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Sermon: Different Way of Being

 Lectionary: Proper 11(A)

Text: Romans 8:12-25

The brain is a fascinating organ. A Scientific American article on the topic of thinking explains,

The brain continuously slurps up huge amounts of energy for an organ of its size, regardless of whether we are tackling integral calculus or clicking through the week's top 10 LOLcats…

Although the average adult human brain weighs about 1.4 kilograms, only 2 percent of total body weight, it demands 20 percent of our resting metabolic rate (RMR)—the total amount of energy our bodies expend in one very lazy day of no activity.[1]

We might assume then that if thinking consumes energy, more thinking will consume more energy, but the article continues to explain that experiments in this area have shown mixed results.

But I’m sure we all experience those times when we have been concentrating on some kind of complex task for an extended period, and at the end we feel exhausted and fatigued. So, what is a potential explanation for this phenomenon? The article suggests several possibilities. First, concentrating on a task that does not bring pleasure causes more experiential fatigue than concentrating on a similarly complex task, but in which we find pleasure. Second, merely thinking that a task will be difficult or an ordeal can cause more mental exhaustion. And finally, unpleasant and complex tasks can lead to greater stress with corresponding physiological effects such as increased cortisol production, which in turn can manifest as actual physical effects.

The article concludes with one of the interviewees saying, “My general hypothesis is that the brain is a lazy bum… The brain has a hard time staying focused on just one thing for too long. It's possible that sustained concentration creates some changes in the brain that promote avoidance of that state. It could be like a timer that says, 'Okay you're done now.' Maybe the brain just doesn't like to work so hard for so long.”[2]

An application of this hypothesis to our individual experiences is regarding habits. Why is it so difficult to break an old habit and why is it so difficult to establish a new one? Because these take willful, concentrated, mental effort. And the lazy brain would rather keep running on easy, well-worn pathways that can be traversed with much less effort.

At this point you might be wondering what this has to do with any of today’s readings. I think the science of the brain has quite a bit to do with Romans chapters 7 and 8.

In the latter third of chapter 7, Paul describes an inner conflict experienced by those who have joined with Christ. The conflict is between the desire and intention to live a righteous life versus the reality of falling into deeds that are evil. Paul writes, “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”[3]

However, in the opening paragraphs of chapter 8, Paul describes the solution to this conflict. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death… For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”[4]

But old habits do not die easily. It returns, and in Paul’s words, it is like a debt that we feel obligated to pay. The old way of living offers security, certainty, and comfort. The old ways are ingrained in our minds and require little effort. Even though living by the Spirit brings true life and peace, it feels easier to return to the old ways.

In response, Paul writes, “So then, brothers and sisters, we are obligated, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live… For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”[5]

A key to interpreting and understanding Paul’s response is the phrase, “Slavery… back into fear.” This is the definition of sin that Paul has in mind throughout his letter to the church in Rome. Fear is what drives humans to seek certainty and stability in the things of the world: power, wealth, acclaim, position and influence. These in turn lead to actions that abuse other humans and the environment. The flesh seeks self-preservation above all else. The desire for more and the fear that what we have is still not enough leads to dehumanization, wars, and destruction of the environment.

To live by the Spirit requires intentional choice and effort. It requires going against the habits and priorities of the world and how that has trained our minds and preferences. It will require us to change our ideas regarding security and stability and where we will find that anchor.

When we live by the Spirit, our focus changes from self-preservation to selfless giving. It seeks to redeem and preserve all life—not just fellow humans but all the creation. This is the life Jesus Christ exemplified, and which resulted in the powers of the world turning against him. It is what caused them to murder him. It revealed sin—the need for self-preservation that underlies all worldly powers and structures.

When we choose to intentionally live this way, we will suffer. We will suffer inner conflict as we seek to retrain the habits that the world has trained us to follow. We will suffer externally as we walk and fight against the accepted ways of the world that prioritize the powerful and their wants over the powerless. When we reject the fear of worldly insecurity and want, the world ceases to have power over us. And when they no longer have power over us, they become frustrated and angry.

But we do not live this way alone. Paul wrote, “But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you… If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.”[6]

Those of us who are redeemed and being redeemed will live in such a way as to extend the hope of redemption and restoration to all the creation. We will strive toward ways of living that bring more harmony and peace among not just fellow humans, but humans with all the environment without which we cannot survive. It is with these thoughts that we re-read chapter 8, verses 18-25,

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.[7]

In the name of God, the Creator of all the creation,

In the name of God, the Redeemer of all the creation,

And in the name of God who guides us in our suffering for all the creation, Amen.

