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April 30, 2006
840Bill Schooler - April 30, 2006
Trinity Parish 4-30-06
3 Easter Acts 4:5-12
“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved”
For most of my life, I have not had any trouble with the theology expressed in those words. Lately, however, because of my work as a hospital chaplain they have caused me increasing difficulty. How do those words strike you? Are you having any difficulty with Jesus being the only path to God?
In the VA Hospital System there are 39 known, recognized, and claimed religions by the patients we serve. Not all of them are Christian. At least 8 of them are decidedly non-Christian. The other 31 see God and Christ in very different ways.
The fact that we claim there is salvation in no one else but Jesus has become offensive in today’s cultural pluralism that commends diversity and variety. The challenge to us Christians today is “to interpret the exclusivity of this way to divine blessing in (a language) that is relevant to all people no matter what else might characterize them as individuals.” The religion of our childhood might no longer serve us well in our adulthood. We might want to take a new look at our relationship with God and where we are today instead of where we were.
As a hospital chaplain I minister to all patients and staff, regardless of their religious zip code. To do that requires me to be very clear about where I stand in my own faith.
Today’s reading from Acts is referring to a previous healing of a crippled beggar—or as we would say today, a handicapped person. Peter refers to “…how this man has been healed…” At the end of the reading, Peter uses the word, “saved.” The Greek word that Peter uses in both instances is, “Sozo,” which means both “healed” and “saved.” Throughout the book of Acts, this word, “sozo,” has the double sense of, “to heal” and “to save.” Knowing this has helped my struggle with the exclusivity issue.
If nothing else, I have learned in hospital ministry that there are many pathways to God. A hospital is a place of healing, not merely a place where a person is restored to health. Healing occurs on the spiritual level as well as the physical level. Both are necessary to the wholeness and well being of a person. A hospital has to treat the “whole” person. In our VA hospital we get many patients who suffer from grievous spiritual injury as well as physical injury. Both have to be attended to.
If I am called to the bedside of a dying American Indian patient, or to minister to a patient severely wounded in combat in Iraq who is Jewish, or has no preference of religion at all, or who might claim to be agnostic, I must minister to them, just as Jesus did. Jesus was not exclusive. He was extremely inclusive; so much so that it got him in trouble with the religious authorities. At these times I must honor the fact that there are many pathways to God. At these times, remembering that “saved” also means “healed” helps keep me focused on the spiritual injury in front of me. At these times I must do all I can to strengthen that person’s relationship with God.
Bishop Swing had a vision for all faith groups which resulted in the United Religions Initiative. He felt strongly, and rightly I believe, that our world’s problems would never be solved by governments and politics alone. Until the world’s religions began to talk to one another at the same table, nothing would ever get better. What do you think?
Someone described the world’s religions as the spokes of a wheel. At the outer edge of the rim they are far apart. As they approach the hub, the core, the center, they come closer together until they touch each other as they attach to the hub. Each spoke gives strength to the wheel.
The current struggle over immigration policy in our country strikes me as a clash between our national identity and multiculturalism. It is the same, to me, in our frequent appeals to patriotism, which I believe is really an appeal for nationalism. Real patriotism is dialogue. Nationalism is monologue—my way or the highway.
These struggles manifest themselves in religion as well. For example, there are those who identify themselves as Christians and believe Jesus is the only path to God. Perhaps they are right. On the other hand, Jesus has to be in their image as they see him for true salvation to work. It seems they have taken Jesus out of the path and substituted their Jesus in his place. They have the answer. Their view is the only view. Scripture is as they say it is. Using this approach makes it very difficult to reconcile 39 different religions where I serve.
I must confess that I am a Christian. My relationship with God has been formed and shaped by my knowledge of Jesus Christ as the Episcopal Church has taught me since I was a child. Jesus’ teachings and the life he led teach me about the nature of God. It is through Jesus Christ that I know that God loves us and how God loves us and how God expects us to love God in return and to love each other. “No other name in heaven is given by which we must be saved” [=healed]. It is in the healing that I see the face of Christ.
God works in mysterious ways. God also heals and saves in mysterious ways, ways that may not be our ways. Paul teaches that we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. The Episcopal Church can be a hard place to do that for some people, because the Church won’t come right out and tell you what to do about everything. You must think for yourself. Of course the Church has doctrine and theology along with its own set of rules and regulations. We differ in a number of respects from our fundamentalist brothers and sisters. For example, fundamentalists believe that the Bible is the literal Word of God. Intellectually, academically, and theologically we cannot accept that. We believe the Bible contains the Word of God and each generation must search out and interpret its meaning. God is a living God, not a dead God. This puts us at odds with others who say that their view of scripture is the correct and only one, and this is all done in their Jesus’ name.
Where do you think you stand in all of this? Have your views of religion, church, Jesus, God changed over the years? If so, how have they changed? Have you become closer to God or separated farther than before? What do you need right now to feel the presence of God in your life? Which is more important to you—religion or your relationship with God? Is there a difference?
Today’s Collect prays that Jesus made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of the bread. It further prays to God to open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work. Jesus did not hide himself from us. On the contrary, he made himself clearly known to us, so much so that the disciples deserted him when things got rough.
Jesus brings his transparency to all of us.
“God is light and in God there is no darkness at all. If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.” Here is the inclusiveness of Jesus. Light does not discriminate. It shines on all that it touches. It hides from no one. It excludes no one. Here is the healing power of Jesus, to love all persons, regardless of their religious zip code.
