give us weak eyes for things which are of no account and clear eyes for all your truth." (Kierkegaard)
It is my pleasure today to offer the first in a three part Sermon Series exploring the Great Commission we received from Christ on the Mount of the Ascension.
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
In order to go and make disciples, it is clear that we ourselves need to know and understand our Lord well enough to not only introduce him, but to assist others in being disciples.
How does God see the world, how does God's Son see the world? What does this mean for us? How are we doing? We need to begin at the beginning.
"God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." (Genesis 1:31) If we are to see the world as Christ sees it, if we are to invite others to this vision, it begins here. "God saw it was very good." We are asked to see the goodness in all of creation, a goodness placed there in the beginning; to see the hand of the creator in sun and moon and stars; to see the hand of the creator in earth and sea, dry land and water; to see the hand of the creator in plants and animals; to see most especially the hand of the creator in everyone we encounter.
On Friday it was wonderful to see this truth through the eyes of the children gathered for the Blessing of the Animals. We gathered because a saint of the church, Francis, has left a legacy of looking into creation and seeing our kinship: brother sun, sister moon, brother wolf, sister water. Moreover, he looked beyond appearances and found a brother and sister in even the poorest, most despised and rejected persons of his day. He could see all the way to their beginnings: and he saw that it was very good. We have given him the title "Saint" because he had the sight of our Lord as he looked upon the world, and his example still inspires us today.
I love the time I am able to spend in the Sierras. It sharpens my vision by removing most of the distractions of the day-to-day grind. To see the gray granite peaks in crisp outline against a sky impossibly blue; to stoop down and see delicate blossoms and fruit no more than a quarter inch off the ground; to stand at the top of the trail and look back on forest and lakes (and to see clear into the next state); to see the night sky filled with stars—some of them shooting through your vision—is to be humbled. You are at once so big and so small in such a setting, and you know you are so blessed.
For God said "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; . . ." (Genesis 1:26) And it was so. From within all creation, we alone were created in the image and likeness of our God. And it was very good.
Jesus revealed that he was sent into our world, into our homes, and market places, into our worship places into our places of joy and sorrow and into our quiet places with love: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. . . ." (John 3:16) What a difference that makes! It wasn't duty or obligation. It wasn't a nice thing to do. It wasn't to manipulate and maneuver us into some kind of acceptable behavior. No, Jesus was sent, Jesus lived among us, Jesus died and rose because he loved us. He looked upon those around him, he looked upon the likes of us who were yet to be born, with love. That is how he saw the world. That is how the Father who sent him looks upon the world. That is how he looks upon the world today. We are invited to follow him.
I suspect that many of you have read The Little Prince. When I first read it, I remember the stunning revelation of the fox to the Little Prince as their relationship deepened. When I first read the lines I could not help but think of my God, my Lord. Do you remember the fox's secret? "And now here is my secret, [said the fox] a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." (The Little Prince)
When the disciples first came to Jesus they would look out on the gathering crowd and see Gentiles, enemy soldiers, prostitutes, tax collectors, Pharisee, Priest, Sadducee, the unclean, and sinners of every sort. Jesus would look upon the same gathering crowd and see here a beloved son, and there a beloved daughter of the Father in heaven. Jesus would see a brother and a sister, kinsmen, everywhere.
The disciples sharpened their sight in the presence of the Lord. It is fair to say that by the end of their lives they were looking upon the gathering crowds with the same eyes and heart as their teacher and Lord. It is now our turn to learn to see with the heart. And we have made a good start.
Let me begin by saying thank you. Thank you for seeing what is essential. Thank you for teaching me. One of my delights as a priest and pastor is to be invited to share in both the joys and sorrows of your lives. I am privileged to share, by invitation, in many sacred moments. I am privileged to listen to you as you wrestle with life changing and life-affirming decisions. I am privileged to learn, from you, how to see with the heart. How to see the world as Jesus sees it.