References

Jabr, F. (2012, July 18). Does Thinking Really Hard Burn More Calories? Retrieved from Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thinking-hard-calories/

 

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[1] (Jabr, 2012)

[2] Messier, Claude in (Jabr, 2012)

[3] Romans 7:20-23. NRSVue

[4] Romans 8:2, 5-6. NRSVue

[5] Romans 8:12-13, 15-17. NRSVue

[6] Romans 8:9a, 11. NRSVue

[7] Romans 8:18-25. NRSVue

Sermon: Gospel Symphony

Lectionary: Proper 9(A)

Text: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Jai Krist
Wesley, Frank, 1923-2002

Among the artistic disciplines, I think that music has the most rigid fundamentals. After all, music can be reduced to mathematics and time. It would be technically accurate to say that music is mathematics being performed in time and space.

But that isn’t how our ears and brains take in music. We sense harmony and dissonance. We sense excitement and contemplation. We sense joy and sadness, love and conflict. We sense life and death.

We know these things because music follows rules, and rules that are quite rigid. But if all music did was to follow rules, it wouldn’t be very enjoyable or have emotional effects. Music that simply follows rules can become tedious and repetitious. Good music works within the confines to add variation and interest. Composers of great music understand the rules so innately that they know when and where to break them to bring surprises to the audience and to delight them through these unexpected changes.

Music can be performed only because there are rules. The notes and notations on a sheet of paper are a language that communicates the composer’s instructions and intent. It allows the one performing to interpret the composer's instructions and bring the page to life.

In performing music, the number of performers matters to how much liberty is afforded to each performer. A solo performer has the most freedom to be creative and go “off the page” and add their own personality and interpretation. A small group or ensemble still has freedom to improvise, but they need to remain cognizant of one another, and music provides the rules for staying together. A large symphony or choir affords almost no individual freedom, but through the conductor and director, allows a communal and collective interpretation through which each performer gives their all to a collective expression of a great composition.

Finally, there is the audience. True, music can be performed for one’s own enjoyment. But music is meant to be heard. Music is meant to elicit a response from the audience. Music is communication from the composer, through the performers, to an audience. Ideally, the audience responds to the music in ways intended by the composer and the performers.

Today’s gospel reading begins with a short parable from Jesus.

¹⁶ “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ¹⁷ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ (Matthew 11:16-17 NRSVue)

The parable paints a picture of two groups of children: one performing music and a second expected to respond. The first group of children performs a polka, but the second group is unmoved, impassionate. The first group switches to a requiem, but the second group remains unmoved and impassioned.

I’m sure all of us have seen how quickly children normally respond to music. They have yet to develop social and emotional filters and guards. They hear the music and act upon how the music affects them.

So, it seems rather unusual for a group of children to remain unaffected and unresponsive to music that they hear. Jesus offers an interpretation of the parable.

¹⁸ “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; ¹⁹ the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” (Matthew 11:18-19 NRSVue)

I see two ways in which to understand this, and I think both apply. The first is the most obvious in which the second group is actively resisting the music coming from the first group. The second way is to understand that the two groups are operating under two different sets of rules, and thus the second group is unable to interpret the music.

When Jesus refers to “they”, we should understand it to mean those who previously were opposed to John the Baptizer and now opposing Jesus. They are the guardians of religious and social tradition, religious and social acceptability. They set up the boundaries and they enforce them. They are the keepers and wielders of power and control over everyone else. They define what music is supposed to sound like. Anything outside of what they know and have defined is both a threat and something that is incomprehensible to them.

Our reading skips a few verses and resumes at verse 25.

²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. ²⁷ All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:25-27 NRSVue)

Infants have no control over what happens to them. They have no interest in power games that develop and which are played by older people. And they respond instinctively to the music around them. The music of the gospel, the symphony of good news, is most readily heard and accepted by those who are the victims of power and control games, and by those who refuse and battle against their toxic enticements.

It is for these that Jesus offers the following invitation:

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NRSVue)

The invitation is to take on Jesus’ yoke. It is for those who are bearing the burdens of other yokes. But it is also for those who thought that going alone would be freedom, but instead found their burdens increased with no one to help them.

The greatest symphony and choral performances are not individual pursuits, but a collaborative, team effort. It is not individuals trying to harmonize and stay together on their own, however. There is a conductor, a director. This individual directs the performance, keeps the individual musicians together, guides the interpretation of the music, and helps bring the music together for the enjoyment of the audience. By following the director, the musicians have less to worry about. Their place the burden of staying together and overall interpretation onto the conductor so that each individual can perform at their best.

We are invited to hear the gospel music and respond to its invitation. To hear it, we need to learn the rules of God’s kingdom. We need to learn to let go of our need for power and control. We need to learn to set aside appearances and acceptance by the world’s rules.

Instead, we are to become as infants, in the way they instinctively respond to music, unconcerned about what other people might think or judge. We are to help others learn and respond to the music of the gospel. We are to take up Christ’s yoke and teach others that genuine freedom comes not from casting aside all restraint, but comes from taking up the yoke that binds each of us together in Christ, to become part of the symphony and chorus performing the greatest music ever heard across the universe.

In the name of God the Composer,

In the name of God the Conductor,

And in the name of God who urges us to dance together, Amen.