Memorial Day Sunday
Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 24, 2020
The Creative Process
Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 24, 2020
The Creative Process
Psalm 46
John 17: 1-11
TEXT: “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
you have sent.”
(John 17: 3)
While it is true that our Old Testament religious forebearers had a keen awareness of the importance of past and future, nevertheless they were very earthy persons, very present persons, very now persons. A wonderful example of this spirit is the 118th Psalm. It begins with an awareness of God's Presence -- of His Power, and His Love -- and it reaches a climax as the Psalmist says,
This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it (Ps. 118:24).
Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today: Let us be glad and rejoice today!
We find that same spirit running into the New Testament, perhaps in a surprising way for some of us. I say "surprising" because Jesus so often refers to eternal life as the primary theme of His teaching. And most of us tend to think of eternal life as "something out there in the future." But that is not what Jesus had in mind, primarily. Eternal life obviously has a future reference. But, throughout the Gospels, eternal life is referred to as a quality of life, not a dimension. In today's Gospel Lesson, Jesus makes this abundantly clear in His great prayer to the Father at the Last Supper:
Eternal life is this: to know You, the only true God, and Him whom You have sent, Jesus Christ (Jn. 17:1-2).
To know God, to love God, to know Him not just intellectually, but with your whole being -- this is eternal life, and it is now.
"Windows of Wonder" is the title of a beautiful little reflection on this Gospel Text. In it, the author imagines the following dialogue with the Lord God:
I was regretting the past,
and fearing the future.
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:
"My name is I AM"
He paused. I waited.
He continued.
"When you live in the past,
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WAS.
"When you live in the future,
with its problems and fears,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I Will Be.
"When you live in this moment
it is not hard.
I am here.
My name is I AM."
Each new instant is the only place of encounter between our spirits and the Spirit of all life, between our emptiness and the universal flow of Divine Love. It is here that healing happens. It is here that our creative instincts are awakened, that our likeness to God is revealed and perfected. That is why God created life in time and space in the first place. This we know from the Incarnation. God created as God did so that Love could empower the universe. Where humanity is concerned, the flow of Loving Power is often blocked. And the combination for unlocking the barriers and restoring the flow is the present moment. That is why we have hope. We can trust what happens because there will never be a time which is not now. Love remains constant. "God is always at home, it is we who go for a walk," someone once said.
When you read the Creation Story in the Bible, it is important to notice how God went about creating the Universe. God took one step at a time. God didn't just say "Hocus Pocus" and, "Bingo!" it was finished. For example, the creation story tells us that God created a man, Adam, put him in a lush, green garden and said, "Take care of it." Then God "sat back," so to speak, and watched Adam taking care of the trees and the shrubbery and the flowers and decided something was lacking. God said to Himself, "He's lonely. He needs a companion." And so, according to a little allegory on the subject,
God began to experiment. God made some animals. Maybe an animal would be a fit partner for Adam. As he made the animals, he brought them to Adam "to see what he would call them."
God made a big, round, blubbery beast to swim in the water, and he brought it to Adam and asked, "Adam, what are you going to name it? Adam took a good look at it and said, "That's a whale of a big animal. Let's call it a whale." God said, "All right, but will the whale make you less lonely?" Adam looked at God and frowned. He didn't want to be too critical. "God," Adam said, "that big whale is an awfully cold fish. I don't think that's exactly the kind of partner I need."
So, God made a four-legged animal that gives milk and moos. God brought it to Adam and asked, "Now, what do you think of that? What are you going to call it?" "I am going to call it a cow," Adam said. "Will that do for a companion?" asked God. "Well, God," said Adam, "it's very nice, and it does have four legs, but it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I was thinking of something that walks around on two legs -- like me."
So, God brought Adam a big furry animal that walks around on two legs, and Adam called him a bear. Still, Adam was not satisfied. "But you're getting closer," he said to God.
Finally, God put Adam to sleep, took one of his ribs and made a woman. When Adam awakened and saw what God had done, he said, "Wow! That's it God! You've done it!" At last God had made a partner who was right for Adam. Then God said to him, "You and your companion have got to help Me in this business of creating. You can begin by giving the rest of the animals names."
I think the important thing about this little allegory is what it says about how God works. It says that God started the creation process and then said to humanity, "I want your help. I want you to get involved in the creative process." And that is very much to the point of what Jesus means when He says, "Eternal life is to know the one true God," for to know God, in this sense, is to love God. And learning how to love is an ongoing creative process. Learning how to love is humanity’s ultimate creative achievement. And it is now!
God loves His human family so much that God has provided for our ultimate fulfillment in God’s eternal Kingdom of Peace and Brotherhood. Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the tomb in order to bring that message to us.
What must we do to gain eternal life? We must love God and love one another as Jesus has loved us. Because Jesus has risen, we too will rise again, and the eternal Kingdom of Peace and Brotherhood will flourish!