I want to share with you some of what I have witnessed and learned. I share this with the full knowledge that not one of us operates from purely noble motives. Perhaps that is what makes all this so extraordinary. Despite our inclination to pettiness, despite our inclination to mess things up at times, despite efforts made half-heartedly or even despondently, there is always something of the grace of God working in and through us, and I have been able to see the world as Christ sees it because you have been such good teachers.
Joe and Helen were married 65 years. As the world saw them they were old, infirm, barely scraping by, of no concern or consequence to anyone. Helen took care of Joe who had multiple medical problems. The day she collapsed, the moment she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Joe was by her side in a complete role reversal. He cared for her with a tenderness and compassion and devotion that was awesome. They could see what was essential. They could see in each other what the world could not.
On the 26th of September I was privileged to commend Virginia Kuh to our God. Ginny spent the last 30 years caring for her daughter who was injured in an auto accident. The world looks upon the daughter and, they see a scarred, damaged, and mentally challenged woman of no consequence or importance. Don't look twice. Ginny saw not only her beloved child but also saw clear to the beginning she saw a beloved daughter of the Living God who needed her attention and care. I never met Ginny while she was alive, but I have been humbled and learned from her through her son and her friends. Her unselfish service, born of her vision of her daughter, is a powerful lesson in seeing as Christ sees.
We have at least one family here who has adopted a daughter from China. We have another family nearing the completion of that process. The girls are seen as a burden by their country, another mouth to feed, another body to clothe and shelter. We are well aware that many girl babies in China and other regions of Asia are simply killed because they are girls. These two families teach me, every day, to see the beloved child of God in their daughters, in every one I encounter.
There are several other families with adopted children—children seen as problems, burdens, trouble, by others, but seen as God's precious child by them. With each new encounter I am allowed to see with my heart, to see all the way back to the beginning, to see that these children are very good in the eyes of God. And as I can do that, I can see others better, too.
We have many among us who take it one day at time. Once lost in addiction, each has a story to tell about finding and being found by God. He came looking for the lost sheep. He was scanning the horizon like the father seeking the Prodigal Son, and seeing our parishioner he ran to embrace them and rejoice with them. The moment of discovery and subsequent experience of forgiveness and love are shared like the precious treasure they are, and I am still sharpening my sight because of the vision of the Lord you have caught, and you have shared. Thank you.
There are those among us who have hated God, who have scoffed at the idea that God could love them or that they could love God. Yet, you are here today because you experienced the forgiveness of the Lord. As he was dying on the cross do you remember his words? "Father, forgive them . . . ." Christ sees the hurt that needs healing, the sin that needs forgiveness, the child that is lost but wants with all her heart to be found and welcomed home. With each story shared my vision is sharpened and my ability to go and make disciples is made stronger.
The world would have us see, that is, value, the young, the beautiful, the strong, the intelligent, the articulate, the rich, the powerful, those who have "earned a place" in our society and commerce. Jesus would have us see all the way back to the beginning, where men and women were made in the image and likeness of God, and it was very good.
It is my hope that each of us will be strengthened, each of us will sharpen our vision, as we share worship and fellowship. It is my prayer that we can effectively share our vision with others.
This is just the briefest introduction to seeing the world as Christ sees it. Believe me when I say that you are well on your way to knowing Christ and making him known. In your own lives you have taught me much, and are able to teach other—not so much by your words as by your actions. You have been with the Lord long enough to have developed keen eyesight, I pray that it will become even keener in the months to come. In the next two weeks let us listen as we continue to explore the Great Commission.1
I close, as I opened, with a prayer composed by Kierkegaard: "Lord, give us weak eyes for things which are of no account and clear eyes for all your truth." Amen.
The Rev. Daniel Rondeau
drondeau@stmargarets.org
October 6, 2002
1 On October 13th "Being an Ambassador for Christ" and on October 20th "Inviting Friends and Neighbors"