“We’ll walk in the light, beautiful light,
Come where the dewdrops of mercy are bright,
Shine all around us through day and through night,
Jesus, the light of the world.”
December 18, 2005
673Bill Schooler - Dec. 18, 2005
Trinity Parish 12-18-05
Rev. Bill Schooler
Luke 1:26-38
“Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ ” Mary said, “Yes,” to God.
More than 2,150 men and women said, “Yes,” to their country to serve in the Armed Forces, knowing that they might be killed in Iraq, and they were. More than 16,520 men and women said, “Yes,” to their country to serve in the Armed Forces, knowing that they might be severely wounded, and they were. Thousands of men and women say, “Yes,” to their local governments to serve as Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters, knowing that they might be killed or severely injured, and they were.
So why is it so hard to say, “Yes,” to God who does not want us to die or be wounded? God is calling us to life. In Deuteronomy, God says, more or less, “I set before you this day life and death. Choose life.” Jesus offers us life and offers it to us so that we may have it abundantly. The glory of Christmas is the willingness of ordinary people to recognize and obey God’s claim on their lives, and to say, “Yes,” to God.
Men and women who say, “Yes,” to their country and to their local governments do so, I believe, because underneath their outwardly stated motivations, they want to be a part of those communities. They have a sense of “the other” of connecting to something, someone outside themselves. When they choose to belong, they all undergo some sort of common training that is rigorous, demanding and requires some sacrifice. It is this common sacrifice and often a sense of common suffering that creates a bond between all who enter these communities. This sense of belonging is found in team sports, fraternities, sororities, and other kinds of communal associations. Each one fills a need that is intrinsic to human beings—community.
We are not born to be alone, isolated and disconnected from others. We are born as children of God, into God’s family to belong to each other. Advent is a time in the church year to examine who we belong to—God, the world, our families, our friends, or only ourselves.
If men and women can say, “Yes,” and give their lives and bodies for their country and local governments, why is it so hard to say, “Yes,” to God who wants nothing more for us than life?
Community binds us together and also binds us to God. There is no such thing as a private Christian faith. It is a community of faith. To say we are unworthy to stand before God is true, but it doesn’t matter. We cannot hide behind our own sinfulness and shortcomings as a way of avoiding God’s call to us. God calls us anyway to serve as who we are and with what we have.
Think about it. Mary, who was God’s favored, gave birth to a child out of wedlock who later was executed as a criminal. God enters human life with all its depravity, violence, and corruption. Consequently, the Annunciation ultimately is an announcement of hope for humankind, but only if we say, “Yes,” to God, only if we choose life. God has not abandoned us to the consequences of our own sinfulness. Instead, God sent Jesus as our deliverer.
Being part of a community is not always easy. Communities often contain people we don’t like, especially the ones who don’t agree with us. Like the men and women of our Armed Forces, Law Enforcement, and Fire Departments, being part of community requires training; initial training and continuous training; training in skills, training in how to communicate with each other and the community as a whole.
The church, too, has similar training requirements. After the initial training of Baptism and Confirmation, continuous training in prayer, worship, and participation in the faith community are necessary to grow in our relationship with God.
Advent marks a time in the church year that is critical to our training. God announces to us that God is giving us God’s son. Do we say,”YES,” to that gift, or do we also reject that child and participate in executing him as a common criminal?
What if men and women said “No” to their country and their local governments? What would happen? I don’t believe we can honorably live in a country and say, “No,” when it calls us. I don’t believe we can honorably live in a city or town and say, “No,” when it calls us.
This “yes” business is serious business. We cannot truly become who we are until we say, “Yes,” to God. It is in the “yes” that we open ourselves to accept the obligations and the joys of being part of a community, a community that offers us life and life abundantly.
What if Mary had said, “No?” Would God have looked elsewhere? What happens when you say “No” to God? In my own life I find it increasingly hard to live outside the “Yes” to God. With all the depravity, violence and corruption that is part of human life, I find that only “Yes” to God helps me make sense of it all and offers me a way through it.
I believe a relationship with God is essential to life. For a Christian, that relationship also requires commitment to living in community. Often that is hard to do, but we must do the things we need to do for ourselves to be part of a faith community.
As you know, I serve as a Chaplain at the Veterans Affairs Hospitals in Palo Alto and Menlo Park. In my work with combat vets I am convinced that men and women do not die for God and their country. They do not die for God and their local government. They die for each other. The bonds forged in community are what bind them together.
I believe it is so for us Christians. Our Baptismal vows require us to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves. For me, this means that in order for me to have a strong and growing relationship with God, I must be part of a faith community. It is this church. It is this community that forges my relationship with God and helps me to hear God speak to me in my life.
Albert Einstein wrote of “A Circle of Compassion,” in which he said this.
“A human being is a part of the whole that we call the universe, a part limited in time and space. And yet we experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical illusion of our consciousness. This illusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for only the few people nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living beings and all of nature.”
We can learn to do this as part of a faith community. Such membership teaches us how to love one another. The Christ Child showed us how. “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Each year Christmas comes. The Christ Child is born. New life has once again arrived. Christ has come. Do we say, “yes,” to this child and embrace him? How will you respond? Will you invite this child into your lives? Will you say, “Yes,” to God and to God’s Son and all that implies and be a member of a faith community?