John 17: 1-11
TEXT: “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
you have sent.”
(John 17: 3)
While it is true that our Old Testament religious forebearers had a keen awareness of the importance of past and future, nevertheless they were very earthy persons, very present persons, very now persons. A wonderful example of this spirit is the 118th Psalm. It begins with an awareness of God's Presence -- of His Power, and His Love -- and it reaches a climax as the Psalmist says,
This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it (Ps. 118:24).
Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today: Let us be glad and rejoice today!
We find that same spirit running into the New Testament, perhaps in a surprising way for some of us. I say "surprising" because Jesus so often refers to eternal life as the primary theme of His teaching. And most of us tend to think of eternal life as "something out there in the future." But that is not what Jesus had in mind, primarily. Eternal life obviously has a future reference. But, throughout the Gospels, eternal life is referred to as a quality of life, not a dimension. In today's Gospel Lesson, Jesus makes this abundantly clear in His great prayer to the Father at the Last Supper:
Eternal life is this: to know You, the only true God, and Him whom You have sent, Jesus Christ (Jn. 17:1-2).
To know God, to love God, to know Him not just intellectually, but with your whole being -- this is eternal life, and it is now.
"Windows of Wonder" is the title of a beautiful little reflection on this Gospel Text. In it, the author imagines the following dialogue with the Lord God:
I was regretting the past,
and fearing the future.
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:
"My name is I AM"
He paused. I waited.
He continued.
"When you live in the past,
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WAS.
"When you live in the future,
with its problems and fears,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I Will Be.
"When you live in this moment
it is not hard.
I am here.
My name is I AM."
Each new instant is the only place of encounter between our spirits and the Spirit of all life, between our emptiness and the universal flow of Divine Love. It is here that healing happens. It is here that our creative instincts are awakened, that our likeness to God is revealed and perfected. That is why God created life in time and space in the first place. This we know from the Incarnation. God created as God did so that Love could empower the universe. Where humanity is concerned, the flow of Loving Power is often blocked. And the combination for unlocking the barriers and restoring the flow is the present moment. That is why we have hope. We can trust what happens because there will never be a time which is not now. Love remains constant. "God is always at home, it is we who go for a walk," someone once said.
When you read the Creation Story in the Bible, it is important to notice how God went about creating the Universe. God took one step at a time. God didn't just say "Hocus Pocus" and, "Bingo!" it was finished. For example, the creation story tells us that God created a man, Adam, put him in a lush, green garden and said, "Take care of it." Then God "sat back," so to speak, and watched Adam taking care of the trees and the shrubbery and the flowers and decided something was lacking. God said to Himself, "He's lonely. He needs a companion." And so, according to a little allegory on the subject,
God began to experiment. God made some animals. Maybe an animal would be a fit partner for Adam. As he made the animals, he brought them to Adam "to see what he would call them."
God made a big, round, blubbery beast to swim in the water, and he brought it to Adam and asked, "Adam, what are you going to name it? Adam took a good look at it and said, "That's a whale of a big animal. Let's call it a whale." God said, "All right, but will the whale make you less lonely?" Adam looked at God and frowned. He didn't want to be too critical. "God," Adam said, "that big whale is an awfully cold fish. I don't think that's exactly the kind of partner I need."
So, God made a four-legged animal that gives milk and moos. God brought it to Adam and asked, "Now, what do you think of that? What are you going to call it?" "I am going to call it a cow," Adam said. "Will that do for a companion?" asked God. "Well, God," said Adam, "it's very nice, and it does have four legs, but it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I was thinking of something that walks around on two legs -- like me."
So, God brought Adam a big furry animal that walks around on two legs, and Adam called him a bear. Still, Adam was not satisfied. "But you're getting closer," he said to God.
Finally, God put Adam to sleep, took one of his ribs and made a woman. When Adam awakened and saw what God had done, he said, "Wow! That's it God! You've done it!" At last God had made a partner who was right for Adam. Then God said to him, "You and your companion have got to help Me in this business of creating. You can begin by giving the rest of the animals names."
I think the important thing about this little allegory is what it says about how God works. It says that God started the creation process and then said to humanity, "I want your help. I want you to get involved in the creative process." And that is very much to the point of what Jesus means when He says, "Eternal life is to know the one true God," for to know God, in this sense, is to love God. And learning how to love is an ongoing creative process. Learning how to love is humanity’s ultimate creative achievement. And it is now!
God loves His human family so much that God has provided for our ultimate fulfillment in God’s eternal Kingdom of Peace and Brotherhood. Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the tomb in order to bring that message to us.
What must we do to gain eternal life? We must love God and love one another as Jesus has loved us. Because Jesus has risen, we too will rise again, and the eternal Kingdom of Peace and Brotherhood will flourish!
